Three Bold Predictions for Virginia Tech vs. Boston College

Neither team won more than three games last season. Both are better now. One is a lot better.

Virginia Tech (3-0) opens ACC play at noon Saturday at Boston College (2-1). A win gives the Hokies their first 4-0 start since 2017. They've outscored opponents 152-50. They're also flying into a nor'easter. Gusts of 35 to 45 mph are expected around Boston on Saturday, and a high wind watch runs until 8 p.m.

The wind will change how Virginia Tech wins. It shouldn't change whether it does.

1. Virginia Tech runs for 200 yards

Virginia Tech ranks 75th nationally in rushing at 162.7 yards per game. That isn't a talent problem. Jeffrey Overton Jr. has 200 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries, 5.7 yards per attempt. Marcellous Hawkins Jr. led the Hokies with 749 rushing yards last season and scored three times against VMI. Quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer and the passing offense have been so good that the running game has taken a back seat.

The Eagles allow 159.0 rushing yards per game, which ranks 98th nationally. Eight of their 11 defensive starters are sophomores or younger. Their best answer is linebacker Anthony Palano, a Washington State transfer with 34 tackles and five tackles for loss.

Two hundred yards is nearly 40 more than the Hokies' average. In college stats, sacks count against the rushing total, so the offensive line has to hold up too.

2. Grunkemeyer stays at zero interceptions. McKenzie throws at least one.

Grunkemeyer has thrown 101 passes this season. None have been intercepted. He's completing 78.2% of his throws. Counting his last four starts at Penn State, he's gone seven straight starts without a pick.

This is the prediction that should make Hokies fans nervous. Boston College has forced three or more turnovers in back-to-back games, including six interceptions. Defensive back KP Price picked off Maine twice last week. Palano has two interceptions of his own.

The protection is in flux, too. Starting left tackle Justin Terry, an Ohio State transfer, got hurt at Maryland, and head coach James Franklin had no update to share Wednesday. Terry wasn't at practice that day, and he's still questionable on Thursday's ACC availability report.

So is right guard Montavious Cunningham, one of the linemen the staff tried at tackle during camp for exactly this situation. Oklahoma transfer Logan Howland is likely in line for his first start as a Hokie.

Short, high-percentage throws still hold up best in bad weather, and that's Grunkemeyer's game. Boston College quarterback Mason McKenzie is a redshirt junior who transferred from Division II Saginaw Valley State. He's completed 50 of 85 passes, 58.8%, with five interceptions, two of them against Maine.

3. Boston College doesn't score an offensive touchdown.

The Eagles convert 32% of their third downs, which ranks 105th nationally. They average 0.3 points per play, which ranks 85th. Against Maine, they were stopped twice on fourth-and-1 in the first quarter and won just 22-16.

The biggest obstacle is McKenzie's legs. He's run for 225 yards, 75.0 per game, eighth in the ACC. A wet field tends to help the quarterback who can take off. That makes this a Kaleb Spencer game. The senior linebacker led Virginia Tech with 67 tackles last season and already has 4.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. Expect him to live wherever McKenzie goes.

The rest of the front has been just as disruptive. Virginia Tech leads the FBS in tackles for loss (37) and is tied for the lead in sacks (14). The defense did have its weakest showing last week against Maryland's Malik Washington, who threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns.

Washington didn't have to do it into gusts near 40 mph, though. O'Brien, who calls Boston College's plays, will need long drives against a defense that allows just a 31% third-down conversion rate.

Add us as a preferred source on Google