Virginia Tech vs. Georgia Tech Positional Breakdown: Who had the edge in Blacksburg?
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Two straight losses have turned Saturday’s homecoming game into a must-win for Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech arrives off an upset of then-No. 23 Duke.
The Hokies (4–2, 1–2 ACC) were 4–0 before losing 35–33 to Pitt and 25–20 at Cal. The Yellow Jackets (2–3, 1–1 ACC) beat the Blue Devils 28–25. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network.
“We did not do enough to win the game and that’s on us,” coach James Franklin said Monday. Of Georgia Tech, he added: “They are big and physical on both fronts.”
On paper, the Hokies hold the edge at most positions. Here’s a position-by-position breakdown.
Quarterback
Ethan Grunkemeyer, a junior Penn State transfer, is completing 73.1% of his passes for 1,734 yards, 12 touchdowns and two interceptions, with four rushing scores. His big flaw this season has been ball security. He has lost two fumbles, and Pitt turned four Virginia Tech giveaways into 14 points in a two-point game.
Alberto Mendoza, the backup on Indiana’s national title team last season, is completing 69.9% for 1,193 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. He was sharpest against Duke, going 23-of-30 for 218 yards without taking a sack.
Edge: Virginia Tech. Grunkemeyer averages 289 passing yards per game to 238.6 for Mendoza.
Running back
Jeffrey Overton Jr. leads the Hokies with 528 yards at 5.9 per carry, but a big share came in two games: 104 yards against VMI and 209 in a nor’easter at Boston College. In the other four, the sophomore has averaged 3.9 yards per carry.
Georgia Tech’s backfield is trending the other way. Justice Haynes, who ran for 857 yards in seven games at Michigan last season, has 462 yards on 5.3 per carry. Trelain Maddox has four touchdowns on 25 carries, three of them against Duke.
“They got two backs that are really playing at a high level for them,” Franklin said.
Edge: Georgia Tech, slightly. Over the last two games, Haynes and Maddox have averaged 6.2 yards per carry. Overton and Marcellous Hawkins Jr. have averaged 4.0.
Wide receiver
Que’Sean Brown, a senior Duke transfer, has 40 catches for 434 yards, including 147 against Pitt. Ayden Greene averages 19.6 yards per catch and has scored in each of the last two games.
Georgia Tech leans on Jordan Allen, a 5′9″ sophomore Franklin said the Yellow Jackets “use a lot of different ways.” Allen has 28 catches for 312 yards and caught 10 passes against Duke.
Edge: Virginia Tech. The Hokies throw for 310.2 yards per game to Georgia Tech’s 238.6. Three Virginia Tech pass catchers have at least 275 receiving yards. Georgia Tech has one.
Tight end
Luke Reynolds, a junior Penn State transfer, leads Virginia Tech with 41 catches for 431 yards and four touchdowns.
Georgia Tech’s Kevin Roche Jr. is a 6′9″, 270-pound sophomore whom Franklin called a “massive tight end who does a nice job in both the run and pass game.” Roche has 20 catches for 212 yards and no scores.
Edge: Virginia Tech. Roche has been productive for the Yellow Jackets, but Reynolds is in contention for the best tight end in the country.
Offensive line
Virginia Tech has allowed 13 sacks in six games and started nine different linemen. Against Pitt, the Hokies ran 32 times for 65 yards, a total dragged down by three sacks.
Georgia Tech has allowed nine sacks in five games and none against Duke. Virginia Tech defensive lineman Elhadj Fall, after watching the Yellow Jackets’ run tape, called it “probably one of the most athletic offensive lines we’re going to see.”
Edge: Georgia Tech, slightly.
Defensive line
This is perhaps the biggest gap between the two teams. The Hokies have 19 sacks and 59 tackles for loss in six games, and opponents average 2.7 yards per carry. Senior Aycen Stevens has 5.5 sacks, sophomore Cortez Harris has five and Mylachi Williams has 7.5 tackles for loss.
Georgia Tech has six sacks in five games and allows 183 rushing yards per game at 4.3 per carry, including 299 to Tennessee. Fifth-year tackle Tawfiq Thomas anchors the group with seven tackles for loss.
Edge: Virginia Tech.
Linebacker
Senior Kaleb Spencer has seven tackles for loss, three sacks and two forced fumbles. Sophomore Noah Chambers leads the team with 28 tackles, and fifth-year Keon Wylie had a career-high nine stops at Cal.
Georgia Tech fifth-years E.J. Lightsey and Kyle Efford make plenty of tackles but don’t live in the backfield. Virginia Tech’s top three linebackers have 16 tackles for loss. Georgia Tech’s have eight.
Edge: Virginia Tech.
Secondary
This group has cost Virginia Tech the most lately. Cal threw for 321 yards and Maryland for 359, and the Hokies have one interception all season.
Georgia Tech isn’t much better. The Yellow Jackets also have one interception, and Stanford threw for 396 yards against them.
Edge: Even. That isn’t great news for the Hokies because Georgia Tech doesn’t need to win this matchup if it wins on the ground.
Special teams
Que’Sean Brown averages 23.3 yards per punt return, and Cole Byrd has 34 touchbacks on 39 kickoffs. That matters against Rahkeem Smith, who averages 33.7 yards per kickoff return and took one back 100 yards against Colorado.
The worry is fifth-year kicker John Love, who is 1-of-4 over the last two games, including misses from 55 and 39 yards at Cal. Georgia Tech’s Aidan Birr is 6-of-8 with a long of 33. He has not missed a field goal attempt since Week 1.
Edge: Virginia Tech, narrowly. It depends on Love.
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James Duncan serves as a staff writer for Virginia Tech On SI, covering football, men’s and women’s basketball and recruiting. He is a 2026 Virginia Tech graduate, having majored in Sports Media and Analytics with a minor in Professional and Technical Writing. Duncan previously covered the Washington Commanders as a reporter for The Lead, where he reported on the team throughout an offseason.