Virginia Tech vs. Purdue: Early point spread released on Hokies, Boilermakers

The Virginia Tech Hokies and Purdue Boilermakers are busy preparing for their Week 2 matchup. According to FanDuel, the Hokies are favored in Saturday’s contest by three points.

Virginia Tech pulled away from Old Dominion in Week 1

In their Week 1 matchup, Virginia Tech pulled away from Old Dominion in the second half. The Hokies avenged last year’s loss to the Monarchs, but it wasn’t easy. They only led 2-0 after the first quarter and 16-10 at halftime. Virginia Tech outscored ODU 20-7 in the second half to pull away for the 36-17 victory.

Ironically enough, one of the best performances for VT came from a former Old Dominion receiver, Ali Jennings. The Hokies landed Jennings from the transfer portal this offseason and he managed to deliver a solid showing against his old team. He hauled in 5 catches for 72 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the winning effort. The Hokies also got four catches for 69 receiving yards and a touchdown from Jaylin Lane. Virginia Tech quarterback Grant Wells threw for 251 passing yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown.

The 36 points were the most that the Hokies have scored in Brent Pry’s tenure thus far. It was a solid opening performance from Virginia Tech–who went 3-8 last year. They only played 11 games due to their game with Virginia being cancelled.

The Monarchs still managed to pile up 201 rushing yards on 43 carries. None of their quarterbacks had ever played in a Division I-A game.

Purdue is coming off a heartbreaking loss to Fresno State in which they fell, 39-35. The Bulldogs’ quarterback, Mikey Keene, threw four touchdown passes in that one. The most important one came with 58 seconds left in the game, when he connected with Erik Brooks for a 22-yard touchdown pass to win the game.

Purdue actually led the game 28-17 in the third quarter, but couldn’t get the job done. The Boilermakers did have a number of highlight plays, like running back Tyrone Tracy, Jr. returning the second half kickoff 98-yards for a touchdown. The last time that Purdue had a kick return for a touchdown came in 2013, when Raheem Mostert returned a kick 100 yards against Penn State.

Purdue and Virginia Tech are set to kick off on Saturday, Sept. 9th at noon EST. The game will be played in Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia.