Way-Too-Early Virginia Tech Football Preview and Prediction: Week 7, at Georgia Tech

In the sixth installment of our “Way-Too-Early” series on Virginia Tech football’s hypothetical 2025 season, the Hokies (5-1 “Way-Too-Early”) travel back down to Atlanta for a battle with Georgia Tech.

While Virginia Tech holds a 12-8 all-time record against the Yellow Jackets, the Hokies’ head coach Brent Pry sports a 1-1 record against Georgia Tech. The silver lining is there for Pry; the one loss came in 2022, his first season as Virginia Tech’s head coach amid a turbulent 3-9 campaign.

The victory last year in Blacksburg against the Yellow Jackets was a. The Hokies’ offense was insipid, tallying a season-low 233 yards. Heading into the second quarter, Virginia Tech found themselves scoreless and down three. But an electric second quarter was the tipping point of the game; by the time the first half ended, Hokies quarterback Kyron Drones tallied both a passing touchdown and a receiving touchdown, the latter of which came from a trick play thrown by wide receiver Jaylin Lane.

Though Virginia Tech's offense was anemic at times in that game and struggling to sustain drives, it still managed to do enough to come away with a 21-6 victory over Georgia Tech . A key reason for that was the Yellow Jackets' own challenges at quarterback.

Their usual starter, Haynes King, was sidelined due to injury, forcing Georgia Tech to turn to backups Zach Pyron and then-freshman Andrew Philo. Without King’s poise and dual-threat ability, the Yellow Jackets' offense lacked the spark needed to keep pace, making it easier for the Hokies to control the game’s flow.

King will return in 2025 and, barring another injury that keeps him out of Week 7 like last season, he should be one of the most potent quarterbacks Virginia Tech faces this fall. In a shortened 11-game campaign, King appeared to be in constant control, throwing for 2,114 yards while completing an impressive 72.9% of his passes. That level of accuracy made it clear why he’s considered one of the top returning quarterbacks in the conference.

Pair that with 14 touchdown passes against only two interceptions, and it’s obvious that King protects possessions and rarely puts his team in bad spots. Giving him ample time in the pocket to make his reads and deliver calm, on-target throws spells trouble for any defense in the country, including the Hokies.

Adding to his strong resume is a quarterback rating of 78.6 from last season, which ranked 13th among all FBS quarterbacks. That number doesn’t just reflect his efficiency, but it also underscores how reliably he moved the chains and kept defenses off balance.

With another offseason to recover fully and sharpen his timing with his receivers, King could be even more dangerous in 2025. Virginia Tech will need to be sharp in coverage and generate pressure up front to disrupt his rhythm when they meet. If not, King has already proven he’s more than capable of picking apart even a well-coached secondary.

King is listed at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, so taking him down will be another challenge in itself alongside stopping his deadly accuracy. King is a true dual-threat quarterback: one that moves forcefully and challenges defenses not only when plays fall apart, but also on designed runs called from Georgia Tech’s offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner.

Here’s an excerpt diving deeper into King, courtesy of CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli:

“Of course, experience is nice, but being good helps too, and it's been digging through the numbers last season that's led me to a place where I believe Georgia Tech's Haynes King is better than he's given credit for. Or, at the very least, better than I was giving him credit for.

What separates King from many of his counterparts are his legs. The raw numbers are there. His 587 rushing yards last season ranked ninth among Power Four quarterbacks and his 11 rushing touchdowns were third.

What really stands out more than the raw numbers, though, is King's ability to avoid losing yards or turn the ball over. King was sacked on only 2.5% of his dropbacks last season, which ranked third among P4 QBs. Taking it a step further, King only lost 17 yards total over the 7 sacks he took.”

Sharing the backfield with King is redshirt senior Jamal Haynes, an explosive back responsible for three 100-yard outings in 2024. By the end of the season, Haynes accounted for 1,110 scrimmage yards while rushing for 944 yards.

On the other side of the ball, the Yellow Jackets possess an elite talent that battled injuries last season and also missed the game against the Hokies: linebacker Kyle Efford.

A midseason injury couldn’t keep Efford away from All-ACC third team honors; he led Georgia Tech in tackles (64) for the second straight year, in addition to topping the team in sacks (3). He represents the backbone of the Yellow Jackets' defense, showcasing them in high-profile games, picking up his first sack of the season against Syracuse in a six-tackle effort, before picking up his second ten-tackle performance of the season against North Carolina.

If both King and Efford suit up for the Week 7 matchup, the Hokies will be in store for a long and grueling day in Atlanta with two of the ACC’s best athletes on each side of the ball. Giving a challenge to both of the new coordinators in Blacksburg for the 2025 season.

Defensive coordinator Sam Siefkes will have the challenging task of limiting King’s production, while offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery gameplans his relentless rushing with Efford in mind, ensuring that Drones keeps a watchful eye on the forceful linebacker. Both Siefkes and Montgomery will still be settling into their roles with Virginia Tech, making this kind of ACC road test a significant early benchmark.

Georgia Tech ranked at No. 5 in the conference in Athlon Sports’ preview, making them arguably the second-toughest opponent Tech faces at this point in the season, behind only South Carolina in Week 1.

The Yellow Jackets line up to have the advantage in the battle against Montgomery; Efford is not the only superior run-stopping force for Georgia Tech’s front seven. All-ACC second team defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg was a pivotal piece in getting his defense to a top-30 nationally ranked rushing defense (122.2 yards/game allowed). The defensive transfer from Penn State will only grow from his impressive redshirt junior season, becoming a more powerful run-stopper capable of stuffing the most elite rushing attacks.

Still, the Hokies' depth at running back should challenge the Yellow Jacket’s stout front. Though Terion Stewart likely settles in as the lead back, Braydon Bennett and Marcellous Hawkins are solid tailbacks themselves, while second-string options like Jeramiah Coney and Tyler Mason could factor in. Fresh legs from the reserves could be crucial in finding cracks against a formidable Georgia Tech defense.

If the Yellow Jacket’s rush defense performs to its 2024 level, we both believe this will spell the end for Virginia Tech’s hypothetical five-game win streak, as Montgomery’s attack falls short in toppling Georgia Tech’s stifling defense. The best approach the Hokies' offense can take to change that outcome would be to focus on stringing together sustained, clock-consuming drives, even if it means settling for short, methodical gains.

Keeping possession not only gives Drones and Co. more chances to eventually settle into a rhythm but gives the Virginia Tech defense crucial time to regroup on the sidelines.

That extra rest will be vital when trying to corral the Yellow Jackets' dangerous backfield tandem of King and Haynes. The more that the Hokies can limit the number of explosive plays and long series by Georgia Tech’s offense, the better chance it has to hang around in what figures to be a grind-it-out contest in Atlanta.

This hypothetical loss shouldn’t derail Virginia Tech’s momentum they built up over the last five hypothetical contests. However, whether it’s the start of a cascading downturn depends on how the Hokies stack up in their upcoming slate against mid-tier ACC opponents. These contests are must-win tilts for any team trying to cement their place as a top-25 team in the nation.

Next up in our “Way-Too-Early” series, we’ll be talking about how Virginia Tech responds after the loss to the Yellow Jackets, using a bye week to refresh before tackling the California Golden Bears on the road in a cross-country ACC matchup.

Score Predictions for Virginia Tech, at Georgia Tech:

Thomas’ Prediction: Georgia Tech 31, Virginia Tech 17

Kaden’s Prediction: Georgia Tech 25, Virginia Tech 20

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