After a much-needed bye week, the Virginia Tech football team will begin their march toward a potential bowl berth on Saturday night at Duke at 8 p.m. on the ACC Network. The Hokies are 5-5 and coming off of a pair of losses against Syracuse and Clemson before their bye week.
Duke on the other hand is 7-3 in Year 1 under Manny Diaz and they nearly knocked off SMU, the lone undefeated ACC team in conference play, losing at home in overtime. They beat North Carolina State last week before entering their second bye this week as well.
It appears from a distance that these are two teams heading in opposite directions and when it comes to betting on this game, the Blue Devils would be favored. Well, for at least the opening lines, think again.
Virginia Tech opens as favorite at Duke
There have been some head-scratching things about the 2024 Virginia Tech football season, but this one might be up there. On Sunday, according to DraftKings, the Hokies open up as 2.5-point favorite against Duke, on the road.
What makes this line even more surprising is that Virginia Tech is dealing with a ton of injuries and some very big pieces. Quarterback Kyron Drones and running back Bhayshul Tuten missed practice last week nursing injuries and this week we should get a clearer picture as to whether or not either player will be able to play. Running back Malachi Thomas also missed practice last week dealing with an injury.
This has been a disappointing season for the Hokies in terms of expectations at the beginning of the season and now they are left fighting for a bowl big rather than bigger goals. Expect this line to move during the week and it will mostly depend on the health of the Hokies leading into kick-off.