Kicking off at 7:30 p.m. ET as part of today’s Week 11 College Football slate, the Stanford Cardinal will face off with the Virginia Tech Hokies. Both teams are looking to bounce back from losses and build momentum heading into the final stretch of the season.
Looking at the odds, Virginia Tech enters as a 17.5-point favorite and holds -850 odds to win outright on DraftKings Sportsbook. Stanford holds +575 odds to pull off the upset, with the game total set at 57.5 points.
This article previews both teams and offers a pick for the Week 11 matchup.
Stanford Cardinal vs. Virginia Tech Hokies
Stanford Cardinal:
The Stanford Cardinal hold a 4-5 record on the season. Their 52-24 loss to Louisville on October 31 snapped a two-game winning streak, and the Cardinal now return from a bye looking to get back on track. Stanford has gone 3-6 against the spread this season.
Defense has been a major problem for the Cardinal this year. They are allowing 37.3 average points per game, which ranks 136th out of the 138 qualifying D1 teams. Stanford is allowing 454.4 average yards per game, including 199.7 rushing yards per game and 2.9 averaging rushing touchdowns conceded. But the offense has not been much better. Stanford is scoring just 20.3 points per game, which ranks 121st in the country, and generating 358.7 average yards of offense. They have been held to seven or fewer points in four games this year.
Former Michigan standout Davis Warren stands in at quarterback and has completed 60.4% of his pass attempts for 2,203 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, and three interceptions. Caden High is the team’s leading receiver with 449 receiving yards and four touchdowns, while Nic Brown adds 345 yards and four touchdowns of his own. Micah Ford leads the rushing attack with 751 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on the ground this season.
Virginia Tech Hokies:
The Virginia Tech Hokies enter with a 6-3 record in James Franklin’s first season in Blacksburg. The Hokies opened 4-0 before consecutive losses to Pittsburgh and California. They responded with back-to-back victories but are now looking to rebound from a 51-28 loss to SMU. Virginia Tech has gone 5-4 against the spread, and the game total has gone over in six of their nine games played.
The Hokies are scoring 34.2 points per game this season, which ranks 28th in the country. They are generating 423.3 yards per game, with a balanced attack that is producing 2.1 average passing touchdowns and 2.0 rushing scores. Defensively, opponents are scoring 23.9 points per game against Virginia Tech, which ranks 64th in the country. They are holding teams to just 340.0 yards per game, including just 107.3 average rushing yards.
Ethan Grunkemeyer stands in at quarterback and has completed 71.7% of his pass attempts for 2,431 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, three interceptions, and six additional rushing scores. Sean Brown is the team’s leading receiver with 722 yards through the air and four touchdowns. Tight end Luke Reynolds leads the team with six receiving scores along with 560 yards. The rushing attack is headlined by Jeffrey Overton, who has recorded 762 rushing yards and six scores, while Marcellous Hawkins has five rushing scores of his own along with 344 rushing yards.
Stanford Cardinal vs. Virginia Tech Prediction:
Laying a 17.5-point spread for a James Franklin-led squad are intimidating waters, but one I am willing to tread into this week.
Simply put, Stanford is a bad football team with issues on both sides of the ball. Their defense is the biggest point of concern in this matchup. The Cardinal allowed 52 points to SMU last week, and also have conceded 58 points to Notre Dame, 57 to Wake Forest, 45 to Miami, and 35 to Duke this year. While this is a talented list of teams, their inability to get stops through either the air or the ground is a massive concern.
Virginia Tech has the offensive personnel to exploit those problems. Grunkemeyer has done an excellent job pulling the right strings in the offensive attack and has taken excellent care of the football. The Hokies have put up 20 or more points in every game this season. Stanford has struggled against far less dynamic offensive attacks already this year, with only two teams in the country allowing more average points per game.
As long as Virginia Tech is able to put points on the board at a regular rate, it is difficult to see a pathway to Stanford coming back. The Cardinal have no true pathway to producing a comeback. Their inability to generate a stable rushing attack makes their attack one-dimensional, and this will especially be the case with Virginia Tech having a strong rushing defense. Warren has not been able to elevate the offense to the level that was hoped, and even a few recent sparks are not enough to change this outlook.
Expect Virginia Tech to produce points in the early stages of this game and take full control. Count on the lack of production from Stanford on both sides of the ball being too much to overcome and for the 17.5-point spread.
