After a bye week, the Virginia Tech football team will have a short week in terms of preparation for a rather big ACC game at SMU on Friday night in Dallas. Both teams have two conference losses and this is an elimination game in terms of the race for a berth in the ACC Championship Game next month in Charlotte.
Virginia Tech football opens as unsurprisingly underdog at SMU
The Hokies got to enjoy their bye week after a Week 8 victory on the road at Clemson, 20-16, when they rallied late in the fourth quarter to pull off the upset. Penn State transfer Ethan Grunkemeyer and Luke Reynolds connected for a second touchdown in the game with under two minutes to go for the come-from-behind win.
SMU will be entering the game coming off a 30-27 loss to Syracuse in Central New York on Saturday afternoon in what will be one of the more head-scratching results of the 2026 season. However, that result didn't affect the line for Friday night's tilt in Dallas, Texas.
According to DraftKings, the Hokies are a 6.5-point underdog at SMU, and truth be told, it's not surprising, but it will be very interesting to watch this week to see just how the line moves as we get closer to kickoff.
This is the second of three daunting road games remaining on the second half schedule for James Franklin and Virginia Tech. They passed their first test at Clemson last weekend, but now they get a test against a Mustangs team that is coming off a loss at Syracuse and is on a short week.
Why is this a big game? Both teams are sitting at two conference losses. SMU has losses at Louisville and Syracuse, while Virginia Tech has losses at home to Pittsburgh and at California. However, they do have a statement road win at Clemson and can double down on that with a win over the Mustangs.
We will break down the game more in depth as the week goes along, but if the Hokies can pick up a win on Friday night, they will make a case for a better and bigger bowl game in James Franklin's first season in Blacksburg. There are plenty of projections right now, and a lot can change between now and five-plus weeks from now before the invites are all handed out.
Franklin acknowledged that bowl games are expected at Virginia Tech going forward, but he has bigger goals for the program beyond just becoming bowl-eligible. Will they get there this season? It'll take some major things going in their favor, not only on the field that they control, but things they don't control in other games need to go their way as well.
It would be surprising if the line doesn't move one way or another before 7 p.m. EST on Friday, but which way remains to be seen. Regardless, playing meaningful football in November at Virginia Tech is back, and fans are loving it.
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