Ethan Grunkemeyer threw a 5-yard touchdown pass under heavy pressure to tight end Luke Reynolds on fourth-and-1 with 1:44 left, and the Virginia Tech Hokies sent the Clemson Tigers to their third loss of the 2026 college football season with a 20-16 win Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.
The first head-to-head meeting between longtime coaches Dabo Swinney and James Franklin went to the man in his first year in the ACC and not the conference's longest-tenured coach.
Clemson (4-3, 2-2 ACC) had plenty of opportunities to win, including a last-gasp drive in the final 1:41. But a would-be first-down catch by Bryant Wesco Jr. was ruled incomplete, and quarterback Tait Reynolds was sacked on fourth down as the Hokies (6-2, 3-2) won at Clemson's Death
Valley for the first time in 19 years.
Clemson's defense played well for much of the night and forced Grunkemeyer, the ACC's leader in passing yards entering Week 8, to win the game with 10 fourth-quarter points and an 11-play, 69-yard drive that took 4:45 off the clock.
The Tigers held Virginia Tech to 109 total yards entering the fourth quarter. Grunkemeyer finished 20 of 32 with 156 yards and two touchdowns. Reynolds was 20 of 26 for 153 yards. Luke Reynolds' late touchdown was his second of the night after he made a 6-yard grab before halftime to give the Hokies a 10-3 lead at intermission.
Clemson outscored Virginia Tech 13-0 in the third quarter behind a 16-yard touchdown run by Reynolds, who had 18 rushes for 63 yards, and two Nolan Hauser fields goals. Hauser had another perfect night, making all three of his kicks, including a 49-yarder to open the third quarter.
But Clemson's passing game, which ranks last in the ACC in yards and 115th nationally after Saturday's loss, struggled to make big plays again, and the Tigers finished 3-of-14 on third downs. Clemson was held to 288 yards of total offense with 135 coming on the ground. Gideon Davidson had 62 rushing yards on 14 carries to lead the running backs.
After the game, Franklin met with reporters to discuss his team's victory over Clemson. Here's what the Hokies coach said:
(Author's note: some answers have been edited for length.)
James Franklin praises Dabo Swinney, reflects on Virginia Tech's first win at Clemson since 2007
"First of all, give Clemson and this venue and this environment a ton of credit. It's a tough place to play. Got a lot of respect for Dabo and what he has built here. Also want to thank our fans that traveled. I thought we had a good showing here with Virginia Tech fans to support us. I also want to thank everybody that had a part in this win, right? The managers, the trainers, the doctors, the staff, the coaches. That was a team win, and it took everybody committed to get that done, which was really good."
Did James Franklin consider settling for field goal on Hokies' game-winning drive against Clemson?
Virginia Tech opted to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Tigers' 5-yard line with 1:49 to play instead of settling for a 22-yard field goal attempt that would have tied the game.
Franklin explained the reasoning behind his decision:
"It did enter my mind to kick the field goal. I just felt like the momentum, except for that last drive, was probably on (Clemson's) side. You're on the road in a tough environment. It's fourth-and-1, and we weren't able to run the ball. We really struggled with (Clemson's) front in the run game and in protection. To me, that's why it was so impressive because we had to manufacture yards, perimeter screens, and get the ball to our playmakers as many times as we possibly can.
"Luke and (Que'Sean Brown) over and over again, but it was challenging. Just felt like fourth-and-1 was as good of a situation that we were going to get, and then we called a play that we've had a lot of success with. Had success with it earlier tonight, earlier this year and in the past, as well. So, good scheme and throwing to a good player."
Reynolds finished with seven catches for 44 yards. Brown led the Hokies with 69 receiving yards on five catches and had 10 carries for 26 yards.
James Franklin praises Virginia Tech for bouncing back after Clemson dominated third quarter
"I thought our defense took a significant step this week. We kind of cut some things back and made sure our guys could play the things we were asking them to call, and play them with a ton of confidence against every formation, motion, shift: empty, unbalanced, whatever adjustment it was. And I thought that helped us tonight play with confidence. A couple of times, they ran the counter play, which we've got to fit up better and spill more consistently.
