Virginia Tech’s next kickoff is set, and the Hokies are heading back to the ACC Network.
The Hokies will host Georgia Tech on Saturday, Oct. 17, with the game scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET in Blacksburg. It will be Virginia Tech’s second straight week on the ACC Network after its matchup with Cal, and the fourth time the Hokies have been featured on the channel this season, joining games against VMI, Boston College, Cal and now Georgia Tech.
Georgia Tech enters the matchup at 1-3 overall and 0-1 in ACC play. The Yellow Jackets dropped their first two games, falling 14-13 to Colorado and then 45-24 to No.
18 Tennessee. They bounced back with a 44-11 win over Mercer, but Stanford handed them a 34-27 road loss last time out.
Yellow Jackets starting quarterback Alberto Mendoza has completed 84 of 123 passes for 975 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions. Georgia Tech is home against Duke on Oct. 10 before traveling to Blacksburg.
Virginia Tech, meanwhile, is 4-1 and 1-1 in the ACC after opening the year with a 73-3 win over VMI, a 44-21 victory over Old Dominion, a 35-26 road win over Maryland and a 21-14 home win over Boston College. The Maryland result was a notable one for the Hokies: it was their first win over a Power Four non-conference opponent since 2017, and their first in 15 tries.
Last week’s game at Pitt didn’t go nearly as smoothly. Virginia Tech jumped out to a 14-0 lead, then got outscored 35-10 from late in the first quarter until Pitt’s opening drive of the fourth. The Hokies did make a quick nine-point push behind a Noah Chambers safety and an Ethan Grunkemeyer touchdown pass to freshman Davion "FatRat" Brown, the first touchdown of Brown’s career.
Grunkemeyer put up a career-best 434 passing yards, the second-most by a Virginia Tech player in a game dating back to at least 1987 and trailing only Bryan Randall’s 504 against Syracuse in 2002. But the day also came with mistakes: Grunkemeyer lost one of two fumbles and threw two interceptions, his first of the season.
Virginia Tech’s ground game never got rolling against Pitt, finishing at just over two yards per carry. The passing game, though, had plenty of production. Que'Sean Brown caught seven passes for 147 yards and a touchdown, Luke Reynolds added seven receptions for 93 yards, and Ayden Greene returned from injury to post 88 yards on four catches, including a 48-yard grab.
Before heading west, Virginia Tech will drive to Greensboro and then fly to California on Thursday, per Franklin.
In Other News...
Virginia Tech Faces A Huge Opening In Unsettled Cal Matchup
Virginia Tech heads into its trip to California Memorial Stadium with plenty still to sort out on its own side, but the bigger question may be how Cal lines up at quarterback. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele left the Bears' previous game because of a head injury, which leaves an already important matchup feeling even less settled as the Hokies prepare for another road challenge.
Ethan Grunkemeyer gave Virginia Tech a glimpse of its passing upside by throwing for a career-high 434 yards in the last outing, even if the turnovers undercut the effort. The Hokies could find some room to operate if Cal is without key playmakers, though the Bears also have safety Kingston Lopa, the FBS leader in interceptions, and his status after leaving early in the last game adds another layer to a matchup that already feels full of variables. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech Faces A Cal Problem That Could Decide This Road Test
As Virginia Tech gets ready for its trip to Cal, James Franklin is spending as much time on uncertainty as on the opponent itself. He said there are still questions about how Cal wants to attack offensively, but he made it clear the Hokies are preparing for a quarterback they respect in Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, whose presence gives this road test a different kind of edge.
Franklin also revisited Grunkemeyers recent performance, offering a quick checkpoint on where Virginia Tech stands at the position before heading across the country. The bigger message, though, was about details the Hokies can control: protecting the ball, forcing turnovers on defense and tightening up in practice before a game where the margin could be shaped by whichever team handles the unknowns better. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech Let A Winnable Pitt Game Slip Away
Virginia Tech walked away from a 35-33 loss to Pitt with the uneasy feeling that a winnable conference game had been there to take. The Hokies outgained the Panthers in total yards and spent much of the night with enough offense to keep the pressure on, but turnovers and penalties kept undercutting their chances to put the game away.
In a race where every result matters, the loss leaves Virginia Tech tied with Pitt in the ACC standings and adds another layer of frustration to what could have been a useful step forward. The margin was slim, the opportunities were there, and the Hokies will now have to carry the sting of knowing this one was within reach. [Read more 🡒]