Halfwits and Wagers: Always Bet On (Hokies In) Black

Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee. The game Hokie Nation has waited years for is almost here. For once, the Battle at Bristol provides the Hokies with an opportunity to beat a prestigious program situated a short drive down the road from Blacksburg. Bristol also marks the first true test of Justin Fuente's tenure and should provide the nation with their first glimpse of what the post-Beamer Hokies look like.

Brian and I had a seemingly endless supply of betting lines to choose from this week. Wagers such as, "Will anyone in attendance actually be able to make out the on-field action?" Or, "Which Figure Will Be Higher: Combined yardage by both teams or combined mason jars of moonshine by both fanbases?" In the end, only a select few were able to make the cut.

On to the (fake) lines!

Over/Under: 65% Tennessee Fans in the seats at Bristol Motor Speedway

Brian: Under. If Frank Beamer was coaching this game, I'd go over, but too many Tech fans were tempted to buy tickets as their introduction to the Justin Fuente era. I'll tell you from first hand experience, it's exactly what I did. On the fence, questioning the views from the track, I leaned towards not going in November. By January my fiance and I had an RV trip all but booked, with genuine excitement for the unknown of a new head coach. There'll be more Volunteer fans, but still enough people in maroon to hold our own during the Hill People fight.

Pierson: Under. There has been a lot of talk about how the Vols consistently fill 102,455-seat Neyland Stadium, while the Hokies have struggled to fill 65,632-seat Lane Stadium in recent years. Both teams quickly sold their allotment of 40,000 seats (26.7% of total seating) and the 70,000 remaining seats were rapidly gobbled up (see what I did there?) by fans of both teams. I agree with Brian; I think the intrigue surrounding Fuente's hire has given a lot of beleaguered Tech fans that extra little push to attend. Add in the fact that this game has been talked about for many, many years and suddenly you're less dependent on proximity or ticket cost than a typical game. I think Vols fans will be in the majority, but Hokie Nation will be extremely well represented.

Over/Under: 199.5 total yards by Joshua Dobbs

Brian: Over, though I don't think it'll be a particularly effective passing night for either squad. It's reminiscent of the shooting problems college hoops teams have in the Final Four, where the squads play in stadiums so much bigger than their normal arenas that it throws off their depth perception. Playing in a place where the fans are so far away could mess up deep throws, but Dobbs will still run. And even if he only has 150 yards through the air, he'd still hit the mark relatively easily on the ground.

Pierson: So the real question here is how effective will Bud's defense be stopping Dobbs on the ground? Last season, the Hokies were victimized time and again by mobile(ish) quarterbacks running read option. Mook Reynolds' performance as the Nickel/Whip hybrid last week calmed my nerves a little bit, but the two-headed monster of Dobbs and Hurd will keep each of the Tech defenders on their toes. With that being said, I'll take the over here. I feel confident in the Hokies' ability to limit the passing game but continue to worry about containing the run game.

True or False? Hokies tailbacks will combine to rush for more yards than Jalen Hurd

Brian: True. Hurd is incredible, but with Bud Foster and company keying heavily on the run and Dobbs getting more carries, the prolific back could see his numbers fall. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Dobbs had more rushing yards than Hurd. But, this also has to do with my hopes that Fuente and Brad Cornelsen focus on two backs and feed them consistently. None of this piecemealing work for Sam Rogers, Travon McMillian, DeShawn McClease, and Shai McKenzie. Pick the best two, whoever works best with Evans, and stick to it. If not, the rushing attack will be a disaster again.

Pierson: Listen, last week was a hot mess at tailback. The offensive line push was poor, Sam Rogers was given far too many rushing attempts for my taste, and 1,000 yard rusher Travon McMillian struggled to get going. Despite all of that, Hokie tailbacks still combined to outrush Hurd 111-110. Everyone knows that the Liberty gameplan was vanilla, including Butch Jones. I'm going with, "True," because mad scientists Fuente and Cornelsen have almost surely spent their free time this summer locked in a dark closet scheming up ways to unleash the fury at Bristol.

Over/Under 2.5 turnovers by the Hokie offense

Brian: Over. They're going to have to force the ball at times, especially when they're down later in the game. Jerod Evans will press as more is asked of him, and will also likely be tricked into an interception. Remember, this is the best team Evans has ever played. Though you could make that argument for most of the team, it's a fact for the quarterback coming from junior college. It's one thing to get used to the D1 game against an overmatched Liberty group, but it's another to play a big time Power 5 program.

