BLACKSBURG, Va. Five-touchdown losses tend to lead to a period of self-reflection, and nobody at Virginia Tech was exempted after the Hokies 45-10 setback to Duke on Sept. 27, a head-scratcher of a result that had Blacksburg at DEFCON1.

Whether Justin Fuente was ever truly on the hot seat with a seemingly prohibitive $15 million buyout figure is irrelevant. What was amazing, however, is the fact that it was a topic that could even be broached a little over a year after Virginia Tech dismantled Florida State in Tallahassee to open the 2018 season.

A year of negative headlines, from transfers to dismissals to locker-room turmoil to tough losses, might have been forgivable if it appeared as though that was all in the rearview mirror. But that didnt seem to be the case after the Hokies slogged through the first month of the season, losing their two games of significance to Boston College and Duke and hardly looking impressive in wins against Old Dominion and...

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The anatomy of a turnaround: Virginia Tech - The Athletic