Well I'm on my way to Nebraska, currently in Chicago's O'Hare Airport waiting on a connecting flight. Lots of Hokies on their way to Lincoln for this weekend's tilt. Should be an fun weekend and a great game. Like most, I'm pretty clueless as to what to expect from these two teams. Both have strengths and weaknesses, and a result in either direction probably wouldn't surprise anyone.
This post also has my "Locks of the Week".
Most previews I've read describe the Nebraska squad as a balanced team. Their offense throws it as well as it runsit. Their defense is much improved after being simply awful in 2007. The have massive offensive linemen, and have good kick coverage teams. They will also off course have an electric home field advantage.
I generally am of the opinion that VT shines in big games on the road against big teams in the regular season. The game last year vs. LSU changed that. My fear for this game is that it has a similar vibe. Now don't get me wrong, Nebraska has nowhere the talent as the National Champs from last year, but the night game, on the road, early in the season, struggling offense, a lot feels the same. VT needs to come in a battle.
This is a great weekend of college football. As for my "Locks", results:
Last week: 3-3-1 Overall: 3-3-1
This week's picks:
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Miami -7.5 over UNC
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Cincinnati -10.5 over Akron
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Arkansas State -1 over Memphis
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UAB +25 over South Carolina
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Fresno State -7 over UCLA
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Toledo -19.5 over FIU
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San Jose St +3 over Hawaii
Go Hokies!
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
The Huskers are completely different from the team VT faced in 1996. They are not nearly as physical, and they are balanced on offense. They try to run the ball, but they aren’t physical enough to run it well. They do pass it efficiently, which is something they rarly did when they ran the option offense. Defensively they are better than people think. They have good talent, they are well coached, and they play hard. Bill Callahan had a couple of the best recruiting years ever for Nebraska. Those are the players that are on the field now. He was fired for not coaching them. Nebraska went 5-7 last year, but keep in mind one of the 5 wins was against Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. As bad as they were last year, they were still able to beat a good ACC team on the road. Forget about Nebraska. Look at VT closely. They could just as easily be 1-3. Their offense is flat out horrible. Their defense is less talented and experienced than the ones of recent past, and their special teams is merely average now. I don’t believe the program is crumbling, but this is going to be a down year for the Hokies. If they want to beat NU they need to focus on the game in 2009 because they are going to get woodsheded in this one. On paper this is a blowout. Of course if they played games on paper USC would have pounded Oregon State. Nebraska is very good. They aren’t great, but they are very good. They do almost everything well. Only the junkies of college football know this right now, but a lot more will see it after Saturday night. On a neutral field this is a ten point game, but a night game on TV in Lincoln, things are about to get ugly. NU 34, VT 13
Well, might want to tailgate extra hard based on that preview.
I think our defense is coming together and can be pretty dominant soon. Plus, i don’t think away games affect VT much.
so I’m a bit more optimistic, but still probably expect a loss.