It was, as they say in the commonwealth, a great day to be a Hokie on Saturday --- especially for those in the northern part of the state that aren't all that interested in regular treks down I-81.

That's why Byrd Stadium was mostly packed at the start, and why there were actually fans still left at the end of the 36-9 rout of Maryland. D.C.-area Virginia Tech fans love it when the Hokies pay a local visit.

It was that was in 2005 and 2009, when Tech made the trip to College Park. And while the Hokies won't administer a beatdown at Byrd again until 2014, they will be back in the area a couple more times.

One is a 2012 date with Cincinnati at FedEx Field, a game announced this morning. The Hokies will also play Boise State at FedEx next season.

It also adds another date to FedEx Field's growing college football slate. That's at least four games in the next three season, all featuring teams that have some geographic proximity to the reeling outfit just a few miles up the Beltway:

2010: Boise State-Virginia Tech, Indiana-Penn State
2011: Army-Navy
2012: Cincinnati-Virginia Tech

The Official Dot-Com Diva writes that this is actually a "home" game for Cincinnati, in much the same way her alma mater will play Penn State much, much closer to State College than Bloomington.

That just makes it an even bigger win for the Hokies, who get to turn a road game into a de facto home game, given the concentration of Hokies fans in the area who just a few days ago demonstrated their ability to make themselves comfortable far away from Lane Stadium.

--- Patrick Stevens

• 
• Comment