Virginia Tech Football: 5 Keys for Hokies in Homecoming Game vs. Boston College

Virginia Tech has had a pretty good week. They got a quality win against Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. Logan Thomas proved that his performance against Miami wasn’t a fluke, and David Wilson showed he could run circles around the ACC with only one shoe.

All of these things helped the Hokies move up in the rankings. Virginia Tech is ranked 16th in the AP and 14th in the Coaches’ Poll.  The most surprising ranking this week was the BCS where the Hokies are ranked 12th.

Week 8 should go as well for the Hokies as the past two. It is homecoming weekend in Blacksburg, and the Hokies are taking on Boston College. The Eagles have had a rough season, amassing a record of 1-5 (0-3 in ACC play), but they seem to always play the Hokies tough. As long as Virginia Tech doesn’t look past Boston College, they should cruise to an easy win.

The following is a list of five things that Virginia Tech needs to do in order to win their homecoming in blowout fashion.

5. David Wilson Must Establish Himself Early

Virginia Tech struggled on offense against Wake Forest in the first quarter. They didn’t score any points, and they couldn’t move the ball. The Hokies were able to get it going in the second quarter, scoring three touchdowns.

One of the main differences between the two quarters was the play of David Wilson. Wilson is the spark plug of this offense. It doesn’t start unless Wilson sends a shock through the system. The Hokies fail if they are one-dimensional.

Wilson has rushed for over 100 yards in six of the seven games that Virginia Tech has played. It should be seven of eight after this week.

4. Jarrett Boykin Needs to Play Well

The title of this slide might be a little deceiving. Boykin had a career day against Wake Forest. He doesn’t need to follow that up with a similar performance.

Boykin caught seven balls last week for 149 yards and a touchdown. If he can do half of that, then the Hokies will be in good shape. The receiver looked out of character earlier this season. He was Tyrod Taylor’s big-play wide out, but he wasn’t putting up the same statistics for Logan Thomas.

It appears that Thomas and Boykin are now on the same page, and Hokies’ fans couldn’t be happier.

3. Michael Branthover Has to Keep It Up

Scott Demler was a terrible punter for Frank Beamer, but there was a suitable punter somewhere in the wings. His name is Michael Branthover, and he has had two solid punting games this year. He has shown some inconsistencies, but he has the ability to punt the ball over 50 yards. If he can become consistent, then he could be a potent weapon for Coach Beamer.

Branthover has punted nine times this season for a solid 42.1-yard average. His long punt of the season was 58 yards against Wake Forest. It now appears that the Hokies may have a good punter for the next few years.

2. Alonzo Tweedy Must Answer the Call

Bud Foster and Virginia Tech got some bad news last week—starting linebacker Jeron Gouveia-Winslow will miss the rest of the season. He had played good football up until he sustained the injury against Miami. Foster is now handing the reins over to Alonzo Tweedy.

Tweedy has 18 total tackles this season and one sack. His speed may be his biggest asset, but his experience may be his biggest liability. Tweedy will get all he can handle for the rest of the season. It started against Wake Forest, and it will continue against Boston College. He is a solid player now, but he will be even better by season’s end.

1. Logan Thomas Makes It 3 in a Row

One good performance could be a fluke, two in a row will make some believers but three in a row sends a message to the entire conference and in some cases the nation. Clemson’s QB Tajh Boyd accomplished this in a three-week span against Auburn, Florida State and the Hokies.

Thomas is now attempting to do the same thing. The young QB didn’t play well in the first quarter against Wake Forest. He completed 2-of-7 passes, but he eventually turned it around. He accounted for four touchdowns against Wake. If he plays well again against the Eagles, then the Hokies will win the game and a message will have been sent to the rest of the conference.

That message will say, “Logan Thomas is for real and dangerous.”