NCAA Football Previews – Virginia Cavaliers vs Florida State Seminoles
The Virginia Cavaliers will look to keep their ACC Coastal Division hopes alive when they face-off against the Florida State Seminoles this Saturday night in Tallahassee. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. and it will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
Date/Time: Saturday, November 19 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Venue: Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL.
Broadcast: ESPN2
Cavaliers at Seminoles lines by BetOnline.com
Point spread: Seminoles -17
Over/Under: OFF
Virginia has been one of the surprise stories in the ACC this season with a 7-3 straight-up record overall (5-5 against the spread) and a 4-2 SU record in conference play. The Cavaliers trail Virginia Tech by just a half a game in the division with the Hokies on the schedule in their regular season finale next week. They are 3-1 SU (2-2 ATS) on the road this season and the total has stayed ‘under’ in eight of their 10 games.
If Virginia is going to have any chance to pull-off the upset on the road, it will need another big effort from running back Perry Jones and a rushing offense that is averaging 187.6 yards a game. The Cavaliers’ defense has also done a good job at keeping opponents off the score board; giving-up an average of 21.6 points a game.
Florida State could be in for a letdown this week after posting a huge 23-19 victory over its arch-rival, Miami as an 11-point home favorite last Saturday. The win raised the Seminoles overall record to 7-3 SU (5-5 ATS) and their conference record to 5-2 SU. The total stayed ‘under’ the 51.5-point line against the Hurricanes and has now stayed ‘under’ in six of their 10 games. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Seminoles have the 19th-ranked passing offense in the country with quarterback E.J. Manuel at the helm. This has allowed them to put up an average of 34.6 points a game, which is ranked 23rd. Florida State’s defense has also done an excellent job at keeping opponents out of the end zone; giving-up an average of just 17.1 points a game.
Virginia is 4-1 ATS in its last five conference games and the total has stayed ‘under’ in seven of its last eight games overall.
Florida State is 4-1 ATS in its last five games in the ACC. The total has stayed ‘under’ in four of its last five games overall.
Head-to-head in this series, the favorite is 8-3 ATS in the last 11 meetings and the home team is 4-1 ATS in the last five. The Cavaliers are 3-8 ATS in the last 11 meetings but with so much still on the line this late in the season, stick with Virginia to give Florida State a battle to the end to easily cover with the 17 points.
The Pick: Florida State 23 vs. Virginia 16
