Virginia Tech at Florida State: Preview and Prediction

Date: Monday, September 3rd
Game Time: 8:00 pm ET
Venue: Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, FL
Network: ESPN

Not much buzz surrounds this Hokies team, but it should. Hokies Head Coach Justin Fuente has another good, strong team with the talent to at least get to the ACC title game for the second time in three seasons. Throw in the fact that they get the Miami Hurricanes at home and you have a team that could be a dark horse contender for a National Championship. Florida State, on the other hand, welcomes in new Head Coach Willie Taggart. As always the Seminoles are loaded with talent at pretty much every position. This is a game with a ton of question marks and those question marks make this game a hard one to call.

Why will the Hokies win?

One word, DEFENSE! I know the Hokies lost studs like Tremaine Edwards and big-tackler Andrew Motuapuaka from the front, and the secondary has some massive parts missing, but the safeties are fantastic and the line is going to be outstanding. Running the ball on the Hokies will be a massive chore for any team this year. Last year the Seminoles weakness was on the offensive line and it well could be this year also. If it is it will be a long day for the Seminoles running game.

Why will the Seminoles win?

Much like the Hokies, the Seminoles key will be upfront defensively with Demarcus Christmas inside and Brian Burns outside leading the way. The line is going to be a killer, even after a relative down year. The pass rush should be stronger and the run defense is going to give up fewer than the 136 yards per game it allowed last year. So just like the Hokies, the Seminoles key will be to throw the ball effectively. Whichever team does hold the key to victory in this game.

Prediction

Again, depending on which team can throw the ball will decide what should be a hard-hitting defensive matchup. In the end, I think the difference will be the home field advantage that the Seminoles hold.

Florida State 20  Virginia Tech 17