How Does Virginia Tech Shape Up With The Rest of the ACC This Season?

Virginia Tech football remains entrenched in the offseason, but that also means it's one of the more interesting times of the college football year: preseason rankings time.

On3 released its preseason ACC Power Rankings Wednesday, placing Virginia Tech at No. 7, behind Maimi, SMU, Virginia, Louisville, Clemson and Duke.

NEW: Preseason ACC Power Rankings📈

(via @AndyStaples) https://t.co/djAiKrEOsd pic.twitter.com/PZGTHpzXR6
— On3 (@On3) June 10, 2026

Thoughts on On3's Rankings and What I Think's Fair

The main sticking point to me is how low Pitt is. The Panthers finished 8-5 (6-2 ACC) last year, tying for second in the final conference standings with four other schools. Pitt returns breakout quarterback Mason Heintschel, who will be a true sophomore in 2026. Other than that, however, I think that the majority of the rankings are fair.

Making an argument to swap Duke — which won't have either quarterback Darian Mensah or wide receiver Cooper Barkate, since both transferred to Miami — with Pitt seems fair, though Manny Diaz has totaled win marks of 9-4 and 9-5 in his first two seasons with the Blue Devils. I wouldn't count either school out, though the rest of the list makes sense.

Virginia Tech, meanwhile, could go in the 8-10 range, though I think No. 7 is a reasonable proposition in head coach James Franklin's first year. Though the Hokies haven't won more than seven games since the 2019 season, the start of the schedule shapes up incredibly well for Tech.

Though offseason optimism almost always reigns, Virginia Tech draws VMI in a season opener that should be virtually over by halftime. The Hokies draw Old Dominion, a squad now lacking Colton Joseph since he left for Wisconsin, and then Maryland, which went 4-8 (1-8 Big Ten) last season and lost its final eight games of the season.

Assuming that Virginia Tech takes care of business against Boston College (2-10 (1-7 ACC) in 2025), it has a realistic chance to enter Week 5 with a 4-0 record. Though the Hokies' end-of-season slate is worlds more difficult — they draw Clemson, SMU and Miami on the road — it seems that the favorable early-season schedule lines up for the Hokies to snag seven or eight wins if all goes according to plan.

To finish seventh in the ACC — barring last year's confusing concoction, where Louisville finished seventh with a 4-4 record and five schools tied for second — a school should typically be in the 5-4 bracket (previously 5-3; however, the ACC has now expanded its in-conference slate to nine games). Here's a quick look at Virginia Tech's conference slate:

Sept. 26: at Boston College
Oct. 2: vs. Pitt
Oct. 10: at California
Oct. 17: vs. Georgia Tech
Oct. 24: at Clemson
Nov. 6: at SMU
Nov. 14: vs. Stanford
Nov. 21: at Miami
Nov. 28: vs. Virginia

Boston College and Stanford profile as contests that Virginia Tech should be comfortably favored in. I think that Pitt is a 50/50 coin toss, while Virginia Tech can possibly beat Georgia Tech. Clemson, SMU, Miami and Virginia are the four games where I'd least favor the Hokies, though Clemson went 7-6 last season and appears on a downward trajectory. Virginia Tech hasn't won at Clemson since 2007, though. The end-of-season slate also depends on whether transfer-laden Virginia can keep its 2025 momentum going.

If it can, then the late-November clash could prove to be a matchup between two upper-echelon ACC rivals. I think that Virginia Tech has what it takes to finish 5-4 in league play, though there's several 50-50 games baked into their nine-game slate that could swing things the other way.

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