NCAA Football Betting – High Stakes as Boise meets Virginia Tech

This isn’t just a very attractive opening-weekend matchup. It’s a game with national championship implications. Buckle up in the Beltway, football betting fans, as Boise State and Virginia Tech collide.  

Boise State Broncos vs. Virginia Tech Hokies 

Monday, September 6th – 8:10 PM ET 
FedEx Field, Landover, MD 
Broadcast: ESPN 

NCAA Football Betting Odds: Boise State -2.5, Virginia Tech +2.5 
Total: 50.5 

In a sport where the last game of the season – played in December – punches tickets to the BCS National Championship Game, it’s this – the first game on the slate – which could wind up being Boise State’s toughest test on the road to Glendale and a date with history. Boise State will be trying to become the first team from a non-automatic-qualifying conference to make the BCS National Championship Game.  

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From a Virginia Tech perspective, quarterback Tyrod Taylor has already gone on record as saying that a national championship – not just a third ACC crown in four seasons – is a priority for his Hokies. With that in mind, the first game for Tech this season will have a lasting impact on the team’s mood.  

A loss to Boise would definitely destroy any national championship dreams harbored in Blacksburg, but what’s just as worrisome is that a setback might hijack Tech’s mood and prevent the Hokies from playing their best in the ACC. Boise State isn’t the only team living on a high wire in this contest, even though the Broncos undoubtedly carry the bigger bulls-eye; the Hokies have, in their own right, thrown a lot of political capital and situational pressure into the pot.

One could debate the merits of speaking so openly about this contest (as opposed to staying mum), but it’s impossible to fault the desire which lies behind Virginia Tech’s explicit proclamations. 

NCAA Football Betting: What Boise State Has To Do To Win 

If Boise is to prevail after a cross-country journey to the Atlantic Seaboard, coach Chris Petersen and offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin will need to do what they always do: outflank the opposition with clever situational playcalling. The recipe for a Boise breakthrough will include the ability of the Broncos’ offensive braintrust to create confusion in a Hokie defense that will be missing seven starters from the 2009 unit.

Six starters have moved on for Tech, and a seventh starter, linebacker Barquell Rivers, is still recuperating from quadriceps surgery. Defenses are usually a few steps ahead of offenses in early-season collisions, but if ever there was a case in which that conventional wisdom could be overturned, this game could upset the apple cart. A fully intact Boise offense – led by the surgical signal caller Kellen Moore – could gouge the Gobblers as the “WAC Daddy” sets its sights on Bud Foster’s unproven gang of 11. 

NCAA Football Betting: What Virginia Tech Has To Do To Win 

If Virginia Tech is to win on Labor Day, the Hokies can’t expect to snooker a veteran Bronco defense that returns 10 starters. The formula for a Virginia Tech victory is not built on guile or shrewdness; it instead relies on athletic playmaking, stamina, and pure power. Frank Beamer’s boys want to make this clash a 60-minute slugfest. In the withering heat and humidity of the Mid-Atlantic region, the native Hokies should be able to lean on the Broncos’ front seven if they don’t have to overcome a multi-possession deficit.  

NCAA Football Betting Pick: Outlook & Pick 

Virginia Tech locates its identity in the realm of physical football, whereas the Boise way is built on the back of X-and-O excellence. Naturally, Boise could very well pull out a white-knuckle win late in the fourth quarter. Similarly, Virginia Tech just might use big-play passing to get an early lead and prevail.

All is possible in a season-opening game when teams are rusty, inexperienced, or a combination of the two (teams generally don’t settle into their identities until late September). However, all things being equal, it’s far more likely that these teams will win due to their foremost strengths, and lose due to their most glaring weaknesses.

Boise State wants to be the first team to land a thunderous punch, while Virginia Tech wants to be the last team standing at the end of a 15-rounder. 

The verdict: Boise will land the first punch, build a lead, and frustrate Tyrod Taylor. Broncos win. 

NCAA Football Betting Pick: Boise State -2.5