EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW (2025): Louisville at Virginia Tech

Pregame Prep: Things You Should Know Before the Game

• Kickoff: 3 p.m. ET
• TV / Radio: The CW / 93.9 The Ville
• Weather: Temperatures hovering around the 50s; low chance of rain
• Odds: Louisville -10.5, O/U 53.5 (FanDuel)
• Uniforms: Virginia Tech (all maroon kits with maroon script helmet); Louisville (white helmet and jersey with red pants)

Last Time (Louisville v. Virginia Tech): 2023

Louisville dominated their last game against Virginia Tech. The Cardinals rushed for 231 yards (including 146 from Isaac Guerendo and three touchdowns), and the defense held the Hokies to 140 total yards, as Louisville rolled to a 34-3 win over Virginia Tech.

Notable Numbers:

• Virginia Tech leads the all-time series 6-3. Saturday will mark Louisville’s first trip to Blacksburg, VA since 1991, when the Hokies beat the Cardinals 41-13.
• Isaac Brown notched the 18th 200-yard rushing game in Louisville history, going for 205 yards against Boston College last week. With 627 rushing yards through seven games, Brown is also second in the ACC in rushing yards per game (93.1 YPG).
• Louisville is currently +7 in turnover margin on road games in 2025. The Cardinals had five forced turnovers against Pitt, and four against Miami (FL).

First Down: Meet the 2025 Virginia Tech Hokies

2025 has been a down year for the Hokies, as the school fired head coach Brent Pry after they started the season 0-3, bookended by a 45-26 at home to in-state foe Old Dominion.

With Pry out, offensive coordinator Phillip Montgomery took over as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Montgomery was previously a head coach at Tulsa from 2015-22, compiling a 45-55 record and reaching four bowl games with the Golden Hurricane.

Virginia Tech enters this week with a 3-5 record, coming off a double overtime victory over California last week. The Hokies have won three of their five games since Montgomery took over as the interim head coach.

Second Down: Virginia Tech Offense Breakdown

Montgomery came to Virginia Tech this offseason after spending last year as the co-offensive coordinator for the UFL’s Birmingham Stallions, but was the OC for Auburn in 2023.

At quarterback, he gets Kyron Drones, who enters his third season as the starter for the Hokies. Drones is a dynamic runner and one of the better athletes at the position in college football. He leads the team in rushing touchdowns this season (seven), and is coming off a five-touchdown outing against California last week (three passing, two rushing), with a career-high 137 rushing yards to boot.

As good of a runner as Drones can be, he can have a lot of inconsistency as a passer. He’s completed 59.5% of his passes in his collegiate career, and has been prone to turnovers with 15 interceptions in his career. When Drones is on as a passer, very few teams are capable of beating Virginia Tech. The issue is that it doesn’t happen on a consistent basis.

Drones highlights a Virginia Tech backfield that has great size and is loaded with tough runners. Drones himself can shed tacklers and sacks in the backfield to make plays, as can running backs Marcellus Hawkins (85 carries, 531 yards, TD) and Terion Stewart (55 carries, 373 yards). Hawkins is also coming off a career-high last week against California, rushing for 167 yards as the Hokies had 357 rushing yards as a team. Stewart is a long time veteran at the FBS level, previously playing for Bowling Green where he rushed for almost 2,400 yards and 23 touchdowns in four seasons. With Drones as a run threat and a physical runner, this can make defending options and RPOs very difficult.

Virginia Tech’s receiver group is led by veterans Ayden and Donovan Greene (no relation), with Ayden Greene leading the team in receptions and yards (23 rec., 365 yards, two TDs). Takye Heath (15 rec., 157 yards) and tight end Ja’Ricous Hairston (six rec., 78 yards) lead the team with three receiving touchdowns apiece, with Heath coming off of a two-touchdown outing against Cal last week.

Key Players:

• QB Kyren Drones (59.7% completion, 1,930 total yards, 21 TDR, six INTs)
• RB Marcellous Hawkins (85 carries, 531 yards, TD)

Third Down: Virginia Tech Defense Breakdown

Defensive coordinator Sam Siefkes enters his first season with the Hokies, leading a defense that is tenth in the ACC in total defense (367.1 YPG allowed) and T-14th in scoring defense (30 PPG).

Kemari Copeland leads the team in both sacks (four) and tackles for loss (six) and is coming off a career day against Cal last week, logging all three sacks for the Hokies to go with seven tackles. Their pass rush can be a very hot-and-cold unit; in their three wins, Virginia Tech has 12 sacks, but just five in their five losses (including three sack-less outings against Vanderbilt, Old Dominion, and Georgia Tech).

Extending it further, Virginia Tech’s has struggled with creating opportunities for their offense. The Hokies have just forced five turnovers all season, but that could change given Louisville has had occasional struggles with ball security this season.

Kaleb Spencer leads the team in tackles (42), with Caleb Woodson (34 tackles, 1.5 TFLs) and Jaden Keller (32 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, forced fumble) not far behind. They are capable of getting stops in the run game, but like their pass rush, defending the run has been very hit-and-miss. In their three wins, they’ve given up an average of 63 rushing yards per game; but their five losses have seen the Hokies give up nearly 200 rushing yards per game. Virginia Tech also took a hit at their linebacker group when Michael Short entered the transfer portal after four games and opted out of the remainder of the season.

The Hokies have just three interceptions this season (two from their secondary), but Quentin Reddish (15 tackles, INT) and Isaiah Brown-Murray are the top playmakers in the back end.

Key Players:

• DL Kemari Copeland (31 tackles, four sacks, INT)
• LB Kaleb Spencer (42 tackles, four TFLs)
• CB Isaiah Brown-Murray (20 tackles, two PBUs, INT)

Fourth Down: Keys to the Game

When Louisville has the ball…

In most of Virginia Tech’s losses, teams that have been able to be dynamic on offense have given the Hokies a lot of trouble. The Vanderbilt, Old Dominion, and Georgia Tech all saw the Hokies give up at least 250 rushing yards each, with all three teams also averaging over 8.5 yards per pass attempt. South Carolina was also able to average 11 yards per attempt against Virginia Tech in their season opener.

While this could be an opportunity for Louisville to push the ball down field with their passing game, I actually think the key to this could be whether or not they can continue their momentum with the running game. Isaac Brown is coming off back-to-back 100+ yard outings and remains a big play threat, Louisville could have chances to get him (or Keyjuan Brown) in space and get chunks of yardage. If Louisville can establish the run game early, that would definitely open up the play action to exploit a Virginia Tech pass defense that hasn’t made many opportunities on the ball this season.

When Virginia Tech has the ball…

Those that watched their game last week against California will be curious if Virginia Tech decides to continue their run-heavy trend from last week. The Hokies had a season-high 58 rushing attempts (55 if you take away Cal’s three sacks in the game), and they use a variety of plays; options, inside zone, counter, even toss plays from shotgun. Virginia Tech did a good job last week of moving the ball around in the run game to keep Cal’s defense from shooting gaps and stuffing them.

This will be a unique test for Louisville’s stout run defense, which currently ranks fourth in the ACC in rushing yards allowed per game (105.3 YPG) and 21st nationally. If they can keep the Hokies from staying on schedule with the run game, it could force the Hokies to try and extend drives with Drones in passing situations. It would also open up opportunities for Louisville’s pass rush, as the Hokies have struggled immensely with pass protection this season (2.63 sacks allowed per game, T-112th in FBS). It’s a strategy that worked similarly in their 2023 contest with the Hokies; Louisville was able to sack Drones four times and hold him to 75 total yards, the lowest in his Hokie career as a starter.