BC Opens as 3-Point Underdog for Week 2 at Virginia Tech
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)Publisher
Boston College and Virginia Tech both suffered embarrassing losses to open the 2022 season. Rutgers defeated the Eagles for the first time since 1991, and the Hokies dropped their second game to Old Dominion since 2018.
That said, Virginia Tech is a three-point favorite heading into Saturday's showdown, according to Action Network.
The Hokies do have home-field advantage, as third-year Eagles frontman Jeff Hafley will coach his first game in a packed Lane Stadium—when the teams met in Blacksburg in 2020, only 1,000 fans attended because of COVID-19 precautions.
The over/under is set at 45.5 points, and the BC money line is listed at +128 on Action Network.
This is the last season Virginia Tech will be BC's permanent ACC crossover opponent. Starting in 2023, the conference is adopting a 3-5-5 scheduling model that will do away with divisions. But, since the Eagles joined the ACC in 2005, the Coastal Division's Hokies have been a mainstay on BC's schedule.
Virginia Tech leads the all-time series, 19-11, but BC has won three of the teams' last four meetings. Last season, the Eagles defeated Virginia Tech, 17-3. It was an emotional atmosphere, as starting BC quarterback Phil Jurkovec made a surprise return for the annual Red Bandana Game after suffering a season-threatening injury to his throwing hand in Week 2.
The last time BC was in Lane Stadium, though, it wasn't pretty. It was the first year of the Hafley era, and the Eagles were coming off a thrilling, overtime win over Pittsburgh. But Virginia Tech forced five Eagles turnovers and quickly unraveled a game that, at one point, was 17-14 in the third quarter.
The Hokies pulled away for a 40-14 victory. Virginia Tech quarterback Hendon Hooker, who has since transferred to Tennessee, dazzled with four total touchdowns, three of which came on the ground, in addition to his 164 rushing yards.
