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Marshall vs. Virginia Tech final odds, prediction

Who will win this weekend's game between Marshall and Virginia Tech?

By Scott Roche

Dec 19, 2023; Frisco, TX, USA; Marshall Thundering Herd quarterback Cole Pennington (12) during the first quarter against the UTSA Roadrunners at Toyota Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images
Dec 19, 2023; Frisco, TX, USA; Marshall Thundering Herd quarterback Cole Pennington (12) during the first quarter against the UTSA Roadrunners at Toyota Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images / Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images
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One week after starting the season with a disappointing 34-27 overtime loss at Vanderbilt last weekend, the Virginia Tech football team returns to Blacksburg this week for their home opener. When the focus was turned to 2024 from 2023 and a quick look at the schedule had a lot of people pencling in the Hokies to be 1-0 when they took the field against Marshall.

Well, they will be 0-1 when the ball is kicked off at Lane Stadium and the Thundering Hurd are the team that is 1-0 following a season-opening win over Stony Brook last weekend. It was an impressive 45-3 win over the Seawolves and a fast start on offense for a team that went through a lot of turnover in the offseason with the transfer portal.

Virginia Tech will be looking to quickly right the ship following their loss to the Commodores and avoid a major disaster with a win over Marshall, who picked up a 24-17 win last season at home over the Hokies. As we inch closer to kickoff, here is one last look at the odds and a prediction.

Marshall vs. Virginia Tech, final odds and prediction

When the odds were released last Sunday for this game, DraftKings had the Hokies another double-digit favorite at 16.5 points. They were a double-digit favorite last weekend against Vanderbilt and we all know how that turned out. As of the writing of this article, Virginia Tech is now a 20-point favorite, which seems a little high.

A couple of things that I want to see going into this game, can the Hokies' defense bounce back from last week’s effort and stop the run the better as you know Marshall will look to attack them early with that. Also, can they get off the field on third down and can they force some turnovers? These two big keys in my opinion.

On the offensive side of the ball, how early do they attack down the field to try and set up the running game? Early last week it was short passes, but head coach Brent Pry said this week that he wants to make sure they are being aggressive early and throwing the ball to open up the run. We’ll see. I like the Hokies to get into the win column, but not cover the spread.

Prediction: VIrginia Tech 38, Marshall 23

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