Virgina Tech East Carolina Odds, Spread & NCAA Football Betting Line
August 28, 2008
The Virginia Tech Hokies kick off their season on Saturday, August 30th at 12 PM EST when they travel to Charlotte to take on the East Carolina Pirates. Last year Frank Beamer and company won their second ACC title in four years after racking up 11 wins. This year the team has their sights set on another conference title and then competing for the national title, but they’ll have to get past the Pirates first. East Carolina was second in the East Division of Conference USA after going 6-2 in the league and finishing the year 9-4 overall. Skip Holtz’s team is optimistic in their chances this year as well as most pundits predict them to finish near the top of Conference USA. The Pirates could have their hands full in their first home game of the season, as the Hokies have won six staight against them, including the emotional 17-7 victory in last year’s season-opener. JustBet has the Virginia Tech East Carolina spread set at Hokies -9.
On offense, Virginia Tech was marginal at best, but with six starters coming back to that side of the ball the team is optimistic their numbers will improve. The team had two solid quarterbacks a year ago, but with Sean Glennon earning the starting nod Beamer decided to give Tyrod Taylor another year by redshirting him. Last year Glennon completed 61% of his passes for almost 1800 yards and 12 scores. Glennon will have to break in some new receivers as the top four pass catchers from a year ago have left the team. The ground game will be filled with a youth movement as well since Branden Ore was dismissed from the team in the spring. Now it’s up to some freshman in Darren Evans, Josh Oglesby, and Ryan Williams to carry the load.
Defense sure isn’t a problem for Virginia Tech, but only four starters are back from last year. With Victor Harris returning at corner and Kam Chancellor back at safety, Beamer has to hope the team can relive some of the secondary magic that enabled the Hokies to return five interceptions for touchdowns in 2007. The front seven though probably won’t be as strong since three of their stars are gone. If you think Virginia Tech wins by double digits then bet the point spread at JustBet.
East Carolina has two talented quarterbacks in Patrick Pinkney and Rob Kass. Both players threw for more than 1,100 yards last year and 20 touchdowns in total. Pinkney will get the early nod as the starter since he is the more mobile option. His top target will be Jamar Bryant, who had 48 receptions for 704 yards in 2007. Brandon Simmons will have to find a way to replace star tailback Chris Johnson, who left for the NFL.
The strength of the East Carolina defense was their ability to create turnovers, with 31 takeaways last season and nine returning starters there are high hopes yet again. It all starts with the defense line with ends Zack Slate and CJ Wilson getting to the quarterback and forcing bad decisions. The linebackers aren’t quite as talented but they do have a pair of dependables in Pierre Bell and Quentin Cotton. The secondary is questionable, but will get help from the heat the line brings. Bet on East Carolina +9 at JustBet if you think they can keep this game close.
Predicted Score:
Virginia Tech 27
East Carolina 18
Look for our college football picks each week to cash in over the point spreads.
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