The Virginia Tech Hokies are riding high after a road win over Ohio State last week and welcome in the East Carolina Pirates in college football action Saturday. The game is scheduled for a noon start time and it will be televised nationally on ESPN. Currently the odds for the game have the Hokies favored by double digits in this one.
Virginia Tech was ready for Ohio State last week in their game in Columbus, consistently getting to quarterback J.T. Barrett and causing problems. The Hokies were 9-of-17 on third down and held a seven-minute time of possession advantage over the Buckeyes in that game. But one of the negatives from their win were the three turnovers, which have to get better if the Hokies are going to continue rising in the rankings.
East Carolina is coming off a loss to South Carolina last weekend. They shouldn't be intimidated to play the Hokies in this one and sport a very good offensive team. The Pirates rank 25th in the country by averaging better than 515 yards per game this year. The Shane Carden to Justin Hardy QB to WR connecting has worked well for the Pirates so far this year, completing 19 passes and two touchdowns. Playing against a formidable defense like Bud Foster's Virginia Tech team could be a problem, though. The Hokies had seven sacks last week and sealed the game with a key interception late that ended up as a touchdown.
Virginia Tech has won 10 of the 11 all-time meetings between these schools, including a 15-10 victory last season. Michael Brewer is the new quarterback (Texas Tech transfer) and he's completed almost 70 percent of his passes so far this season. He does have three picks, but other than that has looked very solid for the Hokies.
Can the Pirates put up points in this one? They played well despite turnovers last week against South Carolina, which probably cost them a chance at the upset. Carden tossed two interceptions and could have another tough week here as Tech's defense will be ready to defend their new ranking.
Virginia Tech is coming off their biggest win in a while and could be primed for a letdown, but we don't see it. The Hokies will be balanced offensively and defensively will cause East Carolina some problems.
Free Pick: Virginia Tech 34, East Carolina 20
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