The Michigan Wolverines and the Virginia Tech Hokies have scheduled a home-and-home football series for 2020 and 2012, both schools announced today.
In the first game of the series, Michigan will host Virginia Tech at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Sept. 19, 2020. The Hokies will host the second and final game at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg on Sept. 11, 2021.
Michigan and Virginia Tech met for the first and only time in the 2012 Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The Wolverines beat the Hokies 23-20 after Brendan Gibbons hit a 37-yard field goal in overtime.
“I am pleased that Dave Brandon (Michigan AD) and I have been able to work out this agreement,” Tech Director of Athletics Jim Weaver said. “Michigan is the winningest college football program in the country, and it will be exciting to have the Wolverines come to Lane Stadium.”
Michigan is the third Big Ten on Virginia Tech’s future schedules. The Hokies have a home-and-home series with Ohio State in 2014 and 2015 and a series with Wisconsin in 2016 and 2017.
Virginia Tech now has three non-conference games set for the 2019 season and two for 2020. In 2019, Tech opens at home against Liberty (Sept. 5) and then hosts East Carolina (Sept. 12).
The Hokies are currently slated to open the 2020 season at home against Richmond.
Virginia Tech is the first announced opponent for Michigan for both the 2020 and 2021 seasons. The Wolverines have recently added home-and-home series vs. Arkansas (2018-19) and Utah (2014-15) and single games vs. BYU and Cincinnati.
Football Schedules
Why did we sign a home and home with Utah?
Josh,
It is not as bad as it looks, this is NOT a Home and Home.
The assistant AD described it as “a straight up 2-1” at the spring game. They came out here in 2002 or 2003 and the understanding that it would be the first of 3 games series. 2 in the Big house (110k+) one in their house (40k+)
He described it as a gentleman’s agreement with Utah showing good faith to come out and play as a one game deal. But that even though it wasn’t in writing, that at some point down the road they would try and add the other 2 games as it made sense in their future schedules. He said there was going to be a Big 10 /Pac 12 scheduling agreement and even though they are not USC, Oregon, Stanford or UCLA it was a chance to honor a previous verbal commitment. He was very complimentary of The Pac 12 conference as well and when asked why not USC or Oregon? Emphasized that this series would not have gone through if it was just a true “1 for 1”
On a personal note, I like the series for 3 reasons.
1) 2 for 1’s are always good for us
2) Pac 12 / Big 10
3) Check the records. Utah is in the Pac 12 cellar with WSU and Colorado (so we get all the credit for beating the Pac 12 with none of the late game drama)
The series with Utah is a 3/1. We pretty much have to give them one game in Provo, because they came out to the House in 2002, and 2008, along with their scheduled trip out here in 2014. Can’t complain about a 3 for 1.
Good catch – this is a 3-1against a Pac 12 team. #Hilllllllarious
Now did they get to a bowl in 2012? No, will they get to a bowl game this year? No…. in 2014? No, but even if they are lower tier, at least it is a win against a Pac 12 team
97 Why on earth are you going to play Utah in Provo? Why wouldn’t you play them at their stadium instead of BYU’s?
They signed when the Big Ten and Pac 12 was going to have agreement to play each other in all sports then it fell thru the game had had already been signed
@Jim,
They would not have NEVER signed it except for this Pac/Big10 scheduling agreement, which ultimately never happened. There are some remorseful folks in the AD’s office. We were all thing MIchigan / USC or Oregon. Forget where they are in the Pac 12, last year they were 4-8 and were the 3rd best team in their state!
Go Big Blue!
I am pissed that we’re playing them, even if it is a 3 for 1! This is the worst football team in the Pac12, and the worst football team in their state. Why couldn’t we get USC or Oregon? If we had to play a team in Utah, I’d rather play BYU, at least they would have been a decent matchup, although I don’t know how they’ll be without that Ansah dude. Any chance we buy this out and schedule a good Pac12 team?
Big Blue, you were probably pissed off in 2002 when you beat a sub-500 Utah team by a field goal; and you were probably pissed in 2008 when they came into the Outhouse oops I mean big House and took it down to the last minute.
Of course you probably got pissed when you found out you had to play Appy state in 2007 and the mighty 3-9 Toledo Rockets in 2008 also.
Time to get over yourself and get ready for 2 beatdowns from the Hokies.
@Bill – see below, I screwed up my reply.
No BigBlue the Utes are better than Weber State so they are not the worst in the State of Utah.
I don’t know who Weber State is, I was talking about FBS schools.
