James Franklin's Virginia Tech reboot hits the road for the first time, walking into a Maryland team desperate to shake off an eight-game collapse.
Bush’s Picks
VTMD
VTMD
OverUnder
Best BetMaryland
Maryland gets the nod here mostly because of what it isn't doing: breaking in a new head coach and a transfer quarterback in the same season. Washington's return gives the Terps a real floor at the position Virginia Tech is still figuring out, and that continuity matters more in September than any offseason hype cycle. Franklin's rebuild is real, but it's still a rebuild.
Virginia Tech
+James Franklin brings 128-60 career record, instant credibility
+Won the transfer portal offseason, flipped 11 Penn State commits
+Fresh start erases 2025's 0-3 disaster under Pry
−Brand new coach, brand new QB, brand new system all at once
−Grunkemeyer has limited starting experience, just a half-season at Penn State
−Integration risk on the road against a team with continuity
Maryland
+Malik Washington returns after 2,963-yard, 17-TD freshman year
−Lost final 8 games of 2025, missed bowl 2nd straight year
−Just 1 conference win in 2025
−New OC Trickett installing new tempo scheme from scratch
Everything about Virginia Tech looks different in 2026. Brent Pry got fired 3 games into last season, and the Hokies responded by paying James Franklin $41.7 million to leave Penn State and rebuild the program from scratch. Franklin brought a Penn State transfer, Ethan Grunkemeyer, to run the offense, and by the time the Hokies get to College Park this will be one of the first real road tests of the new era.
Maryland's story is the mirror image: continuity at the position that matters most. Malik Washington is back after a freshman season that produced 2,963 passing yards and 17 touchdowns, and for the first time in 3 years there's zero quarterback controversy in College Park. Mike Locksley kept his job despite a brutal finish to 2025, and the Terps are leaning on Washington and new OC Clint Trickett's tempo-based, RPO-heavy scheme to get this offense unstuck.
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VT Virginia Tech
MD Maryland
The gap between the two programs' offseasons is stark. Virginia Tech reportedly 'won the offseason' by ESPN's estimation, flipping 11 former Penn State commits and overhauling its roster top to bottom. Maryland, meanwhile, is banking on stability and a returning starter to avoid a repeat of last year's stretch run, when the Terps dropped their final 8 games of the season.
Virginia Tech Hokies
Sep 12?vs Old Dominion—
Sep 5?vs VMI—
Maryland Terrapins
Sep 12?@ UConn—
Sep 5?vs Hampton—
Recent form.
That losing streak is the elephant in the room for Maryland. A 4-8 finish with just 1 conference win and a second straight missed bowl bid is the kind of collapse that gets coaches fired most places — Locksley survived it, but the margin for another slow start is thin. Virginia Tech's own 2025 was arguably worse on paper, an 0-3 start that got Pry axed outright, but Franklin's hire has injected a level of buzz and roster turnover that the Hokies haven't had in years.
Virginia Tech Hokies
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Maryland Terrapins
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Whichever way this one breaks, it's a legitimate early gut-check for both programs. Franklin needs to show his $41.7 million rebuild can win games with a new quarterback and a scheme still being installed on the fly, while Maryland needs proof that Washington's freshman flashes and a retooled coaching staff can actually turn the losing habit around. September 19 in College Park will start answering both questions.
