Virginia Tech Pummels VMI 73-3 To Open James Franklin Era

BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech football's clash with VMI on Saturday — its first-ever with new head coach James Franklin — appeared preordained for a Hokies victory.

Handled business.#LetsGoHokies | @cmgleasing pic.twitter.com/gGw4QazTrj
— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) September 6, 2026

A look at the statistics — Power Four Schools held a 131-game winning streak against FCS schools entering the day, the Hokies were projected to win 68-0 by SP+ and Virginia Tech hadn't lost to an FCS school since 2010 — indicates that plenty, but the Hokies (1-0) held the keys to the castle for the entirety of Saturday's display, romping to a 73-3 victory over the Keydets (0-2) Saturday evening at Lane Stadium.

The game was over before it ever truly started. On the first drive of the game, Virginia Tech sophomore Jeffrey Overton Jr. burst around the left for a 50-yard house call to give the Hokies an immediate 7-0 lead. VMI went three-and-out, but on its ensuing punt, starting safety Tyson Flowers blocked the punt with fellow safety Sheldon Robinson making the recovery. That sequence set Virginia Tech at VMI's nine-yard line, and running back Marcellous Hawkins needed just one rush to reach the endzone, capping off a five-second drive.

Grunkemeyer — a junior that was a redshirt sophomore under the old NCAA rules before it was revised to the current "five-for-five" regulations — threw for 224 yards and two scores on a 17-of-20 clip. He was subbed out after the first drive of the third quarter for North Carolina transfer Bryce Baker, who completed 10 of his 12 passes for 127 yards and one touchdown.

Back to Grunkemeyer's segment: Virginia Tech kept on rolling after the Beamerball-esque sequence with Overton Jr. capping off a two-minute, 30-second drive with a 23-yard outside run to paydirt. Though the Hokies sustained two offsides penalties on the following drive — a byproduct of integrating over 50 newcomers into the team, many of them redshirt freshmen under the NCAA's old eligibility rules — Virginia Tech snuffed out VMI's opportunity, forcing a punt at its own 41.

On the ensuing drive, Grunkemeyer found Que'Sean Brown twice for gains of 18 and 20 before setting up Greene for a short seven-yard toss up the middle. Hawkins then amassed 26 yards over his next two totes before punching the ball from one yard out to boost the Hokies' score to a four-touchdown advantage.

And Virginia Tech still wasn't done. After the Hokies settled for a 32-yard field goal from kicker John Love, Grunkemeyer found wideout Que'Sean Brown on a short crossing pattern. The Duke transfer scythed through a gaggle of Keydets who tried and failed to corral him, zipping 51 yards to the house for his first touchdown as a Hokie.

It was arguable that Virginia Tech's defense was just as potent as its offense. The Hokies' defense sacked Keydets quarterback Chandler Wilson four times; Wilson did not throw for any passes. As a team, VMI did not attempt a pass until the 4:29 mark of the second quarter. Meanwhile, its rushing attack was held to two net rushing yards in the first half.

While Virginia Tech's defense held stout, it did occasionally waver. The Hokies were called for three offsides penalties in the opening half, assessed to Samuel Okunlola, Javion Hilson and Gerard Johnson. Despite the penalties, Virginia Tech benefitted from VMI committing three of its own. The Keydets went 2-for-3 through the air in the second quarter, though their rushing attack continued to be stiffed by the Hokies.

Grunkemeyer went 7-for-9 for 120 yards in the second quarter, contributing to Virginia Tech's 24-point frame. Seven of those points came off another Beamerball-type play when Hokies safety Sheldon Robinson blocked another VMI punt. Fellow safety Knahlij Harrell found himself in the right spot, scooping up the ball in the endzone to extend Virginia Tech's lead to 45-0 after the successful PAT. The 45-point first half was the sixth-most in a single game for the program since at least 1987, per the HokieSports stats website.

