Josh Pate says one ACC may start hot in 2026 before facing challenges in the second part of the season.
James Franklin is starting a new era for himself. His best season was arguably in 2024, when the team went 13-3. The team made its first College Football Playoff appearance and won two games in the playoff before losing in the final seconds to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Penn State then returned several key starters from that team in 2025. They were ranked No. 2 in the preseason poll, but after a 3-3 start, Franklin was let go. Despite having success, there was a big black mark on his tenure. That was Franklin struggling to win big games.
He finished 6-6 in bowl games and posted a 16-29 record against ranked opponents.was even more concerning, including a 4-21 mark against top-10 teams and a 1-16 record against AP top-five opponents. Virginia Tech football coach James Franklin and his wife Fumi enter press conference. | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images That became too hard to ignore for the fan base and the administration. After he was let go, Franklin was eventually named the head coach of the Virginia Tech Hokies.
The Hokies had a great run in the late 1990s and 2000s. That included 13 double-digit win seasons from 1995 to 2011.
However, the team has had one since then and has had a losing season in five of the last six seasons. On "Josh Pate's College Football Show," the college football analyst reacted to a bold prediction from a fan that said Franklin will lead Virginia Tech to the College Football Playoff in year one.
"I don't doubt that. But they were 3-9 last year. So, they could be significantly better and just barely make a bowl game. To make the playoff after going 3-9, that's a 9.5 on the boldness scale...
They seem like a start fast, but run out of gas kind of team. I could easily see them being like 5-0 or 6-0... but then reality hits in the second half of the year.
" The Hokies do have a favorable early-season schedule. Still, they'll end the season against teams like the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Clemson Tigers, SMU Mustangs and Miami Hurricanes in four of their final five weeks. But the reality is, Virginia Tech doesn't have the same expectations of the Nittany Lions. They aren't expecting a national championship or a College Football Playoff berth in Year 1.
They just want to be relevant again. Going 6-6 in the regular season would be a major step toward that goal after such a bad stretch in the program's history. Franklin can do that.
Then after that, it's about keeping that momentum and bringing the fire and passion back to Blacksburg. Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendationsJaron Spor has nearly a decade of journalism experience, initially as a news anchor/reporter in Wichita Falls, Texas and then covering the Oklahoma Sooners for USA Today's Sooners Wire.
He has written about pro and college sports for Athlon and serves as a host across the Locked On Podcast Network focusing on Mississippi State and the Tampa Bay Bucs.
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