Three Bold Predictions For Virginia Tech vs. Maryland

Malik Washington completed 18 straight passes last Saturday at UConn, a Maryland program record. Through two games, the sophomore quarterback is hitting 73.6% of his throws.

Those games were against Hampton and UConn. Saturday's comes against the defense that leads the country in sacks.

Virginia Tech (2-0) visits SECU Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on FS1 as roughly a three-point favorite. Maryland (2-0) owns the longest active nonconference winning streak in the FBS at 20 games. Neither team has faced a Power Four opponent yet.

Here are three bold predictions for the game.

1. Malik Washington completes under 55% of his passes

This is the boldest of the three, so start with the case against it. Washington's 34-of-41 afternoon at UConn was the best completion percentage of his career, and new receivers Na'eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding and Chris Durr Jr. both went over 100 yards.

Then look at last year. Washington completed 57.7% of his passes as a true freshman. He finished under 55% in seven of his 12 starts, including six of nine Big Ten games and five of his final six.

The Hokies lead the nation with 12 sacks and 32 tackles for loss, and defensive ends Mylachi Williams and Cortez Harris have three sacks apiece. Defensive coordinator Brent Pry, fired as the Hokies' head coach last September and brought back by head coach James Franklin in February, is calling it. Franklin said the staff's approach has been "about being disruptive and getting people off schedule."

Maryland allowed just nine sacks last season and has given up only one through its first two games this year. So this is not necessarily a sack-heavy prediction. Rather, it is about Virginia Tech's ability to make Washington uncomfortable, forcing him to get the ball out a beat early, batting passes down at the line of scrimmage, and forcing him to throw the ball away.

2. Luke Reynolds tops 100 receiving yards again

Virginia Tech will want to run the ball. It may not be able to. Maryland has allowed 77 rushing yards on 62 carries this season, and the Hokies just ran 42 times for 89 yards against Old Dominion. Getting starting center Kyle Altuner back helps. Virginia Tech held him out of that game as a precaution, and Franklin expects him to be good to go in College Park. But one lineman doesn't solve a front that's allowing barely more than a yard per carry.

That puts it on quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, who's completed 48 of 62 passes for 551 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. When he needs a completion, he's looking for his old Penn State teammate.

Reynolds caught eight passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns against Old Dominion. No Virginia Tech tight end had reached 100 yards since James Mitchell's 103 at North Carolina in 2020. The game made Reynolds the ACC Receiver of the Week, and he leads the Hokies with 13 catches, 158 yards, and three touchdowns.

Maryland has 10 sacks through two games. Against that kind of rush, you want a big target in the middle of the field who wins when the ball is contested.

That's Reynolds' whole game. Hokie safety Tyson Flowers called him possibly the best tight end he's gone against. Offensive coordinator Ty Howle coached Reynolds at Penn State, so he knows exactly where to put him. Franklin has already called the Grunkemeyer, Que'Sean Brown, and Reynolds trio "problematic" for defenses.

3. Virginia Tech wins by double digits

The betting market sees a close game. Franklin's history with Maryland says otherwise.

In 11 meetings as Penn State's head coach, Franklin went 9-2 against the Terps, and six of those wins came by 30 points or more. The last one ended with Penn State throwing a touchdown pass on the final play of a 44-7 win in 2024, which led to a postgame confrontation between Franklin and Maryland head coach Mike Locksley. Locksley spent this week insisting Saturday "won't be about James and Locks."

Virginia Tech hasn't beaten a nonconference Power Four team since 2017, and a win would make the Hokies 3-0 for the first time since that same season.

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