West Virginia fans can relish in bitter rival's upset loss in Week 1

While West Virginia fans are heartbroken on Saturday night suffering a defeat at the hands of rival Penn State in their season opener, they can take solace in knowing that a bitter rival of the Mountaineers also dropped a game on Saturday. And unlike WVU, this program wasn’t favored to lose in Week 1.

The Virginia Tech Hokies, who have a history battling for the Black Diamond Trophy with WVU in a fierce Appalachian feud, have been projected by some media members as a potential dark horse ACC Championship contender, with former Mountaineer kicker and College Gameday analyst Pat McAfee listing them as a playoff pick.

The Hokies traveled to a perennial SEC bottom-dweller in Vanderbilt, with few having any faith in the Commodores keeping up with Tech.

Instead, Virginia Tech was greeted to an electric environment as the student section filled up to the point students were being turned away. The Hokies then fell behind early and despite a comeback attempt, succumbed to Vandy in a 34-27 overtime loss.

While Penn State is a hard loss to stomach for WVU fans, it helps when Mountaineer fans get to watch a bitter rival take an unexpected loss as well. And if both teams get back on track in conference play, McAfee’s prediction for both the end the season as conference champions and amongst the top four seeds come playoff season is still in play.