Short term, there will probably be pain when Beamer finally retires. It will largely depend on who they bring in (or if they annoint Bud Foster as has been the thinking for years), and what talent is in the pipeline. I'd like to think the program is established enough now where they can at least attract a young hotshot who has maxed out at a "smaller" school and is ready to hit the big time...but who knows.
All I'm really saying at this point is that as long as Frank remains in charge, what you've seen from VT for the past few years is what you're going to get. Good enough to stay in the Top 20, to win their non-conference games most of the time, to look good enough on and off during any given year to get into the BCS conversation, and occasionally grab an ACC-tied Orange Bowl berth.
Once there, they might even win one once in while, like they did over Cincinnati in 2009. Or, more Hokie-ish, get plowed over there like they did last year against Luck and Stanford.
But they'll never win a title under Frank. They're just not big or current enough schematically. Those are tenets his philosophy doesn't encompass.
Virginia Tech....just good enough to break your Hokie heart.