The ACC Coastal Division is always one that is tight all season long, and college football matchups like this one tend to go a long way in deciding which team is going to go to the ACC Championship Game later in the year. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Virginia Tech Hokies might be decided right at the outset of the season, as they are going to be duking it out with one another on the first Monday night of the season, as the two get started on Labor Day. Don’t miss our Labor Day NCAA football picks for this crucial clash in the ACC!

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. Virginia Tech Hokies Picks & Info
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. Virginia Tech Hokies Date: Monday, September 3rd
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. Virginia Tech Hokies Location: Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, VA
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. Virginia Tech Hokies Spread: Virginia Tech Hokies -7

The Ramblin’ Wreck averaged 316.6 yards per game last year on the ground, and obviously with the triple option attack, they’ll be up there again this year. They got 243 yards last year against the Hokies, but that wasn’t nearly enough, especially in the fourth quarter when the offense was just totally shut down. Bud Adams’ defense clearly learned what it was doing, and now, Virginia Tech has really had the entire offseason to prepare for facing this defense. QB Tevin Washington is back, and it’s always good to have the leaders of a triple option offense returning to your lineup. Even better is the fact that all five starting offensive linemen from a campaign ago are going to be back as well. Sure, WR Stephen Hill is gone, but G-Tech has always been able to make due with whatever receivers it has had to work with in the Head Coach Paul Johnson era.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. Virginia Tech Hokies Past Games (Since 1995)
2011: Virginia Tech 37 – Georgia Tech 26
2010: Virginia Tech 28 – Georgia Tech 21
2009: Georgia Tech 28 – Virginia Tech 23
2008: Virginia Tech 20 – Georgia Tech 17
2007: Virginia Tech 27 – Georgia Tech 3
2006: Georgia Tech 38 – Virginia Tech 27
2005: Virginia Tech 51 – Georgia Tech 7
2004: Virginia Tech 34 – Georgia Tech 20

That defense that we spoke about for Head Coach Frank Beamer and Coach Adams is returning a whopping nine players, and there is a lot of NFL talent in that bunch. Like we said, the Hokies figured out the triple option at the end of last year’s game, and with the full offseason to work, especially with the majority of the players back from that team that did so well in the fourth quarter last year, we are looking for good things. QB Logan Thomas is going to be the leader of an offense that only returns three players. The big question is going to be at tailback, as gone are both the team’s leading rusher from a season ago, RB David Wilson, and his backup from last year, RB Josh Oglesby. There is only one member left from the offensive line and just one receiver out of the four that were regularly in the rotation. Needless to say, offensively, it could be a slow start to the season if the running game can’t get going.

Georgia Tech @ Virginia Tech Free Picks^^: This is a tough, tough game to handicap. We know that we want the ‘under’ for sure. But, given what we know about both of these teams, we think that the Georgia Tech offense is going to do the more struggling of the two teams. Again, it’s a heck of a lot easier to defend this triple option when you have the whole offseason and a longer week of preparation to get the job done, especially when the game is at home, then when you have to go on the road during a short week to prepare. We wouldn’t be surprised to see the Ramblin’ Wreck stuck in the high-teens in this one, and if that turns out to be the case, we just don’t see how they are going to be able to cover a TD of a spread.

^^Please Note: The Georgia Tech @ Virginia Tech picks listed above on our sports betting blog are made by our staff writers. These football picks are based upon the betting lines listed in August 2012 and do not reflect the actual expert handicapping picks at Bankroll Sports. Click Here to receive our premium expert handicappers NCAA Football Picks for the 2012 campaign.

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