The 2025 football season for Virginia Tech is one that is vital for not only the future of the program but also the future of head coach Brent Pry and his staff. After a very disappointing 2024 season that saw the Hokies sputter to a 6-6 record before dropping the Duke’s Mayo Bowl to Minnesota, 24-10, in early January.
After changes on the coaching staff and some big roster turnover, Virginia Tech embarks on a season with a lot more questions than answers. A tougher schedule both in the non-conference and in the ACC is going to make things more difficult, but if they are going to improve on what happened last season, then a lot of numbers are going to have to change. Here are two that are a must if Tech is going to get over the hump this fall.
Win at least three non-conference games
Easier said than done. The Hokies get South Carolina in Atlanta for their season-opener before returning home six days later to host Vanderbilt. Then, Old Dominion and Winthrop visit ahead of conference play. If Virginia Tech is going to win at least three non-conference games, the most likely path is sweeping the three home games.
Last season, Tech split their non-conference games in a season where they should have swept them. An overtime loss at Vanderbilt to begin the season was a bad loss, followed by wins over Old Dominion and Marshall. Then, another disappointing result at home, losing by three points to Rutgers. They should have been 4-0 going into Miami last September. Three wins is an almost a must.
4-4 ACC record
Last season the Hokies treaded water in the ACC splitting their eight games for a team that was considered a dark horse contender. This season’s conference schedule is a lot harder and depending on how the non-conference games go, they might need five or more ACC wins to become bowl-eligible.
They get some of the iron with Louisville and Miami on the schedule, along with road games at North Carolina State and Georgia Tech. Then there is the Commonwealth Clash in Charlottesville this November. Truth be told, finding six overall wins on the schedule is difficult to do.
0-5 in one-score games
This one goes without saying. By now, you know the struggles Pry has in one-score games during his tenure in Blacksburg and last season, Virginia Tech went 0-5 in one-score games. That’s hard to do at most levels. All five games were winnable as most were not decided until the final two minutes or in overtime.
Pry won’t survive another season with this amount of one-score losses, but winning one early in the season with be a confidence builder for not only Pry, but also his players. Another season of winning by a blowout and losing one-score games might send the fan base over the edge, and understandablely so.