2011 Virginia Tech Hokies Football: Va. Tech @ Wake Forest

Admit it: You didn’t expect a Virginia Tech-Wake Forest football game to be this interesting or meaningful. Everyone expected Virginia Tech to be a factor in the 2011 ACC race, but as week seven dawns, guess which team is right there with Clemson at the top of the ACC Atlantic Division? No, it’s not Florida State. It’s the team that dumped the Seminoles this past weekend. We’ll see what happens in an intriguing encounter at Groves Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Virginia Tech is on an emotional high after beating Miami 38-35 in one of the most exciting games to grace Lane Stadium in a long time, but the Hokies are traveling to face a Wake Forest team that is coming off a huge win of its own, having knocked off Florida State to move to 3-0 in the ACC, 4-1 overall, with the only loss being a heartbreaking overtime loss at Syracuse after quarterback Tanner Price was injured.

Price is the key to Wake’s offense; the Deacs are a poor rushing team, averaging only 112 yards per game, which puts them among the bottom 20 teams in the nation. Price is 101-of-162 as a passer on the season for 1,352 yards. He loves to get the ball to Chris Givens, who has established himself as one of the top receivers in the ACC, with 33 catches for 599 yards and five scores. Josh Harris runs the ball in the misdirection running game, and has 91 carries for 412 yards and two touchdowns.

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The Deacs face a Virginia Tech defense that is not one of coordinator Bud Foster’s better units, though it’s still, in all likelihood, the top defense in the ACC. Tech’s defense is giving up only 16.3 points a game, though its schedule so far has been pretty soft. Against the two teams they’ve played who have a pulse, Clemson and Miami, the Hokies have given up 23 and 35 points. The Hokies have several excellent defenders Wake will need to account for, including Bruce Taylor, who has 40 tackles and 4 tackles for loss. Five other Hokies also have at least 4 tackles for loss – Tariq Edwards, Kyle Fuller, J.R. Collins, Derrick Hopkins, and James Gayle. Each of Collins’ 5.5 tackles for loss is a sack.

Tech sophomore quarterback Logan Thomas had his coming-out party last week against Miami after an awful performance against Clemson. He was 23-of-25 passing for 310 yards and three scores with no interceptions, and he delivered the game winning 19-yard touchdown run with 56 seconds left in regulation to save Tech from a damaging defeat. On the season, Thomas is 98-of-157 for 1,196 yards with seven touchdowns and five picks. Danny Coale, Jarrett Boykin, and D.J. Coles have all caught at least 19 balls this season and have combined for nearly 850 total yards, while Marcus Davis also adds 216 yards on only 12 catches. Of course, Virginia Tech loves to run the ball in a power running game, and David Wilson has been outstanding with 767 yards on 130 carries with five touchdowns. However, Virginia Tech needs to be balanced on a general level, and this week in particular; it will face a Jim Grobe defense that does not have the stars that the Wake Forest coach has had in the past, but it’s a defensive unit that is quite disciplined.

This game will show whether Wake Forest can be a real player in the ACC race after knocking off Florida State. A decisive loss here would give credence to the notion that its 3-0 league record was more the product of two games against ACC bottom-feeders North Carolina State and Boston College.

Virginia Tech Hokies @ Wake Forest Demon Deacons Football Preview