East Carolina at Virginia Tech


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This Saturday the Virginia Tech Hokies will host the East Carolina Pirates in what has turned into a very important game for Virginia Tech. After losing a heartbreaker in the season opener against Boise State, the Hokies were stunned at home by James Madison 21-16 to fall to 0-2 on the season. The Pirates have had a much better start to their season, as they come into the game this weekend off back to back wins over Tulsa and Memphis. Taking a look at the current college football odds, the oddsmakers have Virginia Tech 14.5-point favorites over East Carolina at home.

East Carolina really has things going on the offensive side of the ball two games into the season, as they come into the game against Virginia Tech averaging 50-points a game. In last week’s 49-27 win over Memphis, the Pirates got a strong performance out of quarterback Dominique Davis, who not only threw for 244 yards and three touchdowns, but also had two rushing touchdowns.

Running back Jonathan Williams led the Pirates on the ground with 109 yards and a touchdown, but was also a factor in the passing game, finishing with six catches for another 50 yards. Wide out Dwayne Harris also hauled in six passes, gaining for 54 yards, and was one of three different East Carolina players to catch a touchdown pass against Memphis.

What a disappointing start to the 2010 season for Virginia Tech, as their National Championship hopes have been completely smashed just two weeks into the season. It was almost as if the Hokies just a had a complete mental and physical let down against James Madison last week. Virginia Tech held a 16-7 lead early in the third quarter, but the defense allowed two touchdown runs by Drew Dudzik, and the offense failed to put any more points on the board.

The Hokies had a nice 94-yard drive late in the first quarter that went for a touchdown, but were unable to finish another drive the rest of the game. The Hokies made five more trips inside the James Madison 25, but only came away with 9-points on three field goals. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor ended up throwing for 124 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but also finished second on the team with 86 rushing yards. The leading rusher was Ryan Williams, who finished with 91 yards on 20 carries.

Looking at the Odds: If you are confused on why Virginia Tech is favored by so much in this game, the Pirates really haven’t played anyone this season, and I think the oddsmakers have a pretty good idea of what to expect from a very talented Virginia Tech team after two very tough losses. I personally like the Hokies to cover the 14.5-point spread in this game, as I think they are simply more talented on both sides of the football. The Hokies offense should have a much better time putting the ball into the endzone against a weak Pirate defense. My final score prediction is Virginia Tech 35, East Carolina 17.

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One Response to “East Carolina at Virginia Tech”

  1. tobmoc on September 17th, 2010 5:02 PM

    Things to consider…

    The line is not 14.5. It never has been. It opened at 17.5 and is now at 20.5

    Why would you say the pirates havent played anyone. Tulsa is consistanly one of the top offenses in the country. Won their second game, and are predicted to upset Ok ST. this week. And although Memphis is not that good- I bet they would beat JMU 7 out of 10 times they played.

    The defensive stats for the Pirates are very misleading. Tulsa put up big numbers against the pirate D when four of their defensive starters were out. In the second game, the pirates first string D played Solid holding memphis to three points. It was not until the game was all but over and the Pirates second string D came in till memphis scored a few TD’s.

    The real advice should be: This will be a closer game than most think and in no way will VT beat the pirates by 20 points. The pirates are very solid ATS.

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