Virginia Tech, Maryland Moving in Different Directions After Hokies’ Win

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — This is the type of game Maryland is meant to win. Check the calendar — it’s still September.

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Say what you want about the Terrapins, but they historically clean up early in the year in non-conference play. Maryland had won an FBS-best 20 consecutive games against non-conference opponents dating back to 2019.

That was Mike Locksley’s first season as the Terps’ head coach. This might be his last.

The move to the Big Ten more than a decade ago did not do Maryland football any favors. But if the Terps swept their non-conference schedule — and they almost always did — then they were already halfway to a bowl game. Not this year.

Saturday’s 35-26 loss to Virginia Tech drops Maryland to 2-1. That’s still a winning record, but the Terps’ struggles to win games after the leaves start to change make the margin for error going forward exceedingly slim. And the man standing on the opposing sideline, celebrating in front of a visitor’s section overflowing with orange and maroon Hokies supporters, is what makes this one really sting.

James Franklin, Maryland’s one-time head coach-in-waiting, is the one that got away. He went 9-2 against the Terps across a dozen seasons at Penn State until he was fired last October.

Sure, he never won the big one in Happy Valley, which is why he’s now at Virginia Tech attempting to resurrect a once-proud program. But the Maryland fans who showed up to a sold-out SECU Stadium would gladly take a few of those 10-win seasons he always seemed to deliver for the Nittany Lions. Instead, he’s beaten the Terps again, now at another program in a neighboring state.

Franklin was aware of the Terps’ strong track record in this specific situation, and he came to his postgame press conference prepared with a stat of his own: Virginia Tech hadn’t won a non-conference Power 4 game since 2017. That was also the last time the Hokies started 3-0. Three games into Franklin’s tenure, they’ve ended both droughts and enjoyed doing so.

“They’re having fun, which, God forbid you have fun playing the game,” Franklin said. “Everybody talks about toughness and all these types of things, but it’s still a game. They should be having fun, and right now they are having fun.”

Virginia Tech scored touchdowns on its first three possessions. These were no-nonsense, tone-setting drives, each more efficient than the last: 75 yards on 13 plays, then 74 on 11 and then another 75 in seven.

GRUNKEMEYER TAKES IT THE WHOLE WAY HIMSELF 😤

This Eric Collins call 🔥

📺 FS1 x @HokiesFBpic.twitter.com/h674acYjnN

— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) September 20, 2026

Hokies quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, one of several players who followed Franklin from State College to Blacksburg, was excellent in his first road start. His 13 rushing yards don’t match up to the impact he made with his legs.

A sack and two penalties backed Virginia Tech up to third-and-goal on the 18-yard line early in the second quarter. No matter — Grunkemeyer took it himself straight through the heart of Maryland’s defense to give his team a two-possession lead it maintained for the majority of the game.

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“I’ve been talking about his ability to make plays with his feet,” Franklin said of Grunkemeyer. “He’s worked very hard at that. I thought that was a huge play, huge play in the game.”

There were times the Terps were close. Maryland cut the deficit to six points with two minutes to go in the first half. Quarterback Malik Washington threw for 359 yards, the second-most of his career, and capped off a quick drive with a touchdown to Chris Durr Jr. But the Hokies drove right back down the field, and Grunkemeyer found a wide open Ja’Ricous Hairston in the end zone to keep the cushion at two scores.

“He’s one of the better quarterbacks in the country,” Franklin said, “and we’re fortunate to get out of here with a win.”

Both offenses slowed down considerably in the second half. Virginia Tech led by as many as 21, but the Terrapins scored touchdowns on consecutive possessions late in the third quarter and early in the fourth to give the remaining fans a glimmer of hope.

That was soon dashed. After Washington’s second touchdown to Durr, Maryland shot off a celebratory cannon moments before an unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt. The only reason the Terps had to go for two late was because they had inexplicably tried for two on their previous score, which put them in had-to-have it territory late. And in that moment, Maryland didn’t have it.

The Hokies bled clock out the rest of the game by doing the one thing the Terps couldn’t: run. It was tight in total yardage, as Virginia Tech outgained Maryland 445-423. But the Hokies doubled them up on the ground, and that made all the difference in a game in which they held the ball for more than 36 minutes.

Locksley sat on one of the hottest seats in the country heading into the season, and he was supposed to make his hay in this kind of game. He has more wins against non-conference teams (22) than Big Ten foes (17) and this loss drops his record with the Terps to 39-50.

Maryland kicks off Big Ten play at home against UCLA next Saturday. It doesn’t bode well for the Terps that the Bruins’ visit is one of the easier remaining games in conference play.

Virginia Tech has its ACC opener on the road next week at Boston College, which is part of a forgiving first half schedule for Franklin’s debut. The back half, which includes games against SMU, Miami and rival Virginia, are when things could get complicated for the veteran coach. But for now, another win against the program that he came up in but never did coach will do.

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This story was originally published September 20, 2026 at 1:29 AM.