Glass Half Full or Half Empty? Breaking Down Some of the Minutiae Behind Virginia Tech's 2-0 Start

Virginia Tech is 2-0, but its early numbers come with plenty of caveats. Here's a closer look at the minutiae behind the Hokies' start.

Sep 12, 2026; Blacksburg, Va.; ODU wide receiver Josh Rodriguez (8) catches a pass as Virginia Tech cornerback Thomas Williams (23) defends. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech football will search for its first 3-0 start since 2017 when it travels to College Park to challenge Maryland on Saturday. The Hokies haven't won a nonconference game against a Power Four opponent since that same season, when they defeated West Virginia at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.

From a glass-half-full perspective, though, Virginia Tech might have its best opportunity in years to end that drought.

First: Virginia Tech has outscored its opponents 117-24 through eight quarters. The glass-half-empty perspective is fairly obvious, though: Those points came against teams ranked No. 96 (Old Dominion) and No. 408 (VMI) in SP+ entering Week 3.

Next: Ethan Grunkemeyer's gone 48-for-62 for 551 yards and four scores. The other perspective is that many of those passes have been for short- to medium-length yardage — Grunkemeyer holds a drab 39.8 grade on Pro Football Focus when operating with deep passes (throws going for 20-plus yards), though he's only attempted four such throws.

That total ranks No. 213 among 228 eligible quarterbacks who have logged a grade. The glass-half-full perspective? We're talking about a sample size of only four attempts. Grunkemeyer has otherwise been excellent in the areas Virginia Tech has asked him to operate most frequently, including a 91.2 PFF grade on throws to the short middle of the field.

So, is the deep ball actually a concern? Maybe. Or maybe four attempts through two games aren't nearly enough to answer the question yet.

The same push-and-pull exists when evaluating Virginia Tech's offense as a whole. The Hokies have scored 117 points through two games, but Old Dominion exposed some vulnerabilities up front on Saturday, recording 10 tackles for loss and four sacks.

Virginia Tech's laundry list of laudable accomplishments against VMI is lengthy, though each comes with the obvious caveat that the Keydets enter Week 3 ranked No. 408 in SP+. Here's a look at some of the program-specific stats, which all date back since 1987:

• second-most points (73)
• sixth-most points in a first half (45)
• best margin of victory since 1922 (70)
• tied-fourth-most rushing touchdowns (six)
• tied-ninth-most passing yards (351)
• ninth-most first downs (30)
• fifth-most total offense (619 yards)
• tied-fifth-fewest punts (one)
• fourth-fewest yards of total offense allowed (83)

Take that with a pinch of salt, but Virginia Tech did what it needed to do: It destroyed a vastly inferior opponent.

In the Old Dominion game, Virginia Tech completed 32 passes, its most since at least 1987. Interestingly, six of the next 10 games on that list resulted in losses. That doesn't necessarily make 32 completions a negative — teams often accumulate high passing totals when playing from behind — but Saturday's performance was different. Virginia Tech leaned on its passing game while building a 34-6 halftime lead, rather than using it in an attempt to erase a deficit.

Virginia Tech also converted three fourth downs against Old Dominion, tied for the seventh-most in a game since 1987, alongside several other games. Of the six games ahead of it on that list, only one resulted in a victory. There's a glass-half-empty explanation there — consistently needing fourth-down conversions isn't necessarily an ideal recipe for offensive success — but Virginia Tech converted when Franklin kept his offense on the field. Against Old Dominion, aggressiveness was rewarded rather than necessitated by playing from behind.

That becomes more pertinent with Maryland looming. Virginia Tech's rushing attack managed only 89 net yards against Old Dominion after compiling 268 against VMI, while starting center Kyle Altuner missed Saturday's game after suffering an injury in the opener. Right guard Montavious Cunningham's ejection against the Monarchs also means the Hokies could be forced to navigate at least part of Saturday's contest without their preferred combination up front.

The glass-half-full perspective is that Virginia Tech still scored 44 points despite those struggles. Grunkemeyer helped compensate through the air, and the Hokies built a 34-6 halftime advantage even without consistently winning on the ground. The glass-half-empty perspective is wondering whether that formula will remain viable against a considerably better Maryland front.

Almost every encouraging statistic Virginia Tech has produced through two games comes with a reasonable caveat, but almost every concern comes with one, too. Maryland won't answer every question surrounding Franklin's first Virginia Tech team, but after two weeks spent trying to determine how much of the Hokies' success is real, Week 3 should provide considerably more evidence as to what the concrete positives and negatives surrounding Tech.

Virginia Tech's Week 3 clash with Maryland is set for Saturday, Sept. 19, at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will be aired live on FS1.