Have We Already Forgotten?

It's been exactly one year since Old Dominion curb-stomped Virginia Tech inside Lane Stadium. 

Have we forgotten that already?

The social media reaction to Virginia Tech's 44-21 win on Saturday is mind-boggling. Honestly, I can't comprehend it.

At no point on Saturday was the outcome of the game in question. Virginia Tech rattled off two long scoring drives to open the game, only to follow it up with a scoop-and-score that put Old Dominion down 17-0 before they finished calling their pre-scripted plays.

Tech led this game 34-6 at halftime. The Hokies didn't even sniff 34 points against the Monarchs a year ago.

Did some Tech fans forget how bad the 2025 offense was? How could you not be entertained by Ethan Grunkemeyer, who completed 31-of-42 pass attempts for 327 yards and two touchdowns? How about Luke Reynolds, who caught eight passes for 108 yards and two scores?

What more do you want?

Tech's dominance persisted on defense. Old Dominion turned it over three times, converted just four of 13 third-down attempts, and allowed seven sacks and 14 tackles for loss.

As impressive as Virginia Tech's victory was, it wasn't perfect. The run game wasn't all that productive — neither Jeff Overton nor Marcellous Hawkins averaged four yards per carry. The defense, though highly disruptive, allowed a few deep passes by Old Dominion's Quinn Henicle, and even allowed the mobile quarterback to rip off a 76-yard touchdown run in garbage time.

Was Virginia Tech perfect on Saturday? Absolutely not. Were they ever going to be perfect in Week 2 of the James Franklin era? Absolutely not.

Remember folks — Franklin inherited one of the worst teams in modern Virginia Tech history. Tech won three games last year. The cupboard wasn't bare, but it was pretty damn thin.

Look at most of the Hokies making big plays. Grunkemeyer, Reynolds, Que'Sean Brown, Cortez Harris, Mylachi Williams — what do they all have in common?

None of them suited up in the maroon and orange last year.

Rebuilds take time. Franklin is perfectly aware of that, and knows he isn't going to field an elite team less than one year after taking the job. This team is developing. Tech is going to take their lumps, and some of them came on Saturday.

It's going to be alright.

I don't know for certain if Virginia Tech will be a good team this year, but I know they won't be a bad team. Want to know how I know that? 

I've watched the last two games. This year's team has surpassed the last year's squad by leaps and bounds, and its only Week 2.

Virginia Tech is still a work in progress. No one disputes that. However, Tech has clearly improved all over the field and with continued reps and coaching should only get better.

If you're expecting a finished product in Week 2 of a rebuild, I'm not sure what to tell you. 

Remember what we witnessed over the last few seasons, and compare it to what we saw yesterday. Virginia Tech will be fine, just give it some time.