Week 1: Virginia Tech at East Carolina

The conventional thinking on this Virginia Tech team is that it might be vulnerable early in the season. After all, 30 of the 73 Hokies who will dress for the opener never have played a snap of college football.

To his credit, Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer is good-natured about his team’s inexperience. He joked about how his nervous players might throw up before kickoff, and he even tossed out the notion that he might be the one to toss his cookies.

Even if Beamer’s stomach isn’t settled, at least his quarterback situation is. The coach has decided to go with senior Sean Glennon as his starter and senior Cory Holt as the backup. That means sophomore Tyrod Taylor, who split time with Glennon last season and was pushing Glennon for the starting job in preseason camp, will redshirt because, as Beamer said, “this is what we think is in our best interest for the long term.”

East Carolina has short-term goals in mind — namely beating the Hokies. ECU coach Skip Holtz, who has two capable quarterbacks of his own in senior Patrick Pinkney and junior Rob Kass, has decided to go with Pinkney as his starter.

The Pirates, who return 15 starters from a team that went 8-5 and knocked off Boise State 41-38 in the Hawaii Bowl last season, have been picked to finish second in the East Division of Conference USA. Virginia Tech, meanwhile, enters 2008 coming off an 11-3 season and is the favorite to win its third ACC Coastal Division title in the last four years.

Notes/Things to Watch:

Virginia Tech has posted six consecutive victories over East Carolina, including a 17-7 win in Blacksburg in last season’s opener.

The Hokies had four standout senior wide receivers last season in Eddie Royal, Josh Morgan, Justin Harper and Josh Hyman, but they have virtually no experience at that position this season. Redshirt freshman Danny Coale is expected to start at split end, and true freshman Dyrell Roberts is expected to start at flanker.

East Carolina had tough luck with injuries during training camp. The Pirates enter this game having lost starting tailback Dominique Lindsay and starting defensive tackle Brandon Setzer for the season with knee injuries. J.R. Rogers, a speedy transfer who was supposed to complement Lindsay at tailback, is doubtful for the game because of an ankle injury.

The last time the Pirates defeated a team ranked as high as Virginia Tech (No. 17) was Sept. 25, 1999, when they beat No. 9 Miami 27-23.

Key Player (Hokies) — Sean Glennon, QB

Glennon wants to prove that Beamer made the right decision by naming him the starting quarterback and redshirting Taylor. Glennon will carry a heavy load in this first game because his wide receivers and running backs are inexperienced, and he must be a calming influence while avoiding big mistakes.

Key Player (Pirates) — Brandon Simmons, RB

With Lindsay and Rogers hurt, ECU likely will depend on Simmons to get its ground game going. The Hokies traditionally are tough against the run, but Simmons must find a way to give the Pirates some balance to keep pressure off Pinkney.

Virginia Tech by 4