Let's Wager Fake Internet Bucks on Opening Lines

Since the last time was so much fun, let's bet fake Internet bucks again. On June 13th the Golden Nugget released lines on 200 college football games—"Games of the Year". Seven Virginia Tech games are on the opening board. It's not even July yet, so these lines are sure to move between now and the end of August, as well as throughout the season. For the purposes of a work break and discussion starter, let's use these lines and I'm going to gift everyone 35 fake Internet dollars. (For anyone curious, as of noon today, one fake Internet dollar is approximately .035 turkey legs according to Thekeyplay.com's fake money exchange.) Bet as much or as little on each game as you'd like.

9/6 – Virginia Tech at Ohio St (-18)

As of right now, I'm struggling to envision a realistic winning scenario for Virginia Tech. Ultimately it would take the offense kicking it into high gear with only a single warmup game under its belt. While I think Loeffler's unit will eventually settle into an effective rhythm in 2014, a green quarterback and new blocking scheme are major hurdles to clear right out of the gate. Phil Steele rated Ohio State's d-line tops in the country, and for good reason, Ohio State returns its entire three-deep. This is Ohio State's home opener so Ohio Stadium will be juiced, and that could make tough for an inexperienced QB and new-look o-line to communicate.

Tech keeping it within 18 points is much more plausible. For as deep as the Buckeyes' d-line is, the offensive line is inexperienced, and while Braxton Miller is a terrific runner on designed plays, he isn't as dangerous a downfield passer. Those a favorable match ups for the Hokies. Tech's fast attacking defensive line should give Ohio State fits, and Torrian Gray's secondary should be among the nation's best. Also, Bud Foster has some experience defending a single-wing spread by virtue of playing Clemson.

The bet: $0. I won't have a beat on the type of team Tech is until after this game.

9/20 – Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech (-7)

The last couple of years Virginia Tech has been on the winning side of closely contested Techmo Bowls. Logan Thomas engaging beast mode and grinding out tough yards between the tackles was a difference maker for the Hokies. Logan converting on 3rd-and-Logan allowed the Hokies to sustain drives, keep pace offensively, and limit Georgia Tech's time of possession. Who's going to pickup a tough three yards when it matters?

The bet: $5 on Virginia Tech. The game's in Lane, Bud has CPJ figured out, and between Edmunds, Williams, Caleb, and perhaps even McKenzie four games into the season Tech will identify a dependable rushing attack.

10/4 – Virginia Tech at North Carolina (-10)

Covering 10 points, even at home, seems like a tall order for a team that finished 7-6 last season. Oh, six of those wins occurred during UNC's last seven games, it's more clear why folks are hopping on the bandwagon.

The strong finish was aided by a soft second-half schedule, but more importantly UNC started to live up to its potential. Eric Ebron is gone, but dual-threat QB Marquise Williams is on the verge of a breakout campaign.

The bet: $7 on Virginia Tech. I think UNC wins this one, but it'll be close. Tech's fast and athletic d-line should hound Williams and Kendall and the gang will capitalize on any mistakes. UNC's defense was slightly better than average last year (49th F/+), and will be without defensive end Kareem Martin who made the other 10 defenders' jobs easier. Even so, without seeing the Heels play my gut feeling has the gabble, and matching UNC's offensive output will be tough because I expect them to light it up. Punt returner Ryan Switzer (20.9 yards per return, 5 TDs) could be the x-factor.

10/16 – Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh (-1)

The bet: $0. Last season was the first time in a while things went as expected against Pitt. Virginia Tech was the better team on paper and they won convincingly. This is the exception to the rule, logic cannot be applied to Virginia Tech-Pitt, so I won't try. In matters of football, Pitt owns my psyche, so I'm staying away.

10/23 – Miami, Fl at Virginia Tech (-1)

Here's an except of Bill Connelly's conclusion from his Miami preview.

No matter how hard I try, no matter how much I balk at the names on the quarterbacks list, I just cannot be worried about the Miami offense. There's too much proven talent at the skill positions, and the line should still be solid, if not quite as good as last year. The offense will score.

But as they say, defense travels. And considering most of Miami's bigger games are on the road in 2014 -- Louisville, Nebraska, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech -- the Hurricanes' fortunes in 2014 will probably be tied to defensive competence. There just wasn't enough of it in 2013. The line wasn't talented enough, and the secondary suffered a glitch for every good play. The front of the defense gets some new blood, and the back is far more experienced, but there's a very good chance that defense will hold the Hurricanes back again this fall. The question is how much.

Miami's stocked at the skill positions. However, I'm going to wager that pressure of Thursday night in Blacksburg gets to whichever inexperienced quarterback is under center.

The bet: $10 on Virginia Tech.

11/1 – Boston College at Virginia Tech (-16)

Phil Steele ranks Boston College as the second least experienced team in the country. That doesn't bode well for a program that recruits at about a 3-star level and is in the middle of a rebuild.

The bet: $5 on Boston College. Maybe I'm too impressed by Steve Addazio's commitment to the run and dude-ification of Boston College's roster.

I cringe thinking about Andre Williams leading the Eagles' man-ball ground attack. He's gone (I'm so happy the Giants nabbed him), but Addazio has a vision, and tough nosed football will eliminate gimme games against Boston College. I don't think the Eagles will pull off the upset on the road, but by November I think a young team will start to come around and Tech will win by 10-14, but not more than 16 points.

11/28 – Virginia at Virginia Tech (-14)

10: IF ($COACH == "MIKE LONDON") THEN
20:   CALL BET("$8", "VIRGINIA TECH)
30:   CALL LAUGH("LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL")
40:   GOTO 30
50: ELSE
60:   CALL SEARCH_COACH($UNREALISTIC_CANDIDATES)
70: END IF
80: END