After a big 38-21 victory over Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech heads on the road for their toughest test of the season against #5 Florida State, who has its eyes set on trying to win a national title this year. The Hokies are massive 24-point underdogs in this game and while Tech fans would love to see a stunning upset, a competitive performance from Tech would also be encouraging.
Here's a look at more of our pregame coverage.
- Four Things to Watch for VT vs #5 FSU
- VT's Rush Defense Looks to Build On Its Momentum
- VT Redshirt Tracker Post-Pittsburgh
- Five Takeaways From Virginia Tech's 38-21 Victory Over Pittsburgh
So with that said, here are our picks for the Hokies against the Seminoles.
Tim Thomas
This is going to be a brutal matchup for Virginia Tech to say the least. Florida State is the dream picture of what everyone hopes this rebuild looks like in a couple years. Meanwhile, Tech looks like those first two seasons of Mike Norvell at FSU where they only won 5 games each season.
That's a recipe for an ugly football game for the Hokies, especially with FSU coming off a bye week to get healthy and have a little extra time to prep for this game. They've also already had their wakeup call against a weaker team with their struggle at Boston College. Tech has that big win over Pitt, but the Panthers have their worst team in recent memory this season and while Tech has definitely improved, this is too big of a step up.
What you do want to see though is a Tech team that shows tons of fight while continuing to embrace the identity they found offensively last week. Kyron Drones is the clear QB1 going forward and continuing to run an offense that plays to his strengths and prioritizes getting Bhayshul Tuten in space via swing passes, toss plays, and more is a must.
This defense will face its toughest challenge yet especially in the secondary. This is the only clear time this year where the Hokies have the disadvantage when their CBs face the opposing WRs as Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson are future Sunday playmakers. This will be a great test for this secondary and also a great development opportunity to face as tough of a challenge as any ACC team can in this league.
I think Tech will have some solid moments in this game that you can be encouraged by. However, the talent disparity is massive especially in the trenches and that will show as a rested Florida State dominates this game.
Pick: #5 Florida State 45, Virginia Tech 13
Raza Umerani
This was always going to be the hardest game of the year for the Hokies. The only real questions were how competitive the team could be against such difficult opposition. Through four games, it looked like this one would shape up to be a massacre, but after last week’s performance against Pitt, I feel confident in saying that Tech should put together a competent, competitive performance.
That being said, this is still a game that’s virtually impossible to win. It’s hard enough to win conference games on the road. It gets infinitely harder when you’re facing a team as talented, deep, and tested as the Seminoles are.
This is arguably the best Florida State team since the 2014 group that won the ACC and went to the inaugural College Football Playoff, with two huge wins over LSU and Clemson already this season in addition to a plethora of NFL guys on both sides of the ball.
Jordan Travis has been the best quarterback in the ACC with his efficiency and ball security, wide receiver Keon Coleman is playing like the best transfer in the country, his counterpart Johnny Wilson is one of the nation’s biggest matchup nightmares with 6-foot-7, 237 pound frame, and running back Trey Benson is a Swiss army knife out of the backfield. Defensively, the Noles have future first round pick Jared Verse dominating off the edge alongside the burgeoning Patrick Payton with Virginia transfer Fentrell Cyrpess II and Jarrian Jones holding things down in the secondary.
There aren’t many paths to victory for the Hokies in this one, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to win. If Kyron Drones and the offense can secure the ball and sustain long scoring drives, and the defense continues its upward trend on the ground and dominance in the secondary, we could see a one-possession game in the second half. It’s just too difficult to foresee that happening in the team’s toughest test of the second year of the Brent Pry era.