I didn’t say anything about the jokies, I just don’t understand why we’re gonna travel to Utah to play one of the worst teams on the west coast. I know that they were good in the past, but the last 3-4 years they have been horrible. Others are saying it’s great because it’s a gauranteed win against a Pac12 school, and I somewhat agree. But, I think most people realize that Utah isn’t really Pac12 quality, and it’s not that impressive of a win.
With the BCS changing, and SOS having a larger impact, it just doesn’t make sense to play a team that will only lower our sos. I bet we buy this game out and replace it with a better opponent (fingers crossed).
Meant for @Bill ^^^^^^^
A lot of teams are worried about their schedules. They don’t want to risk having lowly UM on their schedules. Imagine if the SOS was in effect in 2008. All the decent teams that beat up on UM would be penalized because of your pathetically embarrassing loss to Toledo.
Now that Dullard Robinson is gone, there will likely be more of the same mediocrity.
@ Bill – Quit being such a hater my friend. The facts are the facts, UM has had a long standing program with great success. That is why nobody has issues with playing Va Tech because we respect your program and you are successful and have a national following. We are ok with this series. It just showed up in the report we have to play Utah home and home and we freaked out until we realized it is a 3-1 against a PAC 12 Cellar Dweller and now we are ok. Please leave Denard alone, on the field he has a talent. He also did many great things in the community as well, we are lucky to have him looking forward to this series with you. I have heard great things about your stadium and fans.
Just out of curiosity Rob…what does “your stadium and your fans” mean? I am a College football fan, and have a lot of respect for Utah’s program. I just think Michigan needs to get over their high and mighty attitude.
You built a big cheap stadium and you fill it 7 or so times a year. And once every decade or so you rise from mediocrity to field the kind of team a stadium like that deserves,. And now you claim that somehow you are too good to travel to Utah????
Need I remind you that Utah busted the BCS in 2004 and 2008 and won both bowl games. That’s exactly as many as your team with the ugly helmets.
Yes they had a down year in 2012; but it was nowhere near as awful as your 07-08 debacles. For the record the alltime series between the 2 schools is 1-1 and M has outscored U 33-32. They don’t get more evenly matched than that.
As for Dullard Robinson; I was not commenting on his athleticism; I was referring to his (lack of) command of the English language. http://espn.go.com/high-school/baseball/video/clip?id=9230682
@Bill,
Some thoughts / questions for you…
1)What was I or anyone supposed to get from watching that video? Please be VERY specific.
2) BCS games? Bill we have 11 National Championships you have 0. Most schools would rather have 1 National Championship, than 2, 3, 5 or 7 BCS games. Where do you Fall on this? Would you trade your 2 BCS games for one National Championship or do you feel 2,3,4 or 5 BCS games are better than just one Natty? Not judging, just trying to get a better idea how Utah fans think.
3) Bill, agreed 2008 was not our best year. We were 3-9. Utah beat us by 2 and Toledo beat us by 3 that same year. I thought both teams (Utah and Toledo) were very similar, and still do to this day
4) Please don’t feel disrespected, We just don’t want to play a team that has never had a winning record in their conference. That is why many are excited about playing Va Tech H&H and many are bummed out about this 3 for 1 with Utah. Nothing to do with you personally, it is all based off football reputation. We don’t want a 3-1 with Toledo either.
5) I am sorry you don’t like our stadium, it is built for a national fan base so it has to be large. I actually prefer the smaller 30-40k stadiums for fan bases like yours, I can leave the Binoculars at home :)
6) Will be rooting for you to turn it around and have your first ever winning season in the Pac 12! And regardless of who you play in the New Mexico Bowl, I will be rooting for you!
1—I dont expect you got anything out of it, I wanted to demonstrate what a dullard Robinson is,
2—This a scheduling website. The topic has crept to whether Utah us a worthy opponent. The exp;oits of the Tom Harmon/Bennie Oosterban/Gerald R. Ford are irrelevant. I am just saying both teams have had recent success.
3—“Not our best year” is an understatement. As bad as 2007 was; 2008 was a level of sucks that was unprecedented in College Football.
4—And that thought is ludicrous. Utah has had 2 down years, and they happened to coincide with their 2 season in the P12. You keep repeating that carefully crafted sentence as if it actually means something. it doesn’t. if you mean you dont want to play a team with 2 losing season say so. It is exactly what the 20009 non-con opponents on the UM schedule did.
5—Agreed. The State of Michigan has plenty of “Wal-Mart Wolverines”. That’s the local term for the large percentage of their fan base who have never been on any college campus on a weekday yet proudly “bleed Maize and Blue”, They need to make room in the stadium for those people as well as the minority that actually was educated there.
