Virginia Tech vs. Rutgers
Fri., Dec. 28 – 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Orlando, Fla. – Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium
So what’s so bad with a trip to sunny Orlando, some visits to the Disney attractions, maybe a chance to lay out by the pool? Absolutely nothing … unless you’re Rutgers. Then this trip, nice as it is, still seems like a letdown.
The Scarlet Knights (9-3) were poised to claim the program’s first BCS bowl bid, but couldn’t finish, first falling at Pittsburgh 27-6, then being overtaken by Louisville 20-17 in a winner-take-all Big East showdown.
Rutgers should be motivated by the possibility of a 10-win season. And certainly its defense and the run-oriented offense of RB Jawan Jamison is enough.
Especially after Virginia Tech (6-6), which is in a strange place indeed after eight consecutive double-digit victory seasons, the only FBS team to do so. The Hokies needed to win their last two games just to qualify for the program’s 20th consecutive bowl game. Overall, the season has been an unqualified mess.
Strange, though. We see QB Logan Thomas rebounding from a disappointing individual season, somehow rallying his troops and pulling the upset. And for Rutgers, that would turn paradise into a perfectly miserable trip.
Opening point spread: Virginia Tech by 1
The pick: Virginia Tech 19, Rutgers 16
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