Virginia Tech football's 45 points in the first half was the sixth-most for the program in a single game since at least 1987, per the HokieSports stats website.#Hokies pic.twitter.com/WSgggvaief
— Thomas Hughes (@thomashughes_05) September 6, 2026

With Virginia Tech up by 45 — the first time since Tulsa in the 2015 Independence Bowl that the Hokies had scored 45 in a single half, per the program — Grunkemeyer stayed in to open the third quarter. Following another three-and-out, he started his first drive at the 24-yard line after a Tyseer Denmark punt-return touchdown was wiped out by a holding penalty on Curtis Jones Jr. Hawkins made a three-yard gain that then set up a 21-yard touchdown to tight end Luke Reynolds. The Penn State transfer tight end finished with 50 yards on five catches.

Virginia Tech continued to keep its starters in sans Grunkemeyer — the Hokies then inserted Baker from the second drive of the third quarter onwards — and it reached the end zone for the eighth time when Hawkins punched in a two-yard carry for his third score of the evening. It was Hawkins' second-ever three-touchdown game, joining a 2023 contest during his time at Central Missouri.

The Hokies' domination extended out to the extent that they did not fail to score on a drive until the 2:30 mark of the third quarter — at which point Virginia Tech already held a unassailable 59-0 lead. Though Baker's 35-yard toss to Keylen "Brodie" Adams for his first score was wiped out due to an ineligible man downfield, the Hokies kept on chugging. On the subsequent play, Baker found Wiggins down the right for a 40-yard score. It was Wiggins' first touchdown of his career — and his first touchdown.

First career TD pass for @thebrycebaker2 ✅
First career receiving TD for @ChanzWiggins ✅#LetsGoHokies | Live on @accnetwork pic.twitter.com/J9pkrXfZ0y
— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) September 6, 2026

Following the sequence, Virginia Tech marched down the field, setting up a pair of Wildcat plays for quarterback-turned-wideout AJ Brand. The sophomore punched it in from one yard out, paving the way for Virginia Tech to break the 70-point barrier for the first time since the 1995 season.

Que'Sean Brown totaled a game-high 109 receiving yards on six catches, while true freshman Davion "FatRat" Brown accumulated 31 receiving yards on a trio of catches. Wiggins, Denmark and Ayden Greene chipped in with 40, 36 and 23 receiving yards, respectively.

On the groud, it was a similar story. sophomore Jeffrey Overton Jr. tabulated 109 yards on six totes, while incumbent No. 1 back Marcellous Hawkins rushed for 69 yards on a game-high 12 carries. True freshman Messiah Mickens totaled 23 yards on five totes; on Tech Talk Live's show Thursday, Franlin remarked that he's the No. 3 running back in the depth chart at the moment behind Hawkins and Overton, albeit on a week-to-week basis with the junior Mason. In total, Virginia Tech ran 40 times for 268 yards. Its quarterbacks (Grunkemeyer with 224, Baker with 127) combined for 351 yards and three scores on a 27-of-32 clip.

Team captain and linebacker George Ballance led the defense with six tackles (three solo), while linebackers Curtis Jones Jr, Noah Chambers and Keon Wylie, and defensive end Aycen Stevens totaled four. Stevens, who also forced a fumble, totaled 1.5 sacks, his first such instances at the collegiate level.

In total, Virginia Tech reached the end zone 10 times, scoring the second-most touchdowns in a single game since at least 1987, only behind Akron in 1995 (11). Virginia Tech's 73-point margin of victory also was the first time since 1922 against Catholic that the Hokies had won by that many. Its 17 tackles for loss were also the most since at least 1987, per Tech Sideline's David Cunningham.

Old Dominion is next up on Saturday, Sept. 12, at 12 p.m. ET on the ACC Network. For the team's returnees, it represents a chance to cleanse last year's 45-26 defeat — one that resulted in then-head coach Brent Pry's firing, preempted the hiring of Franklin and, in many ways, paved the way for what came after.

Add us as a preferred source on Google