College Football ATS Picks - West Virginia vs. Virginia Tech Game Preview

The Black Diamond Trophy is up for grabs once again. After more than a decade in the athletic facilities in Blacksburg, the West Virginia Mountaineers have a chance to win the trophy away from the Virginia Tech Hokies. West Virginia leads this series all-time 28-22-1, but did not have the better end of the series when Frank Beamer was the coach of Virginia Tech. This has traditionally been a low-scoring series, but fireworks could be in the air considering the two coaches that are patrolling the sidelines.

Watch this regular season Week 1 matchup live on Sunday, September 3, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. ET at FedExField in Landover, Maryland. The game will be broadcast on ABC.

College Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu

West Virginia +4
Virginia Tech -4
Over/Under 51.5

Odds Analysis

West Virginia put it all together last season. The Mountaineers went 10-3 and had their best season in five years, but were not good at all against the number. West Virginia went just 5-8 ATS and had trouble covering big numbers throughout the year. That poor performance continues a trend as head coach Dana Holgorsen is just 31-44-1 ATS since taking over in Morgantown.

The Hokies had a great first season under new head coach Justin Fuente. Fuente proved to be the right man to replace Beamer and led Virginia Tech to the ACC Championship Game in his first season on the job. His Hokies covered four straight down the stretch, including as a seven-point favorite against Arkansas in the Belk Bowl. That game will go down in Virginia Tech history as the Hokies fell behind 24-0 at the half, but then scored 35 unanswered in the second half to secure the win.

Player to Watch

Josh Jackson is going to get the nod as the Hokies starter in the season opener. Jackson didn’t play at all as a freshman last season, instead redshirting as Jerod Evans had a great year in Blacksburg. However, Jackson nearly won the quarterbacking job last season according to Fuente and he has had a full year to learn Fuente’s offense.

Although Jackson is raw, Fuente has been able to get a lot out of his quarterbacks. Evans was a JUCO transfer that put up great numbers in 2016 and Paxton Lynch tore up AAC defenses during his time in Memphis.

It will probably take some time for Jackson to grasp the intricacies of the offense at full speed, but Fuente knows how to slowly bring a young quarterback along. He is a dual threat quarterback and will be asked to run the ball often, perhaps even more than Evans did last season.

Matchup to Watch

West Virginia lost a lot from last year’s squad that won 10 games. The Mountaineers only return eight starters from that team and are bringing in a new quarterback to run the show themselves.

Will Grier was a star at Florida for the first half of the 2015 season, but saw his year cut short after he tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. Before that point, he led Florida to a high ranking and had begun to receive consideration as a darkhorse Heisman contender.

He will have his work cut out for him against a Virginia Tech defense that has held quarterbacks to a 50 percent or less completion percentage over the last five seasons. The Hokies return almost all their starters that filled their back seven last year and the secondary is the defense’s best unit.

Free ATS Pick

West Virginia has a brand new secondary, but Jackson might not be able to exploit that matchup. Virginia Tech doesn’t have great receivers and Jackson is totally untested.

However, the Hokies should be able to run on the Mountaineers. WVU loses all of its starting defensive linemen from last season and will start a couple underclassmen along its defensive front. That will be the difference in a Hokies win.

College Football Odds: Hokies 34, Mountaineers 24

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