WSET.com - ABC13Looking Ahead to Football Season by Scott Wilson

There are many things to love about summer, and the end of August always brings back bad memories of dreading the first day of school. But there is always one thing to look forward to this time of year: football. As a Virginia Tech alum, I am very closely invested in what happens with the football team. And I'm very curious to see how things go this year.

I definitely feel like I have gotten spoiled by the success of the Hokie football team. I generally root for the underdog so I don't have a lot of experience rooting on a winner. For seven consecutive years, the Hokies have won 10 games, which is quite an accomplishment. So will that happen again this year? I honestly don't know. And that's what makes it kind of exciting. The team starts fresh with a new quarterback (Brookville High's Logan Thomas) and a new starting running back. Anytime you have a new starting quarterback, you really don't have any idea how far he will be able to take the team.

The expectations for this year among national media are not as high, and I kind of like it that way. Last year, the team was able to go through the ACC with a perfect record. That's not something that happens very often – in fact, I will be surprised if the Hokies do that again in the next 10 years. From my experience, the seasons that the Hokies aren't expected to do much are the ones that end up being the most rewarding. My favorite team remains the 2004 squad that won the ACC in their first season with low expectations, and made it to the Sugar Bowl.

So what will this year hold? The Hokies could still end up with a very good record. They have a pretty easy schedule with some September games that could give Logan Thomas a good chance to get used to playing on this level. The only team in the Hokies' side of the conference that worries me at all is Miami. And that matchup is in Blacksburg this year. If I had to make an official prediction, it would be a 10-2 regular season.

On a completely unrelated note – there is unfortunately a lot of turnover in this business. You probably have read quite a few goodbye blogs from reporters. There are plenty of people behind the scenes who leave too, and don't get recognized. So I just wanted to mention that our web manager, Amy, is leaving us next week. Just about everything that you see on the website goes through Amy – and believe me, it takes a lot to keep the website up and running and looking fresh on a 24/7 basis. Don't worry, the website isn't going away or changing dramatically. But it's always sad when someone who has worked here a long time and given a lot of time and effort into their job moves on.