The rumors about James Franklin to Virginia Tech are growing with it becoming clear that he is the Hokies’ top target for their head coach opening. While that is the focus, Virginia Tech’s 2025 football season is still rolling on with the Hokies looking to upset a Florida State team with a hot seat coach themselves in Mike Novell.
So with kickoff just hours away, let’s get you ready for this showdown between Virginia Tech and Florida State.
Keys to the Game: You can check out Chris Payne’s keys to the game here. If VT wants to have a chance here, they are going to need their offensive line to step up and give Kyron Drones time to make plays in a hostile road environment in Tallahassee. The offensive line has shown signs of improvement at times, but Drones remains among the most pressured quarterbacks in America and needs more help. If Drones can’t get the time he needs, it’ll likely be a long day for the Hokies.
Hokies to Watch: You can check out Josh Poslusny’s Hokies to Watch feature here. If Tech wants to pull off the upset, they are going to need another big performance from Kyron Drones. The redshirt senior QB has had his moments this year with some impressive showings against NC State and California, but he also has had his fair share of struggles. The question is can Drones deliver a big game like he did in Tech’s wins or will he struggle especially through the air as he’s done otherwise.
Virginia Tech X-Factor: Ben Bell hasn’t had the season many hoped but he has gotten a fair amount of pressures. In this game, Tech not only needs him to get pressure but also needs him to do a good job at containing Castellanos and preventing him from getting into space and making plays with his legs. If Bell can do a great job of containing Castellanos, it could make a big difference for the Hokies in this one.
Matchups to Watch: Thomas Castellanos may not be a consistent passer but he can be effective on the deep ball with some big play options for the Seminoles including Micahi Danzy who is averaging over 22 yards per reception while Duce Robinson has been a bonafide star at WR with 43 receptions for 813 yards, four touchdowns, and an average of 18.9 yards per reception.. Tech’s secondary will need to be on its A-GAME if they want to take away one of Castellanos’ biggest weapons.
Availability Watch: Virginia Tech is as healthy as they’ve been all season with the most notable absence being freshman CB Jojo Crim, who has now missed multiple games. Tech may get a boost to their offensive line depth with Tommy Ricard being probable at this time.
Predictions
Tim Thomas
Virginia Tech had an inspired road performance at NC State earlier this season, but didn't exactly impress later on at Georgia Tech. The Hokies will definitely fight in this game and Philip Montgomery will likely have some tricks of his sleeve with an offense that is becoming more run dependent as the season rolls on given their strengths at running back and how VT has struggled as a pass-blocking group.
Florida State has been wildly inconsistent showing they can be quite good at their peak as shown by their win over Alabama and rout of Wake Forest, but also their valleys are quite low as shown by their bad loss at Stanford. The Seminoles have been much better at home in general but their inconsistency is a major problem.
With that said, I think the Seminoles at home will be able to rally and while the Hokies will be able to hang around for a little bit, but eventually will fade as FSU gets after Kyron Drones and gets the home run plays on offense that make the difference in the end.
Pick: Florida State 31, Virginia Tech 20
Chris Payne
This is a really interesting matchup for me because as I stated in my keys to the game, Florida State is in the same situation the Hokies were in last season with four of their five losses coming by one score. They’ve struggled to close the deal in these one score games, which gives me some confidence that if the Hokies can keep it close, they might have a shot. What gives me even more hope is that the Hokies have yet to be run out of the stadium under interim head coach Philip Montgomery.
ESPN BET Sportsbook has the Hokies as 14.5 point underdogs as of Thursday night. This game will be closer than that.
Florida State is a good team, certainly better than their record shows. My question is what version of the Hokies will show up. Will it be the scrappy team that went to Raleigh to beat NC State and beat California in overtime or will it be the team that struggled to get going against Georgia Tech?
If it is the former, we are in for an excellent game in Tallahassee. If it is the latter, I fear we are in for a long night.
Despite all of my concerns, give me the Hokies.
