3 winners and 2 losers from Virginia Tech's season-opening rout of VMI

The James Franklin era began at Virginia Tech on Saturday night against VMI, and it went as expected against an undermanned VMI squad. Entering the game as nearly an eight touchdown favorite, the Hokies erupted for 45 first-half points on their way to a blowout over the Keydets.

The game result allowed Franklin and his staff to go deep into the depth chart and get a lot of players snaps in the game. Now all eyes turn toward another non-conference game at home against Old Dominion, nearly a year after they blew out the Hokies at home to officially end the Brent Pry era. With that said, here are four winners and two losers from the season-opening win.

Winner: James Franklin

Yes, it was VMI, but he has to be happy that his first game as head coach of the Hokies is finally over with. There was a lot of buildup leading into the game, and his team didn't disappoint. The offense was moving the ball at will, and new offensive coordinator Ty Howle was mixing things up. However, the running game showed a lot of promise, with Marcellous Hawkins and Jeffrey Overton Jr. each rushing for two first-half touchdowns.

I'm sure Penn State fans will not be happy with the outcome after Matt Campbell only hung 45 points on Marshall, but the opener for Franklin is in the books, and now it's time to look ahead to the rest of the season.

Loser: Samuel Okunlola and Javion Hilson

I know, this is nitpicking, but the VMI offense couldn't do anything with their triple option, and in the first quarter, the only first down they picked up came on a pair of offside penalties by the Hokies' defensive line. When you're trying to make an impression on your new head coach and want more playing time, that's not what Samuel Okunlola and Javion Hillson were looking to do.

Winner: Ethan Grunkemeyer

As expected, Ethan Grunkemeyer only played two-plus quarters and came out early in the third quarter, but the Penn State transfer was very effective. He overthrew Duke transfer Que'Sean Brown once, but he finished 17-for-20 for 224 yards and two touchdown passes. He hit Brown for a 51-yard touchdown in the second quarter and then connected with tight end Luke Reynolds for a third-quarter touchdown for 21 yards before coming out. All in all, it was a very good start for Grunkemeyer.

Loser: VMI running game

Coming into the game, Franklin talked up the Keydets' option game earlier in the week. It is tough to defend if you don't see it a lot, but a lot of what Franklin said was coach-speak. For the game, the Hokies' defense held VMI's running game to minus-4 yards in 43 carries. The only points the Ketdets scored came when they cashed in on a muffed punt for a fourth-quarter field goal. All the hype going into the game, and the Hokies completely shut down VMI's running game.

Winner: Virginia Tech special teams

Everything that could go right did go right. How about after scoring a touchdown on the game's opening drive, the Hokies' defense forced a three-and-out; Beamer Ball was in full effect as the Hokies blocked the punt. It was the first of two blocks, as they had another one in the second quarter that led to a Knahlij Harrell recovery in the end zone. What a start to the Doug Shearer era under Franklin as special teams coach.

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