"But I thought our defense played really, really well in critical moments. You do the fake punt, and they go out and have the special teams and the offense at my back. I think we actually moved them back eight yards right there in that situation. It wasn't always pretty, but we made critical plays at critical moments, and I'm proud of our guys."
James Franklin explains what he saw on Bryant Wesco Jr. catch that was overturned on review
Franklin was asked about Wesco's potential first-down catch on third-and-9 on Clemson's final drive. The play was initially ruled a catch and would have resulted in a first down at the Virginia Tech 25-yard line. The play was overturned on review after officials ruled Wesco did not maintain possession.
Franklin said of the play:
"You've got to sustain the catch through the ground, and when he hit the ground the ball came out. I was pretty confident once I saw the replay that that was going to be overturned, and then I asked the official -- and they don't usually tell you a whole lot -- for the rule to make sure I was understanding it accurately. (Wesco) made a heck of a catch, but the ball came out when he hit the ground."
Clemson playmaker caused James Franklin to lose sleep
Franklin added of Wesco:
"He was a problem. I didn't sleep a whole lot thinking about that guy all week long. He's super talented and very, very impressive. But I thought Brent (Pry) did a really nice job of mixing up some of the looks, bringing pressure. I thought the other thing that we did, we went to our three-down package so we could drop eight when we weren't able to get there, but then also bring some different pressure patterns that we hadn't necessarily showed."
Wesco had five catches for 38 yards.
Virginia Tech had long drives against Clemson defense that ended in points, James Franklin wants more consistency
"Yeah, we've got to be more consistent. It was either, like, three-and-out or 15-play drive. We've got to be more consistent there but again, (Clemson has) a really good front and Tom Allen does a really good job defensively. We had a hard time running the ball and a hard time protecting. I've been there, right? I've been a coordinator where you've got to call a game like that. It's not a lot of fun, but I thought Ty Howie and the offensive staff did a really nice job.
"You can say whatever you want about (Grunkemeyer), you can't question his toughness. Kept getting hit, kept getting up, kept finding ways to make plays and protecting the football. That was a gutsy, gritty win across the board, but you've got to give (Grunkemeyer) a lot of credit, too."
James Franklin praises Clemson's stadium, venue after Hokies win
Franklin said separately:
"To come into a venue like this, one of the best venues in college football, and get a win is not easy to do. I don't think we've won here since 2007. To me, that speaks volumes. Most of those kids in (Virginia Tech's) locker room were born in 2005, '06, '07. We talk about trying to work really hard to make Mike Vick and Bruce Smith and Coach Beamer and Bud Foster proud, and nights like tonight give us a chance to do that."
Watch Franklin's full press conference below:
Clemson football schedule 2026
Clemson will face Florida State (3-4, 1-3) at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee in Week 9 of the 2026 college football season. Kickoff is 7 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ACC Network.
All times Eastern.
- Sept. 5: at LSU Tigers (L, 51-10)
- Sept. 12: vs. Georgia Southern Eagles (W, 22-7)
- Sept. 19: vs. North Carolina Tar Heels (W, 28-20)
- Sept. 25: at California Golden Bears (W, 24-10)
- Oct. 3: vs. Miami Hurricanes (L, 41-13)
- Oct. 17: vs. Charleston Southern Buccaneers (W, 37-0)
- Oct. 24: vs. Virginia Tech Hokies (L, 20-16)
- Oct. 31: at Florida State Seminoles, 7 p.m., ACC Network
- Nov. 7: at Syracuse Orange, TBA
- Nov. 14: vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, TBA
- Nov. 20: at Duke Blue Devils, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
- Nov. 28: vs. South Carolina Gamecocks, TBA
Record: 4-3 overall, 2-2 ACC.
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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: What Virginia Tech coach James Franklin said about Clemson after win
