Week 7 Games that will Impact Virginia Tech's Post-season Destination
On a big weekend in college football, Hokie fans should note the outcomes of these 3 games
This week’s theme is home underdogs poised to pull upsets.
Saturday is loaded with marquis matchups and I, like most of you, will probably be watching those games.
But under the surface, there are some sneaky good games that will have a big impact on where the Hokies end up in the post-season.
One truism of rooting interest games is that when a team on Tech’s schedule plays a team that is not on Tech’s schedule, it is always beneficial to the boys in orange and maroon to have the former defeat the latter.
A second truism is that playoff chaos, the modern-day reincarnation of BCS chaos, plays to Virginia Tech’s advantage.
If you’re a Hokie, you want to see a handful of elite schools followed by a bunch of teams with 9-3 records.
As always, though, before we dive into this week’s games, let’s review what happened last week.
Last Week’s Rooting Interest Record: 0-3 (8-10 on the season)
Record of Predictions in Rooting Interest Games: 2-1 (14-4)
Cal had a massive lead, then lost it and eventually the game to Miami. (Rooting L, Prediction W)
The SMU-Louisville game was a back-and-forth affair that was ultimately won by the visiting Mustangs. (Rooting L, Prediction L)
Florida St. is hapless, and Clemson cruised to an easy victory. (Rooting L, Prediction W)
Now then. on to this week’s games!
Game 1: Louisville at Virginia
The lone ACC game of interest this week puts Hokie fans in the strange position of actively cheering for UVA’s Wahoos. Louisville strolls into Charlottesville fresh off a tough lost to SMU and desperately needing a win to stay in contention in the ACC. Virginia enters as a 7.5-point underdog, and the score prediction model expects more like a 10-point loss. Still, UVA has been playing decent football. A win would get the Cavaliers to 3-0 in the conference, making them a real contender as the conference race heats up.
Rooting Interest: Virginia
Game 2: #18 Kansas State at Colorado
Colorado won four games in 2023, the first season with Coach Prime at the helm. Tonight, the Buffaloes go for win number five in six tries this season. SP+ suggests that Kansas St. is the superior team in almost every aspect, but the advanced stats reveal a surprisingly even matchup. And Colorado has the vastly more talented team. Once again, the model says bet the over (Kansas St. -3.5), but crazy things seem to happen at night in Boulder.
Rooting Interest: Colorado
Game 3: #11 Iowa State at West Virginia
Undefeated Iowa State has an opportunity to become bowl eligible and firmly take hold of the Big 12 conference lead. Standing in the Cyclones’ way is a 3-2 West Virginia team that seems to have found itself, and likewise can move to 3-0 in the conference with a win. Kickoff is at 8 p.m., so the faithful in Morgantown should be as rowdy as ever. But can the Mountaineers score enough against a very stingy Iowa St. defense to keep the crowd in the game.
Rooting Interest: West Virginia