2023 Military Bowl – Tulane vs Virginia Tech
posted December 21
The Game
The Green Wave did it again, yo. We didn’t think they’d be able to pull off another double-digit win season after going 12-2 last year but Tulane (11-2) cruised through the regular season schedule and didn’t lose a conference game until the AAC Conference Championship Game vs SMU. Virginia Tech (6-6) started out slow (2-4) but played much better in the 2nd half of the season and clinched a bowl bid with a 55-17 massacre of Virginia.
The Details
Virginia Tech -10 Tulane (45)
MEGALOCKS LINE – Virginia Tech -10
“Vegas” Implied Projected Score: Virginia Tech 27.5 Tulane 17.5
Virginia Tech offense vs Tulane defense
QB Kryon Drones isn’t the most polished passer yet but he’s done a fine job of protecting the football (15-3 TD to INT) whilst getting things done with his legs (642, 4 TD). They’ve got a decent 1-2 combo at RB (Tuten, Thomas) and overall the Hokies rank #44 in the country on the ground. Star TE Dae’Quan Wright won’t be available for the bowl game and the WR group is effective, but fairly average in terms of star power. The Hokies will lull you to sleep and hit you with a big play once in a while (#5 ACC 40+ yard plays) so Tulane will have to beware of Virginia Tech’s ability to be explosive from time-to-time. The big news (as with many bowl games) are the missing players for the Green Wave. Their stop unit (#32 FBS total defense) has been absolutely decimated by quitters/opt-outs/transfers and we suspect that Virginia Tech will be able to have quite a bit of success.
Tulane offense vs Virginia Tech defense
The Green Wave have managed to win 11 games with a pedestrian offense (#68 rush, #68 pass) and this side of the ball will also be missing several key components. Starting QB Michael Pratt has been a star with Tulane and he put up impressive numbers despite dealing with injuries for most of the season (22-5 TD to INT, #2 rusher, 5 TD). Backup Kai Horton has shown some good flashes but he’s no Michael Pratt. Horton has said he will play in the bowl game but you never know for sure until just before kickoff. Tulane will be down at least two of their top-three WRs but at least it appears that 1,000-yard RB Makhi Hughes will give it a go. The Hokies defensive performance has been up-and-down this year (#61 run D, #48 pass efficiency D) but the good news is that they’ll essentially be working with their full complement of starters.
Trends, Intangibles and More!
Tulane’s excellent HC Willie Fritz is off to coach the Houston Cougars and he won’t be around for this game……Virginia Tech has lost four bowl games in a row and this will be HC Brent Pry’s first kick at the cat (year two for him here)…….The game is being played in Annapolis so we can expect chilly weather…..It’s too far from game day as we approach press time to know much more than that……The intrepid Phil Steele has both of these teams ranked in the top-10 in the country in terms of special teams….The Hokies have dealt with the #67 schedule……Tulane #85.
Summary
There’s only one way we could go in this one. Virginia Tech has a lot of positive momentum and they’re up against a team with a very depleted roster. Tulane is in disarray for the moment, but note that they made a great hire in grabbing HC Jon Sumrall from Troy, and we expect the Green Wave to be solid once again in 2024. The price to back Virginia Tech isn’t cheap tho so we’ll take another few days to mull this one over.
Conclusion
No leanage (see above)
‘Official play’ implies this pick is one of our favorites of the week (perceived value, match-up, coaching, trends, etc.). We’re currently playing these picks for the same amount as the leans but it’s up to you how you want to manage your bankroll. Please see the Week in Review posts for more detail.
‘Lean’ implies we are placing a wager on the game.
‘No leanage’ implies we won’t have any action on the game.
Team totals – We list the implied number based on the point spread and total when our analysis is posted. If a team total ends up being an official play we will post a widely available number at the time of pick release.