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Virginia Tech wide receiver Ayden Greene (26) catches the football for a touchdown against Miami defensive back Mishael Powell (0). Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Way-Too-Early Virginia Tech Football Preview and Prediction: Week 6 vs. Wake Forest

Originally posted on Virginia Tech Hokies on SI | Last updated Jul 9, 2025 12:27 PM ET

In the fifth installment of our ‘Way-Too-Early” series on Virginia Tech football’s hypothetical 2025 season, the Hokies (4-1 “Way-Too-Early”) host their first ACC game of the season — a tango in the Terror Dome with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Tech holds the 26-13-1 all-time record against Wake Forest; the last time the two schools faced off was two years ago, when the Hokies pushed the Demon Deacons into an 0-3 conference start. The loss was Wake Forest’s first against a Virginia program since 2019. Former Tech running back Bhayshul Tuten was the first to tack points on the scoreboard, bulldozing into the Demon Deacons' defense with a 3-yard rush to paydirt.

Though Wake Forest running back Demond Claiborne got the Demon Deacons on the board with a 96-yard kickoff return touchdown, Hokies quarterback Kyron Drones hit Jaylin Lane for a 75-yard touchdown, keeping Tech ahead en route to a 30-13 win. Drones accumulated 321 yards in that game, while the defense tallied seven sacks and 13 tackles for loss.

Just like that win two years ago, the Hokies host Wake Forest in Lane Stadium and will presumably start Drones if he’s healthy and playing serviceably at this point in the hypothetical season. Going into the 2025 season, Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry holds a 7-5 conference record at home. That mark shows Lane Stadium isn’t the fortress it once was, with Pry’s Hokies yet to reestablish a true home-field dominance in ACC play.

However, Wake Forest isn’t exactly a dominant program, either, having made one trip to the ACC Championship game in the past decade and a half. The Demon Deacons have hovered around the middle of the conference pack, struggling to sustain momentum.

For Tech, this matchup marks a critical opportunity to solidify early conference momentum and protect home turf. A win here would also continue to rebuild Lane Stadium’s reputation back into the tough environment it was known for in the Frank Beamer era. Drones remain the key piece to that puzzle.

If he can replicate that kind of efficiency and big-play capability he showed in the previous Wake Forest contest, the Hokies should be in good enough shape to walk out of Lane Stadium with the victory. On the defensive side of the ball, anything near those seven sacks should also do the trick, especially against South Carolina transfer Robby Ashford. If Tech can keep Ashford contained and force him into hurried throws or mistakes, it could be another prolonged afternoon for the Demon Deacons in Blacksburg this October.

Our own Jackson Caudell offered up some thoughts on Ashford in his article ranking each of the Power 4 quarterbacks the Hokies will face off against this season:

“Ashford brings plenty of experience and that might be what matters most to the Demon Deacons this season. In the first season under head coach Jake Dickert, this is a brand new roster and it will be a ‘year zero’ of sorts in Winston-Salem. Ashford is a mobile threat, but don't expect much from the passing attack this season.”

Opening up the season against South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, then Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia, will give good insight on how the Hokies defense stacks up against mobile quarterbacks, which will be a pivotal factor in stopping Wake Forest’s offense. While Ashford’s only start in 2024 came against Akron, he delivered an incandescent performance against the mid-major foe. Ashford completed 15 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns, but on top of that, he took off 16 times for 133 yards of his own.

Before settling in Winston-Salem for this season, Ashford made previous stops at Oregon, Auburn and South Carolina. At Oregon, he redshirted his freshman year and did not see the field in his sophomore campaign.At Auburn, he accumulated 1,613 yards with seven touchdowns and as many interceptions. However, he ran for 710 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. In 2023, he threw just 27 passes, playing in ten games while starting just one.

That track record reveals why Ashford’s passing attack is still very much a question mark. His mechanics can break down under pressure, leading to errant throws and turnover opportunities for opportunistic defenses. While he can hurt teams with his legs, his inconsistencies through the air often stall drives, forcing his offenses into third-and-long situations they struggle to convert.

