Virginia Tech Quotes That Matter From Head Coach James Franklin After 51-28 Loss to SMU
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DALLAS — Virginia Tech football sustained a 51-28 loss to SMU in Dallas on Friday, conceding its most points in a single game since Maryland in the 2021 Pinstripe Bowl. After the contest, head coach James Franklin spoke to the media. Here are some of the most noteworthy quotes and observations from Franklin's post-SMU presser:
Franklin thought the team did not play well in any of the three phases.
SMU produced 569 total yards of offense, the 11th-most against Virginia Tech in a single game dating back to at least 1987 and the most since North Carolina rolled up 656 yards on Oct. 10, 2020. The Hokies were outscored 21-0 from the 9:10 mark of the third quarter to the 9:15 mark of the fourth, and they entered the fourth quarter trailing 37-14.
"We did not play well at all," Franklin said. "We did not play up to the standard. Ultimately, I'm responsible for that. Give SMU a ton of credit, give [SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee] a ton of credit. They played really well. And we did not play well, really in all three phases — offense, defense and special teams.
"So we got out-coached, we got out-executed and did not play well. Again, give SMU a ton of credit, because they created those opportunities in that situation, but we did not play well and it’s not acceptable, it’s not anywhere near the standard and again, ultimately, I’m responsible."
Franklin reaffirmed his belief in Grunkemeyer; he acknowledged the junior QB's fumble was part of a "significant turn of events."
Grunkemeyer was 28-of-38 for 291 yards, one touchdown and one interception, though 159 of his yards came in the final quarter, where the Hokies were already trailing by more than three scores. The junior quarterback stayed in for the whole game; during one sequence, with the Hokies trailing 44-14, he came up limping but waved off backup signal-caller Bryce Baker from the field.
"We're not protecting well," Franklin said on the offensive issues. "... When we go play-action pass and try to take shots down then field, we're not protecting well. ... We’re not good enough to just drop back in obvious passing downs. We were able to run the ball, but again then when the score gets a little bit out of hand, then that’s challenging. ... We’ve got to be more consistent in protection.
"We’ve got to be more consistent in decision-making and timing. We made things a lot more difficult tonight than it needed to be in ways that we really haven’t done all year long. For whatever reason, we were a bit off really in all three phases. It made everything harder than it needed to be."
Perhaps the most game-defining sequence came in the second quarter. Trailing 13-7, Grunkemeyer was strip-sacked and SMU recovered the football. The Mustangs scored a touchdown on the very next play with a 46-yard touchdown from quarterback Kevin Jennings to wide receiver Yamir Knight.
Before that play, however, Virginia Tech's offsides penalty — assessed to defensive tackle Kemari Copeland — had negated a Jaquez White interception on the right sideline.
"We had a chance to get off the field, which we hadn't done up to that point," Franklin said. "... That series of events was, again, really good for them and positive in how they handled it, how the executed and what they called. And we did not do a good job."
Franklin thought it was a little bit of both, referencing Virginia Tech's shortcoming on defense and SMU's upick in offensive firepower.
SMU was the first team to hang 50 on a James Franklin-coached team since USC took down Franklin's Penn State unit 52-49 in the 2017 Rose Bowl.
Like that outcome — the Trojans totaled 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter of that Rose Bowl — Friday's event hinged upon the second half. Virginia Tech's struggles were again compounded by a lackluster third quarter, during which the Hokies were outscored 14-0, leaving them facing a 23-point deficit entering the final frame.
When asked whether Franklin thought it was more SMU's offense or Virginia Tech's defense that was behind Friday's event, he leaned towards the midlde.
"I think it was both," Franklin said. "You've got to give SMU credit. We know they’re good. We know the quarterback’s good. They’ve been doing this for a number of years. They’ve been very good at home. And we did not play well.
"We were not able to get pressure on the quarterback. We did not bat any balls down. And we were not challenging throws — in coverage, is what I mean. ... We did not play well and they played well."
It's the third time in the last four games that Virginia Tech has conceded 300-plus passing yards and the fourth time to a Power Four opponent in seven such contests.
What's Franklin's post-game message to the team?
Franklin said that he wasn't sure if the team was drinking the Kool-Aid but that the team got humbled. The defeat marked the first loss for a Franklin-coached team by more than three touchdowns since Penn State fell 41-17 to Michigan on Oct. 15, 2022.
"That's the coaches, that's the players," Franklin said. "We got a team coming in next week that's going to create some challenges, as well. They're going to look at the things that we're struggling with on tape, and it's going to continue to show up."
Franklin talked at length on SMU's up-tempo, RPO-heavy attack that gashed Virginia Tech throughout the evening.
“RPOs are challenging,” Franklin said. “What the whole concept is, it’s a little bit like old option football, where you’re able to block the front. Then, you’re either going to take an outside linebacker or a safety, and you’re going to read that guy and put him in conflict. They do as good a job of it as anybody.”
Franklin specifically pointed to SMU's ability to block Virginia Tech's safeties and exploit the Hokies' inability to replace those defenders quickly enough with their cornerbacks.
“They did a really good job with coming in and cracking our safeties, and we’ve got to do a better job with crack replace,” Franklin said. “We did that, but we did not do it fast enough; we didn’t execute it enough at a high enough level, and we weren’t able to get it fixed.”
The Hokies' defensive difficulties extended beyond SMU's RPO scheme, with Franklin acknowledging that Virginia Tech struggled to execute across all three phases.
“We’re just not playing clean, confident football, and tonight, we really didn’t do it in one phase,” Franklin said. “We didn’t do it in any of the phases, and again, ultimately, that’s on me.”
Virginia Tech will take on Stanford on Saturday, Nov. 14, at eiher 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2 or 7:30 p.m. ET on the ACC Network.
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Hughes serves as Virginia Tech On SI's lead editor, a position that he has held since July 2025. Hughes is a junior at Virginia Tech majoring in sports media and analytics. He also serves as the open-wheel correspondent for the motorsports outlet Steering Wheel Nation, where he has written on Formula 1, the NTT IndyCar Series, the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. Hughes has previously authored bylines in 3304 Sports, Virginia Tech's multimedia student journalism outlet.
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