For what it's worth, I don't think that Virginia Tech will get to the ACC title game, which is set for Saturday, Dec. 5 — I have the Hokies finishing with a 8-4 (5-4 ACC) record.

However, with the level of parity there appears to now be in the ACC — as a reminder, five-loss Duke emerged as the ACC champion, and Virginia, who was ranked No. 14 in the preseason order of finish poll last season, was the regular-season winner of the conference — it's not unreasonable to see a second team play spoiler.

If Virginia Tech wants to have any aspirations of doing so, it starts under center. The Hokies need a strong effort from Ethan Grunkemeyer and for him to build upon his 1,339-yard, eight-touchdown, four-interception at Penn State a season ago.

Armed with weapons such as wideouts Ayden Greene (516 yards, three TDs at Virginia Tech in 2025) and Que'Sean Brown (846 yards, five TDs at Duke in 2025), plus tight end Luke Reynolds (former five-star recruit; 257 yards at Penn State in 2025), the Hokies appear to have a much higher offensive capability, though the extent of which and the defensive question marks could place a cap on Virginia Tech's ceiling.

However, those types of questions are one that permeate and reverberate for most of the other teams in the conference. California returns a flashy signal-caller in sophomore Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, but can its defense take a jump? Miami nabbed quarterback Darian Mensah and wide receiver Cooper Barkate from defending ACC champions Duke, but can the Hurricanes finally seal the deal? Can Virginia prove that its 2025 season wasn't a flash in the pan with Beau Pribula now the Cavaliers' man at quarterback? Can Clemson thrive under prior backup Christopher Vizzina? Is SMU primed for a stellar third year in the ACC, or are they just on the outskirts?

For Virginia Tech to emerge as one of the two teams qualified for Dec. 5's showdown, not only will its own uqestions need to be answered in an exceedingly positive manner, but several of those other teams will need to fall by the wayside. The Hokies play three of the ACC's top-four teams in the preseason poll, only avoiding Louisville. Moreover, they draw all three of those teams (Miami, SMU, Clemson) away from the friendly confines of Lane Stadium — and they make all three trips in less than 30 days.

The Hokies' start of the schedule, however, offers reason for optimism that they can build confidence heading into league play. Virginia Tech opens the season against VMI before taking on Old Dominion and Maryland, where they'll look to break a nine-year streak of losses against non-conference Power Four opponents in the latter matchup. The Hokies open league play with Boston College, the recipient of a 2-10 (1-7 ACC) record in 2025. Pitt, California and Georgia Tech are up in succession, and all three appear to have question marks — Pitt with whether now-true sophomore Mason Heintschel can evolve, California in its defense and Georgia Tech in how transfer Alberto Mendoza will fare in his first season as the presumptive starter.

Virginia Tech, however, will need to take care of the games it's favored in (Boston College, Stanford) and emerge victorious in its roughly 50/50 games (Pitt, California, Georgia Tech, Virginia), while picking off one of the three games against Miami, Clemson and SMU. If it can do that, it may be in position to be one of the two teams in Charlotte. While I don't think they'll get there, the space from them to the top of the ACC has undeniably shrinked to where, in a year or two, I wouldn't be surprised if Virginia Tech is firmly in the conversation at that point.