Virginia Tech
vs.
Duke
College Football Pick
11/5/16
By Jason Green
Tech got over their upset loss to Syracuse by winning 2 in a row and their destiny is still in their hands. They are tied at 4-1 with North Carolina for the Coastal Division lead and they beat them earlier this season, so they hold the tiebreaker. If they win their remaining 3 ACC Games they will be in the Conference title Game. The Hokies have a balanced offense and they rank a solid 23rd in the nation in opponents’ points allowed.
Duke has to be happy about being back home after 2 tough road losses in the row. At 3-5 they have to win 3 of their 4 remaining Games, which are all in conference, to be bowl eligible. The Blue Devils put up big yards in their last Game, which was a 38-35 loss to Georgia Tech, but they also gave up over 600 yards including 341 rushing yards.
The underdog has covered the spread in 4 of the last 5 Games between these Conference rivals.
Virginia Tech played in a shootout in their last Game beating Pitt 39-36 where they did not cover as a 3.5-point road favorite.
Duke lost to Georgia Tech 38-35 on the road in their last Game, but they did cover as a 6.5-point underdog.
In their win over Pitt, Tech racked up 556 total yards with over 400 passing yards and 150 rushing yards. QB Jerod Evans was huge in the Game with 406 passing yards with 2 TD and 0 INT and for the season he has 21 TD and only 2 picks. 3 players had at least 100 receiving yards and while they did not have one guy rush for a ton of yards they had several get it done. 2 players have at least 450 rushing yards for Tech including Evans.
Duke only ranks 52nd in the nation in pass defense and 71st in run defense and their defense as a whole struggled in the loss to Georgia Tech giving up a total of 605 yards.
Duke QB Daniel Jones passed for 305 yards with 2 TD and 1 INT against Georgia Tech and Shaun Wilson rushed for 109 yards with a TD.
Tech is a stronger team defending the run and Jones has a tall task in this Game and he has played well as of late and in his last 3 Games he has 5 TD and only 1 INT.
Tech is 6-14-1 ATS vs. a team with a losing record, 0-7 ATS in their last 7 road Games vs. a team with a losing home record, and in their last 7 road Games the posted total has gone Under 6 times.
Duke is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Games overall, 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Games following a straight up loss, and in their last 4 home Games the posted total has gone Under every time.
Our Pick – Virginia Tech -10.5