One of the most intriguing matchups this year for Boston College football will come on Sept. 26 in Week Four against the Virginia Tech Hokies on Family Weekend.
After years of mediocrity — similar to the Eagles in a way — Virginia Tech decided to make a huge splash this offseason by hiring former Penn State head coach James Franklin to a five-year, $41.75 million deal, which is decently backloaded but includes some massive bonuses.
Franklin is known to be an optimizer of the college-recruiting game, and he has done just that so far throughout his tenure, taking the Hokies’ 2027 recruiting class from outside the top-100 to inside the top-25 in a matter of months while retooling the current roster with major transfer additions across the board.
Here’s an early look at the Eagles’ Week-Four opponent:
Offense
This upcoming season for Virginia Tech will be largely dictated by the results of transfer quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, the former Nittany Lions signal caller who followed Franklin and his staff to Blacksburg during the offseason.
The upside is that Grunkemeyer already possesses high-major experience, as he stepped into meaningful action when starter Drew Allar suffered a season-ending ankle injury last year.
The 6-foot-2, 218-pound former consensus four-star prospect from Lewis Center, Ohio, finished the 2025 campaign with 1,339 passing yards and eight touchdowns to four interceptions with a 69 percent completion rate, and he did so as a redshirt freshman, so there is still a ton of room for growth.
Grunkemeyer wasn’t the only notable player to follow Franklin and co.
Another big-time transfer addition for the Hokies was former Penn State tight end Luke Reynolds, a product of Cheshire Academy (Westford, Mass.) who played in all 13 games last season, hauling in 26 receptions for 257 yards.
Reynolds was formerly rated a five-star prospect by 247Sports and a four-star by ESPN, On3, and Rivals, and he was considered the No. 2 transfer tight end during this cycle, according to ESPN.
It isn’t often that a college football program operates its offense primarily around a tight end, but with a player like Reynolds, who is 6-foot-5, 250 lbs., in the mix, that could surely be the case for this Ty-Howle coordinated offense.
BC’s defense will also need to be aware of a pair of transfer wide receivers that already have ACC experience in senior Ayden Greene (formerly Georgia Tech) and redshirt junior Que’Sean Brown (formerly Duke).
Brown is coming off a season in which he accumulated 846 receiving yards and five scores on 64 catches for the Blue Devils, while Greene tallied 516 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 31 receptions for the Yellow Jackets.
In the run game, the Hokies return their most productive back from a season ago in redshirt senior Marcellous Hawkins, who totaled 749 rushing yards, averaging 6.3 yards per carry.
As for the offensive line, there are a decent amount of returners for a unit that was below average in 2025 (29 sacks allowed, 67 tackles for loss allowed), while former Oklahoma tackle Logan Howland, who was another marquee pick this offseason, is the clear favorite to start on the left side.
Defense
The Hokies’ defensive side is also an intriguing point of conversation, as former head coach Brent Pry, who Franklin replaced, was tethered back to the program as its defensive coordinator.
The advantage of this move is familiarity, as Pry already knows a great deal about his players — conversely, they already recognize many parts of the scheme that he runs.
The list of noteworthy players on the defense starts with redshirt-senior defensive lineman Kemari Copeland, who was named Third Team All-ACC last season after posting a team-high 4.5 sacks, including 48 tackles (11 solo), 7.5 TFLs, an interception, and a quarterback hurry.
Redshirt-senior safety Tyson Flowers is also primed to take another big leap in the Hokies’ secondary after recording 49 tackles (26 solo), two pass break-ups, two quarterback hurries, and a forced fumble in his first season with the team after transferring from Rice.
The linebacker room is one that combines veteran leadership with a promising young prospect in Noah Chambers, who broke onto the scene as a true freshman with 44 tackles in 2025.
The unit also includes redshirt junior Keon Wylie, who manufactured 28 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, a sack, and a pass break-up last year at Penn State, and senior Kaleb Spencer, who is coming off a year in which he led the team in tackles (67, 31 solo) and TFLs (9.0).
Senior corner Jaquez White, who transferred from Troy after posting 67 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, three interceptions, a sack, and a quarterback hurry, will be someone to look out for as well after he earned 2025 All-Sun Belt Second Team honors.