6—I am not a Utah fan. I have mentioned that once before. Yet, i am not surprised you haven’t grasped that fact. You generally have to repeat the obvious facts half a dozen times or more for a Wal-Mart Wolverine to catch up.
Bill,
1) If that was your attempt to show everyone Denard was a dullard then it didn’t work. But it does come across as really racist, so if tht was your goal to rip on a 20 year old kid that is a different race and talks differently than you and your buddies, then props to you I guess.
2) EASY QUESTION you keep on dodging amigo…
What is better 2 BCS GAMES or 1 National Title? You keep talking about it like it is an accomplishment bigger than a Natty.
I would say 5 BCS games doesn’t compare to one national championship?
So Easy question, can you answer it this time? or dodge it again?
3) Bill you really are obsessed with our bad year in 2008. Yes, we lost to Utah and Toledo. It was a REALLY BAD YEAR. Most programs that get beat by those teams are going to have a bad year. So we both agree 100%, it was a bad year.
4) Carefully crafted sentence? That Utah is still trying to have a winning season in the Pac 12? Sorry what is a more gentle way to say it that does not offend you? Who have they even beaten in the Pac 12? Have they even BEATEN a team with a winning record?
5) The Big house was built for national fans to come to games over 100k. They come from Walmart, Target, Kmart, Maceys and Saks 5th avenue because they are national.
The issue many have is going to a 30-40k stadium like Utah’s were it is built for the local fan base. The great news is I hear its easy to walk up on game days and get tickets and since it is size-wise like many of the 1AA stadiums, everything is close, no binoculars are needed.
6) You are not a Utah fan? You are sure feeling a need to defend them for somebody who is not a Utah fan. You sure know a lot about BCS games that nobody remembers for someone who is not a Utah fan. Its ok to admit you are, why else would you get so emotional about 2008 and 2004. The only people that care about those seasons are people within a 3 mile radius of Utah’s stadium. But you claim to be “a college football fan” but apparently one that does not have a team and just roots for obscure teams from the Mountain West Conference that don’t play anyone all year and then they beat a 6-6 Pittsburgh team and say “yaaaaaay we are the BCS Busters” So who is it Bill? Who is you favorite team, obviously not Utah. That is clear.
1—-What does race have to do with it? Plenty of 20 year old athletes can articulate a complete sentence. BTW what race am I and how do my buddies and I speak? From this end it seems that you are the one who brought up the race issue. does that make you the racist? Just asking.
2—-National titles are great and I am sure you are awfully proud that anonymous guys you never heard of in leather helmets won some for your school. But in the context of recent history and future schedules it means nothing. Chicago has more NC’s than Utah..should you schedule them.
3—Yes i am obsessed with 20008. it shows how a bad year (well 2 actually) doesn’t mean a program is not worth scheduling. Your 07-08 was worse than Utah’s 11-12. By the time the series finishes in 2015; their lousy 12 and your god-awful 08 will be memories.
4—Yes, you are using words like “never” 2 describe two seasons. You avoid the top 5 finishes that Utah had under their current coach. Acknowledge that in spite of 11 and 12 utah has been very very good very very recently.
5—Rice-Eccles listed capacity is 45,017 fans; yet last year they averaged 45,149 per game. slightly better than 100 percent. Appalachian State (you have heard of them I am sure) led FCS (or as you call it 1AA) with 26,211 fans per game; so you, Rob, are way off base, And while I do admit that UM sells out the Outhouse every week; there are always tickets to be had on StubHub, Craigslist or the guy in the Pittsburgh Steelers jacket who hangs out across from Zingerman’s. You are trying to make Ann Armpit sound like Tuscaloosa, Lincoln, or Baton Rouge. it isn’t like that at all. If you want to get into the stadium; you will.
6—Yes I remember the games. They were on TV. I have cable. I watched them.
Didn’t you watch them too?
And as for the last question. I have two favorite teams. One is Michigan State; and the other is whoever is playing the Wolverettes that week. So I guess you got me there. Because on 9-20-14; my second favorite team that week will be Utah. Go Utes.
Bill,
Making fun of someone from another race than yours for being stupid and posting a video to make fun of this poor kid at worst case makes you a racist jerk, Now, if you do this to every kid regardless of race, it just makes you a non racist jerk.
Sincerely,
America
Yo Billy –
I am pretty sure you ain’t black, so making fun of a black college kid because he is a dullard or doesn’t command the english language is racist. sorry man, just is.
One other thing. Are you the youngest child in your family and so you feel the need to represent all the little bros in football?
Serious Bra, you have a choice and cheer for two #2’s in their OWN STATE. Michigan’s lil bro MSU and BYU’s lil bro UTAH.
LOL, let me guess you also follow Washington State and La Tech?
