Virginia Tech Opens As Slight Favorites For Week 8 Tilt Against Clemson

BLACKSBURG — Following a 34-24 victory over Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech football will open its Week 8 tussle with Clemson as slight favorites.

The Hokies (5-2, 2-2 ACC), who halted a two-game skid with their 10-point victory over the Yellow Jackets, enter the contest as 1.5-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Virginia Tech's clash this Saturday against the Tigers in Clemson will be its first in Memorial Stadium since 2012, and a victory would mark the Hokies' first in Clemson since 2007.

Can the Hokies beat the Tigers?

Virginia Tech opened its season at 4-0 for the first time since 2017 with wins over VMI (73-3), Old Dominion (44-21), Maryland (35-26), and Boston College (21-14). Against the Keydets, the Hokies claimed their largest margin of victory (70 points) since the 1922 season, while the Maryland game snapped Tech's 15-game losing streak against non-conference Power Four opponents — one that hadn't been broken since the 2017 season opener vs. West Virginia.

The Hokies' ACC opener was a tightly-contested tussle in Chestnut Hill, Mass., that ended in a seven-point Virginia Tech victory. Sophomore running back Jeffrey Overton Jr. totaled a career-best 209 rushing yards, including 140 in the final quarter. His 76-yard house call gave the Hokies a 21-14 lead, one they never relinquished.

Virginia Tech dropped its ACC home opener to Pitt the following Friday, however, despite zipping out to a 14-0 lead. The Hokies conceded a 35-10 run to the Panthers and, at one point, trailed by as many as 11. In spite of a nine-point rally, Virginia Tech fell by two points after fifth-year kicker John Love's 36-yard game-deciding try was no good.

The Hokies lost on the road the following week to Cal, conceding 321 yards to Golden Bears backup quarterback Jackson Brousseau — the second-most in Brousseau's career. Virginia Tech entered the final quarter with a 14-13 lead, and though it conceded a touchdown, quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown to take a 20-19 advantage with 1:15 remaining. Cal marched down the field in 57 seconds, though, scoring with 18 ticks on the clock after a six-play drive. Virginia Tech's last-gasp sequence worked all the way down to the 7-yard line, but Grunkemeyer's toss to a hotly contested Luke Reynolds was incomplete.

Virginia Tech bounced back Saturday in Lane Stadium with a 10-point win over Georgia Tech where the Hokies were up 24-3 at intermission. Grunkemeyer was 10-of-12 for 215 yards at the half, though he tabbed only 35 yards in the final 30 minutes of football. Wide receiver Que'Sean Brown caught six passes for a career-high 182 yards, though he only tabulated one 2-yard snag in the second half.

Grunkemeyer, meanwhile, totaled 250 passing yards and four combined touchdowns (three passing, one rushing). The junior transfer from Penn State has thrown for 1,984 yards, 15 touchdowns and two interceptions six games into his Virginia Tech career, while he's absorbed 18 sacks.

Georgia Tech starting signal-caller Alberto Mendoza was 11-of-18 in the first half for 118 passing yards and one pick against Virginia Tech, but his second-half output was a vast upgrade. In the final 30 minutes of game time, Mendoza completed 18 of his 20 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns.

Virginia Tech's clash against Clemson kicks off on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. After that, the Hokies have a bye week before they hit the road again for a Nov. 6 clash at SMU in Dallas, Texas.

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