Closing Thoughts Before Week 6: The Paradigm Shift Is Clear

There's a different vibe around Virginia Tech football now.

Virginia Tech Athletics

Virginia Tech has one more day before it officially hits the halfway mark of its 2025 campaign. And what a rocky and turbulent campaign it has been. It started with three straight losses, the first such occurrence since 1987.

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— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) October 2, 2025

Old Dominion was where the wheels fell off the bus; ironically, head coach Brent Pry's tenure was bookended with a pair of losses to the Monarchs. Interim head coach Philip Montgomery stepped in and through a pair of games, sits at 2-0. More importantly: the one-score win over N.C. State that appears to have reinvigorated a lineup that seemed stuck in neutral and slowly rolling down the hill.

"Guys are excited," said Virginia Tech kicker John Love on Wednesday. "Guys want to come back here, play a home game in front of the fans, and it's just ready to attack the next week."

That energy is not only evident but also needed against a beatable Wake Forest squad. The Demon Deacons may be weakened coming into Saturday's clash; while signal-caller Robby Ashford and tailback Demond Claiborne both were listed as "probable" on last night's initial ACC player availability report, it's by no means a 100% chance that they'll suit up Saturday.

Things feel different around Virginia Tech football right now. That doesn’t mean everything is fixed — in fact, far from it. ESPN’s FPI still projects the Hokies as underdogs in nearly every game left on the schedule after Wake Forest. But for the first time in a while, it feels like there's a concrete sense of direction, a framework to build on.

In the short term, Montgomery is steering the ship, providing stability and setting the tone for how the program moves forward week to week. Longer term, there’s now a commitment to institutional backing to match the optimism. The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors recently approved a $229 million budget increase over the next four years, a significant show of commitment to athletics and facilities. Notably, $120 million of that figure is expected to come from philanthropic giving, meaning the full impact depends on how much outside investment the university can secure.

Still, it signals a paradigm shift: the Hokies aren’t just trying to tread water anymore. They’re laying the groundwork for competitiveness — both in the present and the years to come. No longer is it a play not to lose, but playing to win.

The question now is how Virginia Tech can translate this newfound structure into results that matter on the field. For all the optimism surrounding the program’s direction, wins and losses are still the ultimate currency in college football. Fans can see blueprints and budgets, but Saturdays are when belief is truly built.

That’s why the upcoming stretch of games will be telling. Even if ESPN’s FPI sees the Hokies as underdogs, the opportunity for momentum exists. A close loss to a ranked opponent, or an upset in a hostile environment, could reinforce the sense that the foundation being laid is worth buying into. Conversely, lopsided defeats risk undoing the progress in perception that has quietly taken place since Montgomery took over.

n today’s landscape of NIL and transfer portal mobility, the Hokies cannot afford to fall behind in infrastructure. The $229 million commitment doesn’t just help football — it should aid most sports, albeit in a limited manner. The vast number of the $229 million will go to football on account of it being the sport that provides the most money. That doesn’t mean the rebuild is close to complete, but it does mean that for the first time in a while, the Hokies have positioned themselves to climb the mountain instead of stagnating and not wanting to slip further.

Virginia Tech will contest the Demon Deacons tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET; fans can watch the game on the CW.