Old Dominion Monarchs vs Virginia Tech Hokies Point Spread Picks

I've got three more favorites from today's slate stacked into one ticket this afternoon, because paying each of these prices straight up makes no sense when you combine them into a reasonable bet. Virginia Tech blew out VMI 73-3 at home in James Franklin's coaching debut last week, and while a first-year staff normally comes with some uncertainty, Franklin just spent over a decade running a power-conference program at Penn State, so there's nothing about this spot that's actually unfamiliar to him. Old Dominion's own 31-10 win over Norfolk State came against a program nowhere near Virginia Tech's level, and that gap doesn't close just because Old Dominion is bringing back a coaching staff that went 10-3 a year ago. Texas A&M dropped 50 points on a Missouri State team playing its first season in the Conference USA ranks, which says more about Mike Elko's program than the number alone suggests, and Arizona State's 70-7 win over FCS Morgan State shows Kenny Dillingham's offense can score against overmatched competition. That's a different question than surviving a step up to SEC speed. Kansas State demolished Nicholls State 71-3 at home, and I had that total in a big way last week and never sweated it; new head coach Collin Klein already ran that offense as coordinator before getting the job, so the transition is closer to a formality than a rebuild, and Washington State is coming off a 10-point road loss to Washington with nothing in that game suggesting it can slow down an attack that just put up 71. Combine Virginia Tech at -1011, Texas A&M at -614, and Kansas State at -809 into a three-team parlay at -229, and you're laying a fair price to bank three favorites that all have the far better roster this afternoon.

This game will feature a pair of coaches with a lot of familiarities. Brent Pry took over at Virginia Tech and was on the same staff at Penn State as Old Dominion Coach Ricky Rahne. There are many similarities in style here as each should be able to prepare the defenses for a familiar offensive system. While Virginia Tech is a Power 5 school and has a deeper roster, Justin Fuentes did not leave any solid playmakers behind at Virginia Tech. The D is going to be called upon to win games, and I think the defenses are going to have a lot more impact on this game. Virginia Tech returns just four starters on offense and will need their Power 5 pedigree on defense to win this game. Make the play on the UNDER.