The #15 Virginia Tech Hokies (2-0) battle the West Virginia Mountaineers (1-1) in a non-conference showdown between two neighboring universities. VT took down Middle Tennessee State, 35-14, in Week 2, while the Mountaineers dropped Long Island University, 66-0. The Week 3 matchup is the first time these two schools have faced each other since 2017.
Saturday’s kickoff is at 12 p.m. EST inside Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, WV. Fox Sports One will have the contest televised. According to oddsmakers, the Mountaineers are a 3-point favorite, and the total point over-under is slated at 50.5.
What to Know – Virginia Tech Hokies
Virginia Tech avoided a letdown last week in their victory over a tough MTSU squad. The Hokies opened up the season with a thrilling win over the then top-10 North Carolina Tar Heels. Saturday’s contest will be the first road test of the season for VT.
Quarterback Braxton Burmeister has played well in the first two games of the season. The junior has completed 26-of-43 passes for 311 yards with a pair of touchdowns and leads the Hokies in rushing with 94 yards and a score.
The Hokies used a powerful run game to defeat MTSU, averaging 5.7 yards per carry for 224 yards and four touchdowns. Junior running back Raheem Blacksheer carried the ball ten times for 53 yards and a pair of scores in last week’s victory over the Blue Raiders.
Virginia Tech’s defense limited the Blue Raiders to only 66 yards on the ground. The Hokies held MTSU to 7-of-17 on third downs and caused the only turnover of the contest.
What to Know – West Virginia Mountaineers
West Virginia bounced back last week to blank Long Island after suffering a 30-24 defeat to open up the season at Maryland. The shutout was the first for WVU since 2015 and most points scored by the offense since 2012.
Senior quarterback Jarret Doege picked apart LIU’s defense, completing 14-of-22 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns. It was an excellent bounce-back for Doege, who threw a pair of interceptions and was sacked three times against Maryland.
Backup quarterback Garrett Greene and running back Leddie Brown each scored a pair of rushing touchdowns. Greene was the Mountaineers’ leading rusher in the victory with 98 yards on the ground.
After allowing nearly 500 yards of offense to Maryland a week before, the Mountaineers defense limited the Sharks to 95 yards of total offense. LIU was 2-of-13 on third down and failed to convert on all three of its fourth-down attempts.
The Pick is In
West Virginia cleaned up their mistakes against an under-matched FCS team but faces their toughest test of the season against a revamped VT squad. The Mountaineers turned the ball over four times in the loss to Maryland and won’t be able to do that this weekend.
Saturday’s contest is the first road test for the Hokies in what will be a loud and rowdy environment. VT has veteran leadership and talent to take down the Mountaineers at home. We like the Hokies to cover here and will also take them to win outright.
Betting Pick: Virginia Tech Hokies +3
