National CFB writer gives Virginia Tech football fans a scary dose of reality

Before the season began, the Virginia Tech football team was considered one of the dark horses around college football for the new 12-team College Football Playoff. They were a national darling with a lot of writers and rightfully so.

Head coach Brent Pry and his staff had a large amount of retainment from several key players on both sides of the ball. Add in some transfer on the defensive side of the ball and you had a team poised to take a big jump in Year 3 under Pry.

Things haven't gone as planned and there are several reasons for that. The Hokies sit at 2-2 after losses to Vanderbilt in overtime and Rutgers this past weekend sandwiched around wins over a pair of Sun Belt teams, Marshall and Old Dominion. There have been several issues that have plagued Virginia Tech, but just as they were turning heads in the preseason, they're turning them again in September, but for all the wrong reasons.

Brad Crawford calls Virginia Tech a disappointment through the first four weeks

Brad Crawford of 247Sports posted on X Sunday that something Hokies fans need to start thinking about and reality could be setting in soon that Virginia Tech could end up missing bowl eligibility this season. That would be stunning with all the talent on the roster. He also called them "one of the nation's biggest disappointments."

He's not wrong. With all the retainment the Hokies have had and watching them underperform is somewhat baffling. They have played very uninspired first half which has led them to mount second-half comebacks. They were able to come back against Vanderbilt and Rutgers but ended up losing both games. Falling behind and playing catch-up only works many times.

The offense has had its moments, but otherwise it's been disappointing from play-calling to an execution standpoint. Defensively they have played well, but against Rutgers, but adjustments have not been as much as needed.

Through 28 games as head coach, Pry is 12-16, and sooner or later, he needs to start piling up the wins. He is a tremendous recruiter as we have seen through the portal and high school recruits, but he has struggled to get the most out of his teams in Blacksburg so far.

Things don't get any easier as they now have a short week with a Friday night game at No. 7 Miami then a cross-country trip the following weekend to Stanford, which is not going to be an easy game. After that game, the Hokies get a bye, but they could very well be looking at a 2-4 or 3-3 record at that point and as things are currently going, it's hard to see them turning things around to even win six games and get to a bowl game. That could be turning into a reality before we know it.