Hokies NEED more JUICE!! (and a Hooker)
Boston College @ #23 Virginia Tech
Saturday 8:00 PM ACCN
Betting Lines: VT -12, Total 62
#23 Virginia Tech 2-1 (ACC 2-1) Wins-NC State, Duke Losses-UNC
Boston College 3-1 (ACC 2-1) Wins-Duke, Pitt Losses-UNC
Last Week
Virginia Tech suffered a tough loss last weekend against Mack Brown's UNC. Everyone knew the defense would be a little iffy with Covid-inactive players, but holy shit, they looked like soccer players running around scared to hit someone. The game quickly turned into a shootout, but VT was late getting that memo and went down 21-0 early. The offense didn't give up and with a boost from Hooker entering the game at QB, they managed to score 45 points and make it somewhat of a game.
Virginia Tech heads into a 4 game stretch of winnable games, that need to be won to have any chance of playing Clemson twice; Boston College, @Wake Forest, @Louisville, and Liberty. Ideally, this stretch can be used to improve the offense some more, figure something out on defense, and hopefully get everyone healthy again, from Covid and injuries. They won't be the easiest games, but definitely games that should be won.
Khalil "Juice" Herbert
Herbert has been a massive improvement for VT since last season. He is leading the nation in yards/rush (10.44), rushing yards/game (149.7), and all-purpose yards/game (246.33). Virginia Tech's offensive line is also one the best ever earning O-line of the week from PFF. The impressive line is led by Christian Darrisaw who is turning heads as a potential 1st rounder. Herbert received a total of 2 touches in the first quarter. That's it. By the end of the game, Herbert had 18 carries for 138 yards and 2 scores. How do you not feed him the ball more early, especially when the offense is struggling??
The second half looked much better offensively. Hendon Hooker finally got playing time and the whole offense just clicked. He passed for 136 yards with 2 scores and rushed for another 29 yards with a score. With Hooker at QB, the offense went for 7.5 yards/play and 31 points. With Hooker's ability to open up the field and Herbert's dominant run game, this offense can be really dangerous.
Boston College
Boston College won't be a pushover game. Their QB Phil Jurkovec is off to one of the best starts in BC history with 1,181 passing yards and 8 TD's through 4 games. they are off to a 3-1 start to the season with the lo being UNC. Last week they beat Pitt by 1 in a nailbiter in OT. Usually, Boston College is a run-heavy team with little passing success, but this year they have switched to relying on the passing game to keep them in the game. They average 60 rushing yards/game and 134 passing yards/game.
We all remember last year when VT gave them 5 turnovers and lost 35-28. If VT can limit turnovers as they have so far this season, the offense should be able to score enough to hold them off. Last year with Kansas, Herbert took 11 carries for 187 yards with a touchdown against Boston College. I don't think this year will be much better for BC. Herbert has been on a roll this year, running himself up to 33-1 odds to win the Heisman last week. With mostly Burmeister under center, VT has racked up 42.7 points/game, good for 3rd in Power 5. With Hooker starting this week, the offense should be able to at least match that. Defensively, many players should return including Divine Deablo, who will be a huge help back at Rover. We won't know until around 7:00 Saturday, but we just hope more return than end up unavailable.
Prediction
VT 42-31 BC