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2026 Virginia Tech

5–⁠2 (2–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by James Franklin. The season’s Wikipedia article records 4–⁠2, over six games to the seven on file here.

Schedule and results

Virginia Tech in 2026, game by game: won vs. VMI 73–3; won vs. Old Dominion 44–21; won at Maryland 35–26; won at Boston College 21–14; lost vs. Pittsburgh 33–35; lost at California 20–25; won vs. Georgia Tech 34–24+70−5Won 73–3 vs. VMI+70VMIWon 44–21 vs. Old Dominion+23Old DominionWon 35–26 at Maryland+9MarylandWon 21–14 at Boston College+7Boston CollegeLost 33–35 vs. Pittsburgh-2PittsburghLost 20–25 at California-5CaliforniaWon 34–24 vs. Georgia Tech+10Georgia Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsVMIW 73–⁠389%
Sep 12vsOld DominionW 44–⁠2135%
Sep 19atMarylandW 35–⁠2639%
Sep 26atBoston CollegeW 21–⁠1451%
Oct 2vsPittsburghL 33–⁠3548%
Oct 10atCaliforniaL 20–⁠2554%
Oct 17vsGeorgia TechW 34–⁠2455%
Oct 24atClemsonPreview34%
Nov 6atSMUPreview24%
Nov 14vsStanfordPreview68%
Nov 21atMiamiPreview15%
Nov 28vsVirginiaPreview55%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

Record
5–⁠2
Conference
2–⁠2 tied for 7th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP now
Unranked
Points
260–⁠148
Coach
James Franklin
Elo
1520 +91 this season
SP+ rating
9.5 No. 39 of 138; offense No. 38, defense No. 45, special teams No. 88
SRS
0.8 No. 64 of 138 in FBS
Returning
37% of last season’s EPA, No. 76 of 136
Recruiting class
No. 30 roster talent No. 27 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Ty Howle
Defensive coordinator
Brent Pry
Offense
Pro spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense41st of 138
  • Defense80th of 138
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted27th of 138
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted102nd of 138
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1743%1.3441st of 138
Defense0.1340%1.3680th of 138
Opponent-adjusted0.18 off
0.15 def		45% off
43% def		—27th off
102nd def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense49%7.0 yds11%3.0017%
Defense45%7.7 yds13%1.8031%
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.3own 3113% allowed
Defense3.1own 3024% caused

CORE rating 2.7, 52nd of 138 (offense 5.2, defense 2.5).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsEthan Grunkemeyer QB1,984 yds
Passing touchdownsEthan Grunkemeyer QB15 TD
Rushing yardsJeffrey Overton Jr. RB613 yds
Rushing touchdownsEthan Grunkemeyer QB5 TD
Receiving yardsQue’Sean Brown WR616 yds
Receiving touchdownsLuke Reynolds TE4 TD
TacklesKeon Wylie LB36 tkl
SacksAycen Stevens DL7 sacks
InterceptionsQuentin Reddish S1 INT

Top recruits in the 2026 class

Terry Wiggins LB★★★★No. 198
Messiah Mickens RB★★★★No. 253
Davion Brown WR★★★★No. 293
Troy Huhn QB★★★★No. 355
Thomas Wilder OT★★★★No. 389
Pierce Petersohn TE★★★★No. 392
Tyson Harley DE★★★★No. 412
Zaevion Cleveland CB★★★★No. 458

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2026 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.900
Running backs14.00.913
Receivers24.00.902
Offensive line73.10.880
Defensive line43.30.876
Linebackers33.30.895
Defensive backs23.50.888
Athletes and specialists33.00.832
Whole class233.30.880

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 122

The 2026 roster

122 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 66 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 29

The 2026 portal
Luke Reynolds TE★★★★from Penn State
Ethan Grunkemeyer QB★★★★from Penn State
Que’Sean Brown WR★★★★from Duke
Bryce Baker QB★★★from North Carolina
Daniel Jennings DE★★★from Penn State
Javion Hilson DE★★★from Missouri
Jeff Exinor Jr. WR★★★from Penn State
Keon Wylie LB★★★from Penn State
Mylachi Williams DE★★★from Penn State
Cortez Harris DE★★★from Penn State
Curtis Jones Jr. DE★★★from West Virginia
Eric Mensah DL★★★from Ohio State

And 17 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 27

Caleb Woodson LB★★★to Alabama
Cameron Seldon WR★★★to South Florida
Christian Ellis S★★★to Virginia
Dante Lovett CB★★★to UCLA
Isaiah Spencer WR★★★to Ole Miss
James Jennette DE★★★to Utah State
Micah Matthews WR★★★to James Madison
Michael Short LB★★★to TCU
Tucker Holloway WR★★★no new school on file
Keyshawn Burgos DE★★★to Purdue
Braydon Bennett RB★★★to Eastern Michigan
Garret Rangel QB★★★to UTRGV

And 15 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2026 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Miami4–⁠06–⁠0
Wake Forest4–⁠16–⁠1
SMU3–⁠15–⁠1
North Carolina2–⁠14–⁠2
Clemson2–⁠14–⁠2
Louisville3–⁠24–⁠3
Virginia Tech2–⁠25–⁠2
Pittsburgh2–⁠25–⁠2
Virginia2–⁠24–⁠3
California2–⁠23–⁠4
Duke1–⁠24–⁠2
NC State1–⁠23–⁠3
Boston College1–⁠23–⁠3
Georgia Tech1–⁠22–⁠4
Florida State1–⁠33–⁠4
Stanford1–⁠33–⁠4
Syracuse0–⁠42–⁠4

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.