NC State Preview and Prediction

The Hokies finally get on the field after two weeks of postponements. As of the publishing of this post, the game is still on. Let’s hope it stays that way. The team has been struggling over the last three weeks with significant issues related to COVID-19. The team as a whole had to take a four-day pause from football activities since they had so many players out due to positive tests or contact tracing. Even now, as players start returning from quarantine, it appears like the Hokies may be without some key starters for NC State.

Fuente on this weekend's game vs. NC State: "We will not have a full roster. I hope we're able to play." Notes that the #Hokies still have three more COVID-19 tests this week.

— Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) September 21, 2020

SP+ Rankings

Virginia Tech

Overall: 27th
Offense: 38th
Defense: 24th

NC State

Overall: 60th
Offense: 57th
Defense: 61st

The rankings above are based on preseason rankings and one game that NC State has played against Wake Forest. NC State is a solid team that put up a lot of points against Wake Forest. The Wolfpack ran the ball well last week. That concerns me due to the fact that the Hokies have had many guys unavailable to practice for the last couple of weeks. We saw what happened to Navy after their team went no-contact in practice. BYU ran all over them. Since the team has been limited in practice for the last two weeks, let’s hope we don’t see that with our guys.

Navy’s Ken Niumatalolo on his decision not to have contact in practice in camp due to COVID concerns: "We're probably the cleanest team in the country but unfortunately we suck at football right now."

— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) September 9, 2020

I’m a bit less concerned about the offense. If Braxton Burmeister has to play, he is ready. I’ve heard he is an excellent runner and a good passer. He has playing experience from his days at Oregon and he’s entering his second year at Virginia Tech. If called upon, he can do the job. What to look for on Saturday is a healthy offensive line that will be able to line up and run the ball. The Hokies have a stable of capable running backs. This week’s game plan should focus on running the ball, running the clock and keeping the defense off the field.

Virginia Tech #Hokies HC Justin Fuente on planning to play both Hendon Hooker & Braxton Burmeister: "Yes that's the plan and yes that's an on-going process… It's going to be all hands on deck. We're going to need everybody to have a chance to find success."

— Matej Sis (@MatejS247) September 21, 2020

The first thing I want to see this week is for the Hokies to actually make it to kickoff. They still need to get through test results on Saturday morning before they are cleared to play. If they do make it to kickoff, they will still may be down a couple of starters. And they will be playing a team that has already played a game. Both of those things concern me. This is a good week for the Hokies to go with a safe game plan to pull out a victory. Next week, they should be able to get more of their guys back.

Prediction: Virginia Tech 27, NC State 24