FACTS & STATS: Site: BB&T Field (31,500) — Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Television: ACC Network. Home Record: Virginia Tech 2-4, Wake Forest 2-3. Away
Record: Virginia Tech 3-1, Wake Forest 0-5. Neutral Record: Virginia Tech 0-0,
Wake Forest 0-0. Conference Record: Virginia Tech 2-4, Wake Forest 0-6. Series
Record: Virginia Tech leads, 24-11-1.
GAME NOTES: The Virginia Tech Hokies look to become bowl eligible for the 22nd
straight season when they travel to Wake Forest to take on the Demon Deacons
on Saturday at BB&T Field in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup.
The Hokies are coming off a 17-16 win over then 19th-ranked Duke this past
Saturday. Virginia Tech turned three Duke turnovers into scores and held off a
late push by the Blue Devils to pull off the upset win.
Michael Brewer threw a pair of touchdown passes, including a 15-yard strike to
Bucky Hodges for the go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter, as the Hokies
snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 5-5 overall and 2-4 in the
ACC.
For the season, the Hokies are averaging just over 25 points per game,
on 373 yards of offense. The rushing game, which averages just 140 yards per
game is led by Marshawn Williams’ 475 yards and four touchdowns.
Brewer leads the Hokies offense, completing 61 percent of his passes for 2,237
yards with 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Isaiah Ford and Hodges each have six TD catches with Ford leading the
team with 45 catches or 570 yards.
Brewer and company will need to be even sharper the rest of the way, as
starting freshman tailback Marshawn Williams (475 yds, 4 TDs) tore his ACL in
the win over Duke and will miss the remainder of the season.
Defensively, Tech has allowed just 343.2 yards per game. The Hokies have been
particularly stingy against the pass, yielding just 180.6 ypg. A strong pass
rush has certainly helped, with 35 sacks on the year.
Senior safety Kyshoen Jarrett leads the way with a team-best 71 tackles in
addition to two INTs and one forced fumble. Defensive ends Dadi Nicholas (46
tackles, 12.5 TFL, 7.5 sacks) and Ken Ekanem (37 tackles, 10.0 TFL, 6.0 sacks)
have caused havoc in opposing backfields.
Wake Forest, meanwhile, is just playing out its season. The Demon Deacons lost
to N.C. State last Saturday 42-12 to fall to 2-8 overall and 0-6 in the ACC.
John Wolford completed 15-of-32 pass attempts for 161 yards for Wake Forest,
which has lost six straight.
The Demon Deacons’ offense has been horrid at best this season. They are dead
last in the ACC in total offense, averaging just 204 yard per game and are
averaging just over 10 points per game during their current slide.
Wolford leads what offense there is for Wake Forest. He’s completed 57.5
percent of his passes for 1,626 yards with nine touchdowns and 13
interceptions. The Demon Deacons average 171 yards per game through the air.
Serigne and EJ Scott lead a lackluster receiving corps. Serigne has a 42
catches for 408 yards with four scores. Scott has 42 receptions for a
team-best 434 yards and four touchdowns.
The ground game leaves a great deal to be desired, averaging just 34 yards on
the ground per game. Dezmond Wortham leads the rushing attack, if you could
even call it an attack, with 193 yards for the season.
The Hokies have won the last five games in the series dating back to 1984. The
last time Virginia Tech visited Winston-Salem was in 2006 and the Hokies came
away with a 27-6 win to hold an 8-2 all-time mark at BB&T Field, having not
lost there since 1970.
Tech has had pretty good success playing in the state of North Carolina,
winning 12 of its last 14 games. Since 2000, the Hokies are 19-3 in games
played in the Tar Heel State with the lone losses coming at the hands of ECU
in Charlotte in 2008, Clemson in Charlotte (2011 ACC Championship Game) and
2012 at North Carolina.
Under Frank Beamer, Tech is 22-6 in games played in North Carolina. Since
joining the ACC, the Hokies are 34-6 vs. teams from North Carolina, and 39-7
dating back to 1993.
It’s hard to see Wake Forest even putting up a fight in this contest. Virginia
Tech is playing for a bowl game and Wake is just trying to get out of its own
way. Anything less than a 20-point win will be a disappointment for the
Hokies.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Virginia Tech 35, Wake Forest 10
