Virginia Tech is back home after suffering a blowout loss to SMU looking for a bounce back victory. The opportunity to do that is high as the Hokies are facing a 4-5 Stanford game that is the lowest-ranked Power 4 team in SP+ and has lost all four of its road games this season by 28+ points including two by more than 50 points. However, the Cardinal could make this game a little more interesting longer than expected with a passing attack that has been decent at times led by Michigan transfer Davis Warren.
So with that in mind, let’s dive into our TLP gameday preview
Keys to the Game: You can check out Josh Poslusny’s keys to the game and preview here. Virginia Tech’s pass defense will give Stanford some hope that they can hang around in this game longer than expected. After struggling at Michigan, Davis Warren has found something at Stanford and has 2,203 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, three interceptions, and a 60.4% completion rate. While Warren isn’t on the same level as SMU’s Kevin Jennings, he has become a solid passer who is capable of giving Tech’s struggling pass defense issues. Given how the is a below-average Stanford team overall, this feels like a get-right game for this unit. If they struggle again, it could increase the odds we see some coaching changes among the DB coaches this offseason and increase the transfer portal emphasis at DB too.
Hokie to Watch: Jeff Overton Jr is having a standout sophomore season who is within striking distance of having his first 1,000 yard rushing season and is averaging 6.0 yards per carry this year. This game presents a great opportunity for Overton to close the gape further against a Stanford team that is below average for the Power 4 level. It also helps Overton that his offensive line continues to get healthier. Don’t be surprised if Overton breaks the 100+ rushing yard mark for the fourth time this season on Saturday.
Virginia Tech X-Factor: Ayden Greene hasn’t gotten the same volume as Que’Sean Brown and Luke Reynolds, but the senior wide receiver has gotten his yardage in chunks. Greene only has 19 catches but has 343 receiving yards and two touchdowns while averaging 18.1 yards per catch. After VT was effective opening up the passing attack in the fourth quarter at SMU, don’t be surprised if they do the same this week and Greene gets the chance to create some big plays in the downfield passing game.
Injury Update: After missing the entirety of ACC play to date, starting LT Justin Terry it trending towards making his return this week against Stanford. Meanwhile, the Hokies could have a surprise absence at cornerback. You can check out all that and more here.
Visit List: Virginia Tech is set to host an impressive group of recruits this week including four-star OT Ty Winn and four-star DT Isaac Kalubi Lukuni. You can check out the full running list of visitors plus insights here.
Press Conference Notebooks: Check out Josh Poslusny’s media availability notebook from Virginia Tech’s Monday press conference and Wednesday post-practice availability here.
Predictions
Tim Thomas
Secondly, Stanford has been bad on the road this season losing by at least 28 points in all four road games they’ve faced this season. Now the competition they’ve faced on the road has been strong with it featuring Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Louisville, and Duke. There’s no reason why a high-scoring VT offense shouldn’t be able to exploit Stanford’s defense at a very high level as well.
While I do think Warren and the Stanford passing attack can do some damage in this game, I expect Ethan Grunkemeyer and Jeff Overton Jr to have big games to lead the Hokies to a dominant home victory.
