GAME BREAKDOWN
KEY MATCHUP: Virginia Tech’s run defense (No. 78 nationally, 171.9 yards allowed per game) vs. Boston College’s run game (No. 24, 226.4 yards per game) is an obvious matchup storyline. Another is Virginia Tech in the punt return game after Sean Savoy muffed a punt that led to a touchdown against Georgia Tech last week. Other Tech returners –C.J. Carroll and Damon Hazelton –also muffed punt catches this season, so coach Justin Fuente is looking for answers. “We keep shuffling guys back there because we’ve not been good. There’s no reason to sugarcoat it,” Fuente said. “We need to continue to find somebody back there that can be consistent enough to field the football.”
DRAFT SLANT
–DT Ricky Walker has 24 tackles this season, including eight last week against Georgia Tech’s triple-option attack. Walker, likely a late-round prospect, will need to be at his run-stuffing best against Boston College RB AJ Dillon this week.
ROSTER REPORT
–OLB Dylan Rivers suffered an ankle injury early in last week’s game against Georgia Tech and was in a walking boot afterward. Coach Justin Fuente said Monday that Rivers is day-to-day. His replacement would be true freshman Dax Hollifield.
–DT Jarrod Hewitt, who suffered an ankle injury against Georgia Tech, is considered day-to-day, Fuente said Monday.
–DE Trevon Hill was dismissed from the team on Sept. 23 a day after the loss at Old Dominion. The reason given was “not upholding the high standards we have for our student-athletes” Fuente said in a statement. Hill, a junior, had 20 career tackles for loss, including 4.5 this season in three games.
–LB Devon Hunter, a sophomore, will redshirt after playing the first four games of the season. Under a new NCAA rule, a player can play up to four games and still save a year of eligibility.
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