At this point, how the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coastal race is going to finish anyone’s guess. The Virginia Tech Hokies will look to take control of the division with a road win against Pittsburgh tonight.
Virginia Tech Hokies @ Pittsburgh Panthers
Thursday, October 16th – 7:40 PM ET
Odds: Pittsburgh (-1)
Why The Hokies Will Cover
The Hokies know what it takes to win the ACC as coach Frank Beamer and company have won four conference championships since joining in 2004. Beamer has a veteran staff that knows how to make adjustments, which were very much on display when Virginia Tech easily handled North Carolina en route to this game in Pittsburgh. North Carolina might not be a very good team right now, at least in terms of its record, but the Tar Heels have a lot of talent, as shown by their 43-point offensive performance on the road against Notre Dame this past Saturday. Virginia Tech’s strong win on the road against the Tar Heels is something that’s only going to look better with the passage of time.
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh is a team that got thoroughly outplayed by a weakling from the Mid-American Conference, the Akron Zips, a few weeks ago. The Panthers’ offense just doesn’t have enough of a playmaking dimension on the edges to supplement the tough, straight-ahead running of James Conner, who, by the way, is expected to be playing some defensive end in this game against Virginia Tech, another reason to discount what he’ll be able to give Pittsburgh on offense.
Virginia Tech is more likely to play and win a physical game against Pittsburgh. That’s the bottom line.
Why The Panthers Will Cover
They are playing a team that might be more physical and better coached on defense, since Virginia Tech’s defensive coordinator, Bud Foster, is a top coordinator in the country, but that fact might not matter much. Why? Virginia Tech is also a team that makes mistakes on offense. It might have a physical advantage, but if it commits untimely penalties and gives the ball away repeatedly, how much is that going to count in the end?
Virginia Tech seemingly had its home game against Georgia Tech won a few different times when the two teams meet a few weeks ago. The Hokies appeared to be on the verge of taking command in the third quarter with a 16-10 lead but somehow failed to turn that one-possession lead into a two-score lead thanks to a series of preventable mistakes. Georgia Tech took a 17-16 lead but then made a few wrong turns of its own, and Virginia Tech re-took a 24-17 lead. The Hokies had Georgia Tech on the ropes in the final three minutes of the game, but breakdowns in the secondary enabled Georgia Tech to tie the game. Then a turnover by quarterback Michael Brewer gave Georgia Tech a chance to win the game. The Yellow Jackets took advantage, kicking a short field goal as time expired. Virginia Tech was so endlessly sloppy that day, committing three turnovers and 12 penalties. If that’s anything like the Virginia Tech team that will show up in this game, Pittsburgh should be able to win.
Outlook
If Virginia Tech simply contains its amount of mistakes, it should be able to win. It has more proven talent and demonstrably better coaching as well.
Pick: Virginia Tech (+1)
