Author: Rich Luttenberger

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Rich Luttenberger is a Virginia Tech alum and has been passionately following their sports teams for over 30 years. Like most Hokies, he shows that "fan" is really short for "fanatic." He writes as a fan and for the fans. Follow him on Twitter @RichLuttVT

Well that wasn’t good!  The Virginia Tech Louisville game was supposed to be a showdown for second place in the conference.  Instead, it was a 34-3 beatdown that let everyone know the ACC championship is essentially a two-horse race between Florida State and Louisville. After winning consecutive home conference games, the latter being their own pummeling of a conference foe, Virginia Tech charged into this game with its fan base excited about the possibility of playing in Charlotte for the conference championship.  The recent turnaround gave Hokie Nation amnesia about its September woes and instead treated them with hopes of…

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What a blast!  Watching the Virginia Tech Syracuse game on Thursday night was such a throwback, a total beatdown from the start, a flashback to Hokie dominance of old, the kind of game Hokie fans were used to seeing but have not witnessed for much of the last decade. It was so much fun! For the first time in a looooong time, Lane Stadium looked like the Thursday night Terrordome that it used to be when the Hokies won 11 straight Thursday night games.  Social media is still buzzing about how great it feels to win like that, but that…

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With the recent Virginia Tech football turnaround and the success that has come with it, Hokie Nation is excited about the possibilities of this season.  What was a dismal start that had most forecasting a bleak outcome has turned into a team that has given its fans hope for a bowl game. And with Duke and North Carolina losing this past weekend, some Tech fans are even talking about the possibility of the Hokies playing for the ACC championship in December. While mathematically it is possible for Virginia Tech to finish second in the conference, Hokie fans should know better…

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One thing is for sure after the Virginia Tech Wake Forest game: the Hokies have a horse in the Bowl Season race again! After wearing down the Demon Deacons en route to a 30-13 victory, Virginia Tech has improved to 3-4 heading into the bye week.  For the second straight home game, the defense was stifling and the offense sustained drives, putting up 30 points for the third time this year. (Remember, they did not score 30 AT ALL last season). The fan base is excited.  The schedule looks favorable to win a few more.  And just like that, our…

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Like a schoolteacher sending home mid-quarter progress reports, it is time for me to share my Virginia Tech Football 2023 report card with midseason grades.  Half of the season is over, and it is a good time to look back at the first six games and evaluate the performance of this team so far. The Hokies are 2-4 heading into their week seven homecoming contest against Wake Forest.  Two weeks ago, they played their best game of the year against Pitt, but just last week they fell victim to their earlier season struggles and lost by 22 to Florida State. …

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In the weeks prior to the 2023 Virginia Tech Pittsburgh matchup, there has been much angst in Hokie Nation.  The 1-3 start had a lot of fans contemplating the worst of seasons.  However, a few days after this game, I can think of no better response than to quote former Hokie lineman Dwight Vick: “When we win the sun shines brighter, the food tastes better, my bed feels better. I can watch the other games with pride because we won and I can feel good and I can watch highlights and not be afraid” (quoted from the Boundary Corner podcast,…

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It has been several days since the Virginia Tech Marshall game and just a few days before Pitt comes to town.  And I still don’t know what to say that hasn’t already been said.  Seriously, what can I include here that has not already been written about in articles and in tweets or talked about on the television or radio or podcasts? The horses have been beaten beyond death.  Fire the coaches?  Check.  Fire the Athletic Director?  Check.  Welcome to rock-bottom?  Check.  Can’t run?  Can’t stop the run?  Struggling with identity?  Worst P5 program?  The list goes on and on.…

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As I watched the final seconds of the Virginia Tech Rutgers game from my fifth-row seat at SHI Stadium, I couldn’t help but notice a sadness in my soul.  I was not upset with the loss, I was not disappointed.  In fact, my friends and I expected a tough day and felt that a bad outcome was more likely than not. (Which in and of itself is sad!) But it was not the actual game that was gnawing at my innards.  It was the harsh realization of what just happened.  Virginia Tech was beaten soundly by Rutgers. Rutgers.  The State…

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Say it out loud: “Dax Hollifield NASCAR Pit Crewman.”  It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? For the past five years, Hokie Nation has known him as “Dax Hollifield Virginia Tech Linebacker.”  He was a captain and the emotional leader of the team.  He played as a true freshman, finishing his college career with the fourth-most tackles in school history.  Because he loved football and Virginia Tech so much, he decided to use his COVID year of eligibility and return for a fifth season. So how did a guy with football in his veins end up in a…

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The Virginia Tech Purdue game was in many ways typical for the Hokie faithful.  The actual contest featured big plays for and against the Hokies, with a late score determining the outcome.  Despite struggles on and off throughout the game, Virginia Tech was right there with a chance to win at the end – but didn’t.  This has been a very common script for Hokie Nation over the last decade, and every game seems to be an emotional rollercoaster ride for the fans. Watching the game, I think my range of emotions was typical of the fanbase: A Strange Feeling…

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