Virginia Tech heads to California on Saturday afternoon still carrying the sting of last week’s loss to Pitt, but the Hokies also bring one of the ACC’s most productive passing attacks with them.
That combination makes the trip to California Memorial Stadium an important reset point. Virginia Tech dropped its first game of the James Franklin era, a 35-33 defeat in which the Hokies piled up 499 yards of offense yet were undone by four turnovers and a missed potential game-winning field goal.
Now they face a Cal team sitting at 2-3, with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. ET.
If Virginia Tech is going to get back in the win column, these three offensive players will be central to the effort.
Grunkemeyer’s stat line against Pitt was the kind of thing that usually wins games. The Penn State transfer completed 30 of 41 passes for a career-best 434 yards and three touchdowns, turning in one of the most productive passing performances the program has seen. His 434 yards were the second-most by a Virginia Tech quarterback in the program’s recorded history dating to 1987.
The problem, though, was the football itself. Grunkemeyer threw his first two interceptions of the season, and Virginia Tech’s four turnovers proved decisive in a game where the Hokies had an early edge. Through five games, he has completed 74% of his passes for 1,446 yards, 11 touchdowns, and two interceptions.
The talent is obvious. What matters now is whether he can steer Virginia Tech through a road game without handing possessions away. Against a Cal defense, that’s the test.
Overton enters Saturday as Virginia Tech’s most established option on the ground, and the Hokies need that part of the offense to show more life. The sophomore leads the team with 455 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 77 carries, and his 5.9 yards per attempt points to a runner with plenty of room to do more damage.
Last week was a quieter night for him. Overton managed just 46 net rushing yards on 17 carries against Pitt, part of a ground game that never fully matched the pace of Virginia Tech’s passing attack. The Hokies are averaging 155.2 rushing yards per game, a number that trails the production they’ve gotten through the air.
That balance matters. If Virginia Tech can lean on Overton more effectively, it takes pressure off Grunkemeyer and makes the offense harder to defend.
Reynolds has been the steady hand in the passing game. The Penn State transfer has quickly become one of Grunkemeyer’s most trusted targets, with 37 catches for 373 yards and four touchdowns through five games. His 37 receptions are tied for the second-most in the ACC, and his four touchdown grabs lead Virginia Tech.
He was at it again against Pitt, finishing with seven receptions for 93 yards. That gave him a third game this season with at least 90 receiving yards and kept his strong start rolling in Blacksburg.
Reynolds’ value goes beyond the box score. With Virginia Tech still searching for more consistency on the ground, he can help in the middle of the field and as a blocker, especially if Cal tries to squeeze the outside receivers and force Grunkemeyer elsewhere. He has already topped his receiving production from his entire 2025 season at Penn State, and his role doesn’t look like it’s shrinking anytime soon.
If the Hokies need to keep drives alive, convert on third down, or string together long possessions, Reynolds should be right in the middle of it.
In Other News...
Virginia Tech Faces A Bigger Cal Question Than Just The Rebound
Virginia Tech heads to Berkeley still trying to shake off the sting of a 35-33 loss to Pitt, and the focus this week is not only on getting the rebound but on sorting through the first player availability report the ACC put out for both teams. The leagues initial injury list gives the usual designations of available, probable, questionable, doubtful and out, adding another layer of uncertainty before the Hokies face Cal on Saturday afternoon.
There is at least some offensive momentum to carry into the trip, with quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer coming off a career-high 434 passing yards against Pitt. The bigger question now is how much help Virginia Tech will have around him when the ball kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network, because availability in a late-season conference game can shape everything from the script to the margin for error. [Read more 🡒]
CJ Bailey Just Entered A Bigger ACC Conversation
Week 5 in the ACC turned into a quarterback carousel, with injuries and reshuffling across the league forcing contenders to recalibrate quickly. For Virginia Tech, the latest league-wide turbulence only sharpened the focus on a position group that has already been under the microscope, especially as teams around the conference continue sorting out who can steady an offense heading into a pivotal Week 6 slate.
The Hokies have plenty of reason to watch the ACC quarterback picture closely after their loss to Pitt, where Virginia Tech was on the wrong side of a high-scoring result and the margin for error stayed thin throughout. With major names around the league dealing with setbacks and some offenses still searching for consistency, the conversation only gets more interesting from here for a team trying to stay in the race while the conference landscape keeps shifting. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech Faces A Season Swing Game With Little Margin For Error
Availability may end up shaping this matchup as much as anything else, because Cals first injury report already put a long list of key names in limbo heading into Saturday. Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, safety Kingston Lopa, leading rusher Adam Mohammed and wide receiver Chase Hendricks were among the players listed as questionable, a reminder that both sides are walking into a game where the lineup picture could shift late.
Virginia Tech is dealing with its own uncertainty, with three players out and eight more questionable, though none of the Hokies listed against Pitt started in that game. With both teams sorting through health concerns and neither side showing much room for error in the numbers that matter most, the margin in this one figures to come down to who protects the ball, finishes drives and finds some consistency in a matchup that already feels like a season swing game. [Read more 🡒]