College Football Rankings 2020: Projected preseason Top 25 sans Pac-12, Big Ten

15. Virginia Tech Hokies

• Where they were ranked in the 2019 preseason: 36th (12 points)
• Where they were ranked at the end of 2019: unranked (0 points)
• Where they were in our way-too-early Top 25: unranked
• Where they ranked in the preseason Coaches Poll: 24th (143 points)

Justin Fuente enters his fifth season in Blacksburg needing to make a splash. After winning the ACC Coastal in his first season at the helm and finishing with 10 wins, the next two years offered diminishing returns. A chance to win the Coastal and play Clemson for the ACC title fell flat last year in the Commonwealth Cup, as the Hokies lost to rival Virginia for the first time since 2003 in what amounted to a de facto divisional championship game.

Among Power Five teams playing football this fall, only Georgia Tech returns more production from last season than the Hokies. Virginia Tech gets back quarterback Hendon Hooker, who took over for 2018 starter Ryan Willis when injuries derailed the latter’s productivity. Taking over as the starter after a 45-10 home loss to Duke, Hooker went 6-2 as a starter — and led the offense to 30 points in both losses.

Hooker and an experienced offense should get more relief this year from one of the five most veteran defenses in what remains of college football in 2020. That group will need to get better at stopping teams on third down as well as in the red zone; too often opponents were able to keep the chains moving and, when they did get in scoring position, they put points on the board nearly 90 percent of the time.

For the Hokies, the ACC-heavy schedule eliminated an intersectional showdown against Penn State. At the same time, the Big Ten’s cancellation of football this fall likely opened a chance for Virginia Tech to lock down regular position in the AP Top 25 this year.