When the NCAA moved the College Football Playoff field from four to 12 teams, it opened a lot more doors for more schools. As expected, the expanded field has been hit, and there are already talks to expand it even more. It's bound to happen at some point.
When the field expanded a couple of years ago, one team that was linked to the 12-team field was Virginia Tech. It seemed a little premature, but you could understand why a lot of national media members tabbed them as a dark horse for the field.
After a strong finish to the 2023 season that saw the Hokies become bowl-eligible with a blowout win over Virginia on Thanksgiving Weekend, something that has become a yearly event, former head coach Brent Pry got a ton of retention. However, it didn't take long for reality to settle in.
From the season-opening overtime loss in Nashville against Vanderbilt to needing to have another smackdown of Virginia on Thanksgiving Weekend just to become bowl-eligible again, just about everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong.
Pry began the 2025 season on the hot seat, and after three games into the season, he was fired. In mid-November, the school replaced him with James Franklin, who was fired a month earlier at Penn State. Talk about hitting it out of the park in terms of getting the next hire right. Regardless of how long Franklin remains in Blacksburg, one thing is for sure: the Hokies are on the way up. ESPN thinks that Fanklin can make some big noise in his first season at Virginia Tech.
ESPN lists Virginia Tech as one of 10 teams that could make CFP for the first time
There is nowhere to go but up for the Hokies in 2026. Coming off a 3-9 season, the room for improvement isn't as big as some think. However, ESPN still believes that Virginia Tech can potentially crash the College Football Playoff field in December.
"Coach James Franklin brought enough talent and continuity with him that the Hokies could be a surprise CFP team, but the schedule -- particularly the back half -- could make it difficult. Games at Clemson, SMU and Miami will define the season, and two of them -- at SMU and at Miami -- are on Friday nights,'' ESPN wrote.
So the Miami game has been moved from Friday night to Saturday, but nevertheless, the point is right: the road ACC schedule is daunting. However, if there is someone who can navigate it, it's Franklin. Clemson is looking to rebound from a tough 2025 season, while SMU is an up-and-coming ACC contender, and Miami is a couple of plays away in the National Championship Game in January from winning the National Championship.
It seems as far-fetched as it was a couple of years ago when the Hokies were in the discussion for the 12-team CFP in Year 1 under Franklin. Still, given the roster turnover and the improvement with the coaching staff, anything is possible. The ACC is easier to navigate than the SEC and Big Ten when it comes to teams quickly turning things around and becoming teams that can crash the playoff. We'll see what happens in 2026.
ESPN is resetting Virginia Tech's expectations with the hiring of James Franklin and quick roster turnover.
Add us as a preferred source on Google