COVID-19 Fallout Sweeps College Football Powerhouses To Define Their Season, 5 Years Later

In 2020, it felt as if the world stopped at once. As COVID-19 spread worldwide, lockdowns, restrictions, and social distancing reshaped daily life, and college football was no exception. Conferences scrapped non-conference matchups to shorten schedules and adapt to the uncertainty of the pandemic. For instance, Penn State in 2020 played just 9 conference games, with games happening in empty stadiums. Another casualty of these restrictions and conditions was the Virginia Tech game arrangement that got canceled against Penn State. But now, 5 years since then, the effects of that 2020 season are visible on both teams’ schedules.

Penn State and Virginia Tech finalized a contract arrangement in 2013 that would see both teams play a home-and-home series in 2020 and 2025. However, due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the September 12 showdown between the Hokies and Nittany Lions at Lane Stadium was canceled, removing a marquee game from VT’s schedule in 2020. However, the arrangement was still in place (theoretically), and it was expected that Virginia Tech could come to Penn State in Week 2. But now, the matchup isn’t on the cards.

“Is COVID-19 still affecting College Football? Penn State was supposed to play Virginia Tech this weekend. Penn State’s trip to Blacksburg was canceled in 2020 due to COVID, so VT canceled the game at Penn State in 2025. PSU had to fill the voided spot with FIU,” wrote Landon Tengwall, a former Penn State OL on X. The post has thus created a renewed discussion around why Virginia Tech canceled the game, even though Penn State was expecting to play the Hokies for quite some time.

Notably, the cancellation was always on the cards. Since Virginia Tech AD Whit Babcock mentioned clearly in 2020 that the Hokies won’t be going to Penn State, 5 years later. “I gotta make sure everything’s signed and all of that, but I do not believe we will return the game to Penn State since they didn’t come here.” Despite the statement, Penn State had kept the game on its prospective non-conference schedule until April 2021, when Penn State released the 2025 schedule games. But within days, Penn State also made a major decision.

While conferences like the Big 10 and the SEC canceled all their non-conference games, the ACC was still playing conference games in 2020. Moreover, ACC also increased its conference slate to 10 and allowed teams to play a single non-conference game. This affected Virginia Tech’s schedule in 2020, and the Hokies, later, due to the disruptions, played Liberty after the new schedule ruling came from the ACC. As for Penn State, they are facing a much weaker opponent now in place of Virginia Tech.

Penn State will play Florida International on the 6th in their week 2 game, a Conference USA opponent. While Virginia Tech is facing the SEC’s Vanderbilt, a relatively stronger team led by Diego Pavia. While the 2020 Penn State snub might be water under the bridge now, and 5 years since, it may not have much bigger bearing on both teams’ schedules. Still, it goes on to show how the COVID-19 pandemic has wider implications on college football 5 years hence. That said, 2020 was not the first time the Hokies had faced a snub.

Is Virginia Tech a victim of high-profile game cancelations?

The Hokies, in recent years after the exit of Frank Beamer, have found it hard to replicate what they did in the 2000s. The team has regressed into losing and lackluster seasons, with the most notable seasons coming in 2017 when they finished with 9 wins, and 2016, ending with 10 wins. That may have been the reason teams like Michigan and even Wisconsin have snubbed Virginia Tech from their schedules.

“In 2018, Michigan backed out of a series that was set to be played in 2020 and ’21. And the Wisconsin series has been delayed so many times over decades now that it has become a running joke, now set for (fingers crossed) 2031 and ’32,” reported NY Times’ Andy Bitter back in 2020. As for Virginia Tech’s contractual obligations, the contract already had some room for creativity.

“In unforeseen catastrophes and disasters beyond the control of either party … neither party shall be responsible to the other for any loss or damage,” read both teams’ agreements’ clause 21. So, either Virginia Tech or Penn State has immunity from the after-effects of Penn State’s snub in 2020 and later, Virginia Tech is going to do the same in 2025.