Game Preview: Virginia Tech Hosts Wofford In Final Tune-Up Game

 

• Virginia Tech vs. Wofford: Saturday, September 17, 11 a.m. ET, ACC Network
• Betting Line: VT -39
• Roster cards: Click here
• Game notes from HokieSports: Click here
• Blacksburg weather: Click here
• Gameday information: Click here

Virginia Tech (1-1, 1-0) has one more tune-up before welcoming rival West Virginia to Lane Stadium for a primetime showdown on Thursday night. The game that stands in between Tech and the Mountaineers comes this Saturday against FCS program Wofford (0-2), and the Terriers aren’t expected to provide much of a fight.

Wofford used to be a solid FCS program. It made the FCS Playoffs every year from 2016 through 2019, advancing as far as the quarterfinals two years in a row in 2016 and 2017. They were also very successful from 2007 through 2012, making the playoffs in all but one season and advancing as far as the quarterfinals in the process.

Things have taken a dramatic turn for the worse for the Terriers in recent seasons. Head coach Josh Conklin got his team to the playoffs in 2018 and 2019 but only went 1-4 in the abbreviated 2020 season (which was played in the spring of 2021). In the actual 2021 season, Wofford went 1-10. It knocked off Elon 24-22 to open the season before losing 10 games in a row.

The Terriers have begun the 2022 season 0-2, which means they’ve now lost 12 consecutive contests, and their two games haven’t been competitive. After losing to Chattanooga 31-0 in their opener, they followed that up by dropping their second game to Elon, 26-0. Yes, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. Wofford hasn’t scored a single point through two games, and now it’s facing a Virginia Tech defense that has been dominant through two weeks.

There is less information available about Wofford than the FBS teams that Virginia Tech faces, so this article won’t be quite as long as our normal previews, but let’s go over some quick, basic facts about the Terriers.

The Wofford Offense

Against Chattanooga, Wofford’s longest drive went 60 yards and ended in a fumble. Its second-longest drive went 43 yards. The Terriers finished that game with 230 yards of total offense and zero points. That’s not a very good performance, but it was much better than their week two numbers against Elon.

Against the Phoenix, Wofford managed just 128 yards of total offense. The longest drive of the game covered just 22 yards, which came on the game’s final possession, meaning that Elon likely had some backups in the game considering the score was 26-0.

Generally when previewing opponents, we like to separate their obvious strengths from their obvious weaknesses and discuss both. However, there appears to be no strengths for this Wofford offense. Here are a few statistics to make note of…

Passing yards per game: 96
Rushing yards per carry: 2.1
Red zone efficiency: 0-of-2

Obviously, there’s the big one…0.0 points per game. And yeah, we’ve got to do it…

Wofford starts two freshmen on offense but has a decent amount of experience overall. It’s just not a very good team.

One of the reasons is a lack of good quarterback play. Jimmy Weirick (5-11, 195, r-Sr.) has been in the program for a long time but hasn’t been particularly effective. He’s been a part-time starter for the Terriers, and he’s struggled in the passing game while also not adding very much to the running game.

Here are his career numbers…

Passing: 91-of-160 (57%), 1,075 yards, 4 TDs, 4 INTs, 76.8 yards per game (14 career games)
Rushing: 57 carries, 154 yards, 2.7 ypc, 4 TDs, 11 yards per game

Through two games this season, Weirick is 20-of-37 (54%) for 187 yards with two interceptions. His backup is Cade Rice (6-3, 215, r-Fr.), who is a transfer from South Dakota State who didn’t enroll at Wofford until January, and he’s only thrown four career passes. If the coaching staff did decide to replace Weirick, the replacement would be a very inexperienced player. Wofford started four different quarterbacks last year for various reasons so it’s used to a quarterback carousel.

The Terriers have a pair of big running backs, though neither has been able to get anything going this season…

Nathan Walker (6-0, 240, r-Sr.): 24 carries, 81 yards, 3.4 ypc
Ryan Ingram (5-11, 220, So.): 5 carries, 12 yards, 2.4 ypc

Ingram did not play last week against Elon, possibly due to injury. Two other backs got carries in his stead, and again, there wasn’t much production…

Kyle Parsons (6-0, 200, Fr.): 16 carries, 62 yards, 3.9 ypc
David Legette (5-10, 180, Jr.): 18 carries, 39 yards, 2.2 ypc

Near as I can tell, only one carry by a running back has gone for over 10 yards this season.

One of Wofford’s top receivers is the team’s former starting tight end, and he’s also doubled as the starting punter. Landon Parker (6-3, 210, r-Sr.) has four catches for 46 yards on the season, and 24 catches for his career. He has also punted 23 times in his career, though he’s yet to serve in that role this season. Perhaps the most productive Wofford receiver returning is RJ Khayo (5-9, 170, Sr.), who started 10 games and had 16 catches for 197 yards last season.

I would expect Wofford to run the ball early and often in an attempt to keep the clock moving and get out of town as quickly as possible.

The Wofford Defense

The Wofford defense has hung in there through two games. It hasn’t been great, but there hasn’t been any help from the offense. The unit’s stats aren’t overly dominant, but considering the offense isn’t helping, the numbers are pretty good:

Rushing: 160 ypg, 4.4 ypc
Passing: 200.5 ypg, 64.4%, 4 TDs, 0 INTs

Though opponents aren’t throwing for a large number of yards, they are completing a pretty high percentage of their passes, so this seems like a good week for Grant Wells and his wide receivers to make some progress.

