Aug 31, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies head coach Brent Pry looks on against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the first half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Virginia Tech Football Begins 2025 Season Ranked 10th In ESPN's ACC Power Rankings

Originally posted on Virginia Tech Hokies on SI
By Jackson Caudell | Last updated Aug 4, 2025 4:22 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?

The Hokies were picked to finish 11th in the ACC in the media day poll released last week and were placed 10th by today's ESPN ACC Power Rankings:

"On one hand, last season's injury-plagued 6-7 finish was a massive disappointment for a team that entered with high hopes. On the other hand, the Hokies didn't lose a regular-season game by more than 10 points for the first time since 2010. Getting over the close-game blues (Virginia Tech is 1-12 under Brent Pry in games decided by seven points or fewer) will be the key."

The record in one-score games was a topic for Pry when he talked at ACC Media Days:

"Yeah, we've certainly talked about it a lot, as well as everybody else. First of all, it was coaching decisions, making sure we're making the right decisions, not just at the end of the game but throughout the game. Then secondly, being the team that is more mentally and physically tough and prepared at the end of a game to close it out.

So there's a couple different areas that we focused on to make sure we're better there, and certainly we've talked about it. We've leaned into it as a program, how close we were to being the team that we want to be. We were competitive week in and week out and just kept finding ways to come up short as a staff and as a team.

We should arguably be improved in that area. We've put a lot of emphasis there."

Only time will tell if Virginia Tech is actually better in that area. They kick off their season on August 31st in Atlanta against South Carolina and the Gamecocks are entering the game as a big favorite.