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Florida State Football: Preview, prediction, live stream vs. Virginia Tech

By Quinn Douglas

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - DECEMBER 30: Deondre Francois #12 of the Florida State Seminoles celebrates their 33 to 32 win over the Michigan Wolverines during the Capitol One Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium on December 30, 2016 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FL - DECEMBER 30: Deondre Francois #12 of the Florida State Seminoles celebrates their 33 to 32 win over the Michigan Wolverines during the Capitol One Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium on December 30, 2016 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images) /
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Virginia Tech and Florida State football will face off in an early-season ACC battle. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup.

This season-opener for Florida State might be one of the most crucial the program has seen in years. This is Willie Taggart’s first game as the head of the Seminoles program and he will be challenged right away by a familiar foe to Florida State fans. Also, quarterback Deondre Francois makes his long-awaited return to the field following a devastating knee injury against Alabama in last year’s season-opener.

Last year was a year where everything that could’ve gone wrong, did go wrong with the Florida State program. They finished 7-6, well below the bar that had been set going into the season, and to make matters worse, Jimbo Fisher announced at the end of the regular season, that he would be heading to College Station to take over Texas A&M. But a new era is hopefully under way with Willie Taggart at the helm for years to come.

Virginia Tech is looking to build off a solid 9-4 season a year ago and look to make a return run at an ACC Championship and a win on Monday would provide an instant boost. The Hokies return star quarterback Josh Jackson and running back Deshawn McClease to a very efficient offense that Justin Fuente has implemented since he’s been in Blacksburg.

Defensively, as long as Bud Foster remains on the sideline at Virginia Tech, the Hokies will always have a stout defense ready to pop you in the mouth. They do lose their two leading tacklers from 2017 in Tremaine Edmunds and Andrew Motupuaka, but return a host of experience in the secondary, including safety Reggie Floyd.

Here’s how you can view this primetime Labor Day showdown

Date: Monday, Sept. 3
Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
Location: Tallahassee, Fla.
Venue: Doak Campbell Stadium
TV: ESPN
LiveStream: WatchESPN

Keys to Victory

Deondre Francois will have to come back and be efficient against a Virginia Tech defense that plans on not giving him much to work with. Sophomore running back Cam Akers will have to work that front four of Virginia Tech to keep the defense honest and give Francois the ability to go with play action passes when called upon.

The Hokies are wanting to play a defensive game and control the tempo. Taggart has installed a new, spread offense at Florida State and the Seminoles goal is to score as quickly as possible. The Hokies best bet to slow down the Seminoles is to allow them to dink and dunk and not allow big chunk yardage plays (20-plus yards). Josh Jackson will have to do it in the air and on the ground.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of Oddshark

Point Spread: Florida State -7.5
Over/Under: 56

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Prediction

This game will be a very fun contest. Not going to be a Big 12-esque shootout, but certainly won’t be a 10-6, Big Ten-like battle. Both sides will have their fair share of big plays as Florida State and Virginia Tech might have two of the top quarterbacks in the ACC. In the end, Deondre Francois proves to the nation that he is back and better than ever and leads the Seminoles to a huge opening-weekend victory.

Final Score: Florida State 31, Virginia Tech 27

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