When the Virginia Tech football team visited Clemson on Saturday, there was one matchup where something had to give. Virginia Tech's struggling secondary was going up against Clemson's struggling offense. The Hokeis had to pressure true freshman signal caller Tait Reynolds and make him feel uncomfortable.
In the end, the Hokies put together one of their better outings of the season against a Power 4 Conference foe. They got off the field on third down and even on fourth down on the Tigers final drive of the game that ended with a sack. For the game, Tech's defense under Brent Pry recorded 48 solo tackles and 68 overall. Franklin was happy with the way his defense practiced all week and then played in the game.
"I thought our defense took a significant step this week," Franklin said. "We kind of cut some things back and made sure our guys could pay the things that we were asking them to call and play them with a ton of confidence against every formation — motion, shift, empty, unbalanced, whatever adjustment it was — and I thought that helped us play with confidence.''
They didn't force any turnovers, but they came up with some big stops at key moments. They bent but never broke on Clemson's final drive after a second Luke Reynolds touchdown, his second of the game, with less than two minutes left, which turned into the game-winning drive. What a way to go into a bye week.
Speaking of Franklin, he was the subject of discussion on social media after he helped a Hokies equipment guy push his cart in. You love to see it.
James Franklin greeted nearly everyone repping Virginia Tech going into the tunnel, then doubled back and helped the equipment guy push his cart in.
— Caroline Soro (@caroline_soro) October 25, 2026
VT comes back late to beat Clemson 20-16. pic.twitter.com/hfdHo5gRpQ
How did Clemson do that?
No matter how many times you look back and watch the game-winning touchdown pass from Ethan Grunkemeyer to Reynolds, you still can't believe that he was that wide open behind the Tigers' defense. He's a future NFL tight end, and you leave him open in the end zone. Even Hokies wide receiver Que'Sean Brown was surprised, per Andy Bitter of Tech Sideline.
#Hokies WR Que'Sean Brown on how open TE Luke Reynolds got on the touchdown play at the end: "That was a little surprising. C’mon, now. You can’t leave that man open!"
— Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) October 25, 2026
We agree, Que'Sean.
More Virginia Tech Hokies News
- The Virginia Tech volleyball team split a trip this weekend to the Northeast against Boston College and Syracuse. The Hokies dropped a 3-0 decision to BC on Friday night, before bouncing back and edging the Orange, 3-2, on Sunday to improve to 6-13 overall and 3-7 in the ACC. They will host Florida State next Friday and Miami on Sunday.
- Virginia Tech's men's soccer team dug deep on Sunday and pulled out a 2-2 with No. 3 Clemson at Thompson Field. The Hokies played the last 50 minutes with 10 players after a red card was handed out. Virginia Tech is 7-5-3 overall and 3-2-2 following the tie and will host Syracuse on Friday in their final regular season match. Tito Peralta opened the scoring for Tech in the fourth minute. After the Tigers tallied two goals in the 20 minutes of the first half, Chase Vazquez tallied the game-tying goal in the 67th minute for Virginia Tech.
- After grabbing a 1-0 lead in the second half on a Gabby Ciocca, the Hokies women's soccer team settled for a 1-1 draw with Clemson after the Tigers tied the game in the 83rd minute. Virginia Tech is 6-5-5 overall and 2-4-2 in ACC play. They will host Boston College on Thursday night at Thompson Field.
- Following a 20-16 win on Saturday night at Clemson, the Hokies football team sits at 6-2 overall and received one vote in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll that was released on Sunday. Virginia Tech has a bye this week before visiting SMU on Nov. 6.
Add us as a preferred source on Google