East Carolina vs. Virginia Tech

The #9 ranked Hokies begin their journey to an ACC Championship this weekend by hosting the East Carolina Pirates. The gamblers are keeping the spread around -27.5 points in this debut and I'll be honest: it has me more confused than a Miss Teen SC contestant.



I usually avoid taking teams favored by such heavy odds. But Virginia Tech has always been able to put points on the board. They put atleast 27 points on the board in 6 games last season. They beat their season opener against Northeastern 38-0 last year and then blanked Duke 36-0 two weeks later.

Then there are the intangibles..

The Polytechnic Institute has had several tragedies in the news over the past few months. A campus shooting, a carbon monoxide leak, and a black sheep have hurt a campus that, from the few of its alumni that I know, have a pride and loyalty that rivals the marines. Their home game on September 1st will be more than just a season opener, but will be a chance for a following to come together.

So what's Skip Holtz to do?

Luckily, he brings back every starter on both sides of the line and most of their 2nd string.

Unfortunately, Holtz had to suspend his projected starter Rob Kass for blowing a .19 blood alcohol test this past Saturday.

Dev's pick: The Hokies cover 27.5 in a game that begins their path to the BCS and Frank Beamer reconfirms that he's one of the best football coaches in the nation.