With the college football year kicking off just this past Saturday and the official week one beginning this week, teams are looking to start the year off right by picking up a win to begin their season.
One of those teams will be Virginia Tech, as they take on Vanderbilt this Saturday at 12:00 p.m. After their 7-6 record this past year, including a bowl game win, the Hokies expect to reach greater heights this year. With the matchup coming up soon, let’s get a rundown of some important storylines going into the match in Nashville.
Virginia Tech sits as a 13-point favorite; do they get the dominating win that many fans expect to see?
The hype for Virginia Tech is real this year; there is no doubt about it, but the fact is that the Hokies have notably underperformed in games where they shouldn’t.
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VT has a chance to turn that around this year, starting in Nashville. They face a Commodore team that went 2-10 in the regular season, including 0-8 against SEC opponents. With Virginia Tech returning the majority of their production on offense and defense, the Hokies don’t 100% need to win by 40 points like some of the CFB powerhouses in week one sometimes do, but Brent Pry and Co. need to display that they aren’t messing around this year.
2. Ali Jennings makes his first return to the field since injuring his ankle in week two of last year’s matchup vs. Purdue.
Transferring from ODU after back-to-back 900+ yard seasons, Jennings was set to have a huge year for the Hokies in the 2023 season. Unfortunately, after his 72-yard and two touchdown performance in week one for the Hokies, he went down with an injury the next week and would miss the remainder of the season, leaving the WR1 duties to guys like Jaylin Lane and Da’Quan Felton.
Despite the misfortune of last year, Ali Jennings will be primed and ready for his return against Vanderbilt, and he looks to give VT fans a taste of what they missed from him last season. With Kyron Drones at the helm again for the Hokies, he will enjoy yet another dangerous target on the field in Jennings.
3. New offensive additions to Vanderbilt and their rushing defense?
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The Commandores have a new face on offense in New Mexico State transfer Diego Pavia. Pavia, who had a strong season last year and was the Confenrece USA OPOY, has 39 career passing touchdowns and is also a rushing threat, totaling 13 career rushing touchdowns. They also return leading rusher Sedrick Alexander, who will look to barrel through a tough Hokies defense.
With Vandy’s top three receivers gone as well, new faces are going to have to prove themselves in week one vs. the Hokies.
On the defensive side,
“The Vanderbilt defense has frankly struggled against the run; it has not been pretty. Vanderbilt has the 108th-ranked rush defense, giving up an average of 179 rush yards per game. The Vandy defense has struggled in many ways; it has definitely not just been the run. Vandy ranks 130th in opp. points per game, 132nd in opp. yards per game, and 129th in opp. points per play.”
All in all, every question will be answered in five days when the Hokies and the Commodores face off in Nashville.
Signs that say, “Don’t Fairfax Me” and “Vote No” are appearing in rural parts of Virginia in opposition to gerrymandered maps being voted on in a special election.
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‘Don’t Fairfax Me’: Northern Virginians fight redistricting plan
As the special election that will determine the fate of a plan to redraw Virginia’s congressional districts approaches, the state’s largest jurisdiction has started being referenced as a verb in messaging opposing the initiative.
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Signs that say, “Don’t Fairfax Me” and “Vote No” started appearing in rural parts of Virginia, Cardinal News reported. And on social media, Del. Wren Williams, whose district includes several counties in the southwestern portion of the state, defined “Fairfaxphobia.”
Early voting has been underway for weeks, but on April 21, voters will decide whether to OK a plan that would redraw Virginia’s congressional map. Currently, the state has elected six Democrats and five Republicans across its 11 districts. The proposed map could give Democrats a 10-1 advantage, experts say.
Virginia Democrats argue the step comes in response to President Donald Trump’s push for redistricting in Republican-led states. Republicans have been critical of the effort.
Williams is describing “Fairfaxphobia” as a fear that political power concentrated in Fairfax County will make decisions for the whole state and create policies impacting some communities that they can’t afford.
“We don’t want to be Fairfax County,” Williams told WTOP. “We don’t want skyscrapers. I don’t want to have to go somewhere outside and walk around to find some patches of grass to touch. I am interested in rural life, a little bit easier, a little bit simpler, a little bit more laid back, not as fast paced.”
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“Fairfaxphobia” graphic circulated to represent the fear that political power concentrated in Fairfax County will make decisions for the whole state. (Courtesy of Wren Williams)
As part of the proposed map, Williams said, “at least five districts run up and split up Fairfax County, which will eventually lead to five sitting congressional members from the county of Fairfax, and that’s just not representative of the entirety of the commonwealth.”
Jeannette, a longtime Northern Virginia resident, said people who live in the northern part of the state “are seen as an anomaly, maybe to the rest of Virginia, given our, I think, collective more liberal leaning. And I understand why they’re saying that, but I think we should separate that from the goal of the referendum.”
Dave Lincoln, meanwhile, said Friday he hadn’t heard about the signs in rural parts of the state but, “I guess it’s — we are what we are.”
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell called the campaign disappointing, because “Fairfax County does a lot for the entire state. If it wasn’t for Fairfax, our state would have the economy of Mississippi.”
The “Don’t Fairfax Me” signs say they’re paid for and authorized by a political action committee called “New Vision VA.” Dominion Energy made a $25,000 donation to the PAC, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
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Yves Fischer, who lives in Alexandria, said the messaging and advertising on the redistricting referendum are confusing.
For Tiffany, “I guess they’re saying ‘Don’t Fairfax’ Virginia, because obviously we are a much more educated, classy, professional, employed area, and we, of course, are going to vote ‘yes’ on this.”
In Springfield on Friday afternoon, Ann said she hadn’t seen or heard about the signs, but, “It should be a big ‘no.’ It’s not right. It’s not fair to most Virginians.”
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ABINGDON, Va. (WCYB) — The made in Southwest Virginia artisan and craft market returns April 11, 2026.
The Southwest Virginia Cultural Center in Abingdon will host more than 20 local artists.
Those artisans will offer demonstrations of their work and they’ll also be selling some of their crafts.
“We want to give this opportunity for community members to come out, as the weather is warming up and as spring is rolling around, to meet these makers and take home a little bit of Southwest Virginia,” Ryan Vaughan with the Friends of Southwest Virginia said.
A new West Virginia law aims to boost the state’s coal and natural gas sectors while more than tripling its electricity generation capacity to 50 gigawatts by 2050.
The measure, signed Thursday by Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey, is designed to turn West Virginia into an energy hub for the data center industry. By sending more electricity to the regional grid and leveraging his state’s relatively lax regulations, Morrisey and his allies are looking to lure data centers to the state, as well as power those beyond its borders.
“We know there’s virtually unlimited need for energy in our country,” Morrisey said at a bill signing of H.B. 5381. “PJM and our grid operators, they’re starving for states to step up and take the lead. And that’s what West Virginia is doing.”
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The new law calls for the state’s Office of Energy to produce rolling five-year plans to keep the state’s existing coal-fired power plants operating through 2050, while also developing new “baseload” energy powered by gas, nuclear, geothermal and hydrogen.
