Virginia Tech's Franklin uses bye week to push freshmen out of 'redshirt mode' before SMU

James Franklin used the Hokies' open week to send a message to his freshmen. Four or five first-year players who are not on the field yet could be helping Virginia Tech right now, he said, and some of them are not acting like it.

Franklin spoke after Tuesday's practice, as reported by Virginia Tech Hokies On SI. He said some of the young players had slipped into what he called "redshirt mode" and were already looking ahead to spring ball instead of getting ready to be called on this fall. Wide receiver Davion Brown and, more recently, guard Benjamin Eziuka are the freshmen who have earned real roles through eight games. Franklin's point was that others could follow if they handled meetings, the weight room and practice reps better.

The Hokies earned the time off. Saturday's 20-16 win at Clemson made them bowl eligible at 6-2 in Franklin's first season, WSLS reported, and it was the program's first win over the Tigers since 2007. Franklin called the group resilient but admitted the play has not always been pretty. He tied the losses to Pittsburgh and California to mistakes, not a lack of effort. The Pitt game included a season-high four turnovers, two of them interceptions by quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer.

The bye-week schedule looks more like training camp. Tuesday's practice ran 16 periods instead of the usual 21. Meetings ran a little longer, and the staff spent more time on first-team-against-first-team work than on scout-team snaps. Some starters had their reps cut back, and third-stringers got work they rarely see during the season. Franklin said those extra snaps also matter in the backup quarterback race, which he described as still close among three players. Tech practiced Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday and has the rest of the week off. The team returns Saturday, then takes Sunday off before the work week ahead of the Friday kickoff.

What it means for the trip to SMU

The extra days should help. Virginia Tech plays next on Friday, Nov. 6, at No. 19 SMU on ESPN. That is the first of four remaining games, with Stanford and a trip to Miami still to come. The Hokies have won two straight since the back-to-back losses to Pitt (35-33) and Cal (25-20). Both wins were one-score games: 34-24 over Georgia Tech and the 20-16 result at Clemson.

SMU is 6-1 and scoring freely. The Mustangs beat California 59-20 last time out after earlier wins over Virginia and Boston College. Their only loss came at Louisville, 41-31. Before they host Tech, they play at Syracuse on Saturday.

The board for SMU at Syracuse has the Mustangs favored at 11 venues. Novig lists SMU at -326 on the moneyline and Syracuse at +308. The best Syracuse price anywhere is +310 at BetRivers, so the venues are only two points apart on the underdog. Novig sets the spread at SMU -10.5 (+108). FanDuel has the best price on SMU, -9.5 at -114. Novig's total is 58.5. The sportsbooks' hold on the moneyline runs from 4.1% to 6.5%.

For Virginia Tech, how SMU looks at Syracuse is something to watch for a week. The more important work is the depth Franklin is trying to build now, before late-season injuries force him to use it.