NCAA Football Previews- No. 5 Virginia Tech Hokies vs Virginia Cavaliers
The Virginia Tech Hokies and the Virginia Cavaliers will have an added incentive in this Saturday’ s in-state rivalry as the winner will come away with this season’s ACC Coastal Division title.
Date/Time: Saturday, Nov. 26 3:30 p.m. (ET)
Venue: Scott Stadium, Charlottesville, VA
Broadcast: ABC
Hokies at Cavaliers lines by BetOnline.com
Point spread: Hokies -5
Over/Under: OFF
The kick-off for this conference clash is slated for 3:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast nationally on ABC.
Virginia Tech has ascended all the way to the No.5 spot in the most recent BCS rankings aided by a 24-21 victory over North Carolina last Thursday night as a 9.5-point home favorite. While the win raised their record to 10-1 straight-up, the Hokies have been no bargain against the spread at just 3-8. They are 5-0 SU (2-3 ATS) on the road this season and overall, the total has gone 4-6-1.
The Hokies keep winning week-after-week, but it has not always been pretty. They are averaging 29.4 points a game, while giving-up 16.9 points a game, but the average margin of victory in their last six games has been less than 10 points.
Virginia is enjoying a dramatic turnaround this year after a couple of off seasons. While it is 8-3 SU (6-5 ATS), it has put itself in position for a shot at winning the division title with an impressive 5-2 SU record in conference play including a crucial 14-13 victory over Florida State this past Saturday as a 17-point road underdog. The total stayed well ‘under’ the 46-point line against the Seminoles and has now stayed ‘under’ in nine of its 11 games this year. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Cavaliers’ success this season has been led by a balanced offensive attack that has been able to move the ball through the air and on the ground, coupled with a stingy defense that is giving-up an average of just 20.8 points a game.
Virginia Tech is 20-8 ATS in its last 28 games as a road favorite, but just 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games as a favorite overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in six of its last eight games on the road.
Virginia is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games as a home underdog, but 4-0 ATS in its last four games overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in its last six games at home.
The favorite in this series is 8-1 ATS in the last nine meetings and the total has gone ‘over’ in the last four meetings in Charlottesville. Throw the past trends out for this season’s matchup as the Hokies have had trouble covering the spread all season long and the motivation is high for Virginia this time around.
The Pick: Virginia Tech 23 vs. Virginia 20
