Hokies were finally able to get a long-awaited win at FedEx Field. Feels even sweeter that it came against WVU. Losing to those guys would’ve be unbearable. Justin Fuente has done a good job of ending frustrating losing streaks since he got here – ECU, Duke, Miami, Pitt and neutral sites games. Now the Hokies hope to build off a big win in front of a national audience.
Former Liberty and Richmond head coach Danny Rocco is the head coach at Delaware. He takes over a program that went 4-7 last season. Rocco should be familiar with the Hokies from his time in Virginia. Not to mention his nephew, Michael Rocco, used to be the starting quarterback at UVA. So yeah, he’s familiar with the Hokies.
Delaware’s strength is on the defensive side of the ball. But they have not faced a difficult test yet this season. Their first game was against Delaware State. Delaware State is a team that went 0-11 in 2016. Delaware runs a 3-4 and fields a defense full of upperclassmen. They should give the Hokies a test but one that the starters should be able to overcome.
Where Delaware struggles is on the offensive side of the ball. Their quarterback, Joe Walker, has struggled much of his career. He is hoping for better results under a new head coach. Expect the Blue Hens to try to move the ball on the ground against the Hokies defense. Their starting running back is named Thomas Jefferson. You can’t make this stuff up. Start thinking up your clever tweets now. If Delaware gets the ball in the end zone, it’ll likely be against the backups.
The Hokies are in the tough position of trying to refocus after a big win and a short week. My guess is that the Blue Hens will not get the Hokies A-game on Saturday. But their B or C-level game is still good enough to win this game going away. I hope the Hokies show up with Justin Fuente’s 1-0 mentality. They need to take care of business early so some of the backups can get some much needed work. It will be important to build depth as the season goes on. It’s a good week to go 1-0.
Prediction: Virginia Tech 45, Delaware 10
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