It wasn’t pretty, but Virginia Tech got the job done on the road at Boston College with a 21-14 victory to improve to 4-0 for the first time since 2017. This win sets the stage for a huge clash of undefeated teams Friday night in Blacksburg vs Pittsburgh where the winner will certainly jump into the top 25. Let's dive into my takeaways from the Hokies' road victory at BC.
1. Jeff Overton Jr Should Be VT’s RB1 Moving Forward
Jeff Overton Jr was the star of this game with 25 carries for 209 yards and a touchdown plus three catches for 19 yards to lead the Hokies to this road victory. The highlight of his day was the 76-yards rushing touchdown he had to give the Hokies’ the final 21-14 lead but even before that, Overton was averaging around five yards per carry.
The advanced numbers are strong for Overton as well as he forced eight missed tackles on run plays (plus one on a pass play) and had six runs of 10+ yards, showing that his impressive numbers weren't just about the 76-yard touchdown run that proved to be the winning touchdown. He also had 167 yards after contact with an average of 6.68 yards per carry after contact, a strong number even when factoring in that most of his 76-yard touchdown run is included in that total.
Overton brings a level of explosiveness and speed that no one else in Virginia Tech's RB room has shown they can offer. He's also clearly made significant strides from his sold freshman debut last season and has become a more complete running back.
That's led to Overton now averaging 6.5 yards per carry on 85 career carries at Virginia Tech. For comparison, Khalil Herbert is the only Hokie who has averaged more yards per carry on 80 or more career carries, an impressive league to be in if you're Overton.
Meanwhile,
