Virginia Tech Football: Boston College is what the Hokies desperately need

One of the biggest understatements of the 2023 season so far for the Virginia Tech football team is that they are a different team at Lane Stadium compared to the team they are on the road.

Four road games and four disappointing results have the Hokies at 4-5, and looking at the reality if they want to get to a bowl game this season, they are going to have to win at least one, if not two, games away from Blacksburg. Their final home game against North Carolina State is going to be extremely difficult as well.

The fact of the matter is this, teams that get to bowl games win games on the road in October and November. Virginia Tech hasn’t won a road game even in September, losing both games at Rutgers and Marshall. Yes, I get it, their two ACC road games were against the top two teams in the conference, and the two that will most likely be playing in Charlotte on Dec. 2 in the ACC Championship game, Florida State and Louisville.

The Hokies final two road games are this weekend at Boston College and Thanksgiving Weekend at Virginia. Sitting back and looking at the overall picture, both games are winnable for the Hokies and actually, Boston College is just what Virginia Tech needs right now.

Boston College offers Virginia Tech a good opportunity

This, without a doubt, is a winnable game for Brent Pry’s team. No questions asked. The Eagles are already bowl-eligible at 6-3 following their 17-10 win at Syracuse last Friday night, but by no means is BC a 6-3 team. Just take a look at their schedule and wins and losses.

They opened the season losing at home in overtime to Northern Illinois, then needed a turnover late in the fourth quarter to barely beat FCS Holy Cross by three at home. Yes, they nearly beat Florida State at home, but that game was more about FSU looking ahead to Clemson and taking the Eagles lightly.

BC got blown out at Louisville (sound familiar Hokies fans?) and gave up 56 points. Since that game, they have wins over Virginia, by three at home, at Army, at Georgia Tech, at home against a 1-8 Connecticut team that they only won 21-14, and at Syracuse, where they had to hang on and force a turnover to beat the Orange who were without starting quarterback Garrett Shrader who was hurt the week before at Virginia Tech.

Again, by no means should the Hokies not be able to head to Chestnut Hill and Alumni Stadium and worry about not being able to come away with a win. It’s very unlikely that the game will be sold out as there are generally plenty of tickets available for BC home games at kickoff, especially in November as you never know what the weather will be like in Boston.

There is a lot that Virginia Tech and Boston College have in common. Both are in a rebuild, both coaches are getting warmer on the hot seat and both teams have dual-threat quarterbacks that can hurt you in multiple ways. Both teams have been inconsistent and you never know what you’re going to get from week to week. This is the opponent that the Hokies can benefit from.

If the Hokies show up and lose similar to the way they have in their other road games, it will say a lot more about them than BC. What does the betting public think about this game? BC opened as a 2.5 favorite and in less than 48 hours, the line shifted dramatically to Virginia Tech, which is now a 1.5 favorite. Do with that what you will, but a loss on the road this week will be more troublesome than any of their other losses away from home to date in 2023.