Forget Kevin Kelley’s site, you need Dr Phil’s site.
60 to 80 per cent of FBS is black, I was making fun of one individual. I was not making fun of him because he is black, I am making fun of him because he is inarticulate. Shame on you for trying to blame his lack of English skills on his being black.
SO JUST TO CLARIFY BILL IS NOT RACIST, HE IS JUST AN IDIOT UTAH UTES / MICHIGAN STATE FAN.
Let me try this
1. You are on a Va Tech / Michigan site defending Utah, a Pac 12 cellar team and the # 3 team in Utah?
2. Go on Michigan State and Utah websites.
3. If you like rooting for the two teams above you need to check out a hoops team called the Washington Generals!
4 – 6. Dude you are coming across as a little brother.
thank god for ND. look at the big ten OOC schedules. no wonder we get no respect. just watched espn college football on tv. the panel ( mark may and the guys) all agreed that a one lose sec team would go to the national championship ,before an undefeated big ten team and if the big ten, big twelve and pac ten all had an undefeated champ , big ten would be odd man out due to strength of schedule. we get no respect , we have to encourge our AD and coach to schedule better non cons
REALLY BILL????
“I was not making fun of him because he is black, I am making fun of him because he is inarticulate.”
REALLY, Who do you work for the articulation police?
REALLY, making fun of college kids, How old are you man?
REALLY, playing the reverse race card to prove that you are not a racist sometimes but that you are just a Utes troll 24/7?
REALLY, your team sucks and is the doormat of the PAC 12 but you say 60 to 80 per cent of FBS is black. I think it is more like 60-80 percent of FBS thinks Utah football sucks. the other 20-40 percent think Utah football is a joke. REALLY.
@ Everyone regarding Bill,
Some observations from reading this post.
1) Bill is not an MSU fan. He is a University of Utah fan. How many other posts did he have defending Utah? Their 2004 team, their 2008 team, their 2003 team? Reminding us of Utah’s BCS games and inaccurately sharing Utah facts before he even mentioned anything about MSU.
Lets not hate on MSU for Bill’s comments. Read all his posts, he is a Utah fan.
2) EASY QUESTION you keep on dodging amigo…
What is better 2 BCS GAMES or 1 National Title? You keep talking about it like it is an accomplishment bigger than a Natty.
Bill dodged this question multiple times.Why wouldn’t an MSU fan answer this? There is NO reason they wouldn’t. MSU and MIchigan have a great rivalry and great players. We like to joke that we are big brothers against Sparty, but this one below is a little lopsided…
Now why won’t this Utah fan answer this simple question?
Easy diagnosis Bill suffers from LBS – Little Brother Syndrome. He can’t admit a National Championship is better than playing in 2 BCS games, because 2 BCS games is all Bill has.
By doing so He would admit BYU is better than them in another category.
They are always the little Brother in their state. They have a Big Brother BYU.
According to WIKI
National Championship BYU check – Utah still trying
Heisman Trophy Winner BYU check- Utah still trying
Outland Trophy Winner BYU check – Utah still trying
Doak Walker Winner BYU check – Utah still trying
I can see where if you aren’t this is depressing. I can only assume since you said your stadium is only 45,000 that BYU’s is at least 46,000. So I am sure that only makes things worse :(
Bill, since you really aren’t an MSU fan I will fill you in, Michigan won the National Championship in 1997.
*I don’t care if you told me we would go 0-120 from 2002-2012. It is worth is to have the Natty.
*I also don’t want 10 BCS games from 2002-2012 if I have to give up being the champions in 1997.
**** And, I certainly wouldn’t trade the 97 National Championship in exchange for 2 BCS games against the Big East Champ and The SEC runner up.
We now have close to 30 posts on a UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN and VA TECH link because you feel the need to defend your team.
I am sure you are a good guy that just got in over your head, people said things to hurt your feelings you reacted, you ripped on the only Michigan player you had heard of in recent memory.
In and of itself it doesn’t make you racist, it makes you guilty of using bad judgement.
You are in a nice conference, if you catch some breaks you might even get bowl eligible. Just enjoy your team, and try to stay on Your message boards ;)
Good Luck Bill.
Kevin has many emails from me over the past year. He can look at my addy and tell where my loyalties are. I don’t expect him to post my address publicly; but he can confirm it is pro Spartan.
Why don’t you go back and read the original posts. i jumped in because i felt Utah was an adequate opponent
I am glad you realize I am not a racist. I should have been more clear that UM has low-IQ athletes of all colors. For example Punter Will Hagerup isn’t the sharpest crayon in the box either.
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegesMichigan/tag/_/name/will-hagerup