Virginia Tech opens kicking competition but says John Love is still the guy

Virginia Tech will hold an open competition at kicker this week, but James Franklin says John Love is still the starter after three straight missed field goals. Franklin's comments were reported by Bryan Manning of SB Nation's Gobbler Country.

Franklin said the competition covers punter as well as kicker, and that he wants both groups under pressure in practice every day. Sophomore Cole Byrd will get chances to compete, and so will Love's younger brother, freshman Will Love. "Obviously, John is still the guy and will have an opportunity," Franklin said, according to SB Nation. He added that after three misses in a row, two of them from distances the staff considers high-percentage for Love, the program has to look at every option.

Love's season started well. He made his first seven field goal attempts, and his only miss on an extra point was a block at Maryland in Week 3. That run ended on Oct. 2 against Pitt at Lane Stadium. With the Hokies in position to win in prime time, Love pulled a 36-yard try just left. There was some confusion over whether the kick was good, but it was ruled no good. Franklin defended Love afterward as a kicker, a teammate and a leader, and said the rest of the team stood behind him after Love spoke to them.

Last week at Cal, the trend got worse. Love hooked a 55-yard attempt left in the first half. That distance is within his range but far from automatic. Later he missed left again, this time from 39 yards. SB Nation's assessment was blunt: the kicker appears to have lost his confidence, though his coach has not lost faith in him.

Punting is an even bigger concern. Senior Nathan Totten is averaging only 41 yards per punt, and on a team whose defense has had trouble, short punts make that problem worse.

The competition comes right before a home game. Virginia Tech, now 4-2, hosts Georgia Tech (2-3) at Lane Stadium on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EDT on ACC Network. The Hokies are favored at -335 on Novig, one of the venues pricing the game, and FanDuel's best price on Virginia Tech is -375. The spread is Virginia Tech -10.5 and the total is 56.5. Full prices are on the game page.

A double-digit spread suggests the market doesn't expect a close game. But Virginia Tech's last two games show what an unreliable kicker can cost, and it can only take one short attempt. Whoever wins the job in practice this week will probably settle any close game against the Yellow Jackets, and could decide how the second half of the Hokies' season goes.