The Virginia Tech football team will be facing an opponent that they know all too well on Saturday afternoon at Lane Stadium. Old Dominion will come to town looking for a second straight win over the Hokies, but the two teams are far from the same ones that met in Blacksburg a year ago.
Virginia Tech will be looking to improve to 2-0 before hitting the road next week for their first road game of the season at Maryland. This is a big revenge game not only for defensive coordinator Brent Pry, but also for any other Hokies players who were part of last year's team. Here are three predictions for Saturday's game against the Monarchs.
Ethan Grunkemeyer throws three-plus touchdown passes
Against VMI, both quarterbacks, Ethan Grunkemeyer and Bryce Baker, looked good and were, for the most part, on with their throws. They each missed a wide-open receiver downfield, and earlier this week, Franklin made it clear that they need to clean those things up. Now, getting separation against the ODU defensive backs might be tougher than it was against the Keydets.
Look for offensive coordinator Ty Howle to throw the ball and throw it early against Old Dominion. Last week, the ball was spread around, and expect that to happen again. The tight ends were a big part of the offense in the passing game and blocking in the run game. This has a lot of balls downfield written all over it. Ayden Green, Que'Sean Brown, and Davion Brown should have a chance to make some plays.
Virginia Tech forces multiple turnovers on defense
Last week, the Hokies' defense was flying around against the Keydets and was forcing several tackles for loss. Again, the ODU offense will be better, but expect a Virginia Tech defense that will be fired up and juiced up for Pry. The defensive line will set the tone against a Monarchs offense that will look to mix things up. The Hokies should be flying to the ball and creating havoc. Let's take this one a little further and say that Virginia Tech gets a turnover in each half.
Marcellous Hawkins rushes eclipses 100-yards rushing
Against VMI, the Hokies unleashed a two-headed monster in the backfield with Marcellous Hawkins and Jeffrey Overton Jr. They combined for 173 yards, with Overton Jr. gaining 104 of those yards. Expect both backs again to be part of the offense, but Hawkins will be the more fetured back this week and rack up over 100 yards.
For that to happen, Grunkemeyer needs to have success in the passing game early and often to open up the running game. There is the possibility of freshman Messiah Mickens getting some early carries, but there will be an early heavy load on Hawkins and Overton Jr.
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