A Labor Day evening battle in college football action takes place tonight when the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes play on the road against the Virginia Tech Hokies. The game is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on ESPN. Currently the college football odds for the game have the Buckeyes favored by double digits on the road in this contest.
Virginia Tech was Ohio State's only loss last season in the team's second game. The Hokies confused the Buckeye offense and found a way to force turnovers that lead to points. This year Ohio State is looking to repay the favor in the final college football game of the opening weekend. The defending national champions are probably better this season comparatively, but this opening week road game is going to be tough.
The Buckeyes have three quarterbacks, which has been well-documented, but Braxton Miller switched out to receiver to help the cause. He projects to that position in the NFL, so it only helps his team to make the move. Cardale Jones led them to a national championship after J.T. Barrett went down with an injury, it's likely we see both of them at the quarterback position tonight. As tough as it will be for Virginia Tech to prepare for that, it might be even tougher trying to stop one of the best tailbacks in the country.
Ezekiel Elliot ran for 200-plus yards in the team's final three games — wins over Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game, Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and then Oregon in the national title — while racking up eight touchdowns on the ground in those games. Elliot proved behind a great offensive line that the Buckeyes could play the power run game and have it succeed on a big level. He's going to get a ton of carries tonight, even though last year he had just eight carries for 32 yards and a touchdown against the Hokies.
The Hokies have several winnable games following this one, a loss here doesn't derail their season. Frank Beamer's club is looking to get back to the double-digit win plateau, a place they haven't been since the 2011 season. Michael Brewer, senior quarterback, will have to lead them there. Last year he threw for 23 touchdowns against 15 picks, if he turns the ball over tonight against Ohio State the Hokies are going to get beat up.
The defending national champions are looking to get off on the right foot again, this one won't be easy, but the Buckeyes are just too talented. An upset would really be an upset.
Free Pick: Ohio State and the points
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