Three Bold Predictions for Virginia Tech vs. Old Dominion

Virginia Tech hosts Old Dominion at noon Saturday in Lane Stadium with both teams sitting at 1-0. The Hokies opened with a 73-3 win over VMI in head coach James Franklin's debut. The Monarchs beat Norfolk State 31-10 and have now won seven in a row dating back to last season.

The two met a year ago almost to the day, and Old Dominion won 45-26 in Blacksburg for the program's first win over a Power Four opponent. Virginia Tech fired head coach Brent Pry the next morning. Pry is back at Lane Stadium on Saturday as Franklin's defensive coordinator, calling the defense against the same program that ended his tenure.

Here are three bold predictions.

1. The Hokies get 10+ tackles for loss.

Virginia Tech finished the VMI game with 18 tackles for loss, the most in a Hokies game since the school began keeping records in 1987. Twelve of them came in the first half.

The easy dismissal is that VMI is an FCS team running a first-year triple option, and that's fair. The Keydets ran it 43 times for -4 yards. Volume plus a bad offensive line manufactures numbers like that.

Here's the part that doesn't dismiss so easily. Norfolk State, which lost by three scores, put 7.0 tackles for loss and two sacks on Old Dominion's front.

Old Dominion is going to run it. The Monarchs set a program record with 3,098 rushing yards last season, seventh nationally at 238.3 per game. Quarterback Quinn Henicle led them in rushing last week and has scored twice on the ground. Run-heavy offenses hand out tackles for loss. Run-heavy offenses with a mobile quarterback hand out more.

And Tech didn't do it with one guy. Nine different players recorded at least a full tackle for loss against VMI. Mylachi Williams, Keon Wylie and Cortez Harris, all three Penn State transfers who followed Franklin south, combined for 6.0 of the 18.

2. Que'Sean Brown clears 100 receiving yards again.

Virginia Tech went all 12 games last season without a 100-yard receiver. Que'Sean Brown needed one.

The Duke transfer caught six passes for 109 yards against VMI, including a 51-yard touchdown from Ethan Grunkemeyer on a snap that started first-and-20. He added 38 yards on two punt returns. Right now, he's the most dangerous thing this offense has in open space.

The bold part is the opponent. Old Dominion finished second in the Sun Belt in total defense last season and just held Norfolk State to 94 passing yards on 20 attempts, with an interception and five sacks.

But Virginia Tech's passing game ranked 125th out of 136 FBS teams a year ago at 166.3 yards per game, and importing Grunkemeyer and offensive coordinator Ty Howle from Penn State was the fix. Grunkemeyer went 17 of 20 for 224 yards and two scores in his first start as a Hokie. Tech threw for 351 as a team, scored on its first six possessions and didn't allow a sack.

3. Old Dominion doesn't crack 100 rushing yards.

A year ago in this building, the Monarchs ran for 250 yards. They led 28-0 at halftime and cost a head coach his job.

The guy who did most of that damage is in Madison now. Colton Joseph, the 2025 Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year, rushed for 1,007 yards and 13 touchdowns before signing with Wisconsin in January. Henicle is a very capable runner, which makes this prediction a tall order. He had 68 yards on 13 carries against Norfolk State.

Tech went into the portal specifically for a linebacker who could account for a running quarterback and took Wylie first. He brought 8.0 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks with him from Penn State.

I expect Virginia Tech to control the line of scrimmage, leaving Old Dominion with little choice but to rely on its passing game. That could spell trouble for the Monarchs, who recorded just 143 receiving yards in their opener.

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