Schedule
Virginia Tech’s first campaign under Franklin’s new regime kicks off with two straight home contests on Sept. 5 against VMI and Sept. 12 against Old Dominion before a pair of road contests at Maryland on Sept. 19 and BC on the 26th, which marks both team’s first spell of conference action in 2026.
The Hokies then host Pitt on Oct. 2, head to Cal on Oct. 10, return to Lane Stadium for their “homecoming” matchup on Oct. 17 against Georgia Tech, go back on the road for Clemson (Oct. 24) and SMU (Nov. 6), then finish off the season with two home games against Stanford (Nov. 14) and Virginia (Nov. 28) with a road tilt in between them at Miami on Nov. 21.
Outlook
Unlike BC’s first three games, which are all quite winnable in the grand scope of the season, this is its first real test, and it really would not have been that way until the Hokies landed the top coaching candidate from this offseason’s carousel.
More often than not, first-year head coaches struggle to acclimate to their new programs and find early success, especially in the ever-changing landscape of college athletics.
But Franklin’s experience, primarily in recruiting, is the differentiator, and it would be fair to assume that Virginia Tech is, at the very least, a legitimate dark horse for the ACC title this year.
While retaining many of its core defensive pieces from Pry’s final year at the helm, which lasted only three games, the Hokies’ roster improved tremendously with an influx of high-major talent from Franklin’s former program, as well as others, especially on the offense.
The Eagles have home-field advantage, but Virginia Tech will still likely be heavily favored by the oddsmakers.
The Game
Date: Sept. 26, 2026
Time: TBD
TV: TBD
Location: Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Series history: Virginia Tech leads the all-time series 22-11
Last meeting: These two teams last met during the 2024 season on Oct. 17. The Hokies defeated the Eagles 42-21 in Blacksburg, Va.
The Team
Head coach: James Franklin
Offensive coordinator: Ty Howle
Defensive coordinator: Brent Pry
2025 record: 3-9
Returning starters: 10 (7 on offense, 3 on defense)
Players to watch: QB Ethan Grunkemeyer, TE Luke Reynolds, WR Ayden Greene, WR Que’Sean Brown, DL Kemari Copeland, CB Jaquez White
The School
Location: Blacksburg, Va.
Founded: 1872
Enrollment: 39,000
Nickname: The Hokies
Colors: Chicago maroon and burnt orange
Mascot: The HokieBird
The Program
Last time beat BC: Oct. 17, 2024
Last time won ACC: 2010
National championships: None
Conference championships: 11 (2010, 2008, 2007, 2004 in ACC; 1999, 1996 co-champs, 1995 in Big East; 1963 in Southern; 1918, 1916, 1909 in South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association)
Bowl record: 14-22
Heisman trophies: None
2026 NFL Draft
QB Kyron Drones (UDFA) – Green Bay Packers
RB Terion Stewart (UDFA) – Kansas City Chiefs
OL Tomas Rimac (UDFA) – Minnesota Vikings
DT Kelvin Gilliams Jr. (UDFA) – Dallas Cowboys
DL Kody Huisman (UDFA) – Buffalo Bills
LB Jaden Keller (Rookie Camp invite) – Las Vegas Raiders
EDGE Ben BEll (Rookie Camp invite) – Indianapolis Colts
P Nick Veltsistas (Rookie Camp invite) – Washington Commanders
The Schedule
Sept. 5: vs. VMI
Sept. 12: vs. Old Dominion
Sept. 19: at Maryland
Sept. 26: at Boston College
Oct. 2: vs. Pitt
Oct. 10: at California
Oct. 17: vs. Georgia Tech
Oct. 24: at Clemson
Nov. 6: at SMU
Nov. 14: vs. Stanford
Nov. 21: at Miami
Nov. 28: vs. Virginia
Early Opponent Preview Series:
This is the fourth story in Boston College Eagles On SI’s summer preview series of all 12 regular-season opponents for Boston College football in 2026. Ensuing stories will be published throughout the rest of July and early August.
- Week 1 Early Opponent Preview: Cincinnati
- Week 2 Early Opponent Preview: Rutgers
- Week 3 Early Opponent Preview: Maine
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