Virginia Tech at Maryland Game Point Spread; What Bowl Do You Prefer?

Posted by hokieg

November 11, 2009

maryland-logo I'm not going to blog about what has been the biggest news out of Blacksburg this week: the Virginia Tech Nike Pro Combat uniforms. You can find plenty of images, videos, and opinions on these fashion statements. I'll just add my 2 cents that no Virginia Tech football uniform should ever have anything but a maroon helmet. That is a must for me.

There are some other interesting things to comment on, like what Vegas thinks will happen in this weekend's game. Also, what bowl destination are you looking forward to?

Virginia Tech is somewhere between a 17 and 18 point favorite over Maryland from most of the lines I've read. Its interesting that Vegas consistently this year has had the Hokies either slightly over or under a 2 touchdown favorite over inferior teams like Marshall, BC, Duke, UNC, and ECU. There have been many spreads between -12 and -18.

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With the Hokies sporadic performances, including blow outs for BC and Marshall, and failure to win or cover over UNC and Duke, bettors likely will stay away from this game. It seems like a big number to me (I'll be happy if the Hokies can score 21-24 points or so), but Maryland has struggled this year and the Hokies have pounded them a few times in recent years.

What Bowl Destination?

First let me say that discussing what bowl the Hokies are going to attend in mind is a bit pre-mature because of the games left to be played. Sure, the games against Maryland, NC State, and Virginia are against ACC bottom half teams for 2009, but the Hokies are not without flaws and losses are not out of the question. As we saw against Duke and UNC, conference games against inferior teams this year can be close or even losses.

But let's assume for a minute that the Hokies do as expected and win these 3 games and finish 9-3. At that point I would think both the Chik-fil-A bowl in Atlanta on New Year's Eve and the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville on New Year's Day would be options for the Hokies. Each has their pros and cons.

The Chik-fil-A Bowl is considered the premier non-BCS bowl for the ACC as its in Atlanta and against a quality SEC opponent. But are we ready to go to Atlanta for a 3rd time this year?

As an alternative, the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville is the destination that is everything Atlanta is not. Jax is not a place most Hokies want to return to, but it is (relatively) warm, its a New Year's Day bowl, and what if the opponent is Notre Dame? Remember, everytime we get excited about playing Notre Dame re-enforces the reasons why the media and bowls treat them the way they do.

What's your preference, Atlanta or Jacksonville?