Virginia Tech Football: Will Hokies’ slide continue vs Boston College?

Virginia Tech football suffered their first ACC loss in Week 9. They try to rebound against a Boston College team with hopes of challenging Clemson in the Atlantic.

Virginia Tech failed to stay perfect in ACC play after Georgia Tech came to Blacksburg and dealt the Hokies a three-touchdown defeat in Week 9. Justin Fuente‘s team had no answers for the Yellow Jackets, who gained 465 yards and 35 first downs in the runaway victory. As a result, the Hokies fell back to second in the ACC Coastal behind state rival Virginia.

The Hokies boast one of the best teams in the country in the red zone, both on offense and on defense. Virginia Tech scores on 95 percent of their trips inside the opponent’s 20, while the defense holds their foes scoreless on more than 27 percent of their trips in the Hokies red zone. The Hokies have also been great at preventing turnovers, with only six giveaways through their first seven games.

Boston College, on the other hand, is on a two-game winning streak after their narrow loss to NC State. The Eagles dominated Louisville and Miami over the past two weeks, winning by 18 over the Cardinals and 13 points against the Hurricanes. The wins kept Boston College within a game of ACC Atlantic leader Clemson and pushed the Eagles into the first set of College Football Playoff selection committee rankings.

Steve Addazio’s team remains in the ACC hunt thanks to a stout defense that has been great at disrupting opposing offenses. The Eagles rank fourth nationally with an average of 3.5 sacks per game, and they rank fifth in the FBS in turnovers generated. A top-25 rushing unit and one of the most efficient passing attacks in the country fuels the offense when the Eagles have the ball.

Can Addazio’s squad keep the winning streak going on the road? Here’s how you can watch the Saturday game between Virginia Tech and No. 24 Boston College:

Date: Saturday, Nov. 3
Time: 3:45 p.m. ET
Location: Blacksburg, Va.
Venue: Lane Stadium
TV: ACC Network
Live Stream: WatchESPN | FuboTV

Keys to Victory

Virginia Tech needs improvement from their secondary if they are going to have a shot at taking down Boston College on Saturday. The Hokies, currently 121st in the country in first downs gained, need to do a better job of keeping the chains moving as well. Turning around their fortune on punt returns would also go a long way toward keeping Virginia Tech in the game.

Boston College needs to do better on special teams in order to stay ahead of Virginia Tech on the scoreboard. The Eagles rank 125th in blocked kicks allowed and 129th out of 129 FBS teams in blocked punts given up. They are also 127th in net punting. For Boston College to win on Saturday in Blacksburg, they cannot lose the field position battle against the Hokies.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of oddsshark.com

Point Spread: Boston College -2.5
Over/Under: 57.5

Prediction

Lane Stadium is hardly a fun place for visitors to play, but the mystique has started to evaporate in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech has lost both of their home games against FBS opponents this season, and Boston College is a disciplined team that will exploit the Hokies’ weaknesses. Look for the Eagles to run away with this contest in the second half as they improve to 7-2 on the year.

Final Score: Boston College 34, Virginia Tech 20