Three Bold Predictions for Virginia Tech vs. Stanford
In this story:
Eight drives, eight scores.
That’s how SMU opened its 51-28 win over Virginia Tech on Nov. 6 in Dallas, and the 51 points were the most the Hokies have allowed this season.
Now Virginia Tech (6-3, 3-3 ACC) gets Stanford (4-5, 2-4 ACC) at Lane Stadium, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday on the ACC Network. The Cardinal come in off a bye.
Here are three bold predictions for Saturday night.
1. Jeffrey Overton Jr. rushes for 150-plus yards
Jeffrey Overton Jr. has cleared 150 once this season, running 25 times for 209 yards in the 21-14 win at Boston College on Sept. 26. Those 25 carries are also the only time he’s had more than 17 in a game.
He doesn’t need many touches to hurt people. Two of his three 100-yard games came on 13 carries or fewer: 104 yards on nine against VMI and 123 on 13 at SMU. He averages 6 yards per carry.
Stanford can’t stop the run. The Cardinal allow 5.67 yards per carry and have given up 26 rushing touchdowns in nine games. In their last game, Louisville ran for 296 yards, and Isaac Brown went for 139 on nine carries.
The only question is volume. Overton has 126 carries to Marcellous Hawkins Jr.’s 87, and a big lead could hand the fourth quarter to the backups.
2. Aycen Stevens reaches double-digit sacks
Aycen Stevens didn’t have a career sack when this season started. The first one came on a third-quarter strip sack in the opener against VMI on Sept. 5. Nine games in, the redshirt junior has 8.5, three more than any teammate.
He needs 1.5 on Saturday to reach 10. Since Darryl Tapp had 10 in 2005, one Hokie has gotten to double digits: Antwaun Powell-Ryland, with 16 in 2024. Last season’s team leader, Kemari Copeland, finished with 4.5.
Stanford has allowed 16 sacks in nine games, 1.78 per game, so Stevens would have to match the Cardinal’s usual total almost by himself.
Tech has the rush to do it, with 28 sacks as a team. Duke sacked Davis Warren four times in Stanford’s first road game.
Stevens gets two. He walks out of Lane Stadium at 10.5.
3. Ethan Grunkemeyer throws four touchdown passes
Grunkemeyer has thrown three touchdown passes in a game three times this season, at Maryland and against Pitt and Georgia Tech. He hasn’t thrown four in a game this season.
Saturday is his best chance. Stanford has given up 19 touchdown passes and 11.7 yards per completion. The Cardinal also has just six sacks in nine games, so he should have time.
He has the targets to do it. Que’Sean Brown is fourth in the ACC with 722 receiving yards, and Luke Reynolds leads the team with six touchdown catches.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
James Duncan serves as a staff writer for Virginia Tech On SI, covering football, men’s and women’s basketball and recruiting. He is a 2026 Virginia Tech graduate, having majored in Sports Media and Analytics with a minor in Professional and Technical Writing. Duncan previously covered the Washington Commanders as a reporter for The Lead, where he reported on the team throughout an offseason.