Ohio Stadium, shown in 2012, boasts a seating capacity of nearly 105,000 after seats were added during the offseason. The crowd for Saturday’s game is expectd to be the largest a Virginia Tech team has played before. (Jamie Sabau/GETTY IMAGES)

Virginia Tech defensive tackle Corey Marshall smiled before the question had been asked. He and his teammates scoffed at inquiries about Ohio State throughout the preseason, insisting in their best coachspeak that all of the program’s attention had been on the season opener against William and Mary.

But following a 34-9 victory over the Tribe last Saturday, Marshall’s tune had changed from the company line.

“Now that it’s here,” he said, “I can tell you it was in the back of our head the whole time. We’re ready to fight for this one. We’re ready to claw for this one.”

After two disappointing seasons in a row, Virginia Tech gets a chance to prove to the country the program is on the upswing when it faces No. 8 Ohio State for the first time Saturday night. A sellout crowd of more than 104,000 is expected at Ohio Stadium and the ramifications of the result could extend far beyond the field.

[Related story: Hokies join college football’s movement toward up-tempo offense.]

One Ohio State beat writer wrote this week that the Buckeyes will “welcome one of the deepest visitors lists for any game in recent memory,” and it will include several of Virginia Tech’s top recruiting targets, including the nation’s No. 1 prospect, Virginia Beach defensive end Josh Sweat.

“All eyes are on you and you have to take advantage of the moment because there’s little kids watching this game and they’re the next wave of Tech football players,” Marshall said. “If you can sway them now, it’ll be big in the recruiting process and further on down the line for this program.”

For that to happen, though, Virginia Tech would need to become the first unranked nonconference foe to knock off the Buckeyes in Columbus since 1982. The Hokies’ offense spent this week practicing with noise that could head all over campus blasting from Lane Stadium’s loudspeakers.

“You’ve got to get in the groove of not being able to hear,” said offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler, who last coached at Ohio Stadium as a member of Michigan’s staff in November 2006, when the No. 2 Wolverines lost to No. 1 Ohio State, 42-39. “It’s a place that if you’re not careful, it feels like you’re on an island by yourself just because you can’t communicate.”

Virginia Tech’s defense, meanwhile, has devised a slightly altered scheme to combat Meyer’s unique spread offense. Defensive coordinator Bud Foster compared it to Georgia Tech’s option attack in that the Buckeyes want to “pound you, but also they’re going to try to spread you and stretch you horizontally . . . in the run game and in the pass game.”

Foster, though, wasn’t about to reveal any specifics about his game plan, particularly since Meyer “always has a new wrinkle,” secondary coach Torrian Gray said.

“It’s a little different than what they’re accustomed to seeing on film,” Marshall said of this week’s defense. “I don’t think there will too much to give away on film as far as our tendencies and things they can key on.”

Nobody, though, was debating how much perception could change based off just one game.

“If we can go do something special, then yeah, I think that’ll change people’s idea of Virginia Tech, especially this team,” Foster said.

Here are three more story lines to keep an eye on:

Bright lights

The programs will face off for the first time in football with a nationally televised prime-time matchup at Ohio Stadium, which upped its seating capacity to nearly 105,000 this offseason. It will be the largest crowd the Hokies have ever played in front of, and Buckeyes Coach Urban Meyer expects it will include LeBron James and the nation’s No. 1 recruit, Virginia Beach defensive end Josh Sweat. Virginia Tech hasn’t beaten a top 10 team on the road since Miami in 2004. The Buckeyes haven’t lost to an unranked nonconference foe at home since 1982.

Foster’s challenge

Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster said his plans didn’t change when Ohio State star Braxton Miller suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in practice last month, but his first encounter with Urban Meyer’s spread offense certainly got easier now that the Buckeyes have redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett at quarterback. Virginia Tech’s coaches have called Barrett “Braxton-like,” but they’re more focused on stopping a ground game that showcases Ohio State’s array of speedy playmakers. Among power conference programs, only Auburn rushed for more yards per game than the Buckeyes last season.

Passing the test

Facing what Hokies offensive line coach Stacy Searels called “as good a D-line as I’ve seen in a long time,” Virginia Tech might need to do damage through the air against Ohio State. New quarterback Michael Brewer threw for 251 yards and completed passes to nine receivers in his first career start last week. The Buckeyes, meanwhile, finished last season ranked No. 112 in the country in passing defense and didn’t get much of a test when Navy’s option offense attempted four passes in last week’s season opener.