Closing Thoughts Before Week 4: It's Beyond The Contest for Virginia Tech Football

With a night to go before game time, lead editor Thomas Hughes gives his closing remarks before the Hokies take on Wofford.

Sep 13, 2025; Blacksburg, Va.; Virginia Tech safety Tyson Flowers (11) tackles Old Dominion quarterback Colton Joseph (1). | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

Barring a collapse, Virginia Tech football should win this coming game. It comes against a winless squad, an FCS school and a team that's failed top 21 points, all in one opponent: FCS Wofford. That's no knock to the Terriers (0-3); this is simply a game that the Hokies (0-3) are heavily favored in and should win without much cause for concern.

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However, the issue is that they may have issues with Wofford. This is an opportunity to see what the Hokies can be at their apex when all is well. It's not to see what happens when their backs are placed against the wall. Through a trio of games, that response has become evident. This squad does not possess the firepower of its 2024 teration, but the hope was that the team had enough depth to compensate for it. Through one game, there was the hope of a defensive line that appeared nimble and able and of a collective defense that was solid as a whole, aside from allowing several chunk plays.

Two games in, it doesn't feel like there's much optimism. Pry's message was about ignoring the outside noise and instead focusing inward. At least, from now-interim head coach Philip Montgomery's initial press conference on Tuesday, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. If anything, it seems to be the narrative of rewriting a dreary story. Montgomery mentioned the specific phrase of "rewriting a story" four times Tuesday and for good reason.

So far, this season in a book hasn't been the kind of writing Hokies fans are accustomed to; through three games, the Hokies are winless, something that hasn't occurred since 1987. For a reference of how long that actually is, in 1987, my father was in his senior year of college and had not entered law school yet. He has now been a fully certified and practicing lawyer for over 30 years.

With that being said, the likelihood that Virginia Tech drops this contest is next-to-none. All the chips are in its favor and the ball is in its court. In many ways, this goes beyond the game, which seems to have been determined even before kickoff. Instead, it's about preparation for what's to come.

This season is not over, even if it may feel like it. The focus is now towards picking up the pieces and simply moving forward. And for the Hokies, N.C. State now awaits on the horizon, a challenge appearing far more daunting than it did a month ago.

Through three games, second-year starter CJ Bailey has quietly put himself among the nation’s most efficient quarterbacks. His 84.5 QBR ranks 12th in the country and third in the ACC, trailing only Miami's Carson Beck (No. 4, 89.9) and Florida State's Tommy Castellanos (No. 5, 89.5). For a quarterback still relatively early in his development, that’s a number that should make opposing defenses uneasy, especially one that's fragile like Virginia Tech is.

In the meantime, the Hokies take on Wofford at 12 p.m. ET tomorrow, with viewing available on ACC Network. After that, NC State awaits in a week's time, coming on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. ET on the CW.