Nobody can deny James Franklin's record of quickly turning around college football programs. What he did at Vanderbilt in the SEC before leaving for Penn State in the Big Ten was certainly eye-opening. He had to rebuild both programs from the bottom and did it quickly.
Last October, he was fired from Penn State after three straight losses, and once he hit the open market and became available, you knew that he wasn't going to stay unemployed for long. He went on ESPN College GameDay six days after getting fired and made it clear that he was going to coach again and win at another program.
Just as that next program was yet to be seen, by mid-November, we knew his next destination: Virginia Tech. After a full offseason to put his stamp on the program with roster turnover and a new coaching staff, along with recruiting classes, his era begins on Sept. 5, when VMI visits Blacksburg. How will he do in his first season in the ACC? That remains to be seen, but there are some who think the Hokies could be a dark horse, including PFF.
Virginia Tech tabbed as ACC darkhorse in 2026
Daire Carragher of PFF listed three dark horse contenders in each Power 4 conference in 2026. For the ACC, he picked SMU, Virginia Tech, and Pittsburgh. It just so happens that both the Mustangs and Panthers are on the Hokies' 2026 schedule. So, why does Carragher see Virginia Tech as a contender this fall?
"Franklin’s track record of quick turnarounds gives the Hokies a legitimate case in 2026,'' he wrote.
What Carragher also noted was that Franklin also brought back Brent Pry, who was fired as head coach after a Week 3 loss at home to Old Dominion last September as head coach, to be his defensive coordinator. It was an unprecedented move, but one that, if it ends up working out as it did at Penn State for both of them, then it is a tremendous move on multiple levels. Pry being back where he belongs as a defensive coordinator is something that could be one of the more underrated moves of last offseason in college football.
It also helps that Franklin brought some former Penn State players with him from State College to Blacksburg. What makes this somewhat not surprising is that the ACC is certainly not as deep as the other power conferences in terms of trying to win and win quickly. Realistic Virginia Tech fans would take a seven- or eight-win season and a good bowl game and run with it into 2027. The Hokies are set up to be a contender in the ACC under Franklin, but not just this year.
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