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Game Preview: Virginia Tech hosts Miami, looks to break three-game losing skid

Roger Gonzalez
virginia tech football
Photo courtesy Virginia Tech Athletics.

The Virginia Tech football team looks to end a three-game slide on Saturday when they host Miami in an ACC affair.

This is the first time both teams enter a meeting with a losing record in their long, storied history. Tech enters the game at 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the ACC, while Miami is 2-3 and 0-1 in the conference.

Neither has really any hopes of winning the Coastal after a rough start, but the Hurricanes still have life, having to avoid a loss in Blacksburg.

Where to watch?

The game will be at 12:30 p.m ET and air on regional sports networks. Locally the game will air on MASN.

What to know about the Hokies

They haven’t hit rock bottom, but it’s close. Look, this is a young team with an entire new coaching staff, and it’s going to take a while. They continue to fight, but there are a lot of holes. They must prioritize stopping the run and take their chances on the back end of playing man-to-man. With three straight blowout defeats, this is the time to dig deep and see what they are made of. Expect them to take more chances in attack, and expect the defense to get back to its disruptive aways against a desperate team.

What to know about the Canes

Here’s another team that is reeling. After that rough loss against Middle Tennessee State at home, the Canes lost to UNC by three last time out. Now they face a Virginia Tech team also desperate for a win, but it’s part of a manageable part of the schedule with Duke and Virginia to come. Tyler Van Dyke looked great against the Tar Heels, going 42-for-57 for 496 yards, but most quarterbacks play well against their defense. He’ll have a bigger test here, but the film studies should leave him confident in being able to exploit the Tech “D.”

Prediction

Miami 24, Virginia Tech 21

Roger Gonzalez

Roger Gonzalez

Roger Gonzalez is freelancer for Augusta Free Press. A native of Connecticut that grew up in Charlottesville, he is a graduate of Virginia Tech. He currently is a sportswriter with CBS Sports and has written for The Daily Progress, The Roanoke Times and other newspapers before getting into the digital sports journalism world.