As the Virginia Tech football team hits the midway point of its 2026 schedule, things are going to get very, very difficult in terms of its ACC schedule. After some winnable games at the front end of it, they have a daunting schedule on the back end, especially on the road.
Virginia Tech will close the month of October on the road with a game against Clemson and head coach Dabo Swinney. Things haven't gone as well as Swinney and Tigers fans hoped they would over the last couple of years. However, a new year brings new hope. If Clemson is going to turn things around in 2026, it will have to fix some flaws from last year, and one that the Hokies could use in their favor come late October.
Clemson's struggles in close games could be in Virginia Tech's favor in 2026
Every year is a new team and a new outlook. However, there are enough players back from last year's team to remember what happened, and it's easy to not forget what happened. Don't think that the struggles late in games this fall won't be in the back of some players' minds as things get tight in the fourth quarter.
“We didn’t win the close games. We didn’t finish in the fourth quarter. We didn’t run the ball effectively. We played the worst pass defense in my coaching career,” Swinney said. “That’s my fault, but it’s football stuff. That’s our focus.”
There are going to be some players suiting up for the Hokies in October who were in uniform back in December in the Pinstripe Bowl for Penn State in a win over the Tigers. Quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer and tight end Luke Reynolds are two players who suited up against Clemson and will do so in late October in South Carolina.
Winning games on the road is going to be difficult in 2026 for the Hokies. There are some very tough environments they are going to have to navigate. Clemson is right at the top of the list. The ACC's Death Valley. Road games will follow at SMU and Miami in November are not going to be easy as well.
However, having success on the road for James Franklin and Virginia Tech this fall is going to depend on a lot of things, but keeping a game close is right at the top of the list. If that happens at Clemson, things could get really interesting, and a road upset could be in the cards for the Hokies.
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