Early Saturday morning at the beginning of College GameDay, Pete Thamel reported that Virginia Tech and James Franklin were in discussion for the former Penn State to potentially become the next head coach in Blacksburg, replacing his former defensive coordinator, Brent Pry, who was fired in September.
There is one wild card, however, and that is Florida State and Mike Norvell. The Seminoles' head coach is on the hot seat with his 4-5 entering Saturday night's home game against the Hokies. A loss to Virginia Tech and missing a bowl might spell the end for him at FSU. The Seminoles steamrolled the Hokies in the second half, dropping them to 3-7, and moved one game closer to bowl eligibility.
Florida State's win improved them to 5-5, and they need to beat either North Carolina State or Florida on the road the next two weeks to head to a bowl in late December. Leading Tech 10-7 at halftime, the Seminoles were flawless in the second half, scoring four touchdowns on their first four drives to pull away.
Virginia Tech's loss moves all eyes to the James Franklin watch
The loss eliminated Virginia Tech from playing in a bowl game for the third straight season, but that was basically determined in September. It's all about their head coaching opening and whether or not they can close the deal with Franklin.
Thamel's report was a couple of weeks too late, as there had been rumors and smoke about Franklin and Virginia Tech in discussions for a while. It's just a matter of getting over the finish line. Franklin was in Virginia on Thursday night, attending the Troy/Old Dominion game. he declined comment when asked about the opening in Blacksburg.
Virginia Tech interim coach Philip Montgomery and his team will turn their attention to Miami next weekend in their final home game of the season, but fans will turn their attention to the James Franklin watch again.