BLACKSBURG — For more than three quarters Saturday, Miami dominated Virginia Tech. Carson Beck completed his first 10 passes, and the Hurricanes scored on their opening five drives.
But then Kyron Drones and Pop Watson teamed to quarterback a 92-yard Hokies touchdown drive. And then 6-foot-6 reserve tight end Cole Reemsnyder skied to recover an onside kick.
Down 10, Tech had possession with more than three minutes remaining. The Hokies’ bench erupted at Reemsnyder’s play, as did the fans who had stuck around.
Neither development was surprising.
Ranked 13th by the College Football Playoff selection committee, Miami is clearly superior to a Tech squad guided by an interim coach and enduring its fifth losing season in six years.
But since fourth-year coach Brent Pry’s dismissal Sept. 14, the Hokies have stubbornly resisted the natural urge to pack it in. Talent deficiencies be darned, they don’t fold.
Predictably, Tech couldn’t sustain its brief momentum jolt as Miami authored a defensive stop and late touchdown for a 34-17 victory. But there was no despondence from senior defensive tackle Kelvin Gilliam when he huddled with reporters in the aftermath.
“Nobody asked for this,” Gilliam said. “Nobody asked for us to go starting off 0-3 and our head coach getting fired so early in the season. But my whole message is either you’re in or you’re out. So the guys, they stuck around. But I told the guys, ‘You know, we’re not going through this for no reason and stuff, for what’s about to come right now or later in life.’
“I’m just telling all these guys, ‘Enjoy this, man, because you’re going to look back and you’re going to be up somewhere in life and stuff and just appreciate the moments of how God got you through some of these trying times and stuff.”
Comparing Saturday to the 2021 Pinstripe Bowl is irresistible.
Four years ago next month, Pry got his first in-person, game-day glimpse of the program he was poised to inherit from the fired Justin Fuente. ’Twas an avert-your-eyes experience as Maryland wrecked the Hokies 54-10, the most-lopsided postseason setback in ACC history.
Symbolizing the day: During Pry’s in-booth ESPN appearance, Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Darryl Jones.
Saturday was James Franklin’s turn. Five days after accepting Virginia Tech’s offer to succeed Pry, he watched his Hokies compete for the first time.
Only the venue wasn’t a frigid, largely empty Yankee Stadium. And the opponent wasn’t a .500 Big Ten squad.
This was a relatively juiced Lane Stadium. And this was Miami, Tech’s conference rival since 1991, when both joined the Big East’s football start-up.
As at the Pinstripe Bowl with J.C. Price, the Hokies on Saturday were coached by an interim, Philip Montgomery. But the roster wasn’t decimated by opt-outs and lacking motivation.
Affirming Franklin’s challenge, Saturday’s defeat sentences Tech (3-8, 2-5 ACC) to its third losing ACC record in 22 seasons of membership. The others were 2014, Frank Beamer’s penultimate year leading the program, and 2022, Pry’s debut season.
Shockingly deposed at Penn State last month, Franklin made the rounds Saturday to the ACC Huddle and ESPN’s Tech-Miami telecast, all while his recruiting personnel, who followed him from Penn State, hosted dozens of prospects. Among the visitors were Denbigh High quarterback Kevin Parker, Tabb offensive lineman Tyler Maddock, both class of 2027, and at least a handful of 2026 players who had previously committed to Franklin at Penn State.
Excited to be at Virginia tech this weekend thanks for the invite @tolbert_nance @Coachcrist1 @CoachRayMalone @DHSFootball757 @WillVapreps @Rivals @adamgorney @On3sports pic.twitter.com/UjfD90nAGR
— Kevin Parker 4 (@KevinParker111) November 17, 2025
From the hard-core tailgaters at 9 a.m., to the moneyed folks in the suites, the energy around the program has been near-universal since Franklin’s appointment Monday. The last time Hokies faithful were this enthused was probably 2016, when in Fuente’s first season Tech reached the ACC championship game, defeated Arkansas in Belk Bowl and finished 10-4.
Transfers and Penn State-caliber recruits should lift the Franklin-led Hokies to similar heights, and relatively soon. But Saturday showed the roster’s shortcomings, especially on defense.
Beck completed 27 of 32 passes for 320 yards and four touchdowns. He was not sacked and did not throw an interception. Revelatory true freshman Malachi Toney registered season-highs of 12 receptions for 146 yards, and his final catch went for 20 yards and the game’s final touchdown in the closing minutes.
Where the Hokies distinguished themselves was on offense.
Entering Saturday, Miami (9-2, 5-2) had allowed only nine scrimmage plays of 30 yards or more. Tech broke five: Freshman Jeff Overton’s 38-yard touchdown run, the longest rush by any Hurricanes opponent this year; Marcellous Hawkins’ 33-yard sweep on the Hokies’ first snap of the afternoon; Drones’ 39-yard pass to Ayden Greene; Pop Watson’s connections of 39 yards to Greene and 38 to Isaiah Spencer.
Virginia Tech wide receiver Ayden Greene catches a long pass for a first down against Miami on Saturday. (Robert Simmons/AP)
Montgomery said he turned to Watson only because Drones had absorbed some jarring hits, but here’s a thought: Create a package for Watson next week at Virginia.
Last season against the Cavaliers, Watson subbed for the injured Drones and accounted for 302 yards of offense and two touchdowns in a 37-17 Hokies victory.
Like last year, Tech limps into the regular-season finale against UVA on a three-game losing streak. But unlike 2024, the Hokies are not playing for bowl eligibility, and the Cavaliers are vying for a spot in the ACC championship game.
A former head coach at Tulsa, Montgomery never fails to express appreciation for, and pride in, this team. That Saturday was the final home game for the senior class and much of this coaching staff compounded those emotions.
“We’ve got a big test for us coming up next week.” Montgomery said. “… But I’m excited to get one more opportunity with these men and go down there and let’s roll the ball out and get after it.”
David Teel, david.teel@virginiamedia.com