Wofford lists its defense as a “Multiple 3-4” on its official depth chart, but like most defenses these days, it’ll have an edge player who can line up either as a defensive end or outside linebacker. Sometimes there’s very little difference between a 4-3 or a 3-4.

As a whole, Wofford’s defense isn’t very big. Most of its linebackers are big enough, but nobody in its two-deep in the secondary weighs over 195, and only one starter in the front seven weighs more than 270. Things should go better this week for the Virginia Tech offensive line and tight ends from a run blocking standpoint.

One thing the Terrier defense hasn’t done well this year is get penetration. They only have five tackles for loss and two sacks through two games. On paper, it doesn’t seem like the Hokies will find themselves in many long-yardage situations this week, and that should help their conversion rate.

Defensive players to keep an eye on include…

DE Michael Mason (6-3, 270, Sr.): Mason was a Second Team All-Conference player last season.

CB Amir Annoor (6-1, 180, So.): All-Freshman performer in 2021.

DE Brandon Maina (6-0, 275, So.): All-Freshman performer in 2021.

DE Chuck Smith (6-3, 260, r-So.): All-Freshman performer in 2021.

Wofford has some solid young FCS talent up front on the defensive line, but this shouldn’t be a unit that should slow down the Hokies very much if Tech blocks better than it has the last few weeks.

Final Thoughts: Virginia Tech vs. Wofford

Wofford went 1-10 last season, has lost 12 football games in a row and hasn’t scored a single point through their first two games of 2022. I don’t think you have to be a football genius to figure out how this one is going to go.

I only have two questions…

1) Will Wofford score?
2) How bad is it going to be?

Considering how badly the Terriers struggled on offense last week, it’s hard to see them scoring this week against a Virginia Tech defense that has been dominant so far. However, the Hokies are sure to play a lot of backups in the second half, so it’s possible that there will be some sort of bust that will allow a big play and a Wofford score. Plus, the law of averages says that Wofford has to score at some point…right?

I don’t think Virginia Tech will do much strategizing offensively. As I talked about in my Sunday column, I think it’s important that the Hokies figure out what they need to work on the most, and then call those plays and formations during Saturday’s game. It doesn’t matter if they score 31 or 62; it only matters that they win and improve. I have no doubt that the Hokies could and would score a ton of points against Wofford if they dialed in and came up with a specific gameplan, but it’s most important that they work on the things they need to improve the most before they take on WVU, UNC, etc.

I was going to pick the Terriers to get on the board this week, but then I noticed that placekicker Atkins Roberts (5-11, 175, Jr.) has never attempted a field goal, and that only three of his 67 career kickoffs have gone for touchbacks. He doesn’t have a strong leg, and he’s never had an attempt in a game. That’s all I need to know. Give me the shutout.

Chris’s Prediction: Virginia Tech 41, Wofford 0

Will Stewart’s Take: Wofford is not very good.

Will’s Prediction: Virginia Tech 37, Wofford 0

David Cunningham’s Take: I was very impressed with Virginia Tech’s defense against Boston College. Chris Marve’s unit swarmed to the ball and tackled well. The front seven got pressure and attacked, and the Eagles’ offensive line didn’t stand a chance.

I’m expecting the same this week. Wofford is bad, simply put, and this is a Hokies team that appears to be improving week-to-week. If I’m Tech, I have three main points of emphasis for this week:

1. End the game before/by halftime.
2. In turn, that will give younger, inexperienced players for important in-game reps.
3. Don’t lose anyone to injury.

If Virginia Tech can do that, it’s a successful week. From everything I’ve seen, the staff and players are learning and growing. Also, with Brent Pry in charge, I don’t think this program will have problems with these type of games like it did in the Justin Fuente era. The mindset doesn’t seem to be a problem under Pry, which appeared to hurt to the Hokies in games like Furman, Rhode Island, Richmond, etc. The contests were often close at intermission, which I don’t expect to be the case under this new regime. However, a slow start due to an 11 a.m. kickoff wouldn’t be surprising at all.

Overall, the Hokies just need to get in, take care of business and get out. If they play their game like expected, that’s how it should be.

David’s Prediction: Virginia Tech 34, Wofford 3

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Last Game’s Virginia Tech-Boston College Prediction Poll Results

Game Result: Virginia Tech 27, Boston College 10

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2022 Virginia Tech Football Predictions Tracker - TSL Staff
Game	Chris (8-3)	Will (7-4)	David (8-3)	Result
@ODU
BC
Wofford
WVU
@UNC
@Pittsburgh
Miami
@NC State
Georgia Tech
@Duke
@Liberty

2022 Virginia Tech Football Predictions Tracker - Fans (7-4) (record based on W-L, not margin of victory)
Game	Fan Poll	Result	Score
@ODU	Hokies Win by 11+		ODU 20, Hokies 17
Boston College	Hokies Win by 1-10		Hokies 27, BC 10
Wofford	Hokies Win by 11+		Hokies 27, Wofford 7
WVU	Hokies Win by 1-10		WVU 33, Hokies 10
@UNC	UNC Wins by 11+		UNC 41, Hokies 10
@Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh Wins by 11+		Pittsburgh 45, Hokies 29
Miami	Hurricanes Win by 11+		Miami 20, Hokies 14
@NC State	Wolfpack Wins by 11+		NC State 22, Hokies 21
Georgia Tech	Hokies Win by 1-10		GT 28, Hokies 27
@Duke	Blue Devils Win by 11+		Duke 24, Hokies 7
@Liberty	Flames Win by 11+		Hokies 23, Flames 22