Stanford Cardinals @ Virginia Tech Hokies Discover ORANGE Bowl Pick

Stanford Cardinals @ Virginia Tech Hokies Discover ORANGE Bowl Pick: I know this about the Stanford/Virginia Tech game – everybody thinks the Cardinal are supposed to win. They roster the best quarterbacking prospect in all of college football. Some people even think Andrew Luck is going to be one of the best of all time, and if everyone watches Sports Center then everybody knows that, too. When a player is hyped like that, when he’s a 1st overall pick lock, his team is almost always tougher to gamble on. While I can’t see it in the spread, that is probably the case here, so this is probably one of those games that I’m wrong about.
Oh well, I guess, I still like Stanford to sneak this one out.

Luck has been all kinds of fantastic. He has completed 70% of his passes in a pro style offense with 28 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions. But the guy across the ball has been pretty good too. Tyrod Taylor was very good to start the season against Baylor, and he’s put up numbers close to Luck’s. He’s thrown for 500 fewer yards, and completes 10% fewer of his passes, but his 23 to 4 touchdown to interception ratio is very impressive, and it means the Hokies haven’t beat themselves too often.

In fact, after an 0-2 start, the Hokies have rallied off 11 straight wins and Taylor’s a big reason why. He may not get the NFL hype that Luck gets, but this is college football, and Taylor is damn good in that regard.

Both of these teams are well coached, and even though Harbaugh is one of the hottest names in coaching right now, the ol’ Hokie Frank Beamer has made a career out of doing more with less, out of putting together a consistent program that can compete with anyone.

But I’m still going with Stanford, yes. I give them the slight edge offensively, and honestly, a slight edge defensively as well. It comes down to slights, and a touchdown victory gets me a win – so I’ll shoot for that!

#4 Stanford Cardinals (-3) @ #13 Virginia Tech Hokies