3 takeaways from Virginia Tech football's loss at California
Oct 10, 2026; Berkeley, California, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies head coach James Franklin watches his team warm up before taking on the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
Oct 10, 2026; Berkeley, California, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies kicker John Love (17) watches his 55-yard field goal attempt miss the uprights against the California Golden Bears during the first quarter at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
Virginia Tech offensive linemen take the field before Saturday's game against California. Right guard Montavious Cunningham (right) suffered an apparent injury in the second quarter and is the fourth key offensive linemen who has missed time this season.
BERKELEY, Calif. — The Virginia Tech football locker room was understandably subdued Saturday afternoon. Another final play didn’t go the Hokies’ way in a one-score setback, and the players weren’t focused on the ruling on the field.
Wide receiver Ayden Greene was adamant that Tech shouldn’t have been in position to have to score on the final play to win for the second straight week. The same issues that caused the Hokies to fall 35-33 to Pittsburgh two Fridays before showed up in a 25-20 loss to California at California Memorial Stadium.
Untimely penalties. The secondary allowing big pass plays. The offense waking up late in the fourth quarter to be in position to tally the go-ahead score. Those issues are needed to be cleaned up if the Hokies want to get back to their winning ways.
“We just got to execute. We got to pour into what we're doing, trust our training, and do our 1/11th. If that's every guy's mindset going out in the field and lining up, we'll be in a tremendous spot,” Greene said. “We have every bit of the talent. We have every bit of the coaching. We have everything we need right in the palm of our hands. We just got to take it, and that's on us. Like I said, we got to learn from games like this and games like last weekend to not let it happen again.”
Keon Wylie has been on teams coached by James Franklin for five seasons. He understands the talent that is on the roster and the expectations for each week.
The fifth-year linebacker said the locker room was optimistic after the loss.
Why’s that?
“There's two ways you can go about losing back-to-back weeks. You can just beat yourself up about it,” he said. “Or Sundays is when we correct, go back, change it and just prepare for next week. And that's what we're going to do.”
Virginia Tech has plenty to play for over the second half of the season. Two more wins secures bowl eligibility. There’s the matter of reclaiming the Commonwealth Cup.
There aren’t any mulligans remaining. A team with two league losses played in the ACC title game last season. Tech can’t afford to lose the rest of the way if it wants to keep its aspirations alive of playing in Charlotte in early December.
“I thought our guys battled their tails off all the way to the end. But at the end of the day, we did not play well enough to get a win on the road in the ACC,” Franklin said. “And we’ve got to get things cleaned up. There’s critical moments and critical plays that were not maximized and ultimately it’s my responsibility to get it fixed.”
Here are three takeaways from Virginia Tech’s loss at Cal.
Stability needed
Montavious Cunningham, who missed games against Boston College and Pittsburgh after getting nicked up in practice prior to the BC game, started at right guard and helped the Hokies score a touchdown early in the second quarter.
That scoring play came at a cost. Cunningham remained down on the field and trainers looked at his right knee. Cunningham, a sixth-year player, gingerly walked off the field to the medical tent and did not return to the game.
That meant sophomore Gavin Crawford was asked to play the rest of the game at right guard.
The Hokies had already shuffled the offensive line by moving Layth Ghannam to left tackle and having Michael Troutman III play at left guard.
“It’s our job to get them prepared and ready to play. That’s the only answer that matters, and that’s how we’re going to approach it,” Franklin said. “There’s some challenges. There’s no doubt about it. There’s a lot of moving parts. But, again, it’s our responsibility that whoever’s in, that next guy is ready and prepared to play. That’s all that matters.”
Cunningham is the fourth offensive linemen who has been injured in the season’s first half. Johnny Garrett suffered an undisclosed long-term injury before the season. Left tackle Justin Terry hasn’t played since the end of the first quarter at Maryland, and guard Brody Meadows hasn’t played since suffering an undisclosed injury at Boston College.
That’s four key offensive linemen who have missed time.
Logan Howland didn’t play on offense after playing 194 snaps at left tackle over the previous three games. Howland was likely the backup tackle in case either Ghannam or Aidan Lynch got nicked up.
The fourth tackle for the game at Cal was freshman Buddy Wegdam.
“If a guy goes down, next man up,” Greene said. “We're going to be there for Mont, we're going to be there for the guy that takes his place and we're all about the mentality of getting better. That's all we need to worry about.”
Lack of Love
What’s happened with John Love?
The reliable kicker who has been a staple in the Tech lineup since the end of the 2022 season missed field goal attempts of 55 and 39 yards in the five-point loss.
Both misses were wide left. Tech fans know wide left all too well after Love’s 36-yard attempt went wide left as time expired in a 35-33 loss to Pitt.
For the first time in a long time, a Tech coach said there needs to be competition for the job that Love has firmly held since late 2022.
“I love John. He’s got a ton of experience. He works his tail off. We need to create competition at every position. Everybody needs to feel that every single day,” Franklin said. “And that’s one of the things that’s important. Whether it’s snappers, whether it’s kickers, whether it’s punters, whether it’s DBs, whether it’s quarterbacks, you’ve got to create pressure in practice to put them in those moments, and you have to have another guy that, if they’re not getting it done, that they know that.
“So we’re going to have to create some more competition. There’s no doubt about that. And there’s challenges that come with it. But I have a ton of confidence in John. He’s had a great career, but nobody really cares about career right now. It’s what we’re doing right now and it’s what you do today. And the reality is, you’re only as good as your last win. You’re only as good as your last kick.”
Love had only missed consecutive kicks once in his career. That came last season when he missed a 45-yarder late in regulation against Cal and then missed a 54-yard attempt the following week at Florida State.
Not getting off the field
Virginia Tech’s defense was stout on third down for 23 quarters. Cal was 3 for 11 through the first three quarters Saturday, which meant opponents were 22 of 79 (27.8%) entering the fourth quarter.
Then the Hokies couldn’t get off the field. Cal went 5 for 5 on third down with the two touchdown drives. Big pass plays aided in the Golden Bears’ cause. Penalties didn’t help the Hokies, either.
Wylie said the Cal offense used multiple cadences to get Tech to jump offsides. One of those offsides led to an explosive pass play that set up the go-ahead score after the Golden Bears needed 57 seconds to retake the lead.
The third-down woes were one thing. It was allowing the quick scoring drive that frustrated the Tech defense.
“I wouldn't say frustrating. It's a lot of different emotions. It's an emotional game. I would just say I don't want to also say disappointed, but it's something for sure,” Wylie said. “Them just being able to go down field like that in the two-minute drive that we go over every Tuesday and Wednesday against our offense, and we should be able to put them out. But we're just going to watch it and get better from it.”
Damien Sordelett (540) 981-3124
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Virginia Tech coach James Franklin discusses John Love's recent struggles after Saturday's 25-20 loss at California.
