As soon as the Hokies fix one problem, another one pops up. This time it’s inability to stop the run. Luckily, the Hokies’ offense seems to have found its rhythm. They were able to keep up with Florida State for three quarters. The run defense, however, is a different story. Tech continues to get gashed on the ground. This is an area the coaches will have to get fixed in the second half of the season.
SP+ Rankings
Virginia Tech
Overall: 76th
Offense: 96th
Defense: 51st
Special Teams: 44th
Wake Forest
Overall: 51st
Offense: 55th
Defense: 53rd
Special Teams: 73rd
This is a standard Wake Forest offense under Dave Clawson. Good but not great. They are balanced and move the ball consistently. Their offense has stalled out a bit in the last two games against Georgia Tech and Clemson. Tech’s big concern needs to be stopping RB Demond Claiborne. Like all the running backs the Hokies have seen this year, he has the potential to break a big run. QB Mitch Griffis has been okay. He connects on a high percentage of his passes but he is a checkdown king. He likes to keep his throws within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. This might be a good week for the Hokies DBs to be a little more aggressive against short throws and checkdowns.
The Wake Forest defense has been pretty good. They are top 40 in the nation in total defense. The good news for the Hokies is they tend to give up more yards on the ground than through the air. This would be a good game for Kyron Drones, Bhayshul Tuten and Malachi Thomas to get going on the ground. The same playbook that has worked against Pitt and three quarters against FSU needs to be the go-to in this game.
This is a pretty good matchup for the Hokies. My biggest concern is that Wake is an extremely well-coached team and they don’t beat themselves. Tech has the horses on offense to win but they need to rely on the defense to not give up big running plays. On a neutral site, Wake would win by 3. But I’m going to give the nod to the Hokies at home here and pick Tech by 3.
Prediction: Virginia Tech 23, Wake Forest 20
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