Hokies Starting To Roll
Virginia Tech has been doing just enough to get by after splitting their first two games, but that’s also been good enough to get them back into the Top 25.
Ranked No. 20, the Hokies look for their fifth win in row on Saturday when they meet Western Kentucky for the first time.
Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made Virginia Tech –27.5 point spread favorites (View College Football odds) for Saturday’s game (Game Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 63% of bets for this game have been placed on Virginia Tech –27.5 (View College Football bet percentages).
Virginia Tech (4-1) began this season ranked 17th, but a 27-22 loss to upstart East Carolina knocked Frank Beamer’s team out of the Top 25. After defeating Furman by 17 on Sept. 6, the Hokies won three straight by a total of 11 points with two narrow wins coming in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
Stepping out of conference last Saturday, Virginia Tech held off Nebraska’s comeback bid in the second half to win 35-30 and hand the Cornhuskers only their third nonconference home loss since 1991.
Tyrod Taylor was 9-of-15 for 171 yards, and added 15 carries for 87 yards. His 2-yard scoring run with 2:28 to play gave the Hokies a 35-23 lead with 2:28 to play, but after giving up a late touchdown and failing to run out the clock after recovering an onside kick, Virginia Tech allowed two long pass completions before securing the win.
Virginia Tech had a season-high 377 yards of total offense, but Beamer said there is work to be done.
"I think we’re a better football team than we were a few weeks ago, but we’ve got some things to do, certainly," he said
Taylor, a sophomore, has been a key to Tech’s surge. While supplanting fifth-year senior Sean Glennon, Taylor has completed 60.0 percent (33-of-55) of his passes for 370 yards, and has rushed for a team-high 351 yards.
Perhaps the most important statistic is the Hokies are 8-0 when Taylor starts.
"He’s getting better just like our football team," Beamer said. "He can hurt you, and that’s what Tyrod brings to the table."
The Hokies are looking to win their 14th straight non-conference game at Lane Stadium. Dating back to September 1999, the Hokies are 29-1 at home against non-conference opponents with the only loss coming to then top-ranked Southern California in August 2004.
Their winning streak figures to continue against the Hilltoppers (2-3), who are already playing their fifth road game this season, and second against a ranked opponent.
Western Kentucky, which is in the final year of transition from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision, has alternated wins and losses so far including a 41-3 road defeat to Kentucky last Saturday.
Both of the Hilltoppers’ wins have come against FCS schools Eastern Kentucky and Murray State by a combined 87-22 margin. But in losses to Indiana, then-No. 11 Alabama and Kentucky, they’ve been outscored 113-23.
Against the Wildcats, Western Kentucky had a season-low 157 yards of total offense with quarterbacks K.J. Black and David Wolfe combining for 15 yards. The only bright spot was Bobby Rainey, who broke off a 40-yard run among nine carries for 99 yards.
He’s second on the team with 134 yards, but is averaging a team-high 6.5 yards per carry.
"We knew for quite sometime that Rainey was going to be a heck of a player," Western Kentucky coach David Elson said. "He’s a redshirt freshman and it took him a little time to get going. (Saturday) he showed that he’s ready."
Key Injuries:
VIRGINIA TECH
[LB] Bruce Taylor missed last game, downgraded to likely to miss the rest
[WR] Xavier Boyce is expected to miss the rest of the season. – Knee – 10/
[QB] Tyrod Taylor is probable. – Knee – 10/01/08
[RB] Ryan Williams will redshirt. – None – 09/17/08
[FB] Kenny Younger missed last game ? – Knee – 09/27/08
[WR] Zach Luckett is out indefinitely – Suspension – 09/08/08
[WR] Brandon Dillard expected to miss entire season – ACL – 07/17/08
[DB] Davon Morgan left last game, out for season – ACL – 09/28/08
[FS] Ron Cooper is expected to miss the season. – ACL – 08/11/08
Betting Trends:
W KENTUCKY (2 – 3) at VIRGINIA TECH (4 – 1) – 10/4/2008, 1:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
VIRGINIA TECH is 69-45 ATS (+19.5 Units) when playing with 6 or less days rest since 1992.
VIRGINIA TECH is 86-61 ATS (+18.9 Units) in games played on a grass field since 1992.
Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.
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