Around the ACC - Week Four; From a Hokie’s Perspective

We are four games in to the 2025 college football season, which means the regular season is a third of the way over.  (Slow it down, please!)

After of month of play, the fraudulent pre-season rankings have been exposed, and the four weeks of actual football have market-corrected the polls.

Clemson, who was as high as #4 in some preseason polls, is 1-3 for the first time since 2004 - and unranked, of course.  Meanwhile, Florida State (#8) and Georgia Tech (#16) have both ascended from land of the unranked to join Miami (preseason #10 and currently #2) as the only ACC schools in the AP Top 25.

Since the Sons of Saturday are a Virginia Tech-centric organization, let’s take a look at some of the week four action around the ACC, particularly the Hokies’ 2025 opponents, with a little added commentary from this Hokie’s point of view.

Of course we will open discussion with Virginia Tech.  In their first game since former head coach Brent Pry was fired, the Hokies played their most complete game in quite some time and earned their first win of the season, cruising to a 38-6 victory over FCS Wofford.

It wasn’t the kind of run-up-the-score, play-the-backups-early result that most Power 4 teams would have if they played one of the bottom FCS teams at home, but it was a five-score victory, and Tech dominated the box score.

Despite a few mistakes that kept a few points off the board, the team played well.  Quarterback Kyron Drones had a great day, connecting on 27 of 32 pass attempts, with a few drops being among those five misses.

Probably most important to Hokie Nation, the team played with spirit.  Coming off that awful second half against Vanderbilt, then losing to Old Dominion at home, which was followed by the firing of the head coach, there was no way to predict the psyche of the players going in to Saturday.

But there was enthusiasm and cohesion for four quarters, and interim head coach Phillip Montgomery has at least given Hokie Nation a little peace of mind that the season may not be a total loss.

And speaking of Hokie Nation, how about that turnout?  Despite the recent blowouts at home, the firing of the coach, and the noon kickoff against a bad FCS team, Virginia Tech fans showed out, with about 57,000 in attendance.  Just amazing.

Next up?  North Carolina State, who, despite losing at Duke, had a pretty good fan showing themselves in taking over half of Wallace Wade Stadium last week.  I expect Carter-Finley to be buzzing on Saturday night.

The Wolfpack went into Durham Saturday with a 3-0 record, winning all three games by ten points of less.  However, Duke (2-2) forced four turnovers and parlayed that into a 12-point victory, despite yielding 535 yards to NC State.

The boys from Raleigh have now scored 33 or more points in three straight games.  They have amassed over 400 yards in all four contests.  They will test the Hokies’ defense this week.

If Virginia Tech wants to walk out of Carter-Finley Stadium with the dub, they will have to run the ball effectively to try to put the “off” in the Wolfpack’s offense - in other words, keep them off the field.

The Hokies will also have to contain Hollywood Smothers, the Oklahoma transfer who is running all over the ACC.

In short, Tech needs to play clean, win the rushing game, minimize the mistakes, and win the turnover battle.  That sounds like a lot, but most of it is fundamental football.

This is a winnable game.  But it is also one that could yield the same result as games #2 and #3 if the Hokies don’t show up mentally.  This will be a good harbinger of what to expect for the rest of the year from the Hokies.

The Ramblin’ Wreck of Georgia Tech didn’t just walk leisurely past Temple this week, they rambled and wrecked the Owls 45-21 to move to 4-0 on the season.

Next up for that other Tech team is Wake Forest, who hosts GT then comes to Blacksburg the following week in a weird “Tech” home and home stretch.

We don’t know what to expect from the Demon Deacons (2-1), as they barely beat Kennessaw State 10-9 in week one, then they pounded Western Carolina 42-10 in week two.

Wake then hung with North Carolina State in their first P4 matchup, eventually losing the turnover battle 2-0 and the game 34-24.  So who knows what we will see when the Deacs stroll into the larger version of their home stadium next week.

We do know, however, what to expect from #16 Georgia Tech, whom the Hokies will play on October 11.  The Yellow Jackets (4-0) play a physical, hard-nosed, gritty brand of football, and Virginia Tech will be in for a battle in their second trip to Atlanta this season.

Brent Key’s team already has two victories over P4 teams, and they will be a force in the ACC race this year, hoping to crash the Miami-FSU party.  Georgia Tech still has to play Wake, VT, Duke, Syracuse (at home), NC State, Boston College, and Pitt - there’s no reason they shouldn’t run that table.

Since Miami and Florida State play each other, Georgia Tech can win out and earn a berth to the ACC title game - and maybe even the college football playoff.

