Virginia Tech’s first season under James Franklin could be heading toward a much more interesting postseason destination than some may have expected entering the year.
After defeating Maryland 35-26 on the road Saturday, the Hokies improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2017 — where the team went 9-4. That 3-0 start, along with the manner of how these games have been won, has begun to change the national perception surrounding Virginia Tech, and the latest bowl projections from CBS Sports, Athlon Sports and ESPN all have the Hokies playing in December.
The question is just how far Virginia Tech can climb.
CBS Sports: Gator Bowl vs. Texas A&M
CBS Sports' Brad Crawford currently has the most ambitious destination of the three outlets, projecting Virginia Tech to face Texas A&M in the Gator Bowl.
The game is scheduled for Dec. 30 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida.
Interestingly, Virginia Tech was previously projected by Crawford to face South Carolina in the Gator Bowl, which would have created a matchup between the Hokies and Shane Beamer, the son of Virginia Tech's legendary head coach Frank Beamer. It would also create a rematch of last season's Chic Fil A Kickoff game. South Carolina has since dropped out of Crawford's projection following its loss to Mississippi State.
Texas A&M moved into the spot opposite Virginia Tech after the Aggies suffered a home loss to Kentucky.
The projection would give the Hokies an opportunity against an SEC opponent on a prominent postseason stage. It would also represent a substantial jump from where expectations stood before the season.
Virginia Tech finished just 3-9 in 2025, but Franklin's arrival in Blacksburg and an influx of talent through the transfer portal have quickly changed the trajectory of the program.
Through three games, the results have followed.
The Hokies opened the season with a dominant victory over VMI before defeating Old Dominion 44-21. Their first major test came against Maryland, where Virginia Tech walked out of College Park with a nine-point victory to remain unbeaten.
CBS Sports updates its bowl projections weekly, and Virginia Tech's current placement among the ACC's upper-tier bowl destinations reflects the impact of that start.
Athlon Sports: Duke's Mayo Bowl vs. Iowa
Athlon Sports' Steven Lassan has Virginia Tech staying much closer to home.
Lassan projects the Hokies to face Iowa in the Duke's Mayo Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The game is scheduled for Dec. 26 and features an ACC-Big Ten matchup. The Hokies' most recent bowl appearance was in the Duke's Mayo Bowl against Minnesota in 2024.
A trip to Charlotte would be a familiar destination for Virginia Tech fans and would give the Hokies a matchup against one of the Big Ten's most established programs.
Athlon's projection also places Virginia Tech within an interesting group of ACC teams. Lassan has Pitt in the Pinstripe Bowl, Duke in the Fenway Bowl and North Carolina in the Military Bowl, while Clemson is projected to the Holiday Bowl and Louisville to the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
Virginia Tech lands between those groups in Charlotte, paired with Iowa.
The Hawkeyes would also present an intriguing stylistic matchup for Franklin and the Hokies, with Iowa traditionally building its identity around defense, special teams and physical football.
For a Virginia Tech program attempting to establish a similar level of physicality under Franklin, that could make for one of the more interesting non-playoff ACC bowl matchups.
Athlon released its updated projections after Week 3, placing Virginia Tech squarely in the postseason picture following its undefeated start.
ESPN: Two Different Destinations
ESPN's bowl projections offer two different possibilities for the Hokies.
Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach independently project every postseason matchup each week, meaning Virginia Tech gets two potential destinations from ESPN rather than one.
Their latest Week 3 projections both include the Hokies in the postseason, although they differ on where Virginia Tech will end up.
Bonagura projects Virginia Tech to the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, while Schlabach projects the Hokies to the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in New York against Nebraska.
The difference between the two projections illustrates just how unsettled the ACC bowl picture remains this early in the season.
There are still nine regular-season games remaining for Virginia Tech, including the bulk of its ACC schedule, meaning plenty can change between September and December.
ESPN will continue updating its projections every week until the final bowl assignments are announced on Dec. 6.
Virginia Tech's Ceiling Continues to Rise
Three weeks into the Franklin era, simply reaching a bowl game is beginning to look like a considerably different goal than it did before the season.
Virginia Tech is already halfway to the six victories traditionally needed for bowl eligibility and has yet to lose a game.
The Maryland victory was particularly significant.
Unlike wins over VMI and Old Dominion, beating the Terrapins provided Virginia Tech with its first victory over a Power Four opponent under Franklin and gave national outlets another reason to move the Hokies upward in their postseason projections.
Now the destinations range from New York to El Paso, Charlotte and Jacksonville.
CBS Sports currently offers the most notable possibility with Virginia Tech facing Texas A&M in the Gator Bowl, while Athlon sees the Hokies meeting Iowa in Charlotte. ESPN's two projections provide the widest range, sending Virginia Tech either to the Sun Bowl or the Pinstripe Bowl.
None of those projections will matter if Virginia Tech can't continue winning, but after a 3-0 start, the conversation surrounding the Hokies has already changed.
The question is becoming less about whether Franklin can get Virginia Tech back to the postseason in Year 1 and more about how high the Hokies can climb before bowl selections arrive in December.
