Virginia Tech (3-3, 1-1) is set to host Boston College (4-2, 1-1) at Lane Stadium in the thirty second matchup between the two teams.

Boston College has outperformed their expectations and disappointed quite simultaneously. The Eagles started off the year with an impressive, at the time, win against No. 10 Florida State. The Seminoles are now one of the worst teams in the ACC, that win means nothing. Boston College then played a nothing game against Duquesne, and kept the game within a touchdown against No. 6 Missouri. Now, Missouri has dropped all the way to No. 19 in the country after a 41-10 loss against Texas A&M. Boston College also lost by ten points to Virginia, beat Western Kentucky by just one point, and just edged out a 3-3 Michigan State team.

In terms of resume, Boston College’s looks worse every week. On the other hand, Virginia Tech’s has looked better and better each week.

The Hokies disappointing loss to Vanderbilt in week one looks much different now than it did then. At the time, Vanderbilt was labeled as a bottom-feeder team in the ACC, and potentially one of Virginia Tech’s worst opponents. Since then, Vanderbilt has upset the No. 1 team in the country and almost escaped Missouri with another top ten win. The Commodores are much better than previously expected, and Virginia Tech has the immense amount of talent needed to run the table in the rest of their schedule and turn this season around.

The Hokies have looked better as the weeks go by, with a 31-7 win against Stanford, and what some would call a ‘pseudo-loss’ to Miami. So how do they matchup against Boston College?

Virginia Tech Offense vs Boston College Defense

Boston College’s defense is far and away the best unit that the Eagles will bring to their game against Virginia Tech.

The Eagles allow just 3.4 yards per rush to their opponents and only allow 113 total rushing yards per game.

This is largely in part to what Tim Lewis has been able to do with the Eagles defense—the defensive line, especially. The Eagles have multiple tackles listed at 6’5” or higher that are extremely mobile and not limited to much in the run game. That’s how Boston College has found so much success.

The other key to the run game though? It’s one player.

Donovan Ezeiruaku. He might be the best edge rusher in the country, let alone best run defending edge rusher in the country. He leads the nation in sacks with 9.0, he leads the nation in tackles-for-loss with 12, and he is the biggest game-wrecker Virginia Tech will face all season.

The Hokies also have a guy that’s a key in the running game, what’s his name?

Bhayshul Tuten. He leads the Virginia Tech offense in rushing, an offense which is 40th in the nation in yards per game with 182.8. He’s gotten better each week, he’s averaging 5.7 yards per carry, and exploded for 141 rushing yards against Miami with a touchdown. He is by far the cornerstone of the Virginia Tech offense, and if he’s not working in this game, that could spell bad for the Hokies.

The other key though, will not be the wide receivers, the quarterback, or the tight ends, it will be the offensive line. Virginia Tech has been banged up all season on the offensive line, Layth Ghannam is still out, and the Hokies have had to shift around in what feels like every single week.

If the Hokies want any kind of success, they’ll have to get to the second level quickly against Boston College.

Boston College Offense vs Virginia Tech Defense

Boston College’s offensive identity has certainly changed.

Let year, Thomas Castellanos was used often in the run game, he has since relinquished that role to the running backs, and has dropped back much more often in the passing game, an unexpected change. He’s only averaging 1.9 yards per rush and has totaled just 103 yards on the ground the entire year.

The running backs have taken a hold of this Boston College offense. Treshaun Ward is leading the way with 5.7 yards per carry, and Turbo Richard and Kyle Robichaux follow with 4.9 yards per carry and 3.8 yards per carry, respectively. The offense is build around what Ward, Richard, and Robichaux can do.

Ward is the fourth-leading receiver on the Eagles’ offense with 141 yards through the air.

Bill O’Brien likes to get plenty of players involved in the passing game though, like backup wide receiver Reed Harris, who is a freshman, has four catches this year. In chronological order, his catches have gone for ten yards, seventy-two yards and a touchdown, sixty-seven yards and a touchdown, and twenty-seven yards against Virginia. Watch out for him to maybe make some noise in the passing game.

Virginia Tech has had a shaky season on defense. Some games, like the game against Stanford, the only points that the Hokies allowed came on a flea-flicker play that was heavily defended. On other days, Virginia Tech’s corners were exposed by Diego Pavia and the Vanderbilt offense. It’s a week to week process.

With that being said, the defense, especially the pass defense, is much improved from that week one matchup.

Antwaun Powell-Ryland has lead the way for the Hokies pass rush to become one of the best in the nation. The Hokies sack the quarterback at an 11.49% rate, the second best in the country, only trailing Northern Illinois’s defense.

Look for Dorian Strong to make his big comeback in this game as the Hokies try to force Boston College to pass the ball.

Final Prediction

I don’t think this is an easy win for Virginia Tech, but when thinking about the importance of this game to the Hokies’ future, and thinking about Pry’s preseason goals in the ACC, this game is absolutely paramount.

Pry will have the Hokies more ready than they’ve ever been for a matchup this year, maybe outside of the Miami game. But, coming off of a bye, Virginia Tech will hope to remain on their hot streak and I think they’ll do it well.

Final Score: Virginia Tech 25, Boston College 17

Additional Links:

Virginia Tech Football: Josh Pate Identifies Virginia Tech As The Most “Quiet, Well-Positioned Team”

Virginia Tech vs Boston College: Final Score Predictions For Thursday’s Game

Virginia Tech Football: Three Storylines For Thursday’s Game vs Boston College