Key matchup
It’s been a trying year for Virginia Tech
(6-6), which win or lose in Orlando, will post its worst record since
going 2-8-1 in 1992. The Hokies can end the season on a positive note,
and a three-game winning streak, but it’s going to largely depend on
stopping Jawan Jamison and the Scarlet Knights’ running game.
Jamison
ran for 1,054 yard and four touchdowns this season, but the junior was
hampered by an ankle injury suffered on Nov. 10 against Army. He ended
that game with 999 yards but in the next three games averaged 34.3
yards, a stretch during which the Knights went 1-2.
He’s healthy
and will run into a Virginia Tech defense that’s improved, allowing 60.6
yards on the ground in its last three outings, including minus-15
against Florida State. The Hokies have done it with an aggressive
approach, racking up 14 sacks over that stretch and 22 since Oct. 13 vs.
Duke.
If linebackers Jack Tyler (112 tackles and 11 ½ for
loss), Bruce Taylor (5 ½ sacks) and Co. can help keep Jamison from
controlling the clock, it can help keep pressure off a Virginia Tech
offense that’s had its own struggles producing. Which brings us to …
Player to watch
Logan
Thomas. Hopes were high this preseason for the big bodied (6-foot-5,
260 pounds) Hokies quarterback, who was expected to showcase his talents
before bolting for the NFL. But the junior has struggled, throwing 17
TDs to 14 interceptions, completed just 52.6 percent of his passes and
ranks 85th in FBS with a 119.7 efficiency rating.
His uneven play
was only amplified due to the lack of a proven commodity at running
back – it was Thomas that led the Hokies with 528 rushing yards in what
was their first season since 2005 without a running back who had at
least 850 yards – or any help up front as a line that lost four seniors
from a year ago and dealt with injuries.
But Thomas has been
Virginia Tech’s offense this season and is going to have to look like
the Logan Thomas everyone expected if the Hokies are going to solve a
Knights defense, led by the Big East Defensive Player of the Year
Khaseem Greene, which allowed just 14.2 points per game (fourth
nationally).
Telling Stat: 20. Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer is
just the fourth coach to reach the postseason in at least 20 straight
year, joining Bobby Bowden (28 years), Tom Osborne (25) and Bear Bryant
(24).
Final Analysis
The Knights have one thing
working in their favor that the Hokies don’t: the ability to control the
clock and move the chains with a dependable running game. But with the
way Virginia Tech’s defense has rebounded, if this game comes down to
which QB can make the necessary plays, the potential Thomas brings is
more appealing than Gary Nova, who threw 12 picks in the last five
games.
The Pick: Virginia Tech 24, Rutgers 20
