When the Virginia Tech football team begins the James Franklin era in Blacksburg on Sept. 5 against VMI under the lights, it will be the first of six games inside Lane Stadium. They will host Old Dominion the following weekend before hitting the road for a pair of true road games at Maryland and Boston College.
Franklin is looking to wake up a program that many outside the fanbase see as a sleeping giant waiting to be woken up. It has been some time since Virginia Tech football was seen as a national program that was relevant. Hopefully that changes under Franklin. It does, and it may take time. RJ Young of FOX Sports laid out what needs to be accomplished in Year 1 with James Franklin in charge of the Hokies.
One Virginia Tech goal for the 2026 football season
There are several goals that fans and the program have for the upcoming season. It certainly feels like a new era that has a lot of promise in Blacksburg. However, the promise, like Franklin's comment about winning the offseason, needs to be proven on the field, and the results need to be seen there. Young doubled down on what ACC Network analyst Eric Mac Lain said about the Hokies back in the spring under Franklin.
"It’s there for the Hokies to make us all remember how tough it used to be to go into Blacksburg and come out with a win,'' wrote Young.
Back in the Frank Beamer days, teams hated coming to Virginia Tech. It never usually ended well. That began to change under Justin Fuente and then really changed under Brent Pry. When Old Dominion came into Lane Stadium last fall and punched the Hokies in the mouth a week after Vanderbilt did it, it left the school with no choice but to move on from Pry.
Lane Stadium is not a place that opposing teams fear anymore, and that is certainly something that needs to change and change fast under Franklin. Having to play a ninth ACC game, and it will be away for the Hokies at SMU. Talk about less than ideal. Of course, winning cures all when it comes to making a stadium in college football difficult to play in. With Franklin on board, it shouldn't take long for him to build a roster and program that is going to be difficult to play on weekends in the fall in Blacksburg.
Sooner or later, fans hope teams will find it tough to play the Hokies in Lane Stadium like it was in the old days. If there is a coach who can make that a reality sooner rather than later, it's James Franklin.
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