Virginia Tech has struggled so far this season and only has a record of 2-2, while N.C. State is ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since the Phillip Rivers Era. The only way this matchup could be bigger on Saturday is if both teams played in the same ACC division. That being said, when Virginia Tech travels down to Raleigh to take on N.C. State the sell-out crowd should be in for show.
Here are two teams that don't play great defense, but have great offensive players. N.C. State has the best quarterback, maybe player in the conference in Russell Wilson. As long as Wilson is healthy and he's on the field the Wolfpack have a chance to beat anyone.
Virginia Tech needs to get better play out of their currently embattled offensive line. Right now, the Hokies are getting pushed around up front and it's affecting the rushing game and the passing game. Despite limited time to throw, Tyrod Taylor has been very efficient so far this year.
Taylor has improved with his plays down the field after missing a few open receivers in the first two weeks of the season, and he will need to play a near perfect game to beat N.C. State this Saturday. Why? Well, expect N.C. State to score no less than 40 points.
If you saw Virginia Tech's game against Boston College, you saw a team that couldn't tackle, had blown coverage in the secondary and they were playing an offense that had poor play from their quarterback. If those three things continue against N.C. State, which the Hokies have given nobody reason to think otherwise, the Wolfpack will score at will.
That means the Hokies offense will have to score touchdowns to win this game. The only benefit of kicking 3-to-4 field goals a game is that Chris Hazley, the Hokies kicker, has received a lot of in-game action and has seemed to grow comfortable kicking the ball.
However, if the Hokies want to beat the better teams in the ACC they will need to learn how to score touchdowns. They did it against Boise State and in the second half against East Carolina, but the two other games this season the offense has stalled in the redzone or turned the ball over at the most critical point on the field.
This game is going to be very high scoring, unless Bud Foster knows how to work miracles. Don't be blinded by the shutout Tech posted against Boston College. The Eagles struggled to score because they're not a good offensive team. Boston College left a number of points on the field, and the Hokies were lucky they weren't playing a top rated offense.
Virginia Tech will need to run the ball effictively, but it's still unsure if they'll have Ryan Williams back from his hamstring injury. The last two games, David Wilson has outplayed Darren Evans and it's probably because of Wilson's speed. Wilson has the ability to make more guys miss, and when there's constantly defenders in the backfield that's a good attribute to have.
Foster has the Hokies' defense moving in the right direction, but they are going to continue to give up big plays. They just have to limit them against N.C. State in order to win. That being said, it's going to be tough for Virginia Tech to come out on top in this one, and Russell Wilson and company are rolling on all cylinders right now.
This game will be a measuring stick for both teams, and we'll see how each team responds to their biggest conference challenge so far. Look for Wilson to have well over 300 yards through the air and multiple touchdown passes, while Virginia Tech's offensive line continues to struggle.
N.C. State will win this one in a shootout.
Wolfpack 42, Hokies 31
