The question I would ask CJF at his first podcast visit
I presume that TSL is trying to line up a sit down with James Franklin now that the staff and roster are set. People are already opining about what the new offense is going to look like. What id like to know is how much folks will be able to game plan VT in 2026 by looking at old PSU game film (and, in contrast, if that can be used against them).
He did say already that PSU was built more for bad weather production. Despite current conditions in the Burg, this isn’t as much of a concern in the ACC as it is in the B1G.
18 Replies
6mo
Might be vtscoop sons of saturday or national press.
(In response to this post by Marooned)
6mo
(In response to this post by 1947Sunbowl)
6mo
It looks to me like fall weather in State College is about 4-5 degrees cooler and a tiny bit wetter than Blacksburg.
Maybe away games are somewhat worse weather in the B1G but it’s not like Pitt and BC don’t have slightly worse weather than UMd and Rutgers.
I can’t imagine it’ll make any appreciable difference in game planning even though JF said it could (probably before he even looked at the data and certainly before he lived through a few falls in Blacksburg).
(In response to this post by Marooned)
6mo
teams and maybe Maryland
(In response to this post by marcbvtgm)
6mo
They may be a degree or 2 cooler in November, but is that significant to the point of the discussion?
(In response to this post by Tuckahokie)
6mo
They seem to run a high flying offense and pump WRs into the NFL like crazy
(In response to this post by marcbvtgm)
6mo
Columbus weather is very similar to Blacksburg. Slightly warmer in the early fall and a little cooler in Nov. Definitely cooler than State College.
(In response to this post by Happy Dog)
6mo
Columbus, Ohio is currently far colder than Blacksburg, Virginia, with Columbus sitting near single‑digit highs and subzero lows, while Blacksburg is cold but generally milder. Both locations face winter conditions, but Columbus is under more severe cold advisories.
(In response to this post by marcbvtgm)
6mo
What matters are fall temps and, once more despite the provincial narrative and anecdotal claims, Columbus, Ohio isn't markedly different from Blacksburg in Sept, Oct and Nov.:
Blackburg
Sept Hi 75 Lo 55
Oct Hi 66 Lo 44
Nov Hi 55 Lo 35
Columbus
Sept Hi 76 Lo 57
Oct Hi 65 Lo 46
Nov Hi 52 Lo 37
More to the point, IMO the weather for VT's schedule isn't significantly different enough to to change schemes from what PSU ran. For home games, which you build your scheme around, the temps will be 4-5 degrees warmer than at PSU during the season. Colder? Yes. Enough to change what you do? Not really. PSU probably plays just 1 or 2 games in appreciably colder weather than what Blacksburg experiences at that same time of the year.
** Edited by marcbvtgm at 1/26/2026, 6:09:02 PM
(In response to this post by UTPr0sim)
6mo
Get a lot of lake effect bounce and the wind whips across Ohio. I'd take Winter in Happy Valley or Blacksburg any day over CBUS.
(In response to this post by marcbvtgm)
6mo
(In response to this post by Happy Dog)
B
BoozVT
6mo
makes sense in today's college football. I think back in the day they actually did it and that's where the old 3 yards and a cloud of dust reputation that the BIG10 (midwestern schools in general) had before started. Now we see most of the really good BIG10 teams are built much like the other good/great teams in any other region in recent years...speed, spread O, RPOs, quick screens, huge WRs etc. Teams still run the ball, but few just line up in the I, option or wishbone. But Ann Arbor, Columbus, Madison, Lansing, Iowa City, Lincoln, Twin Cities and Chicago, in general, probably all experience worse winter weather that Rutgers/Maryland or Pitt/Boston.
(In response to this post by marcbvtgm)
6mo
Many of the schools may would provincially think are appreciably colder than Blacksburg (Indiana, Purdue, OSU, Nebraska) actually have slightly warmer avg highs in Sept, very similar in Oct and a little colder Highs in Nov. Oregon is actually like this too. State College, PA is actually a few degrees colder than any of those (as is, believe or not, UWashington).
Maryland and Rutgers are slightly warmer than Blacksburg. Oregon is like those other B1G schools, warmer in Sept, cooler by Nov. UWash is actually cooler on average than Blacksburg in the fall. UCLA & USC are obviously very different. But the west coast weather is tempered by the Pacific so temps are less variable.
Bottom line...much of the B1G isn't that different from Blacksburg in football season. And certainly not different enough to change an overall offensive scheme.
** Edited by marcbvtgm at 1/26/2026, 12:35:39 PM
(In response to this post by BoozVT)
6mo
Spartan by marriage- we attend one game a year in East Lansing. After a couple of late season games(Nov) , this Virginian will only do Sept/ Oct games.
(In response to this post by BoozVT)
K
KCHokie2
6mo
I predict an 0-1 start. And that this guy won't see his shadow.
** Edited by KCHokie2 at 1/25/2026, 9:09:05 PM
(In response to this post by marcbvtgm)
6mo
The sheer number of cold weather stadiums you’d have to play in every year vs. the ACC and it’s no contest.
(In response to this post by marcbvtgm)
6mo
You only play 3 or 4 away games after mid-Oct. No doubt, most B1G locales are colder than ACC locales in the last half of the fall. But you could also draw USC and UCLA which are temperate. Or Oregon and UW are chilly, but predictable. Rutgers and UMd are similar to or a little warmer than BC, Pitt, VT and UVa.
That's just not enough difference in a few games to worry about.
(In response to this post by Marooned)
6mo
Do a head to head comparison across the two conferences.
There’s no disputing that the B1G is the nation’s winter weather conference.
(In response to this post by marcbvtgm)