Boise St. Broncos at Virginia Tech Hokies Point Spread Picks

Opening Line: Boise St. -2 / Virginia Tech +2 Over/Under: O/U 50

Time: 8 PM EST Monday September 5, 2010 on ESPN/ESPN3

Boise State has their highest ranking ever and to stay in the top 10 they will have to beat Virginia Tech, who are ranked 10th in the nation. The Broncos return all but one starter and this game is HUGE for them, as they do not play in a BCS conference so if they lose to the Hokies they will likely not get a BCS bowl berth not to mention blowing their shot at a National Championship.

Last season the Broncos were 8-4 ATS and the Hokies were 7-5 ATS.

Virginia Tech will likely have the home field advantage and even though the game is being held at the Redskins' FedEx Field, in Maryland Virginia is much closer and they will have more fans at the game.

The Broncos are stacked on offense with returning QB Kellen Moore (3,536 yards 39 TD 3 INT last season) and RB Jeremy Avery (1,151 yards 6 TD last season). Moore has the entire starting WR corps back led by the duo Austin Pettis and Titus Young, who combined for 142 receptions and 24 TD last season

Last season Boise State was tied with Houston for the most points per game in the nation (42.2).

The Hokies have been known for their defense for the last several seasons, but they lost 7 starters from a unit that ranked 11th in the nation in pass defense and 9th in points allowed. There is an influx of young talent for the Hokies' defense and they will be tested in this game by a great Boise St. offense.

The Virginia Tech offense much stronger than they have been in some time led by duel threat QB (2,311 yards 13 TD 5 INT and 370 rushing yards 5 TD). Taylor does have solid targets in WR's Jarrett Boykin, Danny Coale and Dyrell Roberts, who last season combined for 92 catches and 10 TD's.

Luckily for the Hokies the Broncos do not have a great pass rush and that is key since the Virginia Tech offensive line is mediocre and last season ranked 87th in the nation in sacks allowed. However, they are solid in run blocking and that is very important.

The big guns for the Hokies are the RB's of Ryan Williams (1,655 yards 21 TD) and Darren Evans. Evans missed last season with a knee injury, but in 2008 he rushed for 1,265 yards and set the record for freshman rushing yards in the ACC before it was broke last season by Williams.

If the Hokies can play good defense and run the ball they will be in good shape and conversely if the Broncos can play good offense and defend the run they should win this game.

Game Prediction

Take the Hokies to cover this game 5Dimes