Way Too Early Bowl Projections Match Virginia Tech With Big Ten Playoff Contender

Virginia Tech made one of the splashiest hires of the offseason when they landed former Penn State head coach James Franklin to be the new leader of the program. Franklin build one of the most consistent programs in Happy Valley and is looking to resurrect the Hokies into an ACC contender and a player on the national level as well.

So far so good. Franklin seemed to make good hires on his staff; he took a high school class that was ranked outside of the top 100 before he arrived and turned it into a top 25 class, and finished with one of the best transfer portal classes in the ACC. There is still work to be done in Blacksburg, but it looks like Franklin has laid a good foundation to have a strong first season at Virginia Tech.

Early Bowl Projections

It is far too early for bowl projections, but the latest one from CBS Sports analyst Brad Crawford places Virginia Tech in the Holiday Bowl against Washington. The Holiday Bowl is one of the premier bowl games for the ACC and Washington is considered a darkhorse playoff contender heading into the 2026 season.

"One of the Big Ten's former Pac-12 teams eligible for the Holiday tie-in, Washington's ceiling this fall is around eight wins, given the brutality of the slate. No team nationally faces a tougher final two weeks of the season (Indiana, at Oregon), and we're projecting that will affect various bowl scenarios. James Franklin should get off to a quick start at Virginia Tech within the ACC and will have the Hokies competing very soon near the top of the conference."

When talking about which teams could return to the postseason, CBS Sports analyst Tom Fornelli said Virginia Tech fans should be optimistic about their team getting back:

"Virginia Tech made one of the splashiest hires of the offseason when they landed former Penn State head coach James Franklin to be the new leader of the program. Franklin build one of the most consistent programs in Happy Valley and is looking to resurrect the Hokies into an ACC contender and a player on the national level as well.

So far so good. Franklin seemed to make good hires on his staff, he took a high school class that was ranked outside of the top 100 before he arrived and turned it into a top 25 class, and finished with one of the best transfer portal classes in the ACC. There is still work to be done in Blacksburg, but it looks like Franklin has laid a good foundation to have a strong first season at Virginia Tech."

I think that is a fair expectation. While there is going to be a lot of hype around Franklin and this program heading into the season, they are breaking in a lot of new starters and a lot of young players. They have some challenging road games on the schedule as well (Miami, SMU, and Clemson) and while that might make it tough to get to Charlotte and play in the ACC Championship game, it should not keep the Hokies out of the postseason.