We are halfway through the 2026 college football season, James Franklin's first as the head coach at Virginia Tech, and the Hokies sit at 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the ACC. Six games remain, and if Virginia Tech is going to a bowl, they need at least two wins. More wins than that would improve their bowl game selection.
What is fun this time of year is that different college football analysts start predicting bowls and where teams could end up. Brad Crawford of CBS Sports dropped his latest bowl projections after this weekend's results, and his for the Hokies is, well, absolutely juicy.
Virginia Tech's latest bowl projection is a monster matchup, according to CBS Sports
Crawford's latest bowl projection has Virginia Tech playing in the Duke's Mayo Bowl in Charlotte on Dec. 26 against Penn State from the Big Ten. Yes, that's right: Crawford matches up the Hokies and Nittany Lions in a battle between two programs whose fan bases would sign up for it in a second.
Franklin was fired last October in State College and hired last November at Virginia Tech, replacing his former defensive coordinator, Brent Pry, who was hired in that role in Blacksburg in December in an unprecedented hire. Three months after being fired as head coach, he comes back as the DC.
Anyway, Penn State fans had been calling for Franklin's firing for a long time, got it, and were happy with the hiring of former Iowa State coach Matt Campbell to replace Franklin. After beginning the season 3-0, the Nittany Lions have lost three straight to fall to 3-3, the same thing that happened last season to Franklin. Now Penn State fans have gone from trolling Franklin to eating crow. Go figure.
Franklin and the Hokies don't want to discuss a potential bowl game until they have secured a sixth victory to officially become bowl-eligible. However, if you get a Virginia Tech/Penn State bowl game, assuming both become bowl-eligible, then a matchup between the two schools would be great holiday theatre.
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