Penn State football fired now-Virginia Tech head coach James Franklin after a three-game losing streak in Big Ten play in 2025. Franklin had to prove that he could win the big games. Instead, he proved that not only can he still lose the big ones (Oregon in Week 5), but he can also lose the easy ones (UCLA and Northwestern in Weeks 6 and 7, respectively).
The Hokies hired Franklin in November. Roughly two months later, he's already taking precautionary measures, making sure he doesn't immediately fall back into old, lingering habits. Franklin can't lose the big games if he doesn't even play in them.
On Wednesday, Virginia Tech Athletics announced a schedule change for the upcoming 2026 season. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) adapted to a nine-game conference schedule starting in 2026, meaning the Hokies needed to take one of their non-conference opponents off the schedule.
Virginia Tech had Virginia Military Institute, Old Dominion, Maryland, and James Madison University on its non-conference slate. It doesn't take a genius to guess which one Franklin took off.
James Franklin dodged College Football Playoff team JMU in 2026
The Dukes were one of the 12 teams in the CFP, earning their spot thanks to a Sun Belt Conference Football Championship win against Troy, 31-14. This was their first appearance in the CFP and were the last seed in the bracket, No. 12. They played Oregon, ultimately losing, 54-34.
Virginia Tech has canceled its 2026 game against James Madison with the ACC moving to a 9-game league schedule. The Hokies will open coach James Franklin's tenure at home against VMI (Sept. 5) and Old Dominion (Sept. 12), before visiting Maryland (Sept. 19).
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) January 14, 2026
Penn State was under fire for having one of the lightest non-conference schedules in 2025, especially when being ranked No. 2 in the country in the preseason. This slate included FCS team Villanova.
Rather than shed that identity off his back, Franklin decided to take the same route and keep the easier opponents on the list, specifically VMI and Old Dominion. The Kangaroos, in fact, are also an FCS squad.
That’s a James Franklin non conference schedule right there.
— jmrussbucks (@jmrussbucks) January 14, 2026
Only time will tell if Franklin can overcome his "Big Game James" tendencies, but Hokies fans (and Nittany Lions fans) must wait until Virginia Tech's non-conference slate is wrapped up. As for now, though, Franklin seems content with having the cupcake scheduled lined up, holding off any possible hiccups before conference play kicks off.