Cheers and Jeers: Virginia Tech vs. Virginia

It's hard to imagine a more fitting coda for the end of the Brent Pry/Phillip Montgomery era than the 27-7 dismantling the Hokies experienced at the hands of rival Virginia on Saturday night. There were flashes of life and even borderline competence sprinkled throughout much of the game—particularly  on defense—but Tech couldn't score which led to something terrible and historic happening. There's not much point in re-hashing it all, but thankfully Hokie Nation can rest easier knowing that this miserable era and season has finally come to an end. 

I saw a stat somewhere in that dreadful broadcast that said the Hokies haven't been shutout by UVA since 1991. That was a 38-0 snoozer and while Tech avoided ending the non-shutout streak this time around, the 'Hoos put on a similar effort in 2025. It was only 14-0 at halftime but that might as well have been 50 with this offense. So many yards, so few points. Tech is obviously rebooting the entire program right now but nothing leads to a hard reset quite like a whoopin' by UVA. It mostly worked in '91, who says it can't set the table for a return to glory now?

I was honestly over this result before it was even over. It was a struggle to convince myself this was going to end any other way during the week, so it made things easier. UVA has a good team this season and could very well win the ACC. This is the worst Virginia Tech team of my lifetime which now accounts for an alarming four decades. Thankfully, neither of those things is relevant to the two programs moving forward. This will be viewed in a few years as a painful anomaly and little more. 
 

3-9 is a rough look. Comically, two of the three were conference wins against teams that will go bowling this holiday season. They also all occurred under the eye of interim head coach Phillip Montgomery. He did an admirable job for the most part in settling the ship so we could slog through this disaster with a little dignity left over at the end. It's a tough spot to be in but Monty was a much-needed veteran presence to get us through the rest of the year. He did what he could and that's commendable. Credit to all of the guys who battled and saw this thing through. To everyone else, best of luck in your future endeavors. 

Look, we're in this for the long haul and as country music and college football coaching legend Jerry Reed (aka Red Beaulieu) above once put it, "The only thing better than a crawfish dinner, is five crawfish dinners." We've already seen the transformational talents of James Franklin in his short time on the job. Tech has been flipping recruits like flapjacks and generating loads of excitement. That will continue and only ramp up as early signing day nears and the portal beckons—for arrivals and departures alike. 

There have already been quite a few think pieces on Franklin at Tech and what it means. I agree with the general sentiment that it's a great fit on paper and I expect instant improvement. That said, it could take a little time to fully turn things around. Yes the Hokies can revamp the roster overnight in the modern age, but so can everyone else. The bizarre ACC will look completely different next season for good or ill. I don't know what Tech will be in January of 2026 let alone August. I just know that Hokie football is on the road to improvement and they finally have a competent driver behind the wheel once again.