Date & Time: Saturday, September 19, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: SECU Stadium, College Park, Maryland
Broadcast: FS1
Records: Virginia Tech (2-0), Maryland (2-0)
Well, here we go. Virginia Tech spent the first two weeks of the James Franklin era beating the absolute hell out of teams it was supposed to beat. The Hokies beat VMI 73-3 and followed it up with a 44-21 win over Old Dominion that wasn’t really as close as the final score suggests.
Now we get to find out if Virginia Tech is actually good. The Hokies travel to College Park Saturday night for their first road game of the season against a Maryland team that is also 2-0. This is exactly the game I circled before the season as the first real measuring stick for Virginia Tech. VMI told us basically nothing. ODU told us considerably more. Maryland should tell us whether Virginia Tech is ready to start beating competent Power 4 football teams again.
And because college football apparently requires every game to have some sort of weird personal storyline, James Franklin is going back to Maryland. Franklin coached at Maryland under Ralph Friedgen, was once designated the program’s head-coach-in-waiting and then spent 12 years at Penn State routinely beating the Terps. Franklin went 9-2 against Maryland at Penn State, and his relationship with Mike Locksley hasn’t always exactly been warm and fuzzy.
So, yeah. This should be fun.
Virginia Tech Is 2-0, But Now It Matters
I don’t think you could have realistically asked for a much better start to the Franklin era.
Virginia Tech has scored 117 points in two games. Ethan Grunkemeyer looks like a legitimate Power 4 quarterback. The defensive line is creating pressure. Luke Reynolds looks like a potential star. Most importantly, Virginia Tech has looked like the better football team against teams it was supposed to be better than.
That sounds incredibly basic. It has also not always been incredibly basic around here. Against ODU, Grunkemeyer completed 31-of-42 passes for 327 yards and two touchdowns. Reynolds caught eight passes for 108 yards and two scores. Virginia Tech built a 34-6 halftime lead and essentially ended the game before everyone had finished their second stadium beer.
There were still problems. Virginia Tech ran for only 89 yards. There were penalties. The Hokies weren’t particularly efficient in the red zone. And after building that huge halftime lead, they got sloppy. You can get away with that against Old Dominion. You probably can’t get away with it Saturday night.
Maryland Is Pretty Good
Maryland has also done exactly what it was supposed to do. The Terps opened the season by destroying Hampton 62-0 and then went on the road and beat UConn 38-14. Maryland has now won 20 consecutive non-conference games, which is legitimately impressive regardless of who they’ve played.
The biggest concern for Virginia Tech is sophomore quarterback Malik Washington. Washington was outstanding against UConn, completing 34-of-41 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns. At one point he completed 18 consecutive passes, and both Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding and Chris Durr Jr. went over 100 receiving yards.
That’s a real passing attack. Virginia Tech hasn’t seen anything remotely like it yet. VMI couldn’t throw the football. ODU had some success, but Virginia Tech was able to dictate the game with its defensive front. Maryland is going to spread Virginia Tech out and make the secondary defend the entire field. This is where we start learning how good this defense actually is.
Ethan Grunkemeyer vs. Malik Washington
This might be the game. Two sophomore quarterbacks. Two former highly regarded recruits. Two guys who have looked really good through the first two weeks. Grunkemeyer has been almost exactly what Virginia Tech needed. He isn’t playing hero ball. He’s distributing the football, getting through his reads and taking what defenses give him. Against ODU he completed passes to 11 different receivers.
The biggest revelation has probably been Reynolds. Virginia Tech suddenly has a tight end who can become the centerpiece of the passing game. Reynolds is a matchup problem in the middle of the field, and Maryland is going to have to decide how much attention it wants to devote to him versus Ayden Greene and Virginia Tech’s receivers.
Washington presents a completely different problem for Virginia Tech. UConn tried to pressure him and play aggressively in coverage. Washington responded by getting the ball out quickly and letting his receivers create yards after the catch. Maryland generated 475 total yards against UConn, including 350 through the air.
Virginia Tech can’t give him easy completions all night. Make him hold the football. That’s where Mylachi Williams, Cortez Harris, Aycen Stevens and the rest of this defensive front become extremely important.
Virginia Tech Has to Run the Football
This is probably my biggest concern. Virginia Tech ran the ball extremely well against VMI. Then it basically disappeared against ODU.
The Hokies finished with only 89 rushing yards Saturday. Some of that was because ODU clearly committed resources to stopping the run and Virginia Tech correctly responded by throwing the football. Starting center Kyle Altuner was also unavailable.
That’s fine for one week. It can’t become a trend. Maryland’s defensive front just held UConn to 2.2 yards per carry and recorded five sacks. If Virginia Tech becomes completely one-dimensional Saturday, this gets considerably harder.
I’m not saying Marcellous Hawkins and Jeffrey Overton need to combine for 200 yards. They don’t. But Virginia Tech needs enough of a running game that Maryland has to respect play action and can’t spend the entire night trying to make Grunkemeyer beat pressure on third-and-8. Give me 140-150 rushing yards and I’ll feel pretty good about Virginia Tech’s chances.
