ATLANTA – The Virginia Tech football team fell to 13th-ranked South Carolina 24-11 in the Aflac Kickoff at Mercedes-Benz Stadium Saturday afternoon in the first game of the 2025 season. It was the second consecutive season Tech battled a tough SEC opponent and fell in the opening weekend.
South Carolina opened the scoring with the first possession of the game on a 15-yard rush from dynamic quarterback LaNorris Sellers, giving the Gamecocks a lead they would never relinquish.
Tech would record the next two scores of the game, totaling five points with a safety in the first quarter coming from an Emmett Laws sack. Then redshirt junior placekicker John Love hit the first of three field goals on the day, connecting from 29 yards.
Love would make history as time expired in the first half, as he made a 56-yarder, the third-longest field goal in program history. He also owns the top two spots in the Virginia Tech record books.
Trailing by two in the second half, the Hokies tried mounting an attack with Kyron Drones finding success throwing the ball downfield, connecting with receivers Ayden Green, Donavan Greene and Isaiah Spencer for strikes of 20 or more yards.
Despite having more possession and holding a slight edge in total yards, the Hokies never found the end zone Saturday.
The Gamecocks pulled away with a Vicari Swain’s 80-yard punt return in the fourth quarter and followed that up with a 64-yard pass from Sellers to Nyck Harbor.
The Hokies play host to Vanderbilt on Sept. 6 at Lane Stadium with kickoff slated for 7:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network.
