Virginia Tech heads north to Syracuse amidst their longest winning streak of the Brent Pry era knowing that they have to keep winning if they want to have any chance at reaching the ACC Championship. Meanwhile, the Orange are one win away from bowl eligibility and hungry to lock it up in what has been a much-improved Syracuse team in year one under Fran Brown.
So with that in mind, let's dive into our TLP predictions and all our pregame coverage.
Keys to the Game: Miles Jordan dives into the keys to the game for the matchup, which you can read here. With Bhayshul Tuten banged up, the Hokies will need Kyron Drones to step up and drive the offense more even if Tuten is able to go since the odds of him being at 100% are likely not that high.
Hokies to Watch: I dove into my look at four Hokies to watch, which you can read the full story on here. Linebacker play in pass coverage is going to be important for the Hokies, especially given how Syracuse has one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the country in Oronde Gadsden II. Syracuse will be very aware of the issues that the Hokies have had covering tight ends against Rutgers and Georgia Tech, and will certainly look to test linebackers like Caleb Woodson and Keonta Jenkins early and often.
Virginia Tech X-Factor: DT Aeneas Peebles is well on his way to earning All-ACC honors as he continues to be one of the best interior pass rushers in America. What Peebles brings on the interior as a pass rusher isn’t common at the highest levels of college football, even with how the defensive tackle has evolved physically in recent years. Add in the fact that Kyle McCord doesn’t provide much of a mobile threat and Peebles, along with Antwaun Powell-Ryland and the rest of the VT defensive line, have to be seeing this game as a massive opportunity to show why VT is one of the best pass rushing teams in America.
Syracuse X-Factor: After having 11 tackles for loss at Texas A&M last season, DE Fadil Diggs has lived up to the hype for the Orange this season with 29 tackles including 8.5 for loss with four sacks. He has the type of talent that can make two or three plays that could decide an outcome, especially against a VT offensive tackles group that has a banged up Xavier Chaplin and a struggling Parker Clements projected to start. If Chaplin can’t go, Johnny Garrett would start in his place but he has been inconsistent this season, struggling against GT. For Diggs, he likely comes into this game feeling he could be a difference maker given the matchup.
Key Stat: These two teams couldn’t be farther apart in red zone defense as the Hokies rank fourth in the country, allowing scores on less than 64% of opponents’ red zone trips. Meanwhile, the Orange are allowing scores on over 90% of opponents’ red zone trips which ranks 109th in the country. Now it is important to note that the Orange are only allowing touchdowns on 48% of red zone trips while the Hokies are allowing touchdowns on 52% of red zone trips. VT has momentum in the red zone after converting all three red zone trips into touchdowns last week, but the Orange will test them this week, while the Hokies will need to get some more turnovers and fourth down stops when Syracuse gets deep into VT territory.
Injury Watch: Virginia Tech has a pair of major injury storylines to watch via star RB Bhayshul Tuten and starting LT Xavier Chaplin, both of whom are probable per Brent Pry. Meanwhile, Syracuse may get standout LB Marlowe Wax back this week after he missed the past five games due to injury. He made his return to Syracuse’s depth chart this week, being listed in a co-starter in a sign that he is at least close to making his return for the Orange.
ACC Championship Game Race Update: Virginia Tech obviously has no margin for error needing to win this game to keep their conference title game hopes alive. Elsewhere, SMU and Pitt face off in the ACC game of the week with the winner strengthening their hopes of reaching Charlotte and the loser having to win out to have a chance. Clemson faces a tricky Louisville team this week as well while Miami is heavy favorites versus Duke team that somehow lost to SMU last week despite forcing six turnovers, ending the Blue Devils’ hopes of reaching Charlotte.
Tim Thomas
Syracuse is the best team that Virginia Tech has played in weeks, and also a very different one from the ones that the Hokies have beaten the past three games. This Syracuse team has the best passing attack by far and is going to be pass-first while their run defense is arguably their biggest weakness (though their rushing attack isn’t very good either).
If Bhayshul Tuten is able to go as seems likely given Brent Pry’s comments earlier this week, he could be in for a big game against a Syracuse run defense that has struggled this season, allowing 4.5 yards per carry. Now what may help the Orange a little is the potential return of standout LB Marlowe Wax but given what Tuten and the Hokies have done against stronger run defenses, this is a matchup they can exploit.
Meanwhile, VT’s defense may be a good fit for this matchup given the talent they have at cornerback with Dorian Strong and Mansoor Delane against a pass-first Kyle McCord-centric offense. LeQuint Allen is a tough runner but is only averaging 4.4 yards per carry with the Orange averaging a measly 3.0 yards per carry this season. It helps that McCord isn’t much of a running threat. However, standout TE Oronde Gadsden could give VT issues, especially given the volume that VT has allowed to lesser tight ends when featured against Rutgers and Georgia Tech.
This should be a fun, four-quarter battle but in the end, I do think the Hokies take control early on the ground and hold on for a victory inside the Dome.
