Four months on the job at Virginia Tech as their new head football coach, James Franklin is hitting the ground running. He has his new staff in place, and his new-look roster is in the middle of their spring practices. Before you know it, they'll be back in Blacksburg mid-summer for camp to open for the 2026 season.
Coming off a 3-9 season, there is nowhere for the Hokies to go but up. With the additions made from the Transfer Portal, as well as players in the Class of 2026 coming in, expectations are high for Virginia Tech. There was also some key retention for Tech from the roster that Brent Pry built before being fired back in September.
Virginia Tech's schedule will feature three non-conference games this season and nine ACC contests. The conference slate is going to be a difficult one with brutal road games and a tough backend of the schedule in November. One college football writer is expecting the Hokies to make major strides in Year 1 of the James Franklin era in Blacksburg.
CFB writer predicts Virginia Tech to smash their over/under win total in 2026
Brad Crawford of CBS Sports predicted that Virginia Tech will go 9-3 in 2026, which is two games better than their 7.5 over/under total from FanDuel. That is certainly some season if it comes true.
"Virginia Tech opened at 7.5 wins at FanDuel Sportsbook earlier this month, but that total has since been taken down (as of March 22). We'll leave it there for the time being until oddsmakers make a switch ahead of James Franklin's first season on the sideline. The former Penn State coach was promised considerable resources -- at least more than the previous coach and current defensive coordinator Brent Pry received -- and has a 27-player portal haul he feels confident about. This isn't a rebuild for the Hokies and shouldn't be viewed as such. Virginia Tech expects to compete at the top of the conference this season, and there's a realistic chance it happens,'' wrote Crawford.
For the record, Crawford has Virginia Tech beating VMI, Old Dominion, Maryland, Boston College, California, Stanford, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, and Virginia. His three losses for the Hokies are road games at SMU, Miami, and Clemson.
That makes sense, and it wouldn't be surprising if it came true. Sure, a lot of things would have to go Virginia Tech's way for that to happen, but never say never. A 9-3 season in Franklin's first season would be a major step in the right direction for a program begging to be a major factor in the ACC.