First against second in ACC Coastal division
The first placed and no. 16 ranked Virginia Tech Hokies are looking to keep their hopes alive of a berth in the Atlantic Coastal Conference (ACC) on Saturday 20 November, against second place divisional foe and no. 24 ranked Miami Hurricanes. The
Hokies can clinch a berth with a win this weekend.
Virginia Tech’s season to date
The Hokies had a slow start to the season, losing first to the Boise State Broncos, 33-30, and the following week to James Madison, 21-16.
Fans of Virginia Tech are pushing the panic button, but ever since the loss to James Madison, the Hokies have reeled off eight straight victories. It started with the dismantling of East Carolina, a shut-out against Boston College, and continued with victories
over North Carolina State, Central Michigan, Wake Forest, Duke, Georgia Tech and last week’s win over North Carolina.
The Hokies are sitting at 8-2 overall, and 6-0 in conference. Their remaining games include this one against Miami, and the final against state rival Virginia.
Miami’s previous games
The Hurricanes started their season with a shut-out against state rival Florida A&M, 45-0. The party did not last very long, as in week two Miami fell to the Ohio State Buckeyes, 36-24.
The Hurricanes followed that up with a two-game winning streak, first against Pittsburgh and then against Clemson, but had their streak halted when they lost to former no. 23 ranked Florida State Seminoles, 45-17.
After another two wins against Duke and North Carolina, Miami fell once again to a conference opponent, this time it was Virginia.
They followed the loss to Virginia with wins against Maryland and Georgia Tech, which brings us to this week’s match-up. Miami is sitting with a 7-3 overall record and a 5-2 conference record.
Virginia Tech’s keys to victory
Quarterback Tyrod Taylor has led the Hokies to within one more victory in receiving a berth in the ACC Championship game for the fourth time since Virginia Tech joined the ACC in 2004.
The offence, led by Taylor, is ranked 19th in the rushing game and 70th in the passing game. That is a pretty glaring difference, and the offence will have to change their plans when they travel to Miami. Running back Darren Evans will
need to be used in play action passes, that way they freeze the Hurricanes defence and perhaps some holes will open up.
“I know it’s going to be a tough environment,” Taylor said to the Collegiate Times. “But last time we were down there we lost to them. So I’m looking forward to getting back at them.”
If they stay with their rushing game, it will be an easy call for the Hurricanes as only Taylor or Evans will be running the ball for the majority of the game.
Hurricanes keys to victory
Miami has a healthy balance of offence, ranking 44th in passing and 32nd in rushing. There is still no word yet whether starting quarterback Jacory Harris will suit up as he is still recovering from a concussion he suffered against
Virginia.
"The next step is the running part, and now you've got to put on the helmet and the heavy equipment. There are a lot of things that we've got to make sure he's able to do,"
head coach Randy Shannon said to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Freshman Stephen Morris has been filling in for Harris since, and has done extremely well for himself, throwing for 678 yards and four touchdowns in his three games. He distributes the ball to several receivers on the field, making the offence one of those
you have to guess at as to who is getting the ball on which play.
Prediction
Miami 24 – Virginia Tech 21
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