Michael Vick and his Norfolk State Spartans are set to continue their rivalry with Virginia State this season, as the team is scheduled to play on Saturday, September 6th per a report by FBSchedules. The game will take place at William “Dick” Price Stadium on Norfolk State University's campus, marking Vick's first home game as head coach.

Virginia State is a Division II power in the CIAA, even leading the all-time series between the two teams 31-23-2. The Trojans finished the 2024 season with a 7-4 record and have been a ubiquitous name in the championship conversation in the CIAA over the past few seasons under the direction of head coach Dr. Henry Frazier III.

Virginia State won't be an easy game for Vick, as Norfolk State lost to the Trojans in epic fashion in the 2023 season. In the game, Virginia State ran the ball to burn the clock, forcing Norfolk to use two timeouts. The Spartans held them and forced a 4th down near their endzone with 6 seconds left. Virginia State quarterback Jordan Davis had the option to either run out the clock or risk the worst-case scenario of a safety, resulting in a 27-26 score and giving Norfolk a chance to capitalize on the punt return with no time on the clock to run a set play or kick a field goal. Instead, Davis ran out of the endzone to avoid the safety but failed to convert, giving Norfolk the ball with 1 second left and in field goal range.

The miscue allowed Norfolk State one last chance to win the game on a 15-yard field goal attempt. However, Norfolk State fumbled the snap on the field goal, Virginia State's Dante Clark recovered the ball and returned it 77 yards for a touchdown to put the Trojans up 33-24 and officially secure the upset win.

Then-head coach of Norfolk State Dawson Odoms even apologized for the egregious loss.

“I want to apologize to our fans. We have to do a better job [of] preparing our team. You make the biggest adjustments from Week 1 to Week 2 and we have to be ready to go because we have another game next week.”

The Virginia State game will be the first of two traditional rivalry games for Norfolk State. The Spartans are set to take on Hampton on October 4th before they enter their in-conference MEAC slate.