Virginia Tech at 6-2 under James Franklin, with a playoff case riding on November

One year after a 3-9 finish, Virginia Tech has won six of eight games in James Franklin's first season. After the win at Clemson, the Hokies are a real factor in the ACC race, and their November schedule will decide whether that turns into a College Football Playoff argument.

Sportsnaut argues that Penn State's decision to fire Franklin last fall looks worse every week. Matt Campbell replaced him in State College, and that program has not taken off. Franklin came to Blacksburg with a 134-62 career record, eight bowl wins and two playoff victories, and he rebuilt the Hokies quickly through the transfer portal. The key addition was quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, who followed him from Penn State and has thrown for more than 2,100 yards and 17 touchdowns. The program has a lot to make up for. Virginia Tech has not won the ACC since 2010, and its only bowl win in recent years was the 2023 Military Bowl.

The Clemson game showed the Hokies can win without their offense at its best. Virginia Tech Hokies On SI reported that the 20-16 win was the program's first over Clemson since 2007, ending a seven-game losing streak in the series. It also made Virginia Tech bowl-eligible. The offense came into the game averaging 449.7 yards and was held to a season-low 234. Grunkemeyer was sacked six times, and the running game gained 70 yards on 37 carries. The defense kept the Hokies in it, with 13 tackles for loss and four sacks, and Clemson converted only 3 of 14 third downs. Trailing 16-13 at the Clemson 5, Franklin passed on the tying field goal. "It did enter my mind to kick the field goal," he said, according to On SI. Grunkemeyer then threw a 5-yard touchdown to tight end Luke Reynolds with 1:44 left. Reynolds finished with seven catches and scored both Virginia Tech touchdowns.

The pass protection is the main concern. The same outlet's postgame review noted that the Clemson game was the third straight in which the line allowed at least three sacks, with five against Georgia Tech and three against Cal. Injuries on the line have contributed.

What it means for SMU

After a bye this weekend, the Hokies play at No. 19 SMU on Friday, November 6, on ESPN. Stanford comes to Blacksburg after that, then Virginia Tech travels to top-ranked Miami and closes the regular season against Virginia.

The ESPN standings show the problem. Miami is 5-0 in the league, SMU and Wake Forest are both 4-1, and Virginia Tech is 3-2. The two conference losses, 35-33 to Pittsburgh and 25-20 at Cal, came by a combined seven points. Even so, they leave the Hokies behind the teams they are chasing. A win in Dallas would pull them level with SMU in the loss column and give them the head-to-head result.

Overall, the Hokies are scoring 35.0 points per game and allowing 20.5. A 73-3 win over VMI inflates those numbers. In five ACC games, the scoring margin falls to 25.6 to 22.8, which is closer to how competitive their league games have been. Virginia Tech has gone 3-0 in true road games outside the Cal loss, winning at Maryland, Boston College and Clemson. If the line protects Grunkemeyer better against SMU, the Hokies will still control part of their ACC path when they get to Miami.