College Football Odds: Boston College at No. 5 Virginia Tech

The Hokies are favored to win this one against BC by -13.5. (Wikimedia Images)"]

Boston College, with all its offseason losses (coach, starting QB, best defensive player in the ACC), was supposed to be near the bottom of the ACC this season. But the Eagles have been a huge surprise and currently are 4-1 overall and second in the Atlantic Division after being picked to finish last.

But I think we find out for sure if this team is for real or is a bit of a fraud. I vote the latter. Sure, BC has solid home wins over Wake Forest and Florida State, but look what the Eagles did in their lone road game of the year: They were held to an ugly 54 total yards in a 25-7 loss at Clemson. However, one good thing did come from that inept effort: The team inserted Dave Shinskie, a former minor-league baseball player, as the starting QB. And Shinskie led the Eagles to those wins over the Demon Deacons and the Seminoles, throwing for more than 200 yards each time and totaling five TDs and just one interception. BC had four turnovers against Clemson but has turned the ball over just three times since. That will need to continue Saturday to have a shot at the upset.

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Certainly the best defense Shinskie has seen all season and probably will see all year comes Saturday with the No. 5 Hokies, who are -13.5 on Bodog's college football odds (approximately 55 percent of the public likes Tech). You can forget about Virginia Tech allowing Duke to score 26 points and Blue Devils QB Thaddeus Lewis to throw for 359 yards last week – that was a total letdown game for the Hokies off a big win over Miami. Tech has scored four defensive touchdowns during its last three games with Boston College.

On offense, the Hokies are nearly unstoppable if Tyrod Taylor is passing the ball well, and   he comes off a career-high 327 yards passing last week. His six touchdown passes through five games are already a season best. Virginia Tech averages 203.2 yards on the ground, so you have to pick your poison. BC's defense is very good against the run but has been spotty against the pass.

BC has won the last three regular-season meetings against Virginia Tech, including a 14-10 rally in Blacksburg two years ago – but that team had Matt Ryan (that was Tech's last home loss). The Hokies have bounced back to beat the Eagles when it really matters – in the past two ACC title games. And when doing your football betting at Bodog, know that it's Homecoming weekend in Blacksburg, and the Hokies haven't lost a Homecoming game since 1998.

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