Virginia Tech’s Pass Rush vs. Maryland’s Offensive Line
This is the matchup I’m most interested in watching. Virginia Tech’s defensive line looks considerably faster than it did a year ago. The Hokies recorded five sacks against ODU, and Williams, Harris and Stevens were consistently disruptive.
Maryland allowed only one sack against UConn. Something has to give. Washington completed more than 80% of his passes against UConn because he was comfortable. Virginia Tech cannot allow him to sit back there and play seven-on-seven.
Pressure him without blitzing. If Virginia Tech can consistently get pressure with four, Brent Pry can keep extra defenders in coverage and make Washington work through tighter windows. That’s probably the defensive formula.
Key Statistical Matchups
Maryland passing offense vs. Virginia Tech secondary
This is easily the biggest test Virginia Tech’s secondary has faced. Washington just threw for 347 yards while completing 83% of his passes against UConn. Gladding had 130 receiving yards, and Maryland had two receivers eclipse 100 yards.
Virginia Tech doesn’t necessarily need to shut that down. It needs to prevent the easy stuff from becoming explosive plays. Tackle. Make Maryland put together 10-play drives. Eventually the pass rush should create an opportunity for a sack, holding penalty or turnover.
Virginia Tech rushing offense vs. Maryland run defense
Virginia Tech: 89 rushing yards against ODU. Maryland: 2.2 yards per carry allowed against UConn. Not ideal! The Hokies don’t need to dominate this matchup, but they cannot lose it badly.
Third down
This feels like one of those games where third down will tell the story. If Virginia Tech consistently gets Maryland into third-and-7, the defensive line has a chance to take over. If Maryland is living in third-and-2 because Washington is completing six-yard passes on first down, it’s going to be a long night.
Same thing offensively. Keep Grunkemeyer out of obvious passing situations. Very complicated analysis here.
The James Franklin Factor
Normally I wouldn’t spend much time talking about coaching history in a game preview. This one is different.
Franklin has an extensive history with Maryland. He coached there twice, was supposed to eventually replace Ralph Friedgen and then spent more than a decade at Penn State turning Maryland into one of his favorite punching bags.
He went 9-2 against Maryland as Penn State’s head coach.
There was also the 2024 game when Penn State scored a late touchdown in a 44-7 win and Locksley publicly criticized Franklin afterward. Franklin basically responded that his job was to score points. So I don’t think these guys are exchanging Christmas cards.
I also don’t think Franklin is going to let Virginia Tech walk into this game unprepared. This is the advantage of hiring someone who has coached big road games before. Virginia Tech is going into a night game against a Power 4 opponent with a coaching staff that understands exactly what that environment looks like.
SP+ / FPI
This is much closer to a true toss-up than either of Virginia Tech’s first two games. That shouldn’t be surprising. Before the season, I had Maryland listed as one of Virginia Tech’s toss-up games and specifically called it the first game where we’d actually learn something about this team. That hasn’t changed.
Virginia Tech entered the season around the mid-30s nationally in both SP+ and FPI. The early results should improve the Hokies’ profile, but Maryland has also exceeded expectations through two weeks.
The computers aren’t going to see an enormous difference between these teams. And neither do I. This feels like a one-score game.
What I’m Looking For
This is the first time this season where I’m not just looking at how Virginia Tech wins. I just want them to win.
Can Grunkemeyer play the same way on the road that he’s played in Lane Stadium?
Can Virginia Tech run the football against a legitimate Power 4 defensive front?
Can the defensive line make Malik Washington uncomfortable?
Can the secondary tackle Maryland’s receivers in space?
Can Virginia Tech finally stop committing unnecessary penalties?
And can James Franklin win his first road game as Virginia Tech’s head coach?
Virginia Tech doesn’t have to win this game to have a successful season. But this is exactly the kind of game Virginia Tech eventually needs to start winning again.
Maryland isn’t Ohio State.
They’re not Georgia.
They’re not Clemson.
They’re a solid Power 4 football program playing at home. If Virginia Tech wants to become nationally relevant again, you have to beat teams like Maryland.
Prediction
I don’t think this is easy. Maryland is better than either team Virginia Tech has played. Washington is going to make plays. The Terps will probably hit a couple of explosive passes, and I don’t expect Virginia Tech to build another 28-point halftime lead.
But I trust Virginia Tech’s defensive front. I also trust Grunkemeyer considerably more than I expected to at this point in the season. That’s ultimately the difference for me.
Virginia Tech gets enough pressure on Washington to force a turnover or two. Grunkemeyer continues to efficiently distribute the football. Reynolds makes another handful of big catches, and Virginia Tech finally gets a little more production from the running game.
It’ll be uncomfortable. It’ll probably be stupid at some point. It’s Virginia Tech football. But Franklin goes back to College Park and gets the win.
Prediction: Virginia Tech 31, Maryland 27
Virginia Tech moves to 3-0. And then things start getting interesting.
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