Kickoff: Saturday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: Ohio State -11, Total: 48

The Virginia Tech Hokies head to No. 8 Ohio State to take on a tough non-conference opponent in the Buckeyes on Saturday night.

Here is the BetDSI Sportsbook betting preview for this matchup:

Virginia Tech put together a pretty solid season in 2013, going 8-5 (5-3 in ACC) and was just a victory over Duke away from going to the conference championship. They opened this year in usual fashion, taking on a very weak opponent, as they defeated William & Mary by a score of 34-9. The Hokies outgained the Tribe 488-193 in the winning effort, but also turned the ball over twice and committed 10 penalties totaling 75 yards. Ohio State was great last season with a 12-2 overall record (8-0 in Big Ten), but lost star QB Braxton Miller to a preseason shoulder injury for the entire year. In their opener, the Buckeyes took on the run-heavy offense of Navy and secured a 34-17 victory despite being down by a point (7-6) at halftime. The Buckeyes outgained the Midshipmen by a mere 30 yards (420-390) as Navy used its potent triple-option running attack to gain 370 yards on the ground. Without Miller under center, freshman dual-threat QB J.T. Barrett will continue to take the snaps after producing 276 total yards versus Navy. These two programs have not met at any point in recent history, but some trends to watch include that the Hokies are 57-34 ATS (63%) after playing a non-conference opponent since 1992. But Ohio State is 24-6 ATS (80%) in home games after gaining 6.75+ yards per play in its previous game over that same timeframe. In injury news, Virginia Tech will be keeping an eye on WR Joshua Stanford (hamstring) who is questionable for this contest while Buckeyes LB Trey Johnson is also questionable.

Can the Buckeyes cover the double-digit spread at home? For the answer, connect to College Football Best Bets for all the StatFox Experts picks throughout the 2014 regular season and bowl season. During the 2013 season, StatFox Dave led the experts with a 55% ATS mark (38-31-2), while Gary and Brian both finished with another winning season (51% ATS). StatFox Scott saved his best for last with a 5-2 ATS mark (71%) in college football bowl Best Bets.

The Hokies may have finished with a decent overall record last year, but their offense was horrendous in all areas as they ranked 100th or worse in the nation in scoring (22.5 PPG), total offense (356 YPG), yards per play (5.0) and rushing offense (119.8 YPG). Texas Tech transfer QB Michael Brewer had attempted only 48 passes over the past two seasons, but hopes he can transform this weak offense. He already showed some flashes against William & Mary, going 23-for-30 with 251 yards (8.4 YPA) and two touchdowns with one interception. The backfield has depth even with last year’s leading rusher, Trey Edmunds, still slowly making his way back from a broken leg last year, as HBs Shai McKenzie (9 rush, 106 yds, 1 TD), J.C. Coleman (10 rush, 20 yds, 1 TD), and Marshawn Williams (12 rush, 41 yds) all get equal opportunities. Nine different receivers caught at least one pass in the opening game, and with WR Joshua Stanford (640 rec. yds in 2013) possibly not playing, WRs Willie Byrn (3 rec., 49 yards) and Demitri Knowles (1 rec., 38 yards) are expected to be the top two targets. Many receivers will get their hands on the ball though, as WRs Bucky Hodges (38 rec. yds) and Isaiah Ford (43 rec. yds) combined for 10 catches last week. The real strength of this team is the defense, which ranked in the top-10 among FBS schools in total defense (283.6 YPG), rushing defense (110.9 YPG) and passing defense (172.7 YPG). The team lost two defensive backs to the NFL draft, but still have a top-notch secondary led by sophomore CBs Kendall Fuller (59 tackles, 6 INTs in 2013) and Brandon Facyson (27 tackles, 5 INTs in 2013).

Braxton Miller led the Buckeyes’ offense to an amazing year in 2013 as they scored 45.5 PPG (3rd in FBS) on 511.9 YPG (7th in the nation) while dominating teams on the ground (308.6 YPG, 5th in FBS). Redshirt freshman QB J.T. Barrett will now attempt to fill the shoes of Miller, and in his first game he completed 12-of-15 passes for 226 yards (15.1 YPA) while throwing 2 TD and 1 INT. He also added to the run game with 50 yards on nine attempts (5.6 YPC), but will have a tough time matching what Miller did with his legs a year ago (1,068 yards, 12 TD). Another big piece of last year’s ground game, HB Carlos Hyde (1,521 yards, 15 TD in 2013), is currently looking to make his mark in the NFL, leaving HBs Ezekiel Elliott (12 rush, 44 yds, 1 TD) and Dontre Wilson (6 rush, 43 yds) as the top backs. Wilson also had two catches for 46 yards against the Midshipmen. WR Devin Smith (660 rec. yds, 8 TD in 2013) provides Barrett with an explosive target, and showed off his speed with an 80-yard TD grab versus Navy. Ohio State’s defense was one of the worst against the pass (268 YPG, 112th in FBS) in 2013, but dominated up front, allowing opposing backs to run for a meager 109.4 YPG (9th in nation), which all led to them giving up only 22.6 PPG. The Buckeyes defensive line should be strong again with three different players returning (Noah Spence, Joey Bosa and Michael Bennett) that had at least seven sacks last year.