Virginia Tech has only one home game left in the college football regular season. Worsham Field at Lane Stadium looks like it is in terrible condition.
It’s not!
The award-winning grounds crew in Blacksburg knows what it is doing. Most college football programs in the south use Bermuda grass for a reason, even if the color is not exactly perfect green.
James Franklin took a walk on brown grass at Lane Stadium.
The Hokies made the most impressive hire of this crazy coaching cycle when they got James Franklin to put a pen to paper. There is no way to know whether it will work out or not, but the hire itself could not be strong on paper.
Franklin was formally introduced in his new role on Wednesday. And not too long there after, he took a long stroll around Lane Stadium to get acclimated to his new home. It was one of those perfect college football moments. We have come such a long way in such a short time, since the double overtime loss against Oregon on Sept. 27.
These kinds of videos are what makes this sport so much fun.
Spotted from the press box: James Franklin taking in his new home after being introduced and saying hello to the grounds crew. pic.twitter.com/Km5ZSpyhXL
— Sons of Saturday Podcast (@SonsofSatVT) November 19, 2025
However, the gridiron looked terrible. The field was just as much brown as green.
People on the internet were so quick to clown Virginia Tech as a poverty program. They had all kinds of jokes. How can the Hokies expect to be a serious program when they play on a field that looks like that?
Those people know nothing of the grass at Lane Stadium!
Virgina Tech has one of the best grounds crews in the country.
There are 136 FBS programs in college football. Every single one uses a different type of grass for its field depending on the climate. (Some obviously use turf but f— turf, all my homies hate turf!)
Virginia Tech, like many/most programs in the South, uses Bermuda grass because of its ability to withstand heat and recover quickly from damage. The award-winning Hokies grounds crew completely transformed Worsham Field for a Metallica concert back in April, which required them to resod the entire playing surface back in May. It was ready to go for the home-opener at the end of August.
However, the Bermuda grass is not meant to withstand colder climates and it has been cold in Blacksburg over the last few weeks. When the soil temperatures drop below ~50º, Bermuda grass enters a state of dormancy as a survival mechanism.
The grass stops growing and turns brown to conserve its energy to withstand frost. The roots stay alive.
Laugh at Virginia Tech all you want, but the Bermuda grass is just doing what it does. Color doesn’t matter, health does. And the Hokies’ grounds crew is keeping the field healthy!