Virginia Tech announced this morning that the Hokies football team will meet the South Carolina Gamecocks in the 2025 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. The game will be played either Sunday, August 31 or Monday, Sept 1, 2025 and will be televised by either ABC or ESPN. An exact date and kickoff time will be finalized at a later date.
For Virginia Tech, the game replaces a road trip to Penn State that was originally scheduled as part of a home-and-home series in 2020 and 2025. Since Penn State did not visit Virginia Tech in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Virginia Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock sought to replace the 2025 road game and is attempting to reschedule the PSU series.
Virginia Tech is 7-11-2 all-time against South Carolina. This will be the first meeting between the two schools since 1991. They met every season from 1986-1991 (Virginia Tech went 0-4-2 in that stretch), but the series was halted after South Carolina joined the SEC and Virginia Tech joined the Big East.
The matchup has the potential to pit Virginia Tech against Shane Beamer, a Virginia Tech graduate and former Hokies football player, and the son of Hokie legend Frank Beamer. Shane Beamer was hired as South Carolina’s head coach back on December 5.
Virginia Tech has played in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game twice before, both times against Alabama, in 2009 and 2013. Alabama won both games, 34-24 in 2009 and 35-10 in 2013. Alabama won the BCS National Championship in 2009 and finished No. 7 in the final Associated Press poll in 2013.
“We’re excited to play in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game against South Carolina to open the 2025 season,” Whit Babcock said in a Virginia Tech press release. “We look forward to showcasing our program in front of a national television audience in one of the nation’s premier sporting venues, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. I’m confident we’ll see a strong contingent of our fan base cheering on the Hokies in their inaugural game in that facility and visiting the College Football Hall of Fame that weekend. We feel very confident about the strength of our scheduling going forward, as well as its appeal to Tech fans across the country.”
“The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game has often become a showcase for the SEC and the ACC to faceoff in a high-profile contest to start the season,” said Bob Somers, Peach Bowl, Inc. chairman. “This matchup looks to continue that tradition and renew an old rivalry between two historic programs.”
“It’s an honor to welcome Virginia Tech back to the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game after 12 years, and we’re looking forward to hosting South Carolina for the first time in the game,” Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO and President Gary Stokan added.
The two teams are also scheduled to meet in 2034 and 2035. We have updated the Future Football Schedules Page on our site.
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Love playing in big games to start a season. Keeps everyone sharp in the off-season.
Crazy thought, if my oldest son goes to VT, he will be a freshman for this game.
And my grandson would be a freshman.
Sounds like the making of some good family road trips
And I will be in an old folks home, eating Pablum. : )
In 4 years? Hope not
Oh – you & the Mrs & Ollie will be there.
I’ll be joining the Old Guard or whatever dumb thing they’ll be calling it then.
For me, The really intriguing thing about this bowl matchup is……the probability is less than 50% Fuente won’t be here 3years from now and Shane has done either a terrible or great job at South Carolina……that it is he who has replaced Fuente on the Hokie Sidelines when this game actually plays out. CoachTorrian Gray could be coaching the Gamecocks then! Watch Fate and Karma go to work.
Over/under Fuente will still be our coach for that game? Same for Shane at SC?
Yep, for the next 3years, this Bet will definitely be interesting to watch.
kinda hard for me to get excited about this….
Why!? Winnable game. I’m liking much better than Bama to open the year. Lol
Why? First time in Mercedes Benz stadium, winnable. Get to visit College football HOF for first time for me.
Sounds great
Interesting. Marques Hagans should have a couple recruiting classes by then as the Hokies head coach! Go Hokies! Beat Beamer!
If he is the coach, will not be buying any tickets, Can’t support an ex-Hoo as my coach, in any sport at VT!!! Didn’ when Stokes was our BB coach and will not for FB.
Atlanta baseball and football teams are never satisfied with their stadiums, it seems to me. They’re always getting new ones and the old ones don’t seem that old.
I will be 81 at the time . . . 🙂
Was trying to figure out where the game was. At the end it says Atlanta.
I thought the MBZ stadium was the Sugar Bowl in NO. Or are there multiple MBZ stadiums?
Good match up. Hopefully it holds true.
The good thing is that absent a pandemic, there is very little chance this does not occur. Made for TV with contractual obligations. It is different than a regular season “commitment.” I put that in quotes because that word has a different meaning in football scheduling… as we well know.
YEs. Multiple. Atl and NO
Yes Mercedes has two stadiums. Nawleans contract to run out soon….I dont think Mercedes will renew…we will see. Come on man…you know CHICKFILA is Atlanta born. Of course the CFA Bowl will be in Atlanta……forever. 😉….we hope.
Ah, you’re getting this game confused with the Popeye’s “Louisiana kitchen!’ Kickoff Classic.
Yes Mercedes Benz stadium is in ATL. The Mercedes Benz Superdome is N.O.
Yes and yes!