Shortly after last year's breakthrough 11-1 campaign, Virginia Tech became committed to getting a spot in one of the pre-Labor Day weekend games. They believed that they had to strike while the iron was hot, while human-highlight film quarterback Michael Vick was still in Blacksburg.

An early-season game would offer a chance to host ESPN's GameDay crew for the third time in their last eight ball games. It would allow Tech an early chance to woo recruits, such as the nation's current top high school senior-to-be running back Kevin Jones of Cardinal O'Hara (Pa.) High School, who lists the Hokies and Penn State as his two finalists and who recruiting expert Bobby Burton has compared to a "young Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson." It was a chance to build on last year's success. And a chance to put $600,000 in their athletic coffers.

There was one small problem. No one wanted to play Virginia Tech. Why?

	Michael Vick passed for 1,840 yards and 12 TDs and ran for 585 yards and 8 TDs last season.

"Michael Vick is the best quarterback in America," says Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni. "Nobody has an answer for him."

Actually, plenty of schools had an answer for Virginia Tech. It was "thanks, but no thanks." The first invite came from the organizers of the Kickoff Classic, who wanted to match a pair of preseason top-10 teams in Michigan and Virginia Tech. Michigan turned down the invitation, instead electing to open with much easier touches Bowling Green and Rice at home. Today, that looks like a wise choice, given the top-to-bottom strength of the Big Ten and this week's freak foot injury to Michigan's starting quarterback Drew Henson.

With no hopes of playing in the Kickoff Classic, the folks at the BCA Bowl approached Virginia Tech about hosting their annual game. No problem, but it took a while for them to get a dance partner. Schools like Washington and North Carolina were mentioned as possible foes, because of the intriguing quarterback matchups between Vick and the Huskies' Marques Tuiasosopo or Vick vs. former high school rival Ronald Curry.

Neither game ever materialized, leaving Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer in an opening game matchup against Georgia Tech that he doesn't like for a number of reasons.

Beamer's best friend in the coaching business is Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen. Both were assistants together on Bobby Ross' staff at the Citadel back in the mid-1970s. Beamer's son, Shane, is now a graduate assistant coach on the Georgia Tech staff, one year removed from handling the long-snapping duties for his father. Through the years and his tight relationships with Ross and Friedgen, Frank Beamer has gotten to know Georgia Tech head coach George O'Leary well -- so well that the two spent the Fourth of July together.

"I don't like playing against friends, so this is not an easy game for me with my close ties with Ralph and Frank," Beamer said. "Ralph and I grew up together in the coaching business. And over the years George (O'Leary) and I have become friends. We have lake houses in the same neighborhood in Georgia and really get along. Plus, my son is now working there. It's not easy."

It won't be easy on Shane Beamer either. For the younger Beamer, the real test will come when he runs onto the field with the Jackets' staff and sees his father and his former teammates across the way.

"When we get there Saturday, I think the team is going to go to the stadium for a 30-minute walk-through," Shane Beamer said. "I'm going to try and sneak upstairs and go see Dad so it won't be so awkward later. But basically the first time I'll see everybody else is on the field Sunday night. I've given it a lot of thought. I'm going to go tell everybody hello, but it'll be strange."

So why did O'Leary take the game when with Virginia when others passed? "It's not a democracy at Georgia Tech," said O'Leary. "I wanted to play this game, so we're playing it. It's as simple as that.

"It's on national TV. It's a chance to play against a great program and a great quarterback in Michael Vick. I thought we needed a challenging game like this to start the season. We didn't want to go into the conference season with an untested quarterback. We didn't want to go into the Florida State game on September 9 with just one game under our belt. We needed a test to get us ready for league play and this will be a test. A big test."

It's a late-August test that nobody else apparently wanted.

Bill Doherty covers Big East football for ESPN.com.