Virginia Tech Hokies Betting Odds – CFB Football Future Lines
Tyrod Taylor’s Time to Shine
Today we take a look at the Virginia Tech Hokies, who have won the Atlantic Coast Conference title the last two seasons.
2008 Record: 10-4 SU, 6-7 ATS
Three-Year record (’06-’08): 31-10 SU, 20-17-1 ATS
NCAA Football Odds
Virginia Tech Odds To Win ACC Coastal Division
Duke +2000
Georgia Tech +250
Miami +325
North Carolina +250
Virginia +1200
VIRGINIA TECH +175
To Win Big 12 title +250
To Win National title +1650
Over 9.5 wins +120
Under 9.5 wins -160
Virginia Tech was shocked in the season opener by East Carolina, and stumbled in conference matchups with Boston College, Florida State and Miami, yet still won the ACC’s Coastal Division, and after soundly defeating Boston College in a rematch in the conference title game, the Hokies scored an easy 20-7 win over Cincinnati in the Orange Bowl, giving them their first BCS bowl win.
This season Tyrod Taylor, who had done quite a bit of platooning with Sean Glennon at the quarterback position, now has it all to himself. That’s actually a double-edged sword. While Taylor is a threat when running the football (738 yards, 5 ypc) and is 13-2 as a starter, he is simply not a very good passer. Last season Taylor threw for just 1036 yards, with two TD’s and seven interceptions. 
There should be improvement in all areas of the offense, which returns nine starters. The top six receivers return to help Taylor, and we would speculate that tight end Andre Smith, who was a highly-touted high school recruit, could figure prominently in the short-range game.
The running attack is firmly established, with Darren Evans coming off a sensational freshman season in which he gained 1265 yards, and the Gobblers have a chance to control a lot of games and move the chains with him in the lineup. They also have depth. Ryan Williams, a redshirt freshman, should get his share of carries; he’s too talented not to.
This is a quality defensive line. Virginia Tech held tight against the opposition’s rushing attack last season, allowing only 3.2 yards a carry. They had 35 sacks, and could improve upon that, as Jason Worilds comes back for his junior season. Worilds, a second-team all-conference selection last year, had 18.5 tackles for loss. There are two senior starters on the front too – Cordarrow Thompson and Nekos Brown.
The secondary is where the Hokies will have to replace perhaps their best defensive player from a year ago. Macho Harris made some All-America teams and was drafted in the fifth round by Philadelphia, but the very good news for Virginia Tech is that seven of the top eight defensive backs are returning.
Virginia Tech, under coach Frank Beamer, has always had a reputation for fielding game-changing special teams. This year there is some doubt as to the dominance of that unit. In 2008 they allowed three punt return touchdowns and gave up two blocked punts, one of which was turned into an East Carolina touchdown. They had a standout kicker in Dustin Keys, but he graduated, and must be replaced.
This is a team that has won ten or more games in each of the last five seasons. They do not have Florida State on the schedule this year, but they have to go to East Carolina, and have additional non-conference contests against Alabama and Nebraska. If they can get through their ACC schedule with one loss (and we think they can) they can once again reach ten wins, giving us an “over” at +120 in the BetUS NCAA football betting odds. They should win the division title (+175 at BetUS), though they could face a challenge from Georgia Tech.
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