Key stat shows where Virginia Tech could have edge over Boston College
Virginia Tech travels to face Boston College on the road on Friday night, and the Hokies are in desperate need of a win.
Va Tech enters this game with a 4-4 record and needs to find two wins down the stretch in order to gain bowl eligibility. Justin Fuente’s squad closes the season with games vs. red-hot Miami and Virginia, so taking care of business vs. the Eagles on Friday night might be required.
Quarterback Braxton Burmeister could prove to be the x-factor. He’s been good-but-not-great this season for the Hokies, but is coming off a huge performance last week vs. Georgia Tech. He threw for 254 yards and 2 touchdowns in the win.
Burmeister has been excellent this season when he can work from a clean pocket. Here’s this stat, courtesy of ESPN’s David Hale:
Braxton Burmeister when not pressured: 61% completions, 7.92 yd/dropback, 8 TD, 1 INT, 69.6 raw QBR.
Under pressure: 29.5% completions (126 out 128 qualified QBs), 0.51 yd/dropback (126th), 1 TD, 2 INT, 3.3 raw QBR (110th).
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) November 2, 2021
That’s a stark difference. In terms of raw QBR, Burmeister ranks as the No. 40 quarterback nationally when not pressured and No. 127 (dead last) when he is.
There’s good news for the Hokies: Boston College is arguably the worst passing team in the ACC. Here’s this, via Rivals’ Andy Backstrom:
Something to note for this week: BC is second-to-last in the ACC in sacks per game, and the Eagles rank 117th nationally in PFF pass rushing grade (65.2). https://t.co/nZsGodGsHF
— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) November 3, 2021
Advantage: Virginia Tech. It will be interesting to see if Burmeister and the Virginia Tech offense can use this to their advantage on Friday night. Kick off is at 7:30 p.m. ET.