The Virginia Tech Hokies meet the Boston College Eagles on Saturday night from what is expected to be a rainy Lane Stadium. The Eagles have won three of the previous four meetings, including an ugly 17-3 win last season.

Both teams lost their season opener last week by a combined four points.

Will the Eagles, behind quarterback Phil Jukrovec, running back Patrick Garwo and wide receiver Zay Flowers, prove too much for Virginia Tech’s defense? Or, can VT quarterback Grant Wells cut down on his mistakes to lead the Hokies to their first victory?

Here are staff predictions for Saturday’s game.

Bryan Manning

I admit I don’t have a great feel for this game. Boston College’s play surprised me last week. The offense is better than what we saw in the loss to Rutgers. I believe a lot of what we saw in Virginia Tech’s surprising loss to ODU is correctable. Turnovers and penalties were the themes of the game for the Hokies.

The Lane Stadium atmosphere will be electric on Saturday. The stadium will be full of recruits, and Virginia Tech needs to put together an impressive performance on the field.

I think this is a close game, one way or the other. While the Eagles will present quite the test on Saturday, the Hokies play a much cleaner game in front of the home crowd and walk away with their first win of the season.

Hokies 24, Eagles 21

Jay Johnson

I fully expected both Boston College and Virginia Tech to be entering their week two matchup as 1-0 teams. Instead, the Eagles show up to Blacksburg on Saturday night, and both programs are looking for their season’s first win. BC’s struggles look like they might be deeper than what VT is facing, but they also seem like a team poised to improve significantly deeper into the season. The Eagles O-line struggled to protect Jurkovec and open running lanes for BC RB Pat Garwo III during their loss to Rutgers. I was impressed by the Hokie defense last week and believe there are gaps in the Boston College offensive armor that Dax and VT can exploit. The BC defense didn’t look too shabby in their loss, either. The Eagles defense is going to be more athletic and capable than the ODU defense that abused Grant Wells last weekend, and the Hokies must minimize costly offensive mistakes. If that means taking a sack or throwing the ball away and VT must punt, so be it. Don’t give the BC offense a short field. They might have looked troubled last week, but there is athleticism and NFL talent on that team. The Hokies must play more disciplined football. Limit the turnovers and stop committing penalties. I think this one might be a defensive grind, but I stand by my preseason prediction and the Hokies walk away with Brent Pry’s first win.

20-13, Virginia Tech

John Schneider

It’s going to be a late, wet, sloppy game. Worsham Field isn’t muddy, but it gets really loaded with puddles, and the footing gets awful in spots.

I just don’t see a big passing game for either side which means ambushes will be a real possibility. Especially with Jurkovec to Flowers.

I honestly don’t have a clue as to who will pull this one out. I see a low-scoring game in the 21-17 range, with either team being on top of the outcome.

Hoping for a Hokie win.