The Brent Pry era hasn’t necessarily been bad or even particularly disappointing — it’s just been, in a word, uninspiring. Winning back-to-back games against rival Virginia was a highlight — especially since the 2022 matchup was canceled due to the tragic events that cut the Cavaliers’ season short — and making bowl appearances the past two years has been decent. Still, this football program has the potential to achieve much more.
Virginia Tech Hokies College Football Preview 2025
Living up to the legacy of a coaching legend is never easy. No disrespect to Virginia Tech — it’s a strong program — but it’s not in the same tier as traditional powerhouses like Alabama, Florida State, Texas, or Ohio State. Still, Frank Beamer turned it into a perennial winner, regularly posting double-digit win seasons and setting a high bar. Justin Fuente managed to keep that success going for a while, but things started unraveling, especially during the 2020 season. Now, with four losing campaigns in the past five years — a slump the program hasn’t seen since the early 1970s — underachievement is becoming the norm.
Head coach Brent Pry is trying to rebuild and has done a solid job bringing in new talent, but results have been inconsistent and a bit unlucky. For Virginia Tech to turn things around, two things must happen: they need to start seasons stronger and perform better against non-conference Power Four opponents. Pry is 0-6 in those matchups, with losses to teams like Vanderbilt, Minnesota, Purdue, West Virginia, and Rutgers — not exactly college football juggernauts.
That rough start to each season has held the team back, leaving them out of contention before October hits. For instance, they went 2-3 in September last year — though the loss to Miami was controversial — and started slow in both 2023 and 2022 as well. In conference play, they’ve gone 10-13 over the past three seasons, continuing a trend of mediocrity.
Still, the team isn’t getting blown out. Five of their six regular-season losses last year were by a single score. They battled hard against Clemson and dealt with some bad injury luck and inconsistency. Pry has upgraded the coaching staff and found value in the transfer portal, and with no truly unwinnable games on the 2025 schedule, there’s reason for optimism.
This should be the year Virginia Tech ends its losing streak. But if the Hokies want to be competitive in the ACC again, they’ll need to elevate their play — particularly on both sides of the ball — and start fast out of the gate.
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