Virginia Tech Hokies

Virginia Tech Football: Three Keys to Avenging The House of Horrors at Heinz Field

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Sep 17, 2016; Blacksburg, VA, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies fullback Sam Rogers (45) runs the ball against Boston College Eagles linebacker Connor Strachan (13) during the first quarter at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

The Hokies enter their Halloween Weekend match-up with the Panthers looking to win their first game ever at Heinz Field

The Virginia Tech Hokies take their ACC Coastal leading 3-1 conference record into Heinz Field, where the team will look for their first ever win against Pittsburgh at the famed Steelers stadium on Thursday night.

After a strong win last Thursday night over Miami, the Hokies have positioned themselves in their best position to win the Coastal since their last division title in the 2011 season. With Duke, Georgia Tech, and UVa remaining after tonight, the Hokies should be favored against their ACC schedule from here on in.

With this being said, it will be no easy task for the Hokies to take care of business as 3.5-point road favorites, as aside from being winless at Heinz Field, Tech as not won a true road game over their old Big East rivals since 1999.

With that in mind, what are the three keys to victory for the Hokies heading into their crucial Coastal Division tilt on Thursday?

Oct 12, 2013; Blacksburg, VA, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers running back James Conner (40) gets tackled by Virginia Tech Hokies linebacker Tariq Edwards (24) during the second quarter at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

1. Stop the Pittsburgh Rushing Attack

This one seems rather obvious. For the better part of the Hokies’ 5-2 start to the 2016 season, the defense, both against the run and against the pass, has been fantastic. Bud Foster’s unit is fourth in the conference in total defense, and 11th in all of college football, only allowing 302 yards per game this season.

Perhaps more importantly within the total defense metric, is yards per play, where the defense has excelled by only surrendering 4.39 yards per play on the season thus far.

Against the run, the Hokies defense is only allowing 2.94 yards per rush, and 103.6 yards per game on the ground, which is the third-best mark in the ACC, and 11th in the country. Although the defense in totality, and especially against the run, has been very good all season, the unit has yet to face a rushing attack that is as good as Pittsburgh’s has been on the year so far.

With the return of James Conner to the Panthers’ running attack (a courageous story of beating cancer that we can all root for), the Hokies’ Thursday night opponent has once again become one of the top rushing offenses in the ACC.

The Panthers sit only behind Louisville for the conference lead in rushing offense, amassing 239.1 yards per game as a team this season. Individually, Conner has been as advertised, returning to form to a tune of 531 yards on the ground and seven touchdowns, while averaging 4.3 yards per rush on the season thus far. Outside of Conner, the Panthers love to get the ball in the hands of sophomore wide receiver Qadree Henderson, who is second on the team in rushing behind Conner with 349 yards and three touchdowns.

It will be no small task to defend this dynamic rushing attack on Thursday night, but if the Hokies are able to contain the Panthers on the ground, it will make life a whole lot easier defensively for the duration of the contest.

Oct 31, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies running back Travon McMillian (34) and place kicker Joey Slye (46) get ready to lead their team on the field against the Boston College Eagles at Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

2) Establish Travon McMillian and Sam Rogers Early and Often Offensively

For all of the justifiable attention that Virginia Tech receivers Isaiah Ford and Bucky Hodges receive, it certainly seems like the Hokies offense operates much more smoothly when running backs Travon McMillian and Sam Rogers are more involved in the offense.

Take the Tennessee game for example. It was a 45-24 loss that most Hokies fans would love to forget, but thinking back to the first quarter when Tech jumped out to their 14-0 lead, the two touchdowns were scored by who else? Travon McMillian and Sam Rogers.

The first: A seven-yard touchdown pass from Jerod Evans to Rogers with 4:32 to play in the first quarter

The second: A 69-yard run from McMillian about two minutes later.

Before all of the special teams gaffes, fumbles, and penalties in that contest that led to the ultimate rout, the Hokies’ best offensive spurts came when both McMillian and Rogers were more heavily involved.

How about a more recent example? Last Thursday night’s victory over Miami.

McMillian had his best game on the ground since the Battle at Bristol, running for 131 yards on 18 carries. Because of the strong running game, the balance on offense was apparent in the passing game, where Sam Rogers once again made his presence felt.

Rogers pulled in two catches for a team-high 72 yards, including a highlight reel 52-yard catch-and-run to set up the Hokies deep in Miami territory in the first half. In addition to his contributions in the receiving game, Rogers also was involved in some fullback-to-fullback trickeration, tossing a 13-yard touchdown pass to fullback Steven Peoples in the third quarter to extend the Hokies’ lead to 30-16.

Good things seem to continue to happen each time this duo touches the ball, making it all the more paramount for the backs to be involved against the nation’s fifth-ranked rushing defense in Pittsburgh.

Oct 20, 2016; Blacksburg, VA, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies quarterback Jerod Evans (4) throws a pass during the first quarter against the Miami Hurricanes at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

3. Protect Jerod Evans in the Passing Game

This seems to go hand-in-hand with the prior slide, as far as establishing the running backs in the offense to open up the passing game, but if the Hokies’ offensive line can perform much like they did a week ago against Miami, the offense as a whole should be in very good shape.

The better that the Hokies run the football in this game, the better off the offensive line will be in pass protection, which should benefit Tech more in this game than in most.

Pittsburgh’s passing defense has been exposed in the first half of the season as one of the worst units in all of college football, as they rank 107th nationally in passing efficiency defense, surrendering over 2,000 yards through the air in seven games.

Of the utmost concern for the Hokies as far as Pittsburgh’s defensive front is concerned is their defensive tackle Ejuan Price. Price leads the nation with 9.0 sacks on the season, and is third in the country in tackles for loss with 13.0, equating to 1.9 per game.

If the offensive line can contain him this evening, the team should be in position to once again expose one of the weakest passing defenses in the nation.