The Virginia Tech Hokies and the Florida State Seminoles meet Saturday in college football action from Doak Campbell Stadium. Virginia Tech is fresh off a matchup versus Pittsburgh. In that one the Hokies won by 17 points. As for Florida State, they’re coming off an open week. The Seminoles last appeared in an overtime win versus Clemson. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.

Virginia Tech Hokies 

The Hokies got off to a good start this year with a 36-17 win over Old Dominion. Virginia Tech hit the skids over the next three games, falling to Purdue 24-17, Rutgers 35-16 and Marshall 24-17. In the loss to the Herd, Virginia Tech QB Kyron Drones had 160 pass yards and two rushing scores. Benji Gosnell added four catches for 52 yards. 

Back on Saturday versus Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech posted 14 points in both the second and third quarters on the way to a 38-21 win. The Hokies got 228 yards and three scores from Drones, and Bhayshul Tuten led the rush on 109 yards. Drones added two rushing scores himself, and threw four completions and a TD to Da’Quan Felton among his 81 yards. 

Virginia Tech Hokies Team Facts

Virginia Tech has lost seven of its last eight road games.
Virginia Tech has failed to cover the spread in each of its last 10 matches when playing with a rest disadvantage.
Virginia Tech has lost the first half in each of its last seven road games against conference opponents.
Each of Virginia Tech’s last four October games against AP-ranked teams have gone OVER the total points line.

Florida State Seminoles

Over on the Florida State side, they’ve had a couple of close calls this year so far but the record is looking great at 4-0. The Seminoles kicked off their year with a 45-24 win over LSU, then came a 66-13 blowout win over Southern Miss. Florida State followed that up with a tense 31-29 road win over Boston College. 

The Seminoles had another close escape in a road matchup versus Clemson in their last outing on September 23. Florida State bagged a TD in overtime to push out a hard-fought 31-24 victory. QB Jordan Travis finished with 289 yards and two scores, while Johnny Wilson had five catches for 94 yards to lead the receivers. 

Florida State Seminoles Team Facts

Florida State has won each of its last 13 games against non-AP-ranked teams.
Florida State has covered the spread in each of its last four matches at Doak Campbell Stadium when playing with a rest advantage.
Florida State has won the first half in four of its last five games against conference opponents.
Each of Florida State’s last five games against non-AP-ranked teams at Doak Campbell Stadium have gone OVER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

Florida State ranked 3rd among FBS teams for Q1 points per game last season (10.9).
Florida State ranked 12th among FBS teams for H1 points per game last season (20.2).
Virginia Tech was one of only eight FBS teams to lose 3+ games when leading after Q3 last season.
Virginia Tech was one of only 27 FBS teams to lose 2+ games when leading after Q3 last season.

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’ll probably stick with Florida State in this one. The line’s pretty thick though, so I probably won’t mess with it. The Seminoles have had some tough matchups already this season, and they’ve passed the tests so far. In the OT win over Clemson, Florida State managed a tepid 311 total yards (22 rushing), 16 first downs and 4-of-13 on third-down tries. The Seminoles were able to take care of the ball on zero turnovers however, and they stopped Clemson’s offense when it mattered. Florida State has had plenty of time to prepare and rest ahead of this matchup, so they should be ready for the Hokies. 

Speaking of Virginia Tech, on Saturday they didn’t have a ton of issues versus Pitt, holding the Panthers to just nine first downs and 2-of-10 on third-down tries. The Hokies have 17 or fewer points in three of their five games this year though (all losses), and it’s not going to get any easier here.