Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech
By Brian Edwards
VegasInsider.com
For the most part, season openers for BCS schools are at home come against teams from the MAC, WAC and Sun Belt conferences. Of course, there are the high-profile matchups at the Ga. Dome and Cowboys Stadium, but you rarely see a crucial conference game to start the year.
That will certainly be the case Monday night in Blacksburg, where Virginia Tech will take on Georgia Tech in an ACC Coastal showdown
As of Saturday afternoon, most books were listing Virginia Tech as a seven-point favorite with a total of 48½. Gamblers can take the Yellow Jackets to win outright for a plus-250 return (risk $100 to win $250).
Frank Beamer’s team went 11-3 last season after losing 23-20 to Michigan in overtime at the Sugar Bowl. The Hokies won the Coastal division, only to get pounded 38-10 by Clemson in the ACC Championship Game.
Va. Tech returns just three starters on offense, but one of those is junior quarterback Logan Thomas, who is a beast. Thomas, a tight end coming out of high school, rushed for 627 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2011. He also connected on 59.8 percent of his passes for 3,013 yards with a 19/10 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
The Hokies must replace running back David Wilson, who garnered ACC Player of the Year honors by rushing for 1,709 yards and nine TDs last year. Redshirt freshman RB Michael Holmes is expected to get the starting nod and he’ll run behind an offensive line with four new starters.
Va. Tech is inexperienced on offense, but the defense is a veteran-laden unit with nine returning starters. The Hokies gave up 17.6 points per game last year. They are led by Antone Exum, who is moving from safety to cornerback. In 2011, Exum had a team-high 89 tackles, 10 passes broken up, 3.5 tackles for losses, 1.5 sacks, one interception and two QB hurries.
Va. Tech tied for first in the ACC with 41 sacks last season. James Gayle and JR Collins combined for 13 of those sacks.
Bud Foster’s defense will face Ga. Tech’s unique flexbone attack commanded by senior QB Tevin Washington, who had 1,125 rushing yards and 14 TDs in his first full year as the starter. Washington posted an 11/8 TD-INT ratio.
Paul Johnson’s team returns seven starters on offense and six on defense. David Sims and Orwin Smith provide experience in the backfield. Sims had 698 rushing yards and seven TDs last year, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. Smith rushed for 615 yards and 11 scores, averaging 10.1 YPC. He also had 13 receptions for 306 yards and one TD.
Ga. Tech finished the 2011 campaign with an 8-5 record, losing 30-27 to Utah at the Sun Bowl. The Yellow Jackets lost 24-7 at Miami in their lone road underdog situation.
During Johnson’s four-year tenure (he’s going into fifth year), Ga. Tech owns an 8-4 spread record in 12 games as a road ‘dog. Meanwhile, Va. Tech limped to an atrocious 1-5 ATS mark in six games as a home ‘chalk’ last season.
When these teams met on The Flats in Midtown Atlanta last year, Va. Tech captured a 37-26 win as a one-point road ‘chalk.’ The 63 combined points sailed ‘over’ the 49 ½-point total.
Thomas completed 7-of-13 throws for 209 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. He also ran for 70 yards and a pair of scores on 18 carries.
Washington had 77 rushing yards and three TDs, including a one-yard plunge to give the Yellow Jackets a 26-21 lead late in the third quarter. However, the Hokies responded with 16 unanswered points.
According to the weather forecast, there’s a 60-percent chance of rain.
Kick-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.
B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets
The Va. Tech-Ga Tech winner has won the ACC Coastal seven consecutive years.
Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray looked dynamite in Friday’s 35-21 win over North Carolina St. as a three-point favorite at the Ga. Dome in Atlanta. Bray completed 27-of-41 throws for 332 yards and two TDs without being intercepted.
Sick stat line from West Virginia QB Geno Smith in his team’s 69-34 win over Marshall: 33-of-37 for 340 yards, four TDs and zero interceptions, eight carries for 65 rushing yards and one TD. Not bad.
