Virginia Tech’s 35-26 win over Maryland did more than push the Hokies to 3-0. It changed the bowl conversation.
A week ago, the range felt one way. Now the projection has moved with the results, and Virginia Tech is sitting in a much better spot after taking down the Terrapins. The Hokies are 3-0 for the first time since 2017, and they picked up 46 points in Sunday’s AP poll, which left them seventh among teams outside the top 25 and up from 11 a week earlier.
The bowl forecasts reflected that jump. Sports Illustrated’s Bryan Fischer moved Virginia Tech from the Pinstripe Bowl to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Dec. 28, where Utah would be the opponent.
CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford kept the Hokies in the Gator Bowl, but now against Texas A&M. Athlon’s Steven Lassan stayed put with Charlotte and Iowa on Dec.
- ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach also left their picks unchanged; Bonagura had Virginia Tech in the Sun Bowl, while Schlabach had the Pinstripe Bowl against Nebraska.
Crawford’s destination didn’t change, but the path to get there did. Last week, he had Miami and SMU in the playoff and Louisville in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. This time, Miami is his only ACC team in the playoff, SMU is headed to Orlando, and Virginia Tech lands in Jacksonville as the second ACC team outside the field.
That kind of movement makes sense after what happened Saturday night. Virginia Tech knocked off a non-conference Power Four opponent for the first time since Sept. 3, 2017, ending a 15-game drought. Maryland, meanwhile, saw its run of 20 straight non-conference wins come to an end, the longest active streak in the FBS.
Ethan Grunkemeyer delivered the kind of performance that can tilt a projection. He completed 31 of 39 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns, then added a fourth score on an 18-yard run. It was his second straight 300-yard game, and no Virginia Tech quarterback had done that since Ryan Willis in 2018.
Still, the win wasn’t clean from start to finish. Tech scored on five of its first six possessions and converted eight of nine third downs in the first half, but after the break the Hokies went just two for seven on third down.
A 21-point cushion going into the fourth quarter shrank into a nine-point finish, and Maryland missed two 2-point tries that kept it from getting even closer. Virginia Tech’s pass rush, which had racked up 12 sacks through two games, managed only two.
The ACC picture also got tighter. Eight league teams were unbeaten a week ago; now there are four, and Virginia Tech is one of them alongside Miami, Pitt and Duke.
Louisville beat SMU 41-31 and moved up to No. 16, while SMU dropped to No. 22.
Virginia lost to West Virginia 38-27 and disappeared from the poll. Clemson’s 28-20 win over North Carolina made the Oct. 24 trip to Death Valley look tougher than it did before Friday.
For Virginia Tech, the basic math is still straightforward. The earlier path assumed safe wins over VMI, Old Dominion, Boston College and Stanford, plus Cal and Georgia Tech, plus one of Clemson or Pitt, plus Virginia at home.
Maryland was the extra piece. Using that same setup, the road points to 9-3.
But nothing is locked in. The ninth win still has to come from a stretch that includes Pitt on Oct.
2, Clemson on Oct. 24 or SMU on Nov. 6.
Pitt is 3-0. SMU is ranked.
If the Hokies miss all three, they’re still looking at the same 8-4 team they were Friday morning.
Boston College is 2-1 with wins over Rutgers and Maine, and both of those victories came by one score.
The broader bowl picture matters too. The Pop-Tarts Bowl gets the top ACC team outside the playoff, and the Gator Bowl usually takes the next one.
With Miami at No. 6 looking like the league’s most likely playoff team, the first spot is effectively spoken for. The second comes down to Louisville, Pitt, SMU, Duke and Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech gets chances to settle some of that on the field. Pitt comes to Lane Stadium on Oct. 2, and the Hokies travel to Dallas on Nov. 6 to face SMU. Louisville and Duke are not on the schedule, so the only way to pass them is by stacking up a better record.
For now, the pick is the Gator Bowl on Dec. 30.
The ceiling at 10-2 is the Pop-Tarts Bowl. The floor at 7-5 is the Pinstripe or the Sun.
In Other News...
Virginia Tech Enters ACC Play With A Threat Fans Need To See
A 3-0 start has given Virginia Tech a strong early platform, and the Hokies have looked balanced enough to make a real impression before ACC play fully settles in. Under first-year coach James Franklin, they have paired efficient offense with sturdy defense, and the early work from quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer and tight end Luke Reynolds has helped give the team a clearer identity than most clubs have this time of year.
Boston College will get the next crack at that profile when it hosts Virginia Tech in a conference game that should tell us plenty about both teams. For the Hokies, it is a chance to show the early record is more than a hot opening stretch, while for Boston College it is the kind of test that can reveal how sturdy an undefeated run really is once league games begin to stack up. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech Just Showed What This Offense Can Do On The Road
Virginia Tech's trip to Maryland offered a clean look at what the Hokies offense can be when it settles in and stays on schedule. The unit was efficient on third downs, kept possession through extended drives and repeatedly put pressure on a Terrapins defense that had trouble getting off the field. In a 35-26 win, the Hokies did enough away from home to make the style points matter.
For Maryland, the night came with familiar frustrations on both sides of the ball, especially in the run game, which never gave the offense much balance. Chris Durr Jr. was still a bright spot, finishing with a big receiving night and a touchdown, but it was not enough to change the flow of the game once Virginia Tech started dictating tempo. The bigger question now is whether this road performance is the kind of offensive foundation the Hokies can keep building on. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech Enters Its First ACC Test With Real Momentum
Virginia Tech has spent the first three weeks building something it has not always had in recent seasons: a little breathing room. The Hokies opened with three straight wins, capped by a 35-26 victory over Maryland that snapped a 15-game skid against Power Four non-conference opponents, and the offense looked more comfortable than it had in some time. Quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns in that game, while tight end Luke Reynolds turned in a career-high 12 catches.
Now the schedule tightens up in a different way. Boston College arrives on Sept. 26 for Virginia Techs first ACC game of the season, which makes this the kind of early conference test that can tell you plenty about whether those first few weeks were a hot start or the beginning of something more sustainable. The Hokies have momentum, but league play tends to sort out quickly whether a team is ready to carry it. [Read more 🡒]