When the Virginia Tech football schedule was announced for James Franklin's first season in Blacksburg, it was one that was loaded on the backend. It is another November with a daunting schedule for the Hokies, like it was last season.
However, the front end of the schedule offers Virginia Tech a golden opportunity to gain some early-season steam under Franklin. Just how many wins the Hokies record under Franklin in his first season remains to be seen. However, Cody Nagel has a bold prediction that would be a nightmare for the rest of the conference.
CBS Sports drops a very bold Virginia Tech football prediction for the 2026 season
Nagel listed one bold prediction, and for Virginia Tech, he has the Hokies winning 10 games in Franklin's first season at the helm.
"James Franklin has a chance to awaken a sleeping giant in Blacksburg, but the market isn't buying it yet. FanDuel set the Virginia Tech Hokies' win total at just 6.5 for the 2026 season. The pieces are in place to start fast, though, and the ACC schedule offers a clear runway for early momentum. If the Hokies stack wins in September and October, this starts to look a lot more like a 10-win team than a fringe bowl squad. To actually get there, they'll have to steal one on the road against either Clemson, Miami or SMU,'' wrote Nagel.
Winning one of those road games Nagel mentioned at the end would certainly qualify as an upset. However, would it surprise anyone if Franklin was able to have his team pull off an upset in one of those games? Didn't think so.
There are some trap games on the road early in the season, at Maryland in Week 3 and at Boston College in Week 4. Survive those games, then things get really interesting for the Hokies the deeper they get into conference play. Things certainly feel a lot different than they did a year ago at this time. If they come anywhere close to 10 wins, then an early message by Franklin will be sent.
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