Hokies vs Tigers NCAA Football Spread/Handicapping
The Virginia Tech Hokies aren’t used to having three losses in a season, let alone having three losses after only seven games. Clemson is right back in the thick of the ACC title race after Florida State was upset a couple weeks ago.
Virginia Tech Hokies vs. Clemson Tigers
Memorial Stadium
Saturday October 20, 12:00 PM EST on ABC/ESPN2
College Football Betting Odds from Sportsbook.ag
Moneyline: Off
College Football Spread: Clemson -8.5 (-110) vs. Virginia Tech +8.5 (-110)
Over/Under: 61.5
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Can the Hokies pull off the upset or will the Tigers continue their impressive play?
Let’s take a look at this one.
Virginia Tech
Frank Beamer’s team isn’t doing the things well that they normally do. Virginia Tech hasn’t excelled on special teams this year, and they haven’t been winning the turnover battle.
The Hokies fell behind 20-0 early last week against Duke, but they did rattle off 41 straight points to pick up a much-needed win. The competition will be much tougher this week. Logan Thomas is the main man under center for the Hokies.
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Thomas is wildly inconsistent at quarterback. At times, he looks like a star who is one of the best in the nation. At other times, Thomas is turning it over constantly and hurting his team. The Hokies need more consistent solid play out of him.
Virginia Tech doesn’t have the dominant running game they have often had in the past, and it puts more pressure on the passing game this season.
The Hokies defense has been a big disappointment this year. This is a unit that many thought could be one of the best in the nation, but they haven’t been that at all. Virginia Tech is allowing opponents to run for 172 yards per game.
The Hokies are giving up 22 points per game.
To be fair, the defense has suffered a lot of injuries that have certainly slowed this group down.
Clemson
Dabo Swinney has this Clemson football team on the right track. Over the last few years, it seems like this team is continually making progress. The Tigers fought hard in their 49-37 loss at Florida State earlier this year, and they have been perfect the rest of the season thus far. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
It helps to have a star at quarterback. Tajh Boyd is tremendous for the Clemson Tigers offense. Boyd is completing 68.2% of his passes this year.
He has the athletic ability to keep plays alive and let his receivers work to get open. The Tigers have a tremendous group of wide receivers.
DeAndre Hopkins leads the team with 49 receptions, and Sammy Watkins is one of the best play makers in the open field in all of college football. Andre Ellington is an underrated running back who has already picked up 600 yards on the ground this year. Overall, the Tigers offense averages 41.3 points per game.
Defensively, Clemson still has quite a bit of room for improvement. The Tigers are allowing 446 yards of total offense each game. The front seven has been particularly weak against the run. Clemson is giving up more than 202 yards per game on the ground this year.
That is something they must improve to win the ACC league crown.
Virginia Tech’s secondary is still pretty good, and they should be fired up for this contest. The last two games between these teams went well under the posted total.
Free College Football Pick: Under 61.5
