Virginia Tech Football Receives Intriguing Bowl Projection Ahead Of 2026 Season

The Hokies could be set for a first-year bowl appearance under new head coach James Franklin.

Virginia Tech Athletics

Virginia Tech football is set to start its 2026 season on Saturday, Sept. 5, against VMI, its first under new head coach James Franklin. Expectations for the season are elevated following a incoming class of just over 50 players from the high school ranks and the transfer portal.

My post-spring College Football Playoff + bowl projections are out ...

My futures are heavy on Miami and Oregon. One of those two will win a national title this season (FREE): https://t.co/us5yeFh2YG pic.twitter.com/KjoQeFPMKD

— Brad Crawford (@BCrawford247) May 6, 2026

CBS Sports' Brad Crawford released his picks for his 82 bowl teams. Teams must have six wins to qualify for a bowl; however, if programs decline the invites, then five-win teams can make the cut.

Crawford's predictions have Virginia Tech traveling to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, Calif., to face off against Arizona State. Crawford's predictions also have Franklin's former team Penn State, going to the ReliaQuest Bowl to face off against Texas A&M. The article also included the top-12 teams that he thinks will make the College Football Playoff, which are as follows:

1. Miami
2. Texas
3. Oregon
4. Notre Dame
5. Georgia
6. Indiana
7. Texas Tech
8. Ohio State
9. LSU
10. SMU
11. Ole Miss
12. UNLV

Last year, Virginia Tech finished with a 3-9 (2-6 ACC) record, losing six of its final seven games and falling to Virginia 27-7 to close out the year. The Hokies finished with the lowest win percentage since 1992 (.227, 2-8-1) with their .250 mark. It was only the second time in the 2000s that the Hokies finished with a mark below .400.

Since Frank Beamer retired after the 2015 season, Virginia Tech has stagnated following a strong start from then-head coach Justin Fuente. Vriginia Tech finished No. 16 and No. 24 in the AP Polls at the end of the 2016 and 2017 seasons, but they have not finished with more than seven wins (one game above .500) in six seasons. Virginia Tech went 16-24 in three-plus seasons under Brent Pry, ultimately firing him on Sept. 14, 2025, after a 45-26 loss to Old Dominion where the Hokies trailed 28-0 at halftime and by as many as 31.The season before, Virginia Tech went 6-7 and sustained five one-score losses.

Franklin amassed a 128-60 record at Penn State, a tally that included six 10-win seasons. In 2024, Penn State finished with a 13-3 (8-1 BIg Ten) record, qualifying for the College Football Playoff in the first year of the expanded 12-team field. The Nittany Lions defeated both SMU and Boise State to advance to the national semifinals, where they lost 27-24 to Notre Dame and finished No. 5 in the final AP rankings.

However, Penn State stumbled out to a 3-3 start in the first six games of the 2025 season, and Franklin was fired on Oct. 12. The Nittany Lions fell 30-24 against then-No. 6 Oregon in double-overtime before sustaining two more one-score losses to UCLA (42-37) and Northwestern (22-21). Penn State lost its next three games after the firing of Franklin, with its defeats coming to Iowa (25-24), then-No. 1 Ohio State (38-14) and then-No. 2 Indiana (27-24). The Nittany Lions ended the season on a four-game winning streak behind then-redshirt freshman quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, who transferred to Virginia Tech in the offseason.