It’s beyond bizarre how this offense can only seem to score 3 offensive points in the first half of games. Especially when they follow that up with 24 and 21 respectively in the 2nd half of games. Weird. Pry needs to give the halftime speech pre-game. I can’t imagine Tech scoring 3 points or less in the first half for a third week in a row.
SP+ Rankings
Virginia Tech
Overall: 45th
Offense: 49th
Defense: 44th
Special Teams: 51st
Old Dominion
Overall: 103rd
Offense: 103rd
Defense: 95th
Special Teams: 79th
The big question of the week will be if QB Grant Wilson will play. He injured his wrist at the end of last week’s game. If he isn’t able to go, expect a QB without much experience to come in. I think it’s reasonable to expect the backup to play similar to Wilson, which means he can run or throw. ODU runs an offense similar to Vanderbilt’s so the Hokies will once again need to be ready for a running QB. Although Wilson has not put up big numbers on the ground so far this season. ODU has some good pass catchers and the like to spread the ball around to a lot of receivers. RB Aaron Young gets the majority of the carries but expect former Virginia Tech RB Bryce Duke to get some carries too. This is an offense that can definitely put up points against quality opponents but don’t expect them to light up the scoreboard.
Old Dominion has been impressive defensively so far this season. They held South Carolina to 288 total yards on the road and forced former Miami QB Jake Garcia into 4 interceptions in their home game against ECU. The numbers suggest that this is a bend but don’t break defense. They have given up yards but not a lot of points. It’s critical for Tech to finish drives against ODU. This appears to be a team you can run on. This is a week where Tech needs to line up and run the ball like they did in the 2nd half against Marshall. Let Drones, Tuten and Thomas get carries and move the ball down the field on the ground. No need to get cute with the passing game. RUN. THE. BALL.
I’m not going to kid myself, G5 road games are always tough. Nothing comes easy. In the 2018 game, Virginia Tech couldn’t seem to pull away and then had a defensive meltdown in the 4th quarter. In 2022, the Hokies gifted ODU 7 points off a bad snap on a field goal and four Grant Wells INTs later the Monarchs won by 3. If the Hokies can avoid the self-inflicted wounds, this is a game where Tech should win by the Vegas line of 14. But Tech has to play at least their C-level game to get there. Which means score more than 3 points in the first half and avoid the sloppiness they’ve had in the last two visits there. This is a good opportunity for Pry to show that he can get his guys ready at kickoff and not let the last two weeks’ special teams oopsies show up.
Prediction: Virginia Tech 27, Old Dominion 20
treadmillhorse 