It’s Sunday night college football action at FedEx Field, in a neutral site match-up between West Virginia Mountaineers and the Virginia Tech Hokies. The game is scheduled to begin on Sunday, September 3rd at 7:30 p.m. EST and can be viewed on
ABC. Heading into the contest in Landover, Maryland, the line setters have the Hokies as -4 point favorite and the over/under currently sits at 51.5.
These two schools have not met since 2005, with Virginia Tech winning 34-17 on the road. The Hokies will start Josh Jackson at quarterback with Jerod Evans leaving early to the NFL. The Mountaineers will also start a new signal-caller in Florida transfer Will Grier.
In this match-up, both universities will be sporting new quarterbacks who need to gel immediately. Also, both teams will be without the services of their primary play-makers of 2016.
That being said, an offensive shoot-out probably isn’t in the making for NCAA College Football fans on Sunday night. Instead, expect to see the Hokies and the Mountaineers try to grind it out via the ground and rely on their defenses to keep this contest close.
West Virginia Mountaineers
Head coach Dana Holgerson brought in quarterback Will Grier to replace the talented Skylar Howard. Grier transferred from Florida to get his full-time reps with the Mountaineers. In 2015, Grier played six games for Florida and had the Gators at 6-0 before being suspended for the rest of the season for testing positive for steroids. The unbeaten quarterback threw for 1,204 yards with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions.
Helping Will Grier with his adjustment is running back Justin Crawford. Crawford hopes to be as productive as he was in 2016. Last season, the starting tail back rumbled for 1,184 yards and four trips to pay-dirt.
The Mountaineers’ rushing attack has to produce early because the wide receiving department will need time to grow. West Virginia’s top two receivers gone this season, and now Ka’Raun White will look to make a big impact. Last season, White caught 48 balls for just under 600 yards and five touchdowns. Now, he will be the Mountaineers’ first option in the passing game.
The West Virginia defense was pretty solid last season, allowing 24 points and 425.9 yards per game. The yards per game stat was good for third in the Big 12. That in itself shows how difficult it is to defend in a pro offensive, pass-happy league.
The bad news for the Mountaineers is that they have to replace all three starting lineman from their 3-3-5 defense. Fortunately, senior linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton is back after recording 80 tackles last season.
Virginia Tech Hokies
Quarterback Jerod Evans was a 6-3, 238-pound player who could move the rock with his feet as well as his arm. Last year, he finished with 3,552 passing yards, 29 touchdown strikes and only eight interceptions. The dual-threat signal-caller also scampered for another 846 yards and 12 scores.
That’s a lot of production that needs to be replaced. Now, freshman Josh Jackson steps into the starting roll. He will be the first freshman to start at quarterback for the Hokies since Tyrod Taylor.
The Hokies will look to their running game to move the chains on Sunday. Tail back Travon McMillian is also back after running for 677 yards and seven trips to the promised land last season. After McMillian, there isn’t a proven returning back to compliment him in the running game. Obviously, he has to stay healthy for the Hokies to stay balanced.
The wide receiver position also took a big hit with the departures of wide out Isaiah Ford and tight end Bucky Hodges. Last year, Ford caught 79 passes for almost 1,200 yards and seven touchdowns. Hodges had a superb year as a tight end, grabbing 48 balls for almost 700 more yards and seven scores.
Now, wide out Cam Phillips will be asked to shoulder the load. In 2016, he put together a nice campaign, catching 76 passes for 983 yards and five trips to the end zone. The shifty receiver could have a big year as the team’s number one option.
Defensively, the Hokies should be just fine against the Mountaineers. Defensive coach Bud Foster returns three linebackers and three of the four secondary starters. They ranked fourth in the ACC on defense, allowing 340.7 yards per game in 2016. The big question will be on the defensive line, where they return just one starter. The strength will be at the linebackers, led by Andrew Matuapuaka (114 stops) is back.
Prediction
Both of these schools are going to be learning on the fly heading into this match-up at
FedEx Field. West Virginia and Virginia Tech will have a new look at quarterback, so there will be a lot of wait and see in the school’s passing game. Fortunately, the squads will get back capable tail backs and at least one decent receiver.
Nevertheless, Las Vegas had set this total at 53 and now it’s down to 51.5. There is a reason for that. The strength of the Hokies is clearly on the defensive side of the ball. Furthermore, there is too many talented players that have moved on to greener pastures for the offenses to shine Sunday. My suggestion is to skip the line here and play the under 51.5 before it drops any further.
Trends
The Mountaineers are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
The Mountaineers are 6-15 ATS in their last 21 vs. ACC.
The Over is 4-1 in the Mountaineers last 5 neutral site games.
The Under is 25-10 in the Mountaineers last 35 games overall.
The Hokies are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 Sunday games.
The Hokies are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall.
The Over is 5-1-1 in the Hokies last 7 neutral site games.
The Over is 13-3 in the Hokies last 16 non-conference games.
Please join the Rainmaker and myself for our fourth and fifth additions of the Throwdown podcast on Tuesday, September 5th and Thursday September, 7th. On the fifth, we will be covering the three games on Thursday and Friday, as well as a review of last week’s action. Then on the 7th, we will be previewing all the games for the second week of college football on September 9th. So far, we are busting out winners at an alarming rate. Get in on some good betting advice and put a little money in your pockets. #moneytreesgrow
