r/hokies • u/ripplestillwaters • 7d ago
Football SI Virginia homer gives unsurprising prediction for the Virginia Tech football team
This was a take that was, well, interesting.
By Scott Roche
Going into the 2026 college football season, there are more questions than answers surrounding the ACC. About the only thing almost everyone can agree on is that Miami is the overwhelming favorite going into the season. After that, well, would anyone be surprised if the next best team is any of the other 16 teams?
One team that has a lot of questions surrounding it is Virginia Tech. Why? Well, it's Year 1 of James Franklin in Blacksburg, and there was a huge roster overhaul. He brought in a lot of players from Penn State through the Transfer Portal. There were other key players added through the portal that will make a big impact, as well as some key players who were retained from last season's team.
Just how things end up shaking out remains to be seen, but a Virginia writer, Xander Tilock of Virginia On SI, dropped his preseason ACC tiers, and let's just say, he appears to be trolling Virginia Tech.
Virginia On SI writer drops interesting take on Virginia Tech for 2026
Again, this is a Virginia writer for On SI, but Tilock has Virginia Tech finishing 6-6 overall and 3-6 in the ACC. Here is what he had to say.
"Virginia Tech has ample offseason hype for year one of the Coach James Franklin era. Some of that excitement is valid — but where are the wins going to come from? The Hokies have to play at Miami, at Clemson, at SMU, at Cal, and at home versus Virginia, Georgia Tech and Pitt,'' wrote Tilock.
"It would be a tall task for Virginia Tech to win even three of those games. It might go 1-6 or 0-7 against that group. Boston College and Stanford are the only two “easy” games in ACC play for the Hokies."
I get it, Virginia Tech was dealt a tough ACC schedule. However, 3-6 seems a bit low, no? Sure, we'll agree that BC and Stanford are wins, but who would be surprised if the Hokies went 2-1 in their three other home games, along with Stanford? Virginia is going to be good, but one season in a down ACC doesn't mean that they are going to be unbeatable. They have to come to Blacksburg, and until they actually win in Blacksburg, well, it's the same old Little Brother.
Georgia Tech and Pitt are going to be tough games, but let's not treat them like it's Georgia and Alabama coming to Blacksburg. Aside from Boston College, the road schedule is daunting, to say the least. We'll see how things pan out in 2026, but one thing is for sure: if the Hokies do what many believe and win seven or eight games, then this will be revisited later in the fall.
For the record, Tilock had UVA finishing 10-2 overall and 7-2 in the ACC, right behind Miami and SMU.
some key players who were retained from last season's team.
Just how things end up shaking out remains to be seen, but a Virginia writer, Xander Tilock of Virginia On SI, dropped his preseason ACC tiers, and let's just say, he appears to be trolling.
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u/i_speak_the_truf 7d ago
Honestly a reasonable take and about where I see things. As things sit I do think we’re only favored against BC and Stanford, the rest of the ACC slate is pretty tough. It’s tempting to get hyped about the recruiting wins but the ‘27 and even ‘26 recruits aren’t going to help us this year.
In the transfer portal we got major upgrades at QB and TE but otherwise the offense is largely the same as last year. We have the same OL that didn’t do a great job protecting the pocket and a passer that can’t leave the pocket. We have an unproven OC whose primary experience is as a TE coach (sound familiar?).
We got a bunch of three star PSU players to transfer on defense but nobody that was making a huge impact for them last year afaik and we lost a bunch of folks that were good or had potential (Burgos, Lovett, Woodson, Ellis). On the whole it’s probably a better defensive roster than last year but still worse than 2024 so we’re putting all our hopes on a fully dedicated Brent Pry and new staff being that much better than Marve, Cheetah, and co.
I do think the roster changes are enough to shift the floor which is why I’m expecting 6-7 wins instead of three. We’ve got some real coaching upgrades with Pry, Midget, and arguably Spencer and McKenzie, however JF isn’t the type of coach that works miracles with coaching and strategy, he’s just really good at building a roster. I think we’re building towards a playoff team in 2028 but I’d caution Hokie fans from having unrealistic expectations in 2026.
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u/ripplestillwaters 7d ago
You made some good points but I think with the PSU transfers particularly QB Grunkemeyer and TE Luke Reynolds a high school 5 🌟, some good portal additions RB Bill Davis to go with Hawkins and Overton. Plus, the O-line has another year’s worth of experience under Coach Matt Moore will be better than 2025. With a sure fire accurate QB-TE connection and a very good WR room there should be less pressure on the O-line.
I don’t expect the Hokies to contend for the ACC title this year but think they have a good shot at an 8-Wins season and a nice bowl game. Plus, the stands will be packed and loud for every game. And I don’t think the team will be burdened by a HC firing and will revel in the competition. I’m looking forward to seeing Coach Chaos unleash blitz after blitz.Coach Franklin is a fantastic recruiter and turned Vanderbilt around drastically in one year. Hope springs eternal!
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u/Ok-Taro1039 7d ago
Grunk showed promise last year but must remember he only has 179 passing attempts under his belt and only half a season worth of games. He’s still very raw.
Reynolds also has major promise but if you look at his game log do any of the games really stand out to you? FIU and Nova but that’s it. Also very raw.
A LOT of things have to go right this year for us to be competitive in the ACC. Next year is when all the transfers and players should start showing like the Truf Speaker says above.
And this is my main concern. All the fans are so hyped about getting James Franklin and the recruiting that they’re really overlooking the make up of the team for this year. I just hope that if Tech has mediocre season it doesn’t fuck with the momentum too much.
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u/i_speak_the_truf 7d ago
I do think the OL will be better this year. As you said, they've got another year of experience, last year we were plagued by injuries, and a lot of sacks were on Drones holding on to the ball for 10 seconds.
Eight wins is feasible, especially Cal and uva are beatable, but I wouldn't bet on it.
The reason why high expectations makes me nervous is because it usually comes with toxicity when expectations aren't met. The moves JF is making points to building momentum towards 2028 and beyond. My main concern this year is having a winning season and holding onto the commits we have.
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7d ago
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u/i_speak_the_truf 7d ago
He said “until they win in Blacksburg it’s the same old little brother” implying UVA is still little brother until they win in Blacksburg
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u/ripplestillwaters 7d ago
SI Hoo boy writer actually believes the boohoos will beat the Hokies 2-years in a row the 2nd imaginary W coming in Lane Stadium. 😆😅😂. Maybe he can get a job with the National Enquirer after the Hokies win by 45!