The Virginia Tech Hokies (4-2, 1-2) return home on Saturday to host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (2-3, 1-2) in a pivotal ACC matchup.
The Hokies look to snap a two-game losing streak. Two weeks ago, VT lost to Pittsburgh at the end of regulation as kicker John Love missed a 39-yard field goal. Ultimately, Virginia Tech’s four turnovers cost them the game. Last week, the Hokies traveled across the country to face Cal. It was a close game throughout, and the Hokies had a chance to win it on the final
play, but Ethan Grunkemeyer’s pass to Luke Reynolds fell incomplete in the end zone. There was pass interference on the play, but with ACC officials, it wasn’t a surprise it wasn’t called.
Georgia Tech had lost three of its first four games until surprising unbeaten Duke 28-25 last week.
The big news for this game is the Yellow Jackets could be without their top offensive player: senior running back Justice Haynes. Haynes, who leads Georgia Tech with 462 rushing yards, averages 5.3 yards per rush, and has scored three touchdowns, was listed as doubtful on this week’s availability report. The Jackets are already without his backup, Malachi Hosley, so Trelain Maddox and Chad Alexander will be their top two running backs. Maddox had a breakout game against Duke last week, rushing for 81 yards on 10 carries and scoring three touchdowns.
Georgia Tech’s quarterback is Alberto Mendoza, the younger brother of 2025 Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza.
We previewed this game by the numbers. Here are three keys to a Virginia Tech win, the betting odds, and how to watch Saturday’s game.
3 keys to a Hokies’ win
- Start fast with the passing game: Make no mistake, the strength of this Virginia Tech team is Grunkemeyer, Reynolds and the passing game. In addition to Reynolds, the Hokies have other outstanding weapons, like Que’Sean Brown, Ayden Greene and Fatrat Brown. We always say that VT needs to get the running game going early. That remains true, but it doesn’t seem to work most weeks unless Jeff Overton carries it. The Hokies are still dealing with multiple offensive line injuries. So, it makes sense to do what you do best: air it out, early and often. That has led to multiple fast starts for the Hokies this season.
- Make Georgia Tech one-dimensional: Virginia Tech’s defense has given up too much recently, especially through the air. The Jackets may be down to their third running back, but he was phenomenal last week. Brent Pry’s defense needs to stop the run early and dedicate more resources to pressuring Mendoza. He’ll make mistakes under pressure. The Hokies need Aycen Stevens, Kemari Copeland & Co. to come through in a big way on Saturday.
- Win the turnover margin: It sounds simple, right? But too often this season, the Hokies are losing the turnover battle. VT has lost the turnover battle in both losses, and that needs to change this week. One area of concern: Virginia Tech has only one interception in six games. It happened in Week 1 against VMI. This would be a good week to turn that around.
How to watch, betting odds
- When: Saturday, October 17, 2026
- Where: Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, Virginia
- Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
- TV: ACC Network
- Announcers: Wes Durham (play-by-play), Max Browne (analyst) and Madison Fitzpatrick (sideline)
- Radio: Virginia Tech Sports Network Radio. You can find a list of affiliates here.
- Streaming options: fuboTV [try it free]
- Series history: This will be the 22nd all-time meeting between Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, with the Hokies holding a 12-9 lead. The Yellow Jackets won last season’s meeting. Twenty of the 21 meetings between these schools have come as ACC rivals.
- Odds: Virginia Tech is a 10-point favorite, per BetMGM.
