Virginia Tech has had good moments this season. There are times in each game where the defense is getting stops and the offense is scoring points. The issue is that the Hokies still haven’t been able to put together a full 60 minute game. They got close last week but the offense went into a coma in the 2nd quarter. Let’s see if this is the week they can put it all together.
SP+ Rankings
Virginia Tech
Overall: 35th
Offense: 44th
Defense: 35th
Special Teams: 53rd
Rutgers
Overall: 41st
Offense: 77th
Defense: 21st
Special Teams: 35th
Rutgers is a very physical team. The Hokies have yet to play a team this season with this level of physicality. If Tech wants to win, they need to be able to match Rutgers’ intensity. RB Kyle Monangai is one of the most physical runners in the country. You need to bring your lunchpail if you’re going to meet him in the hole. I’m not sure if Tech is ready for a physical game like this. Rutgers has played Howard and Akron so far, so maybe Tech will be a big step up in competition for them too. For Tech to win, they need to be able to stop the run. If Monangai goes for 150, it’s going to be tough for the Hokies to win.
It’s tough to get a read on Rutgers’ defense based on who they have played. You’d expect a Greg Schiano coached team to play good defense. But it’s hard to gauge quality based on who they’ve played so far. If Tech can bring their physicality to the run game, they may give this defense some problems. Once again, this is a game where Tech needs to establish the run game and then bring in the play action passing game downfield. This offense works best when they are able to run the ball first.
This is a game where Tech either wins by one possession or loses by multiple touchdowns. There is no in between. If Tech can’t stop the run, they are going to get blown out. But if they can find gameplan to stop Monangai, they should be okay. This isn’t the scariest offense outside of one guy. I said that about Diego Pavia too and we all remember how that turned out. I’ve been going back and forth on this one all week but I feel like I’m trying to talk myself into a Tech win when it’s not really there in the numbers. I’d pick VT if I felt like they could consistently stop the run but I don’t think they’ll be able to.
Prediction: Rutgers 31, Virginia Tech 17
treadmillhorse 