Virginia Tech on a 3-game roll in preparing to travel to play at Syracuse
Virginia Tech (5-3, 3-1 ACC) at Syracuse (5-2, 2-2), Saturday, 12 p.m. ET (The CW)
College Football Odds: Virginia Tech by 3 1/2.
Series record: Syracuse leads 11-9.
After a slow start, the Hokies have won three in a row and are starting to resemble the title contenders they were predicted to be. Having just one loss in conference play, Virginia Tech still has a shot at finishing first. Syracuse must recover from its disastrous 41-13 loss at Pitt or risk the 2024 season spiraling out of control under first-year coach Fran Brown. Syracuse is just 12-32 in November since joining the ACC in 2013 and would love to flip that script.
Virginia Tech’s secondary faces a receiving group getting a boost from the return of Oronde Gadsden II, who missed the second half of the Pitt game following a big hit in the second quarter.
Syracuse’s offensive line must give Kyle McCord time to throw and give leading rusher LeQuint Allen room to run. McCord, who leaves the pocket only when necessary, was harried throughout Syracuse's loss last week, while Allen was limited to 32 yards on 15 carries.
Virginia Tech: DL Antwaun Powell-Ryland has the potential to be a one-man wrecking crew against Syracuse offensive line that's has some holes. He leads the ACC with an average of 1 1/2 sacks per game, with 11 tackles for loss.
Syracuse: The spotlight will be on McCord, who is coming off the worst game of the season. He had five interceptions against Pitt – three of which were returned for touchdowns in the first half – and completed 58% of his passes, the lowest in his collegiate career.
Virginia Tech is one of four teams in the top half of the ACC in scoring offense and scoring defense. … The Hokies’ three losses have been by a combined 14 points. … The Hokies lead the conference in yards rushing per game with an average of 209.3. … Syracuse has had a winning record in November just twice since joining the conference, while going winless four times during that span. … McCord is the first Orange quarterback to have seven 300-yard passing games in a season. … His 2,481 yards passing are the highest for a Syracuse quarterback through the first seven games of a season in program history. … The Orange rushing attack ranks 127th nationally and 14th in the ACC.
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Game Information
2024 Atlantic Coast Conference Standings
| Team | CONF | OVR |
|---|---|---|
| Clemson | 5-0 | 6-1 |
| Miami | 4-0 | 8-0 |
| SMU | 4-0 | 7-1 |
| Pittsburgh | 3-0 | 7-0 |
| Virginia Tech | 3-1 | 5-3 |
| Louisville | 3-2 | 5-3 |
| Georgia Tech | 3-3 | 5-4 |
| Syracuse | 2-2 | 5-2 |
| Duke | 2-2 | 6-2 |
| Wake Forest | 2-2 | 4-4 |
| Virginia | 2-3 | 4-4 |
| Boston College | 1-3 | 4-4 |
| NC State | 1-3 | 4-4 |
| North Carolina | 1-3 | 4-4 |
| Stanford | 1-4 | 2-6 |
| Florida State | 1-6 | 1-7 |
| California | 0-4 | 4-4 |
NCAAF News