Four of the team's writers offer up their picks for who claims tomorrow's Week 10 clash.
Tonight marks Virginia Tech's eighth contest of the season. At 3 p.m. ET, the Hokies take on No. 16 Louisville in their sixth home contest.Although the Hokies are riding off a gutsy double overtime victory over Cal, I think it is unlikely that they will be able to pull off the upset win over Louisville.
Virginia Tech is at its best when it can run the ball effectively, and it might be difficult to do so against a Cardinals defense that ranks fourth in the ACC, allowing 105.3 rushing yards a game. Expect Louisville to play with urgency since this is a must-win game for the Cardinals to keep any hope of an ACC title game opportunity alive. I think the rowdiness of Lane Stadium will keep this game close, but I think Louisville will be leaving Blacksburg with a victory Saturday afternoon.There are so many parts of this Cardinals' offense that can take over the game. Miller Moss fit perfectly into Jeff Brohm's system. Chris Bell has stepped up as the top pass catcher after the departure of Ja'Corey Brooks. Caullin Lacey has worked well as Bell's complement. While the passing attack could heat up at any time, that's not what the Hokies should be dialed in on. The last time Virginia Tech faced Louisville, it was Isaac Guerendo who gashed them for 146 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Isaac Brown is an even greater threat. He's one of the elite backs in the country. Truly a do-it-all runner, Brown has proven success in different game plans and is the x-factor of Louisville's offense. Philip Montgomery is confident on the heels of a 357-yard performance from his run game last Friday. Kyron Drones needs to carry the momentum into a matchup where the Hokies are heavy underdogs. Isaac Brown seems like a mismatch against a defense that has allowed some big performances to strong rushing attacks. The win against Cal showed this team's upside, but the Cardinals may be too strong for their momentum to be a factor.While I believe that the Hokies will notch some form of rushing success against the Cardinals, Louisville is just too tall a task for Tech to topple. I think that the Hokies will hang tough for a quarter before the Cardinals pull away with a resounding second-frame effort. I have Louisville winning in a similar manner to the two teams' last matchup in 2023, though the margin or Tech's points isn't as harsh.With the defensive front advantage against Cal, led by Kemari Copeland, that momentum should transfer into the ranked matchup this week. I think this game is closely contested and low scoring throughout, as the defensive line shines again. Another strong surge defensively, and the Hokies could be taking down their second straight conference opponent. Where Louisville shines is its stout defense, in the conference, the Cardinals have both a top four pass and rush defense, which gets opposing offenses off the field quickly. String together long offensive drives to tire down this Louisville defense and force the offense to have to contend, and we could see the same result as they suffered earlier in October against the Virginia Cavaliers.Thomas is a sophomore at Virginia Tech majoring in multimedia journalism with a minor in creative writing. He currently works with Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech's student-run newspaper, as a staff writer for its sports section. In addition, he also writes for 3304 Sports as a staff writer and on-air talent, as well as Aspiring Journalists at Virginia Tech as a curator. You can find him on X: @thomashughes_05.
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