Tech’s next two opponents after GT are Cal and Louisville.  One of the early surprise stories of 2025, the Golden Bears got off to a 3-0 start, taking down a Big Ten team in the process (Minnesota).

Behind  5-star freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, the first true freshman to start a season opener and the first true freshman to start at quarterback for Cal since Jared Goff, the Berkley Bears turned a lot of heads.

However, they were spanked 34-0 last week at San Diego State, so it is a little early to accurately assess this team and what to expect when they come to Blacksburg on Friday, October 24.

The following week, Virginia Tech opens a brutal November stretch by welcoming the Louisville Cardinals to Lane Stadium, their first visit since 1991.

The Cardinals are 0-3 in Lane - and none of those games were even close - but they will bring their high powered attack to Blacksburg with the intent on reversing history.

Louisville opens a schedule gauntlet that could easily see the Hokies end the season on a four-game losing streak.  After playing the Cardinals, Tech goes to Tallahassee to face a resurgent Seminole team.

8th-ranked FSU (3-0) seems intent on erasing last year from memory.  After dominating Alabama 31-17 in week one, they outscored two patsies 143-13 in a two-week tune up for ACC play.

This week will shed a lot of light on two of Tech’s opponents, as the Seminoles play at Virginia (3-1) on Friday night.  If they are not looking ahead to next week’s matchup with Miami, FSU should win easily.

However, if Florida State is thinking more about the Hurricanes, they could be in for a long night. Virginia can score, as the Cavaliers posted 48 or more points in three games so far - and 31 in their lone loss to NC State, who happens to be the “best” team that Virginia has played so far.

Florida State is only favored by a touchdown.  Does Vegas think FSU is over-rated?  Or that UVa is under-rated?  We will have that answer on Friday.

Meanwhile, #2 Miami (4-0) continues to win without referee assistance, taking down Notre Dame, South Florida, and now Florida.  The Gators kept it close for most of the game, cutting their deficit to six late in the third quarter.  But Miami flexed its muscle with two fourth quarter scores en route to the 26-7 victory.

No one is saying it, but the U might really be back.  Their interior linemen on both sides of the ball are elite, and if Carson Beck continues to show why Georgia recruited him and Miami took his as a transfer, the Hurricanes will be a force in the playoff.

However, they don’t exactly have an “easy” path to the ACC title game, with FSU, Louisville, SMU, Syracuse, NC State, and Pitt still left on the schedule.  And Miami is known to lose games they “should” win, so this race is far from over.

With Syracuse’s surprise win at Clemson, the Orange (3-1) showed that they are not dead like everyone expected in the pre-season.  However, their schedule is tough, so they will have a challenging path to the ACC title game.  A good bowl destination would be a huge win for Fran Brown and the Orange.

Speaking of orange, what the heck is going on in Clemson, South Carolina?  The Tigers (1-3) are already 0-2 in conference play and also have a tough slate in front of them.  6-6 is a real possibility for the Tigers.

Would that result in Dabo Swinney losing his job?  That seems to be the talk of the ACC right now, but I think it is an emotional overreaction.  Yes, they slipped a little last year, but they did win the conference title and play in the national playoff.

However, tensions are high in Death Valley, and fan bases with high expectations tend to be low on patience.  This is definitely one of the biggest storylines to follow in the ACC.

Since ACC play hasn’t started for some, most teams technically are still alive (Heck, Virginia Tech mathematically is still in it!).  Realistically, though, Pittsburgh(2-1, 0-0) and SMU (2-2, 0-0) are the next two teams in the conversation to make a cinderella run.  Both have bad losses though, and confidence is low for either to make the ACC title game.

Duke (2-2, 1-0) also controls their own destiny, but that is true for almost everybody right now.  If the Blue Devils can play like they did against NC State and not like they did against Illinois and Tulane, they could make some noise.

The rest?  Put the fork in them.  Chapel Hill is garnering the most interest of the remaining programs, but that is because of Bill Belichek’s relationship with his very young girlfriend and not because of his 2-2 UNC team.

That leaves Boston College (1-2) and Stanford (1-3), who will keep the Hokies company at the bottom of the league - too bad we don’t play either team this year!

There is still a lot of ball to play.  Despite some trends, we know that anything can - and will - happen in college football.

The winner of the Miami-Florida State game definitely has a leg up on the ACC title race, but Georgia Tech has an easier path.  And Louisville wants to be heard as well.

But if a team like Pitt goes on a run, or if Miami does what Miami tends to do in November, this whole race will be turned upside down.

That’s why I love college football!  Buckle up and enjoy the ride!