Virginia Tech Football: Way-too-early game-by-game predictions for 2020
By James Bowers
Week 8: Virginia Tech football vs. Boston College (Oct. 22)
Virginia Tech enjoys an off day on Oct. 17 before the Boston College Eagles come to Blacksburg.
Boston College went to the postseason but wound up with a losing record in 2019 after falling to Cincinnati in the Birmingham Bowl. The Eagles parted ways with head coach Steve Addazio after the regular season, leaving him with an all-time winning percentage of exactly .500 at 44-44.
The Eagles are the only ACC Atlantic foe that Virginia Tech sees every year. Jeff Hafley’s club has enjoyed two consecutive wins over Virginia Tech, but AJ Dillion will not return to assist in engineering a third. Instead that task will be put in the hands of sophomore quarterback Dennis Grosel, a former walk-on who took over for injured signal-caller Anthony Brown after the Louisville game last year.
A defense that ranked 125th nationally will need to bring that number up in 2020 if the Eagles want to win. Hafley’s pedigree as a defensive coach played a big role in his hire.
The Hokies are looking to avenge a loss to the Eagles in last year’s opener, and the mid-season date could be a double-edged sword for both teams. Either they could be hitting their stride and enjoying the success that comes with continuity, or they could be trying to ward off the injury bug.
This game is something of a toss-up. The slight edge goes to Virginia Tech with a more experienced and successful defense, but Hafley proved his ability to coach at OSU and nobody’s writing Boston College off.
Prediction: Virginia Tech 42, Boston College 21 (5-2, 2-1)