West Virginia at Virginia Tech – College Football Predictions
Posted September 20, 2022
The Game
There’s a lot of hate between these two outfits and that should make for some intense and entertaining football on Thursday night in Blacksburg! West Virginia has outgained all three of their opponents to date but they lost a heartbreaker to Pittsburgh in their opener and fell to the BURGEONING JUGGERNAUT that is the Kansas Jayhawks in week two (OT). The Hokies have picked off pair of turds since their opening loss to Old Dominion and boast a mark of 2-1.
Let’s do itttttt!
The Details
West Virginia -1.5 Virginia Tech (52.5)
MEGALOCKS LINE – Pick em
MEGALOCKS market consensus – West Virginia -1.7
“Vegas” Implied Projected Score: West Virginia 27 Virginia Tech 25.5
The Match-Up:
West Virginia offense vs Virginia Tech defense
The Mountaineers have demonstrated a balanced and efficient offense thru three weeks and rank #28 in rushing offense, #25 in passing, and #14 in 3rd down conversions (54%). They’ve got a fine QB in JT Daniels, a dangerous receiving corps that features emerging star Bryce Ford-Wheaton, and don’t sleep on true freshman RB CJ Donaldson who’s already turned into one of the best RBs in the Big 12 (29, 274, 9.4, 6 TD). The OL has performed well and note that they’ve allowed just 4 sacks in 120 attempts (3.3%) after allowing 8.5% in 2021. They’re rushing for 5.6 YPC after a pitiful 3.6 YPC mark LY. Virginia Tech has been rock solid on D so far (#5 total defense) but have played three very limited opponents.
Virginia Tech offense vs West Virginia defense
The Hokies have struggled on offense so far and haven’t managed to crack the 27-point mark as of yet, and that’s despite playing Old Dominion, Boston College, and Wofford. They’re averaging a mere 3.3 YPC and are having trouble hitting big chunks in the THROW GAME (6.9 YPA, #11 ACC). The offense managed a meager 4.4 yards-per-play vs ODU and 4.1 YPP vs BC. West Virginia can definitely be had on the back end at times (308Y vs Pitt, 219Y vs Kansas) but they can also bring a little bit of heat (8 sacks), and their DL has been impressive overall. QB Grant Wells should have some success in this contest but he’s also prone to bonehead mistakes (4-4 TD to INT).
Trends, Intangibles and More!
West Virginia held on to beat Virginia Tech 27-21 in last year’s meeting in Morgantown……WV HC Neal Brown is 9-8 ATS as road chalk but just 1-3 in that role with the Mountaineers….CROWD WILL BE ROCKING GUY will be sad to hear that the Hokies are just 7-8 ATS L10Y as home dogs…Looks like perfect football weather as we approach press time.
Conclusion
West Virginia came very close to beating Pitt on the road. They lost to Kansas in OT. Virginia Tech hasn’t even played a team as good as Kansas.
Official play – West Virginia ML -119 <sent 6:55 pm Sept 20>
Note:
‘Official play’ implies we’ve played the game for our standard wager amount.
‘Lean’ implies we’re comfortable suggesting a ‘small potatoes’ wager if you want to get some sweet action down on the game. ‘Leans’ are eligible for upgrade to ‘official’ status during the week.
‘No leanage’ implies we won’t be involved from a wagering standpoint.