No. 1 Ohio State at Virginia Tech, 8 p.m. ESPN
Saturday: 4-1 Overall: 7-1
Well, the hype is finally over. The speculation and guesswork are finally over. And I've seen a lot of it working in the sports department at the Richmond Times-Dispatch. It is almost game time and we can all stop looking into our crystal balls -- almost. Virginia Tech and defending national champ Ohio State clash in Blacksburg tonight in a nationally televised game that is one of the Hokies' biggest games in their history. RTD columnist Paul Woody only specifically pointed out two bigger games -- 1995 and 2000 Sugar Bowls against Texas and Florida State, respectively, in his article in today's paper. There might be some other games that were more significant, too, but this one is up there. The students were given the day off from class, so you know what that means: All day to party, get hyped, and get drunk. The crowd will be electric, there is no doubt.
The crowd will help the Hokies, but in the end, I don't think it will be enough. Ohio State is too good and too focused. It won the national title last season, but was denied a perfect season by losing to the Hokies -- at home no less. I think revenge is a real factor in this game. Ohio State is dealing with some adversity, with four players suspended for the game, the biggest being Joey Bosa, the star defensive end who racked up 21.5 tackles for loss and 13 sacks last season. The team is too talented, though, and can overcome the losses, despite the other three losses being at receiver/WR-RB hybrid positions. A couple names to look out for are true freshman Torrance Gray and Braxton Miller, the former Buckeyes QB who switched in the offseason to wideout. Cardale Jones, the true freshman QB who led the Buckeyes in the title game last year, or 2014's Big Ten freshman of the year J.T. Barrett will start for OSU. They both might play. Both are great options and in the past, coach Urban Meyer has shown he will use two QBs in effective ways. And then in the running game, Ezekiel Elliott has garnered Heisman buzz. He ran for more than 1,500 yards last season. Tech's defense will be very good this year and will probably do its part against the Buckeyes. However, has the Tech offense turned the corner with Michael Brewer under center? That's not something I'm sure of and I think that will end up being Tech's bugaboo at the end of the game. Just not quite scoring enough points to score the upset. It should be a great game to watch, though.
Ohio State 27, Virginia Tech 21
Saturday: 4-1 Overall: 7-1
Well, the hype is finally over. The speculation and guesswork are finally over. And I've seen a lot of it working in the sports department at the Richmond Times-Dispatch. It is almost game time and we can all stop looking into our crystal balls -- almost. Virginia Tech and defending national champ Ohio State clash in Blacksburg tonight in a nationally televised game that is one of the Hokies' biggest games in their history. RTD columnist Paul Woody only specifically pointed out two bigger games -- 1995 and 2000 Sugar Bowls against Texas and Florida State, respectively, in his article in today's paper. There might be some other games that were more significant, too, but this one is up there. The students were given the day off from class, so you know what that means: All day to party, get hyped, and get drunk. The crowd will be electric, there is no doubt.
The crowd will help the Hokies, but in the end, I don't think it will be enough. Ohio State is too good and too focused. It won the national title last season, but was denied a perfect season by losing to the Hokies -- at home no less. I think revenge is a real factor in this game. Ohio State is dealing with some adversity, with four players suspended for the game, the biggest being Joey Bosa, the star defensive end who racked up 21.5 tackles for loss and 13 sacks last season. The team is too talented, though, and can overcome the losses, despite the other three losses being at receiver/WR-RB hybrid positions. A couple names to look out for are true freshman Torrance Gray and Braxton Miller, the former Buckeyes QB who switched in the offseason to wideout. Cardale Jones, the true freshman QB who led the Buckeyes in the title game last year, or 2014's Big Ten freshman of the year J.T. Barrett will start for OSU. They both might play. Both are great options and in the past, coach Urban Meyer has shown he will use two QBs in effective ways. And then in the running game, Ezekiel Elliott has garnered Heisman buzz. He ran for more than 1,500 yards last season. Tech's defense will be very good this year and will probably do its part against the Buckeyes. However, has the Tech offense turned the corner with Michael Brewer under center? That's not something I'm sure of and I think that will end up being Tech's bugaboo at the end of the game. Just not quite scoring enough points to score the upset. It should be a great game to watch, though.
Ohio State 27, Virginia Tech 21
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