Virginia Tech fixes flaws, shines

The first week of September was one Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer does not care to remember.

To start things off, the Hokies fell to Boise State 33-30 on a Broncos touchdown in the final 75 seconds of a highly anticipated Labor Day showdown in Landover, Md. The unspeakable happened five days later when Virginia Tech was upset 21-16 by in-state school and Football Championship Subdivision member James Madison in Blacksburg.

At that point, many inside and outside the program probably expected the Hokies' season to free fall.

But Beamer not only has righted the ship, he has Virginia Tech one victory from playing in a Bowl Championship Series game. Beamer said he studied the two losses "to see what went wrong and correct it."

Since the James Madison loss, the Hokies have reeled off 10 consecutive victories, covering the point spread in nine of those. Only one of the wins was by fewer than 11 points.

Virginia Tech leads the nation in turnover ratio at plus-16. It's not happenstance since the Hokies have been on the positive side of the turnover ledger for seven straight seasons, averaging plus-11 in that span.

Look for quarterback Tyrod Taylor and the Hokies to put an exclamation point on their turnaround by beating Florida State today in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game in Charlotte, N.C.

Lay the 3½ to 4 points and go with Virginia Tech.

Six more plays for today (home team in CAPS):

■ WEST VIRGINIA (-21) over Rutgers -- Rutgers coach Greg Schiano speaks often about his program's mantra of "chopping wood." The Scarlet Knights must have put their axes down as they have lost their past two games by a total of 58 points to Cincinnati and Louisville.

■ WASHINGTON STATE (+6) over Washington -- This is the bowl game for a vastly improved Washington State team that is positioned for a prime effort. The Cougars have covered six of their past seven games, while rival Washington is only 12-22 against the spread off its past 34 straight-up victories.

■ FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL (-5) over Middle Tennessee -- T.Y. Hilton and the Golden Panthers have turned a corner this season under coach Mario Cristobal. Middle Tennessee has failed to find its stride, even after standout quarterback Dwight Dasher was reinstated after missing the first four games.

■ CENTRAL FLORIDA (-9) over Southern Methodist -- Angling for an invitation to the Big East, Central Florida clearly has been the class of Conference USA this season. The Golden Knights are 13-7 ATS in their past 20 as home favorites and have held all but one of their opponents below their scoring average this season.

■ South Carolina (+5½) over Auburn -- In late September, Auburn, as a 3-point home favorite, got a gift-wrapped 35-27 victory over South Carolina. Two months later, South Carolina is peaking and getting more points at a neutral site in Atlanta. Gamecocks tailback Marcus Lattimore was limited to 33 yards on 14 carries in the first meeting but will do more damage in the rematch.

■ Oklahoma (-4½) over Nebraska -- There is speculation whether freshman quarterback Taylor Martinez will play against the Sooners -- or beyond this season for the Cornhuskers. With Martinez either on the bench or playing at less than 100 percent, Oklahoma prevails in this matchup of Big 12 rivals.

Last week: 5-3 against the spread

Season: 43-50-3

Texas-based handicapper Paul Stone of Vegassportsauthority.com is providing college football analysis for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.