Penn State football fired now-Virginia Tech head coach James Franklin after a three-game losing streak in Big Ten play in 2025. Franklin had to prove that he could win the big games. Instead, he proved that not only can he still lose the big ones (Oregon in Week 5), but he can also lose the easy ones (UCLA and Northwestern in Weeks 6 and 7, respectively).
The Hokies hired Franklin in November. Roughly two months later, he’s already taking precautionary measures, making sure he doesn’t immediately fall back into old, lingering habits. Franklin can’t lose the big games if he doesn’t even play in them.
On Wednesday, Virginia Tech Athletics announced a schedule change for the upcoming 2026 season. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) adapted to a nine-game conference schedule starting in 2026, meaning the Hokies needed to take one of their non-conference opponents off the schedule…