CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Before everyone goes and pencils in the victory for No. 4 Virginia Tech tonight, there are a few things about Boston College that should scare the Hokies.

Boston College is not intimidated. Dating back to their last four games of last year, this is a team that has played No. 1 Miami -- twice -- tough enough to scare the 'Canes. It's played -- and beat -- Georgia in the Music City Bowl. Now the Hokies stroll into Alumni Stadium and the Eagles are supposed to be spooked? Right.

	No. 4 Virginia Tech at Boston College
	Kirk Herbstreit joins Mike Tirico and Lee Corso for tonight's 7:30 p.m. ET battle between No. 4 Virginia Tech and Boston College on ESPN. Herbstreit's Thursday Night Lights will appear weekly and breakdown the Thursday night game.

Tom O'Brien has brought this program a long way. The Eagles now go into games like this and think they'll win. There are no more moral victories. So, Virginia Tech knows going on the road, on national TV against Boston College will not be easy.

This is going to be a great game to watch. It will be 45-50 degrees. Even though it's on turf, this is football. A nice chill in the air, two good blue-collar teams with great work ethic who are well-coached going at it. It will be a fun one.

Randall Growing Up
One thing that stands out about the Virginia Tech offense is the development of QB Bryan Randall. I saw them earlier in the year against Marshall and the one thing you knew was Lee Suggs, Kevin Jones and the offensive line were the strength of this team. The difference in the Hokies having a good year and a great one would be the development of the passing game and Randall.

So far, so good.

You look at the Hokies now and it's almost like evaluating a different team. After playing the likes of Texas A&M (on the road), LSU and Marshall, he's a different player. The numbers speak for themselves. He's improved little by little each week, culminating with a 10-of-11 for 119 yards against A&M. On the season, he's completing 66 percent of his passes.

The thing that stands out most is Randall's poise. To go into College Station and put up the kind of numbers he did, that shows me something. Usually, to perform that well in such a tough road game, you have to have gone through it a few times. Randall already had the moxie to pull him through it. Maybe it's from playing big time hoops while in high school, but he doesn't get scared. That's important in a game like tonight.

Spotlight Player

Va. Tech DEs Nathaniel Adibi and Jim Davis. When Brian St. Pierre and Boston College take their shots downfield, will he have time to throw it? Adibi, who has five sacks, and Davis, who has three sacks, feel they can get pressure on him. Boston College MLB Vinny Ciurciu. The transfer from Clemson has been a breath of fresh air for the defense. Ciurciu, who is tied for the team lead in tackles, He's incredibly talented and looking to show what he can do against "The Untouchables."

Also, give the coaches a lot of credit. Dana Bible -- the offensive coordinator and QB coach -- has created a nice package for Randall to operate from. It's a nice mix of option, play-action passes and calculated Randall runs. There's a lot more to this offense now with Randall involved and teams can no longer afford to just load up and try to stop Suggs and Jones.

Watch for Virginia Tech to take some shots downfield. The Boston College cornerbacks -- 5-foot-8 Travor White and 5-7 Larry Lester -- may have trouble matching up with Tech's 6-4 Ernest Wilford or the incredibly athletic 5-10 Richard Johnson. Add in Randall throws a very nice deep ball and I think we'll see the Hokies go deep a few times.

First Down Is the Key
Of course, while the Eagles need to worry about Randall, their first priority will be stopping Suggs and Jones. The two combine for 808 yards and 13 TDs. Suggs averages 5.4 yards a carry and Jones averages 5.0 a carry. Boston College has to stop the run. The Eagles believe if they can get Tech and Randall in third and long situations -- meaning third and 7 or longer -- they'll play well defensively and win the game. If it's a game of third and 3 or less, the Eagles could be in trouble. So, keep an eye on first down. Watch whether or not the Hokies are having success or if they're getting stoned on first down. That will determine a lot in this game.

Young And The Restless
The matchup of this game is the surprising young defense of Virginia Tech against the BC offense. As young as the Hokies are, they are one of the nation's best defenses. The are fifth in the nation in total yards (268 per game) and first in scoring defense at just over 7 a game. This is something you expect at Tech, but considering the youth on the squad, it's shocking.

Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster has been pleasantly surprised by the ability to shut down the run and blitz like crazy and get pressure on the QB. Foster says this is one of the more athletic defenses he has. My reaction: Duck! When Foster says something like that, it's scary. What this defense was lacking at the start of the year was experience and now it has it. Asked what the difference from the LSU game to tonight is and the players all agree it's night and day. In the LSU game, they were just trying to follow the game plan and not make mistakes. They were still thinking some. Now, they believe in each other, they react and they believe in what they are doing. This has really become a dangerous defense.

The Line Is Drawn
The Boston College offense is coming in fresh off a 43-0 rout of Central Michigan and a game against Miami where, if you watch the tapes, they held their own with the 'Canes. They just didn't have the athletes at WR and in the secondary to make -- and hold off -- big plays.

The Eagles offensive line is the strength of this team coupled with the experience of QB Brian St. Pierre. Dan Koppen -- 6-3, 293 pounds -- is one of the best centers in the country and LG Chris Snee -- 6-2, 305 pounds -- is just plain nasty and a really good player. While the Hokies will be trying to blitz and push back this line, the Eagles have the talent to push right back. They have to have that mentality and attitude to be tough enough to push back. After that, St. Pierre and the WRs have to make some plays against man coverage. The Eagles will need Derrick Knight and Brandon Brokaw to run hard and break some tackles against the Hokies. Brokaw is a horse, but he's not quite up to speed as far as picking up blitzes and blocking. But running the ball, he can be a difference maker.

The Eagles will utilize the the experience of St. Pierre. They need to be aggressive with the play-calling and put the ball in the air and deep. Most teams are intimidated by Virginia Tech and its style of defense so getting more conservative hurts them. Even though they may not connect downfield, they need to let the Hokies know they can do it and back them up a little bit. One thing you have to do when you play this defense is get them on their heels. The Hokies can't be coming downhill or you're in trouble.

Watch for St. Pierre to look for his tight ends, Sean Ryan, Frank Misurelli and Dave Kashetta. The trio has combined for 16 catches. Also, he'll likley look deep for Jamal Burke or Keith Hemmings.

The Bottom Line
Both teams want to run the football. But the key tonight is which team has greater success passing the ball. Virginia Tech better be ready to play. Although BC is unranked, the Hokies are on the road on national TV and the Eagles, although an underdog, truly believes it is going to pull off the upset.

Kirk Herbstreit is an analyst for ESPN's Thursday Night Football as well as ESPN College GameDay.