Virginia Tech vs Florida State CFB Odds, Betting Preview 9/3/18

College football betting preview for Monday evening and we will see a pair of teams from the ACC duke it out. Tonight the Virginia Tech Hokies will battle the Florida State Seminoles at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. These teams met last back in 2012 and Florida State won that game on the road by a score of 28-22.  

Lines:  Florida State -7,5 … Over/Under 55

A Look At Virginia Tech

The Virginia Tech Hokies went 9-4 last year, but they did lose to Oklahoma State in the Camping World Bowl. This year they have  12 starters back and should be on their way to another bowl bid. The offense looks like its all set with seven starters back from a group that put up 28.2 ppg a year ago. Josh Jackson is back at QB after throwing for 2991 yards with 20 TDs and nine INTs, while also rushing for 324 yards six TDs. He makes the offense go and has three of his top four targets back from last year. Still, they do have one of the worst wide receiver corps in the league.

The ground game does have top running back Deshawn McClease returning, but he only rushed for 530 yards and three TDs and they have the 11th rated offensive line in the ACC. This offense could struggle some this year. The defense allowed just 14.8 ppg last year, but they could take a step back as they have just five starters back on that side of the ball. They did recruit two highly touted defensive players, but still, this defense will not be as good as last year. That could be a problem for them as they are about to face a good FSU offense.  

A Look At Florida State

The Florida State Seminoles had a string of five seasons with at least ten wins snapped last year as they went just 7-6. Jimbo Fisher is no longer at the helm and in steps Willie Taggart, who is an excellent coach. He will be tasked with returning them to national prominence. The Seminoles had their issues on offense last year as they put up just 27.8 ppg, which was over a TD fewer than they averaged the year before. They have eight starters back, with the most important one being quarterback Deondre Francois, who was lost for the year to injury in game one of the season. The wide receiver corps has its top returning pass catcher in Nyqwan Murray and the group as a whole rate as 4th best in the league.

Cam Akers is back at running back and ran for 1024 yards and seven TDs as a freshman last year. He should easily top those numbers This offense will again top 30 ppg for the year. The offense will be potent, and it will have to be as the defense took some hits. The Seminoles have just one of their top six tacklers back from last year, and they return only 42.8% of their tackles overall. That is 124th in the nation. They have recruited four defensive backs that rate a 31st or better in the country and that secondary is 3rd best in the ACC and 13th best in the nation. They will be going up against a weak WR corp in this one. The Noles will be a solid team and they are 14-2 in their history against the Hokies. Still, this is game one and both defenses should struggle, which does give the Hokies a chance.   

Trends

Virginia Tech is:

5-2 ATS in their last 7 games in September

1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games

The Under is 4-1 in their last 5 road games

Florida State is:

4-0 ATS in their last 4 games on grass

0-6-2 ATS in their last 8 conference games

The Over is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings