The ACC has its first Thursday night conference matchup of the season, with the Syracuse Orange traveling to Blacksburg, Va., to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies. Both teams are looking to secure bowl game berths.
Syracuse is 4-3 on the season but is still searching for its first conference win after getting blown out in three straight games by Clemson, North Carolina, and Florida State. Syracuse was on a bye week last week, hoping to regroup before the end of their season.
Virginia Tech is 3-4 but is 2-1 in conference play after beating Pitt and Wake Forest. The Hokies also are coming off of a bye week but enter this game with some momentum on their side after their 30-13 win over Wake Forest.
What Channel Airs the Syracuse-Virginia Tech Game?
Syracuse @ Virginia Tech
- Start Time:Â 7:30Â p.m. ET
- Channel:Â ESPN
- Odds:Â Virginia Tech -3
- Over/Under Total: 47
Syracuse’s offense got absolutely shellacked by Florida State’s defense in its last outing. Syracuse mustered 261 yards of offense and had to punt nine times. The Orange had just six plays in FSU territory by halftime.
Quarterback Garrett Shrader completed just nine of 21 passes for 99 yards. Normally an effective runner, Shrader amassed -10 yards on seven carries all game.
The bye week came at the optimal time for the Orange, who needed a hard reset. Without Oronde Gadsden II, the Orange have lacked a real receiving threat, and teams are picking up on it. While Syracuse just played its toughest stretch of the season, the offense needs to find its playmakers if they want to make a second straight bowl game.
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Sophomore running back LeQuint Allen has stepped up in a big way over the last few games for Syracuse, rushing for 110 yards on Florida State. Allen is top five in the ACC in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.
He’ll need to continue to show up against a Virginia Tech defense allowing the second-most rushing yards per game in the ACC at 192.6. However, in both of Virginia Tech’s conference wins, they have only allowed 38 and 35 rushing yards.
Watch for Virginia Tech pass rusher Antwaun Powell-Ryland in this one. His 29 pressures are tied for third in the ACC, and he leads the conference with seven sacks on the season. The Florida transfer is also tied for second in run stops among the conference’s edge rushers.
Syracuse will need to lean on that run game, as Virginia Tech quietly has one of the best passing defenses in the ACC. The Hokies are giving up just 171.6 passing yards a game, best in the conference and eighth overall nationally.
Cornerbacks Mansoor Delane and Dorian Strong are one of the conference’s best duos, and Georgia Southern transfer Derrick Canteen is just as productive behind them as well. Syracuse has been searching for answers in the passing game, but it feels pretty unlikely they’ll find them in this matchup.
Virginia Tech’s offense is going to have to sustain drives to take some of the pressure off of their defense, something the Hokies have struggled to do all season. The Hokies turned the offense over to transfer quarterback Kyron Drones after Grant Wells struggled to start the season, and Drones has responded by throwing for over 1,000 yards and six touchdowns in his last five starts.
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Drones had his best outing of his career against Wake Forest, putting up over 300 total yards and two touchdowns on the Demon Deacons. Drones was sacked just once in that game. The former Baylor Bear leads the Hokies in rushing yards and touchdowns as well.
Wide receiver Jaylin Lane is one of the fastest players in the conference and leads Virginia Tech’s receiving corps. The transfer from Middle Tennessee State is fourth in the ACC in receiving touchdowns and yards after the catch.
Syracuse has been effective at getting to the quarterback all season, and Virginia Tech’s offensive line has struggled in pass protection all season long. Pass rushers Derek McDonald and Caleb Okechukwu could be in for big games against an offensive line allowing the third-most pressures in the ACC.
This ACC matchup will come down to which team holds up better at the line of scrimmage offensively. If Virginia Tech can keep Drones clean, he’s shown an ability to dice up defenses, and their passing game can force Syracuse to lean off of the running game in order to keep up.
If Syracuse is getting whatever it wants on the ground offensively against Virginia Tech, this could be a long game for the Hokies with how diverse Syracuse’s rushing scheme is. This should be an entertaining game, nonetheless, with two teams searching for momentum into the final stretch of their seasons.
