Virginia Tech’s path to the ACC title game is there if the Hokies can put enough pieces together - but it’s a narrow one, and it runs through a conference that suddenly looks wide open.
The first thing that has to happen is simple enough: Ethan Grunkemeyer has to play like a difference-maker. Virginia Tech’s hopes start at quarterback, and the Hokies need him to build on the 1,339 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions he put up at Penn State a season ago. If that version of Grunkemeyer shows up, the offense has a chance to be a lot more dangerous than people might expect.
That’s because the skill talent around him is real. Wide receiver Ayden Greene is coming off a 516-yard, three-touchdown season at Virginia Tech in 2025.
Que'Sean Brown brings 846 yards and five touchdowns from his time at Duke in 2025. Tight end Luke Reynolds adds another layer after posting 257 yards at Penn State in 2025, and he arrives with former five-star recruit status.
On paper, that gives the Hokies more firepower than they’ve had in a while.
The issue, as always, is whether the defense can hold up enough to make that offense matter. Virginia Tech looks better equipped to score, but there are still enough questions on the other side of the ball to keep the ceiling from getting too high. And that’s where the bigger ACC picture comes in, because the same kind of uncertainty follows a lot of the league’s contenders.
California has a flashy sophomore quarterback in Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, but can its defense take a jump? Miami added Darian Mensah and Cooper Barkate from Duke, the defending ACC champions, but can the Hurricanes finally close the deal?
Virginia has Beau Pribula at quarterback now, and the question is whether its 2025 run was real or just a one-year spike. Clemson is handing things to former backup Christopher Vizzina.
SMU, meanwhile, has to prove it’s more than just a team hanging around the edge of the picture.
For Virginia Tech, reaching Charlotte means getting its own answers and getting help from elsewhere. The Hokies play three of the ACC’s top-four teams from the preseason poll, with Louisville the only one they avoid. Even tougher, Miami, SMU and Clemson all come to Virginia Tech away from Lane Stadium, and all three trips are packed into less than 30 days.
Still, the early schedule gives the Hokies a chance to settle in. They open with VMI, then move on to Old Dominion and Maryland. That Maryland game carries extra weight because Virginia Tech is trying to snap a nine-year skid against non-conference Power Four opponents in that matchup.
League play begins with Boston College, which went 2-10 and 1-7 in the ACC in 2025. After that comes Pitt, California and Georgia Tech, a stretch that doesn’t look impossible on paper.
Pitt has to figure out whether true sophomore Mason Heintschel can take the next step. California’s defense remains a question.
Georgia Tech has to see how transfer Alberto Mendoza handles his first season as the expected starter.
That leaves Virginia Tech needing to handle the games it should win - Boston College and Stanford - and then come through in the toss-up spots against Pitt, California, Georgia Tech and Virginia. If the Hokies can also steal one of the games against Miami, Clemson or SMU, the door to Charlotte opens.
I don’t think Virginia Tech gets there this season, and I have the Hokies finishing 8-4 overall and 5-4 in the ACC. But the gap between Virginia Tech and the top of the league has shrunk enough that this no longer feels far-fetched. In a year or two, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Hokies firmly in the ACC title conversation.
In Other News...
Virginia Techs Ranking Debate Comes Down To One Huge Question
Virginia Techs preseason buzz is landing in a familiar place for a program trying to push itself back into the national conversation: close enough to matter, but not quite settled enough to trust. Across the early rankings, the Hokies are showing up in the top-40 range, with some projections slotting them as high as the low 30s and others leaving them closer to No. 41, a spread that says as much about the rosters questions as it does about its promise.
The optimism starts with Ethan Grunkemeyer stepping in at quarterback and a group of returning offensive weapons giving the Hokies something tangible to build around. Still, the bigger debate is whether the ceiling can rise if the defense holds up and the new pieces at quarterback come together quickly enough. The range of preseason expectations, from 6-6 all the way to 9-3, makes it clear the real answer to Virginia Techs ranking debate is still waiting to be played out. [Read more 🡒]
Que'Sean Brown Gives Virginia Tech A New Weapon To Watch
QueSean Browns first season at Virginia Tech is already drawing national attention, with the redshirt junior landing on the Biletnikoff Award Watch List as one of college footballs top receivers to follow. Brown arrived from Duke and quickly became a name to track in the ACC, where he was one of nine wideouts from the league to make the list.
For the Hokies, the recognition adds to a growing list of preseason buzz around Brown, who also earned All-ACC honors as both a receiver and return specialist. It is the kind of early signal that suggests Virginia Tech may have found a versatile new weapon, even if the real payoff will come once the season starts and defenses have to deal with him on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech Faces One Test That Could Shape Everything
Virginia Techs path through the ACC is going to ask plenty of this roster before the season even reaches its midpoint. With road trips to Boston College, Cal, Clemson, SMU and Miami, the Hokies are dealing with a schedule that piles on both quality opponents and plenty of miles, a combination that can wear on any team that is trying to stay steady from week to week.
The challenge is not just the names on the slate, but how all that travel could shape Virginia Techs bigger goals. For a team hoping to get back to bowl eligibility and keep itself in the conversation for the ACC race, there is little margin for a slow start or a stumble in the wrong spot, and the way it handles these long road swings may go a long way toward determining how high this season can go. [Read more 🡒]