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Battle at Bristol: Hokies Look To Upset No. 17 Volunteers

Both Virginia Tech and Tennessee are coming off disappointing opening weeks. Who will survive this week's Battle at Bristol and walk out a winner?

The Virginia Tech Hokies and the No. 17 ranked Tennessee Volunteers will face off on Saturday night in Bristol, TN with 160,000 fans in attendance and even more watching the broadcast live on ABC at 8 PM EST. The game is being billed as “The Battle at Bristol: The Largest College Football Game Ever.”

Saturday won’t be the only time in recent memory the Hokies go into a highly anticipated game as double digit underdogs. In 2014 the Hokies were projected to lose to the Ohio State Buckeyes by 12 points on the road. At that time, Odds Shark, a computer based prediction site had the Buckeyes at a 27.5 favorite over Virginia Tech. However, Frank Beamer and his Hokies had other ideas and they walked out of Columbus, Ohio with a 35-21 victory.

That Was Then, This Is Now

That was two years ago. This is a new era, however, under new coach Justin Fuente who comes to Tech with experience and some big wins from Memphis. The Fuente era started last week with a 36-13 win over a talented FCS Liberty Flames team.

Virginia Tech showed both positives and negatives against Liberty. The main thing they showed their fans is that this Hokies team can compete. Even with multiple turnovers, the Virginia Tech offense was able to score twelve points in the second half while holding Liberty’s offense scoreless.

“The atmosphere here [Blacksburg] is fantastic,” Fuente said when asked about the Hokie fans. “The people at Virginia Tech take a lot pride in the game day atmosphere, and they did not disappoint.”

After both Virginia Tech and Tennessee earned wins last weekend, both programs and fan bases turned their attention to the game being billed as The Battle at Bristol, the “biggest game” in history. It’s certainly a big game for both teams. Tennessee is looking to reassert itself as a national contender. Virginia Tech is looking to make an immediate statement in Fuente’s second game.

In order for Virginia Tech to walk out of Bristol with a win over Tennessee their quarterback, Jerod Evans, will need to have a mistake free game. If not, it will be a long and uneventful night for the Hokies and their fans. Along with Evans needing to have a perfect game, the Hokies’ defense will need to cover a Tennessee offense that features a power run game executed from a spread formation. The Hokies’ defense only allowed Liberty a total of 160 yards and all of the Flames’ points came off the Hokies mistakes. Tennessee is certainly more talented on both sides of the ball than Liberty.

“I am excited about the opportunity that we have,” Hokies defensive coordinator Bud Foster said. He went on to tell ESPN that “everybody is talking about the stage that we’re going to play on, but it’s not about that. It’s about the game.”

The Battle at Bristol: Game Of The Week

This game is the only real chance for an upset this weekend with six of the Top 25 teams playing FCS schools on Saturday. For the Vols to avoid an upset they must have better play by their senior leader under center, Joshua Dobbs.

Dobbs, the Vols leader on offense, must have a better game against the Hokies defense than his performance against Appalachian State. In last week’s matchup with Appalachian State, Dobbs attempted 29 passes, completing only 16 passes for 192 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

There were two plays that went the Vols way during their win over Appalachian State. The first was a 67-yard touchdown hookup from Dobbs to Josh Malone that tied the game at 13 with 10:30 left to play. The second, and most crucial play of the game for the Vols, came when Dobbs dove into the end zone and fumbled the ball. Thankfully for Vols fans Jalen Hurd, who was on the other side of the field during the fumble, saw the play develop and hustled to get possession of the ball to give the Vols a 20-13 overtime win.

“If we are more focused on the environment than actually football itself, then we won’t come out on top,” Dobbs said. “We have to be locked in to the game plan and locked in from the first snap.”

Dobbs couldn’t be more honest. With a packed house expected on Saturday, when Tennessee has the ball on offense the thousands of Hokies’ fans will literally be behind him screaming. If Dobbs shows any sign of worry, the Hokies fans will be the least of his worries. The same can be said for Evans, the JUCO transfer, as he has to come in to the game with the mindset of playing a better game.

What To Expect

For the fans, they hope that The Battle at Bristol” won’t be a disappointment. That means the 160,000 fans at the game and the thousands watching on TV want to see a tight, competitive game. They want to see a game that is exciting, hard hitting, physical and they will most likely get that rather than a blowout. Tennessee fans want to see the team that dominated the second half of the 2015 schedule, not the team that struggled against Appalachian State last week. Hokies fans want to upset the Vols’ like they did Ohio State in 2014. But that was 2014. And this is 2016, a new era for Virginia Tech football. If Virginia Tech wants to repeat history, they’ll have to put the odds forever in their favor in the last great Coliseum.

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