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Oct 17, 2024; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies quarterback Kyron Drones (1) throws a touchdown during the second quarter against the Boston College Eagles at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images Peter Casey-Imagn Images

Updated SP+ Rankings: Where Did The Hokies Land?

Originally posted on Virginia Tech Hokies on SI
By Jackson Caudell | Last updated Aug 14, 2025 5:37 PM ET

Entering year four in Blacksburg, head coach Brent Pry is trying to play his way off the hot seat. After coming into the 2024 season with high expectations, the Hokies finished with a 6-7 record, including more abysmal one-score game performances. Virginia Tech saw five players drafted and a number of high-profile players elected to enter the transfer portal. With 30-plus new transfers on the team and two new coordinators, can Pry find a way to work his way off the hot seat this season? Is a bowl game going to be good enough, or will Virginia Tech need to find themselves in ACC contention?

If the latest SP+ rankings are correct, the Hokies will be right in the middle. Virginia Tech is ranked as No. 42 overall team, with the 49th overall projected offense, 39th overall on defense, and the 37th overall special teams unit.

Here is how SP+ sees the ACC race heading into the season:

1. Clemson (10th nationally)

2. Miami (14th)

3. SMU (19th)

4. Louisville (24th)

5. Florida State (39th)

6. Georgia Tech (41st)

7. Virginia Tech (42nd)

8. Duke (43rd)

9. NC State (46th)

10. Pittsburgh (51st)

11. North Carolina (53rd)

12. Syracuse (55th)

13. Boston College (62nd)

14. Cal (64th)

15. Virginia (74th)

16. Wake Forest (79th)

17. Stanford (88th)

What is SP+? Here is how ESPN analyst Bill Connelly (creator of SP+) describes it:

"In a single sentence, it's a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. I created the system at Football Outsiders in 2008, and as my experience with both college football and its stats has grown, I have made quite a few tweaks to the system.

SP+ is indeed intended to be predictive and forward-facing. It is not a résumé ranking that gives credit for big wins or particularly brave scheduling -- no good predictive system is. It is simply a measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football. If you're lucky or unimpressive in a win, your rating will probably fall. If you're strong and unlucky in a loss, it will probably rise."

SP+ seems higher on Virginia Tech than most are nationally. The Hokies were picked to finish 11th in the ACC in the preseason media poll, but SP+ has Virginia Tech near 5th.

Virginia Tech has a huge chance in their season opener

Is Virginia Tech closer to the top of the ACC or the bottom? We may find out early on in the season when they face South Carolina in Atlanta.

Of course the obvious headline in this game is going to be South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer coaching against his fathers team. Frank Beamer is the greatest coach in the history of Virginia Tech and there is certain to be a lot of talk in the lead up to this game about his son coaching against the Hokies.

While Virginia Tech is not going to have the same amount of hype that it received ahead of the 2024 season, South Carolina is going to enjoy plenty. The Gamecocks were one of the hottest teams in the country down the stretch of this season and made a case to be in the College Football Playoff at the end. They are going to return quarterback LaNorris Sellers and standout defensive end Dylan Stewart and may just start the year in the top 10. The Hokies on the other hand have been one of the hardest-hit teams when it comes to transfer portal entries and their roster is going to look a lot different when the two teams kick off the season at Mercedes Benz Stadium. To Brent Pry's credit, he has done a solid job of landing talent in the portal after an early mass exodus, but they are going to be the underdog in week one vs South Carolina.

South Carolina leads the all-time series 11-7 between the two teams, but they have not met since 1991. Virginia Tech has not beaten South Carolina since 1974.