After suffering a tough 39-17 loss on the road at #5 Florida State, Virginia Tech returns home looking to bounce back. They face a Wake Forest team looking to get their season back on track after suffering back-to-back losses to Georgia Tech and Clemson.
Here's a look at some of our pregame coverage.
- Four Things to Watch for VT vs Wake Forest
- Nasir Peoples Makes a Much-Needed Return for Virginia Tech
- Virginia Tech Football Recruiting Visit List vs Wake Forest
So who will bounce back and pick up an important win between the Hokies and Demon Deacons? Here's our predictions.
Tim Thomas
To be honest, I've been very surprised to see the spread on this game flip from Wake Forest being the favorite to the Hokies being the favorite. Yes, the Demon Deacons aren't the same team as they were with Sam Hartman, but this is still a decent football team that nearly stunned a down but still good Clemson team last week.
This has all the makings of a low-scoring game where finishing drives off with touchdowns are going to be important. Any home run play or turnover is going to be massive in this game as well with the first favoring Wake Forest given Tech's specific defensive issues and the second maybe favoring Wake given the 5 INTs for Mitch Griffis this season.
Both teams are going to want to be run-heavy in this matchup given the strength of theses defenses being with their pass defense. That will make getting off to a strong start in this game even more important which is something that the Hokies have had their struggles with this season.
Wake Forest's slow mesh could give Tech issues though, especially given how Tech has struggled with things like run fits and the Wake offense is about as hard to read as any in the country. Tech's issues with slow starts could also be problematic in a game where both teams will want to be able to be run-heavy and not have to play catch up at some point.
Expect a close game that could go either way, but I have Wake Forest taking down the Hokies in this one as Tech's defense continues to give up too many big runs while the offense fails to finish off enough of their good drives with touchdowns.
Pick: Wake Forest 24, Virginia Tech 20
Raza Umerani
I don’t feel particularly comfortable picking Virginia Tech to win football games, but I’m standing by what I said in my Pitt prediction: that I’d come around on backing the Hokies once they showed me that they were capable of winning. They proceeded to put together arguably their best performance of the Brent Pry era behind an inspired home crowd, shutting down a team that has had plenty of recent relevance in the ACC by not allowing them to do what they wanted to do – which was run the football – all while running their offense to near perfection.
Who's to say Tech can’t run that back for a Homecoming Maroon Effect game inside Lane Stadium?
I do have my concerns in this matchup, particularly with how the Hokies’ porous rush defense will fare against the Demon Deacons’ slow mesh rushing attack. With a lackluster passing attack under quarterback Mitch Griffis, the Deacs will rely heavily on the run, especially since they know Tech struggles to top it. I can almost certainly see Wake taking advantage of Tech’s poor linebacker and safety play and nipping at the heels of a 200-yard rushing performance. I never go into a game expecting Tech to stop the run, and even though they did against Pitt, last week’s fiasco at Florida State nullified any and all chance of faith being restored there.
What I do have faith in, however, is Tech’s ability to run the ball. It’s an ever-improving unit as the offensive line gets more reps and Bhayshul Tuten and Malachi Thomas get more and more involved. The problem is sticking to the run. If Tyler Bowen calls a game similar to the one he did against Pitt, allowing Kyron Drones and Tuten to dictate the pace of the game on the ground and subsequently opening up play action passes and potential deep shots to the wide receivers, the Hokies will certainly be in a great position to win this game. But, they have to keep the ball on the ground and not get flustered or pass-happy if it’s not working early or if Wake takes an early lead. Tuten is by far the team’s best player and playmaker right now, and Drones needs the running game to be effective to complement the passing attack.
The Hokies rushing defense is going to struggle. But, the passing defense shouldn’t. If the secondary does its job, the front seven generates enough pressure on a team that’s prone to giving up sacks in bunches, and Bowen dials up a good game plan and sticks to it no matter what, then I feel good about Tech’s chances to win a tight one in Blacksburg – perhaps on a last-second field goal – for a second consecutive home victory. But, if the Hokies get off script and find themselves in an uncomfortable position, I don’t know if they’ll have what it takes to overcome the adversity and come away with a win.
