Boston College-Virginia Tech Football: ACC Championship Game Guide

Virginia Tech vs. Boston College

Time: 1 p.m.
Date: Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008
Place: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.
TV: ABC

Last Meeting

The Eagles beat the Hokies, 28-23 on Oct. 18 in Chestnut Hill...the Hokies did not score an offensive touchdown, but had two interception returns for touchdowns...the Hokies were held to 240 total yards, including 110 yards rushing by quarterback Tyrod Taylor...this was the game that turned me against offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring and was the inspiration for the "VT Offensive Word of the Day" which ran earlier this season on this very blog.

Trends

The Hokies have won their last two games...the Eagles have won four consecutive games...Boston College has won three of its last four meetings with the Hokies...the one VT win came in last year's ACC title game in Jacksonville.

What to Expect

There won't be a lot of offense, obviously. Both teams are good field, no hit.

What offense either team does have will come on the ground. The Hokies will try to establish the run between the tackles with Darren Evans, but we all saw how well that worked back in October. Again, the rushing yards will have to come from Tyrod Taylor, who looked good against the Wahoos and ran for over 100 yards running from his life the last time we played BC.

The Eagles are without Chris Crane, which is a blessing and a curse. Crane had a tendency to cost the Eagles games, but could also lead them to wins with his arm. He did both against the Hokies earlier in the year when he threw three picks, two of which went for touchdowns, but made enough key throws to win.

The Hokies are much better on kick and punt coverage than they were the last time these two teams played. That could come into play.

The Hokies Win If...

They don't turn the ball over and don't give up big plays on defense.

The Eagles Win If...

They establish the run with Montel Harris and force Tyrod Taylor to make mistakes.

Dot-dot-dots...

The Hokies have held their last five opponents under 250 total yards...the Hokies have not allowed a punt return of more than 12 yards since Rich Gunnell's 65-yard TD return Oct. 18...the Hokies had a season-high 176 passing yards in last week's game against UVa...after seven consecutive games with at least two field goals, Dustin Keys has made one in his last three games.