NC State may have the advantage of having played (and won) a game already this season, but Virginia Tech has the edge on talent. The Hokies return nine starters on offense and eight starters on defense from an 8-5 team. My model says the Hokies cover almost 60 percent of the time, so you're getting strong value with Virginia Tech at this number.

Maybe it's just coaches doing that thing coaches do when they try to downplay their team, or maybe Justin Fuente was being honest. All I know is that the Hokies are scheduled to play the first game of their season on Saturday night against an NC State team that has a win under their belt, and Fuente was talking publicly about how many players missing from his team, and that he "hopes" they're able to play. I'll take the points.