Boston College Eagles (7-0) vs. Virginia Tech Hokies (6-1) -3.5, o/u no line, 7:45 p.m. Eastern, Thursday, October 25, 2007 on ESPN.
by Jerald of Predictem.com
The Boston College Eagles will meet the Virginia Tech Hokies in this Atlantic Coast Conference showdown on Thursday night. Boston College has been a surprise National Title contender after coming out as the #2 ranked team in the BCS rankings. Virginia Tech has climbed back into the Top 10 after an early season blowout loss to LSU.
Boston College is led by Senior QB Matt Ryan who has completed 63.2% of his passes for 2,149 yards, 17 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. The Eagles rushing attack is led by Andre Callender who has rushed for 627 yards (4.9 yards per carry) and 8.
The starting QB for Virginia Tech is currently undecided. Freshman Tyrod Taylor replaced Junior QB Sean Glennon in the 3rd game of the season but injured his ankle and is questionable for Thursday’s game. The ground game is led by Brandon Ore who has rushed for 371 yards (3.0 yards per carry) and 5 touchdowns.
Boston College ranks 16th in total offense with an average of 144.6 yards rushing (4.18 yards per rush) and 310.9 yards passing per game. They rank 29th in scoring offense averaging 34.6 points per game. The Hokies offense ranks 113th in total offense averaging 119.4 yards rushing (3.32 yards per carry) and 179.4 yards passing. Virginia Tech ranks 57th in scoring offense averaging 28.1 points per game.
The Eagles defense ranks 30th in total defense giving up an average of 46.4 yards rushing (1.82 yards per carry) and 178.0 yards passing per game. They rank 18th in scoring defense giving up an average of 17.7 points per game. Virginia Tech ranks 14th in total defense giving up 204.1 yards rushing (2.81 yards per carry) and 204.1 yards passing. They rank 9th in scoring defense giving up 16.0 points per game.
The Sagarin PREDICTOR ratings at USAToday.com rank the Eagles 18th at 82.47. Virginia Tech ranks 44th at 75.86.
Virginia Tech opened up as a 3 point favorite at most online bookmakers. The line has risen at Virginia Tech -3.5. At the time of this writing, the public’s college football consensus picks were backing the Eagles, 64%-36%.
The Predictem Pick: When looking at the stats in this game it appears that the wrong team is favored. Boston College has a much superior offense and the defense is pretty close to the Hokie defense. Usually we say if it doesn’t make sense then be wary of the line but it just seems like Virginia Tech will have a tough time covering the spread with such an anemic offense. Take the points!
Boston College 24 Virginia Tech 21
