NCAA Football Game Preview: Virginia Tech at Boston College – 11/5

Nov 5, 2021

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Game: Virginia Tech Hokies at Boston College Eagles  

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET 

Odds: Hokies -3, Eagles +3 

Total: 47.5 

Two ACC teams that had high expectations heading into the 2021 season are now looking to salvage what’s left of it. Both Virginia Tech and Boston College enter tonight’s game with identical 4-4 records. The home team Eagles were coming off a 6-5 2020 season and looked to be turning the corner under head coach Jeff Hafley. After a 51-0 beat-down of FCS Colgate, BC beat up on UMass but lost starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec in the process. The Eagles’ offense hasn’t been the same since. 

The Hokies entered the new season coming off a disaster of a 5-6 campaign last year. After a squeaker with FCS Richmond, Virginia Tech lost three in a row to Pitt, Notre Dame, and Syracuse. The Hokies faithful in Blacksburg are losing patience with head coach Justin Fuente. He will be trying to save his job over the final month of the season.  

Virginia Tech and Fuente should be able to do just that. The Hokies have four regular-season games remaining. Only one opponent – rival Virginia (6-3) – has a winning record right now. The Hokies are favored tonight on the road and in order to beat the Eagles Fuente’s offense is going to have to find a way to move the ball against a pretty good Boston College defense. 

The Eagles allow opponents just over 360 yards of total offense per game. Boston College gives up just 20.8 points per game which puts them among the top 25 defenses in the country. The heart of the BC’s unit is the pass defense which ranks 15th in the nation giving up just 186.9 yards per game through the air.  

Fuente’s Virginia Tech offense is not a powerhouse. In fact, Fuente has had some quarterback issues and the offense only averages 350 yards and 24 points per game. The Hokies have reached the 30 point plateau just two times this season and in four of their eight games, Virginia Tech scored 21 or fewer. 

With that in mind, Boston College’s offense has had similar problems. The loss of Jurkovec was big. The 6-5 junior threw for 2,558 yards and 17 touchdowns last year and was looking to establish himself among the country’s best this season. Instead, the Eagles have had to rely on senior Dennis Grosel who has thrown for 1,216 yards and has more interceptions (7) than touchdowns (6) so far this year. 

The Eagles have had difficulty moving the football and putting it in the end zone. Over Boston College’s last four games, the offense has scored 14 or fewer points in all of them. All four of those games were in ACC play and all four were Eagles’ losses. 

BC has covered the spread in six of their last eight home games and the Hokies are just 1-5 ATS in the last six games and 3-7 ATS in their last ten against Boston College. The Under trends in this series. The Under has hit in four of the last six Eagles-Hokies games and the Under is 5-1 in BC’s last six games.