As such, it’s reasonable to expect that Wake Forest’s new head coach, Jake Dickert, will look to build a system supporting Ashford by minimizing his exposure to passing downs. But that may play right into Tech’s hands. Under Pry, the Hokies defense has specialized in attacking the backfield, and if it replicates anything close to that seven-sack performance two years ago, Ashford’s day could quickly unravel

Adding more intrigue, the matchup in Blacksburg will also feature four coordinators who are still getting acclimated to new surroundings. After last season, Pry brought in Philip Montgomery to steer Tech’s offense and Sam Siefkes to run the defense, hoping that fresh voices could elevate the Hokies closer to ACC contention. On the other sideline, Dickert hired a pair of new coordinators of his own, reshaping the Demon Deacons’ identity on both sides of the ball.

ᴘᴀɪɴ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ.#ThisIsHome | #TeamOverMe pic.twitter.com/3zYeORG92k
— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) June 30, 2025

In January, Dickert announced revamped coordinators for the Demon Deacons' coaching staff as well. Defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton brings 29 years of defensive coaching experience to pair up with the defensive-minded Dickert. Then there’s offensive coordinator Rob Ezell, who is back in the P4 scene after spending four seasons with Alabama as their offensive analyst. Ezell has only one year of experience in the OC role — a staggering season with the South Alabama Jaguars, amounting to 34.4 points per game and 441.8 yards per game.

Picking apart and attacking a defense led by Hazelton and Dickert will be an immense challenge due to the 39 years of defensive coaching experience split between the two. Montgomery’s 32 years of coaching experience, however, have allowed him to master an offensive attack fronted by a versatile rushing frenzy that is hard to combat.

Pry made it a clear priority to utilize the transfer portal to fit his new coordinators’ wants and needs, notably landing three big running back transfers to alleviate the departure of Bhayshul Tuten to the NFL. Braydon Bennett (Coastal Carolina), Terion Stewart (Bowling Green), and Cameron Seldon (Tennessee) are all viable backs for any program, and Montgomery now has all three at his disposal to front his rushing attack.

While Seldon will function as the team’s main slot receiver, using him on option plays opens up the field for Tech. Montgomery’s main focus is on keeping defenses confused and on their toes, implementing a variety of different run sets and motions, which open up the field for Seldon in the slot to create havoc for the opposing defense.

An On3 Sports article published in 2023 delved into Montgomery’s offensive philosophy, while he was an offensive coordinator for Auburn.

“We want to be an efficient scoring machine and we want to be able to create excitement,” Montgomery said in March of 2023. “We want to be able to push the ball down the field, we want to get involved in the run game, we want to get involved in the screen game, but keeping people off balance a little bit from a defensive standpoint.

“But, we’re going to stretch the ball vertically as well as horizontally and try to make you play out in space. So, I think we’re going to give them something to stand up and cheer about.”

Donavon Greene, a WR1 candidate for the Hokies in 2025, will have his chance at a revenge game against Wake Forest. Greene, a graduate student, first started his career in 2019 with a redshirt season with the Demon Deacons, taking the field in 35 games across three years of eligibility. Greene missed both the 2021 and 2023 seasons due to knee injuries.

At the bare bones, we both expect a low-scoring affair from two ACC squads historically known for their defensive prowess. Finding the offensive edge will be key in squeezing out a victory in Lane Stadium, which we think Tech will accomplish.

For the Hokies, this victory will propel them to a perfect 2-0 ACC slate to open up conference play in our hypothetical 2025, before heading down to Atlanta for a matchup with Georgia Tech. The last time the Hokies started a perfect 2-0 to start ACC play? 2020, led by Justin Fuente and Hendon Hooker.

With this hypothetical 2-0 start and overall 5-1 record, look out for Tech at this stage to start earning some sleeper votes into the top-25. These wins alone won’t be enough yet for the Hokies to crack the list, but if they string together a few more hypothetical ACC victories, they will soon be on track to earn legitimate votes inside the top-25.

Next up in our “Way-Too-Early” series, we’ll dive into that pivotal road test against Georgia Tech and explore whether the Hokies can keep rolling away from Lane Stadium.