Virginia Tech opens as an overwhelming favorite against Marshall

Months ago, the Virginia Tech football team opened as a huge favorite over Week 1 opponent Vanderbilt. At the time, it was an appropriate line as the Hokies had a ton of retainment and the Commodores had a massive roster turnover. A 13.5-point line was about right.

As the spring and summer went along, all signs pointed to a Virginia Tech win, whether or not they covered was a different story. In fact, on ESPN's College GameDay Saturday, everyone on the panel picked the Hokies to win outright, except for Lee Corso. In the end, he was right.

In a result that not many people outside of the Vanderbilt program and fanbase saw coming, the Commodores built a 17-3 halftime lead with a near-perfect first half of offense with drives that controlled the clock and kept Virginia Tech's offense off the field. After blowing the lead in the second half and falling behind, Vandy tied the game late and won it overtime to win outright and cover. Now the Hokies head home and once again open as a double-digit favorite this upcoming weekend.

Virginia Tech opens as a double-digit favorite over Marshall

Oh boy, here we go again. It's going to be a long week for the Hokies players and coaches following the loss to Vanderbilt as they prepare for Marshall and Sunday, according to DraftKings, Virginia Tech opens as a 16.5-point favorite over the Thundering Hurd.

Marshall will come to Blacksburg following a 45-3 rout of Stony Brook on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Hokies will be looking for some payback after losing 24-17 last year at Marshall, who will be looking to pull a second straight upset of Tech.

In the end, you have to think, and hope, that Virginia Tech will bounce back and win and who knows, maybe even cover, but if there is one thing we learned in Week 1, it's that the game is decided on the field, not on paper.