Lane Stadium has a Week 1 contest on tap for Monday as the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Virginia Tech Hokies play their season openers.
Ohio State at Virginia Tech
When: 8:00 PM ET, Monday, September 7, 2015
Where: Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, Virginia
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN. LINE: Ohio State -14
PREDICTION: Ohio State 26, Virginia Tech 24
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Oddsmakers currently have the Buckeyes listed as 14-point favorites versus the Hokies, while the game’s total is sitting at 54.
Senior quarterback Michael Brewer is striving to be more consistent this season after throwing 15 interceptions to go with 2,692 yards and 18 touchdowns last season. Senior running back J.C. Coleman (533 yards in 2014) won the starting gig and injury-prone junior Trey Edmunds will also get some work, while sophomore receiver Isaiah Ford (56 receptions, six touchdowns) and sophomore tight end Bucky Hodges (45 catches, seven touchdowns) are solid targets. The top player on the defense is junior cornerback Kendall Fuller (eight career interceptions), who is on his way to becoming the fourth brother in his family to be selected in the NFL Draft and each of them (Vincent, Corey, Kyle) also starred at Virginia Tech.
Last time out for Virginia Tech, they were a 33-17 winner as they battled Cincinnati on the road. Virginia Tech covered in the match as a 2-point underdog, while 50 combined points moved the game UNDER for totals bettors.
Team record: 7-6 SU,6-7 ATS
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Virginia Tech’s last 8 games
Virginia Tech is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Virginia Tech is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games at home
There are no questions at running back with title game MVP Ezekiel Elliott back for his junior campaign. Elliott rushed for 696 yards and eight touchdowns in the Buckeyes’ final three contests last season and totaled 1,878 rushing yards – second in school history behind Eddie George’s 1,927 in 1995 – and 18 rushing touchdowns. The defense absorbs a hit for the opener due to the suspension of 2014 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Joey Bosa (a junior end who had 13.5 sacks in 2014) but still has plenty of talent in senior defensive tackle Adolphus Washington (10.5 tackles for losses), senior weak-side linebacker Joshua Perry (team-best 124 tackles), sophomore strong-side linebacker Darron Lee (7.5 sacks) and sophomore cornerback Eli Apple (three interceptions).
Ohio State won its last outing, a 42-20 result against Oregon on January 12. Ohio State covered in that game as a 6-point underdog, while the 62 combined points took the game UNDER the total.
Team record: 14-1 SU,10-5 ATS
Current Streak: won 13 straight games.
Ohio State is 9-4 ATS in its last 13 games
Ohio State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Ohio State’s last 14 games
Ohio State is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
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