Pierson: Under. Did you hear Fuente's Liberty post-game comments? Ball protection is an important component of his coaching philosophy, and he admitted that Brenden Motley's appearance was a direct result of Jerod Evans' errant option pitch to Shai McKenzie. Has anyone seen Evans or Cam Phillips around campus this week? Are they cradling a football at all times?

Rank 'Em Most to Least: Total Number of Bubble Screens; Total Number of Jet Sweeps; and Total Number of Speed Options by the VT offense

Brian: Screens, jet sweeps, speed options. The Hokie coaching staff will need to get the ball to their playmakers as much as possible, which means the Isaiah Ford feeding will happen early and often. The sweeps are a staple, and will test an over-aggressive Tennessee defense sideline-to-sideline. I'm not sure how many options plays we'll see, simply in an effort to keep questionable decisions down. (Who can forget Evans' most blatant mistake last week? A wild pitch on an option!)

Pierson: Bubble screens, jet sweeps and speed options. With all of the first quarter screens last week, I started to worry that Brad Cornelsen was really some Stinespring/O'Cain/Loeffler hydra destined to haunt Hokie Nation for eternity. Not exactly a warm and fuzzy feeling. In all seriousness, I understand the approach and expect to see something similar against the Vols: Attack the edges and use quick-hitting throws to get Evans into rhythm in hopes of spreading out the defense and opening up both the inside run game and the intermediate and deep passing games.

Who sees more snaps: Wyatt Teller or Colt Pettit?

Brian: If Teller doesn't play, I question the decisionmaking of the entire coaching staff. I understand proving points, and I understand forcing your players to rise up to your level of expectations. But there comes a point in time where making a statement stands in the way of winning games, and if that happens I start to have an issue with it. Teller is an NFL-caliber lineman, the most talented one on the Hokies' roster. He's needed to block the NFL level defenders Tennessee has in their arsenal.

Pierson: Until Teller re-establishes himself as the starting left guard, we're going to keep discussing this topic here. It's nothing against Colt Pettit — I'm sure he's a nice guy and he has a bright future in Blacksburg. But Teller's second quarter insertion into the lineup immediately changed the dynamic of the offensive line. Things will be significantly more challenging against an SEC front seven on an enormous stage, and Teller has a strong body of work to suggest that he is more up to the task of neutralizing the Vols' talented defense.

Matchup Over/Under: 52

Brian: The easy answer is the under, did you see these two teams play last week? Add to the fact that such a weird environment will probably keep the lid on things early, and there's no way they hit the over, right? Don't get ahead of yourself. These two teams are geared up to run, or at the very least go fast. Even if they're not successful early, each group will have their share of possessions to get things right. And let's be honest, there's going to be weird football in Bristol. I don't know what's going to happen, but it's going to be something stupid and Hokie fans have to hope that the stupidity falls in their favor. Give me the over, primarily because the under's too obvious.

Pierson: The Battle at Bristol's sole purpose is to serve as a gigantic college football spectacle. Every component, including you and I, play a part in the show. Kenny Chesney; Colossus; the record-breaking crowd that will have a terrible view of the postage stamp-sized football field in the infield; and, of course, the Hokies and the Vols. The bigwigs behind the Battle aren't interested in a defensive slugfest. After all, they're in the entertainment business. I'm taking the over.

Spread: Tennessee (-10.5)

Brian: Give me Tech. Not necessarily to win, but definitely to cover. I see a 31-25 situation where the Hokies drop a close one, but do enough to keep fans excited moving forward. I wouldn't be stunned if they beat the Vols, but Tennessee's weaknesses have been overblown after their mediocre showing against Appalachian State. Yes, they have concerns. But they're also supremely talented, have a fantastic defense, and are still simply better than the group in Hokie Stone.

Pierson: We can all agree that the Vols are considerably better than what they showed against a plucky Appalachian State team last week. Are they a Top 10 team? That remains to be seen. Along the same lines, I think the Hokies are better than Saturday's 36-13 score line indicated. I think Justin Fuente and his staff have had their eye on this game since they arrived in Blacksburg, knowing that it provided the perfect stage to showcase the newest iteration of Virginia Tech football. Win or lose, I expect the Hokies to keep it close. I think 10.5 is a little too high for this game and should really settle closer to 9 or 9.5. At 10.5, I'll take the Hokies to cover.

Disclaimer: Some of these are real betting lines, but many of them are fake and none of this is real advice that should be taken seriously.