Virginia Tech at Virginia Line

Written by Steve Janus - Google +

This Saturday the Virginia Cavaliers will host the No. 5 Virginia Tech Hokies for the right to face Clemson in the ACC Championship Game. The Hokies improved to 6-1 inside the conference with a 24-21 win over North Carolina, while the Cavaliers kept their hopes alive by going on the road an upsetting Florida State 14-13 to move to 5-2 in the ACC. Virginia Tech has won seven straight in this in state rivalry, with Virginia’s last win coming back in 2003.

Taking a look at the week 13 spreads, oddsmakers currently have Virginia Tech favored by 5.5-points over Virgina with the total set at 45.5 points.

Virginia Tech:

The Hokies win over North Carolina was their six straight overall since losing at home to Clemson back in early October.Virginia Tech has quietly put together a 10-1 record, as you don’t hear many people talking about this team when it comes to playing for a National Championship. Those hopes appear to be slim, but a couple convincing wins over Virginia and Clemson would definitely boost their resume.

In their last game against the Tar Heels, the Hokies dug themselves an early hole by fumbling the ball away on their first offensive play, which allowed North Carolina to take an early 7-0 lead. The Hokies would respond by scoring the next 24 points to take a 24-7 lead into the final period. The Tar Heels would make things interesting with two fourth quarter touchdowns, but Virginia Tech was able to hold on for the win.

The Hokies got a big game from sophomore quarterback Logan Thomas, who threw for 192 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another 32 yards and a score. His performance was even more impressive when you consider the Tar Heels held David Wilson to just 82 rushing yards on 21 attempts. Wilson came into the game leading the country in rushing and had rushed for at least 120 yards in each of his last seven games.

If Virginia Tech is going to go on the road and beat Virginia this Saturday, they are going to need a big game out of both Thomas and Wilson. The Cavaliers have held each of their last four opponents under 21 points. They gave up 186 rushing yards to Florida State last week, but held the Seminoles to just two touchdowns.

Virginia:

Almost everyone had Virginia picked to finish near the bottom of the ACC this season, but this team has made a remarkable turnaround in their second season under head coach Mike London. After winning just four games all of last season, the Cavaliers are just one win away from playing in the ACC Championship Game. No one expected Virginia to go on the road and beat Florida State last week, as they came into the game as 17-point underdogs. While the odds are against again this weekend, I don’t think there is any doubt that this team believes they are going to win this game.

The Cavaliers looked like they were down for the count after falling behind 7-13 against Florida State, but this team continued to fight and would score the game winning touchdown with just 1:16 to play in the fourth quarter. The offense managed just 316 yards of total offense the entire game, but thanks to their defense they were never out of it.

Michael Rocco really played one of his best games of the season against a very good Florida State defense. Rocco completed 22 of 31 attempts for 238 yards and a touchdown, and did so without much of a running game to back him up. The Cavaliers managed just 78 yards on 29 attempts the entire game, but 10 of those yards proved to be the difference in the game, as Kevin Parks scored from 10-yards out to put Virginia ahead for good.

It’s not going to get any easier for the offense this week against the Hokies. Virginia Tech is 12th in the country in total defense, allowing just 307.5 ypg. Much like Florida State, the Hokies strength is stopping the run, as they come in holding opposing teams to just 104.9 ypg on the ground. That means this team is going to need another huge game out of Rocco if they are going to put points on the board.