For the first time in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference, a game will be played on the West Coast. Even two years ago, that would have been an absurd statement to write but that is the reality as Virginia Tech takes on Stanford in Palo Alto with both teams looking to bounce back after the Hokies lost a heartbreaker to top 10 Miami and Stanford was routed by top 20 Clemson.

For the Hokies, their ACC Championship hopes are faint not dead, but a loss to the Cardinal would take out any chance they have at getting to Charlotte. Meanwhile, Stanford gets their first ACC home game and will certainly look to pull off the upset even with starting QB Ashton Daniels being questionable for the game due to injury.

So with that in mind, let's dive into our picks along with all our pregame coverage for the Hokies against the Cardinal.

Tim Thomas

On paper, I think there's a pretty clear gap between the talent that Virginia Tech has and the talent that a rebuilding Stanford has. However, this is a Hokie team that hadn't been able to put together the type of high level play their talent suggests they can reach on a consistent basis prior to last Friday's game against Miami.

That leaves two questions going into this matchup. First is whether the Hokies can build on that and come out ready to play four, high-level quarters of football or will they once again be inconsistent in all phases over the course of the game? Second is whether the Hokies have truly turned the page as Brent Pry and players have said, or if they are still caught up in the heartbreak and frustration of last week's loss to Miami and the controversial overturning of the hail mary touchdown pass to Da'Quan Felton?

If the Hokies play like they did at Miami and have the right mentality, they should cruise in this game. If not, they'll be in serious trouble of falling to 2-4.

Don't be surprised if Tech leans heavily on their passing attack against a Stanford defense that has been solid defending the run, holding teams to 3.0 yards per carry, but ranks 124th in the country in passing yards allowed per game. Kyron Drones showed some signs of finding his rhythm through the air last week, with this looking like a "get right" opportunity for Drones and the passing attack.

Meanwhile, Tech's defense will have to be built around stopping the run and getting Stanford off schedule given their passing game issues whether Ashton Daniels is available or not. Sam Brumfield and Caleb Woodson will need to play well in this game especially with the dual-threat capabilities of Daniels and backup Justin Lamson that will likely see them used as spies in pass coverage while being crucial to fill the right lanes on run plays.

Elic Ayomanor is one of the best receivers in the league, but the Hokies are uniquely built to slow him down with the combination of Dorian Strong and Mansoor Delane, arguably the best cornerback duo in the ACC and one of the best cornerback duos in the country. That combination should allow the Hokies to load up the box more to focus on the road, trusting that Strong and Delane can deliver especially given Stanford's questionable QB play regardless of who's throwing the football.

In the end, I think the Hokies are the better team and while I'm not sure if they'll match the level they reached last week, I think they'll do more than enough to cruise past the Cardinal and win the ACC's first ever West Coast conference game.

Pick: Virginia Tech 34, Stanford 20

Tucker Terry

After their heartbreaking defeat at the hands of Miami, Virginia Tech is going to come out with a chip on their shoulder and prove that their impressive performance from last Friday wasn’t a fluke, but rather a sign of things to come.

Stanford will be able to move the ball if quarterback Ashton Daniels is available, due to his dual threat abilities and the Hokies inability to stop a running quarterback consistently. However, Kyron Drones will build off of his far improved performance against Miami and continue making some of the throws he’d been missing early in the season, while combining with Bhayshul Tuten to show once again why they have one of the best rushing offenses in the ACC

The Hokies will rush for 200+ yards, and make enough timely defensive plays to pick up a 38-28 win and get back to even in the win-loss column.