Virginia Tech and Maryland both arrive at 2-0, but the records only tell part of the story. The Hokies have flashed dominance in one phase and inconsistency in another. The Terrapins have been far more complete through two games, even if neither team has been truly tested yet.
That makes Sept. 19 at SECU Stadium an intriguing measuring-stick game, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. on FOX or FS1. It will be the first regular-season meeting between the schools since 2013, and it comes with a few major questions hanging over it.
One of the biggest centers on the sideline matchup. James Franklin knows Maryland well from his time there, first as a wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator from 2000-04, then as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator from 2008-10. The Terrapins even named him head coach in waiting to Ralph Friedgen in February 2009, but a change in athletic director muddied the plan and Franklin left for Vanderbilt before it could happen.
Franklin also overlapped with Maryland head coach Mike Locksley on the same staff from 2000 to 2002. Since then, Franklin has owned the series in his own coaching career, going 9-2 against Maryland at Penn State, with six of those wins coming by 30 points or more. Locksley, hired in 2019, has one win in six games against Franklin.
Their most recent meeting ended with plenty of heat. After then-Penn State wide receiver Tyseer Denmark - now at Virginia Tech - caught a touchdown pass as time expired in a 44-7 blowout, the game spilled into a heated postgame confrontation.
Another storyline is whether Virginia Tech’s run game can hold up when the defense knows what’s coming. The Hokies shredded VMI with Jeffrey Overton Jr. and Marcellous Hawkins Jr. combining for 21 touches, 173 yards and five touchdowns.
Overton opened the season with a 50-yard touchdown on his first carry and finished with 104 yards on nine attempts and two scores. Hawkins added 69 yards on 12 carries and three trips to the end zone.
Then Old Dominion slammed the door. The pair totaled 25 carries for just 90 yards in that game.
Overton managed 47 yards on 14 carries, never going longer than eight on a single run, while Hawkins had 43 yards on 11 carries, with 20 of them coming on one first-quarter touchdown. Virginia Tech still ran it 42 times, but the Hokies gained only 89 yards on the ground in a 2.1-yard average against a defense that had allowed 126 rushing yards to Norfolk State the week before.
Old Dominion clearly sold out to stop the run and forced Ethan Grunkemeyer to answer. Maryland may not need to commit that way.
The Terrapins have been stingy against the run, allowing 77 rushing yards on 62 carries and no rushing touchdowns, which is a sharp turnaround from a defense that gave up 175.6 rushing yards per game last season. They also enter the game with some personnel concerns, as center Kyle Altuner missed Saturday with an injury and right guard Montavious Cunningham is facing a first-half suspension after being ejected for throwing a punch against Old Dominion.
Then there’s the pressure battle, where Virginia Tech has been downright ferocious. No team in the country has more sacks or tackles for loss than the Hokies, who have piled up 12 sacks and 32 tackles for loss in two games.
Eighteen of those tackles for loss came in the opener against VMI, the most in a Virginia Tech game since at least 1987. Against Old Dominion, the Hokies got to Quinn Henicle seven times and forced four fumbles.
That front will be tested by Maryland quarterback Washington, who has looked sharp through two games. The sophomore has completed 53 of 72 passes for 533 yards and three touchdowns.
At UConn, he went 34 of 41 for 347 yards and strung together 18 straight completions in the second half. Maryland allowed only one sack in that game.
Washington has also built quick chemistry with a pair of transfer receivers. Old Dominion transfer Na'eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding has 14 catches for 187 yards, and Chris Durr Jr. has 16 catches for 147 yards.
In Other News...
Virginia Tech Brings Back A Familiar ACC Rival In 2027
The ACCs 2027 football schedule release gave Virginia Tech a fresh look at the road ahead, and it comes with a familiar twist. After years of conference realignment and shifting divisions, the Hokies will once again see former Coastal Division rivals on the slate, a reminder of how much the leagues old neighborhood still shapes the new setup.
Virginia Techs conference lineup, along with its nonconference dates, fits the ACCs broader scheduling principles, including protected rivalries and Power Four nonconference games. The leagues athletic directors approved the 2027 slate during recent meetings, but more sweeping scheduling conversations remain on hold for now as the ACC waits for clarity on College Football Playoff expansion. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech Is 2-0 But One Doubt Still Follows The Hokies
The ACC spent Week 2 looking much deeper than a one-team league, and Virginia Tech was right in the middle of that conversation after moving to 2-0. The league posted a 12-1 mark for the week and even went 4-1 against other Power conferences, which only sharpened the focus on where the Hokies stand as the schedule gets tougher and the weekly rankings start to settle.
Virginia Tech has done enough early to keep itself in the mix, but the real question hanging over Blacksburg is whether the Hokies have already answered their biggest concern or simply delayed it. With Boston College, Syracuse, Georgia Tech and the rest of the ACC also making noise, this is the point where early wins start to matter less than how a team handles the next layer of pressure. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech's Fast Start Now Faces Its First Real Test
Virginia Tech has spent the first two weeks looking like a team that can dictate games on both sides of the ball, with a defense that has piled up tackles for loss and sacks at a national-best pace while helping push the Hokies to a 2-0 start. Grant Wells has given the offense enough stability, Jalen Williams has been part of the pressure that has set the tone up front, and Dalton Keene has been one of the more reliable options as the Hokies settle in around him.
Maryland now brings a different kind of challenge, and it arrives at a good time for a team trying to find out how real this opening burst is. The Hokies have reason to trust their special teams and the line play in front of Wells, but this is the sort of nonconference game that tends to show where the cracks are, and Virginia Tech is about to learn whether its fast start can hold up when the opponent forces a longer, tougher night. [Read more 🡒]