Georiga Tech at Virginia Tech: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com
Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech (-7, 49)
An important Atlantic Coast Conference contest caps the first week of the college football season when No. 20 Virginia Tech hosts Georgia Tech. The winner of this duel has won the Coastal Division title in all seven seasons since the ACC split into divisions. Virginia Tech has won five of those contests. The defensive-minded Hokies have won 10 or more games in eight consecutive seasons (the longest current streak among FBS teams) and possess the nation’s third-longest bowl game streak with 19 straight appearances. Run-oriented Georgia Tech has made 15 consecutive bowl appearances, which ties for the fourth-longest active streak. Virginia Tech won last year’s meeting 37-26 as quarterback Logan Thomas passed for three touchdowns and rushed for two.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH (2011: 8-5, 5-3 ACC): The Yellow Jackets will rely on a potent running game that averaged 316.5 yards per game last season, second-best nationally. Senior quarterback Tevin Washington is a shaky thrower (49.3 percent in 2011) but a terrific runner who had 987 yards and 14 touchdowns. Senior running back David Sims (698 yards) is solid and junior running back Orwin Smith (10.1 average, 11 touchdowns on 61 carries) is a true gamebreaker. Junior outside linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu (six sacks) and junior safety Isaiah Johnson (78 tackles) are the top players on an average defense.
ABOUT VIRGINIA TECH (11-3, 7-1 ACC): Thomas is a junior who passed for 3,013 yards and 19 touchdowns last season while adding 11 scores on the ground. Redshirt freshman Michael Holmes won the running back job as the Hokies attempt to replace ACC Player of the Year David Wilson. Virginia Tech was 10th nationally in total defense last season and has a strong nucleus of returners that includes junior defensive ends James Gayle (seven sacks) and J.R. Collins (six sacks), and junior cornerbacks Kyle Fuller (14.5 tackles for losses) and Antone Exum (team-high 89 tackles). Junior inside linebacker Tariq Edwards (11.5 tackles for losses) is out with a knee injury.
TRENDS
*Hokies are 0-5-1 ATS in their last six home games.
*Over is 8-0 in Yellow Jackets' last eight games in September.
*Underdog is 5-1 ATS in their last six meetings.
*Under is 4-1 in their last five meetings.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Virginia Tech has won four of the past five meetings and leads the series 6-3.
2. Georgia Tech led the nation with seven touchdown drives of 90 or more yards last season. The Yellow Jackets had 20 TD drives of 80 or more yards.
3. The Hokies have won 12 of their last 16 season openers and Georgia Tech has won 11 of its last 13.
Georgia Tech - Virginia Tech
After cruising to the ACC's Coastal Division title last season the Virginia Tech Hokies will be looking to take a step toward that goal once again on Monday night as they take on the rival Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the season-opener for both schools. Virginia Tech is a 7-point favorite on BOVADA
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And the Hokies will be looking for a repeat of their performance last year against the Yellow Jackets, when they won 37-26 on the road as a 2-point favorite in an OVER result on the college football lines at Bovada. That was Virginia Tech's sixth win over Georgia Tech in their last eight meetings, but it was the first time they'd covered against them in four tries.
The Hokies went 11-3 overall, 7-1 against ACC teams, and an ugly 4-9-1 against the spread last season – plus just 4-10 on the OVER/UNDER for totals bettors. Virginia Tech lost in the ACC title game to Clemson, but still were selected as an at-large BCS team.
Georgia Tech finished two games back of Virginia Tech at 5-3 in the ACC Coastal standings last year while going 8-5 overall, 5-7-1 ATS, and 8-5 on the OVER/UNDER. They're listed as 7.5-point underdogs against the Hokies for Monday night, with kickoff set for 8:00pm ET.
On the college football futures heading into the season the Hokies are listed at 28/1 odds to win the BCS National Championship; they trail favored 3/1 USC, but sit well ahead of 300/1 underdog Georgia Tech on that list.
Virginia Tech is also at 3/1 to win the ACC this season, and at 11/10 to claim the conference's Coastal Division title once again. Georgia Tech is back at 12/1 on those ACC odds at BOVADA, and they trail at 5/1 odds to win the division this time around.
NCAAF Week 1 Preview
Virginia Tech won six of last eight games with Georgia Tech, with dogs covering five of the last six; Yellow Jackets lost three of last four visits to Blacksburg, but covered last three. Hokies have 9 starters back on its defense but only three on offense (one on OL); their QB has 14 career starts. Since '09, Va Tech is 16-10 vs spread in ACC games, but they're 12-16-1 as a home favorite since '06. Ga Tech has four starters back on its OL and a senior QB with 17 career starts; since '04, they're 16-7-1 vs spread as a road dog. Last two years, they're 4-10-2 vs spread in ACC play. Average total in last three series games is 54.3. Yellow Jackets run the option, so an advantage to play them in opener, since you have more time to prepare for it.
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