Virginia Tech’s perfect start is about to get another test, and the first injury snapshot is already in. The ACC released its initial player availability report ahead of the Hokies’ matchup with Pitt, and Virginia Tech shows up with 13 players listed for the second straight week.
That group breaks down into two out, nine questionable and two probable. Five of the names on the report are wide receivers, with five offensive linemen also included. The rest of the list features one running back, one corner and one defensive lineman.
Under the ACC’s system, players not listed are considered available. The report also uses probable, questionable, doubtful and out designations, with game-time decision reserved for the final update on game day.
Virginia Tech had three offensive linemen on last week’s initial report, but Cunningham was added later after getting hurt in Wednesday’s practice. He did not play against Boston College.
The Hokies enter Friday night at 4-0 for the first time since 2017, and they’ve done it with a string of convincing results: VMI, 73-3; Old Dominion, 44-21; Maryland, 35-26; and Boston College, 21-14. Across those four games, Virginia Tech has piled up a 173-64 scoring edge.
A few of those wins carry some extra weight. The 70-point rout of VMI was Virginia Tech’s biggest margin of victory since the 1922 season against Catholic.
The win over Old Dominion came nearly a calendar year after a 45-26 loss to the Monarchs in 2025, a game that arrived a day before head coach Brent Pry was canned. And the 35-26 victory over Maryland snapped a 15-game losing streak against Power Four non-conference opponents, with the last one before that coming against West Virginia in 2017.
Last weekend’s Boston College game was a different kind of finish. Virginia Tech was down 14-6 in the final quarter before sophomore running back Jeffrey Overton Jr. took over and fueled a 15-point comeback. He finished with a career-high 209 rushing yards, including 140 in the fourth quarter.
The ACC will update the report two more times on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by a game-day release two hours before kickoff. Virginia Tech and Pitt are set for Friday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
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Grunkemeyer Sees One Clear Issue Even After Virginia Techs Gritty Win
Virginia Techs trip to Boston College came with all the discomfort a late-season road game can throw at a team, with rain and wind making everything feel a little harder than it should. Even after the Hokies got back to campus, quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer was still dealing with the aftereffects of the weather, saying some of the things in his bag had not dried by the time the team returned. It was the kind of night that tested more than just execution.
The game itself also served as another reminder of how much grit Virginia Tech had to bring to keep moving through tough conditions. Weather like that tends to strip a game down to its essentials, and the Hokies had to lean on resilience just to get through it. Grunkemeyers postgame comment captured the broader feel of the trip, with one practical problem standing out even after the bigger football questions had been settled. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech Faces Its First Real ACC Test Against Pitt
Virginia Techs unbeaten start gets a different kind of test this week, one that should tell the Hokies a lot more about where they really stand in the ACC race. Pitt arrives just as hot, with both teams sitting at 4-0 and 1-0 in league play, and the matchup brings together one of the conferences most productive offenses and one of its stingiest defenses. For Virginia Tech, the usual headliners are in the spotlight again, with Raheem Blackshear, Ethan Grunkemeyer and Caleb Harris each expected to have a major hand in how this one unfolds.
The contrast makes this more than just another early-season game. Virginia Tech has been piling up points at a 43.3-per-game clip, while Pitt has kept opponents in check at just 8.5 points per game, so something has to give when the two teams finally meet. For the Hokies, it is the first real chance to see whether their fast start can travel against a defense built to make life uncomfortable, and the result should say plenty about how sustainable this opening run really is. [Read more 🡒]