Virginia Tech (7-4, 4-3 ACC) will look to finish the regular season strong on Saturday, traveling to Charlottesville to take on the University of Virginia (2-9, 0-7 ACC). The game will kick off at 3:32 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNU with Tom Hart and John Congemi on the call.
The Series
• Saturday’s football game between Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia will be the 95th gridiron meeting between the two schools. Tech holds a 52-37-5 edge in the rivalry, which has seen the Hokies win the last nine games, 13 of the last 14 games, and 16 of the past 20 contests.
• The series began in 1895 with Virginia winning 38-0. UVa went on to win the first eight meetings between the two schools and built a 20-13-4 advantage in the series by 1953.
• Beginning with the 1953 season, Tech bounced back to win 10 of the next 11 meetings and take the lead in the series.
• During Frank Beamer’s tenure as Tech’s head coach, the Hokies lead 17-9 after winning 17-14 last year at home.
• From 1923-35, the two met 13 times as members of the Southern Conference with Tech holding a 7-3-3 advantage.
Commonwealth Cup
• The winner of the annual gridiron clash between Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia earns more than bragging rights in the state. In recent years, the winning team has also taken home the Commonwealth Cup.
• The Cup, residing in Blacksburg after last year’s 17-14 win, was created in 1996 by the universities to remain in the possession of the winner of the in-state rivalry each year.
• The Commonwealth Cup, made of marble and cherry wood, is four feet high and weighs more than 100 pounds. The top of the Cup is silver-plated with the names of the two schools. The scores of all 94 games in the Tech-Virginia rivalry are engraved on the sides. A map of the Commonwealth of Virginia with Blacksburg and Charlottesville marked with stars has been etched on the front of the trophy, which was produced by Josten’s.
• Virginia Tech gained possession of the Cup first by defeating arch-rival Virginia, 27-9, at Lane Stadium/Worsham Field in 1996.
Mr. Durability
• When Logan Thomas steps under center for the first play of Saturday’s game, he’ll set yet another school record. He already holds the records for total offense, passing yards, attempts, completions, passing scores and rushing TDs by a quarterback. This week will be his 39th consecutive start, breaking the school record for quarterbacks of 38, set by Bryan Randall from 2001-2004.
What’s At Stake
• While the Hokies need a little help, they still are playing for a shot to win the Coastal Division tiebreaker and represent the division in next weekend’s ACC Championship Game in Charlotte against No. 2 FSU.
• For Tech to win the tiebreaker, here’s what needs to happen:
1) Virginia Tech must beat Virginia AND
2) North Carolina must beat Duke
• If Duke beats North Carolina, Duke wins the Coastal Division outright and plays Florida State.
• If 1 and 2 above happen and Miami beats Pitt, Virginia Tech wins a five-way tie with Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami and North Carolina based on record within a five-team minigroup. Tech is 3-1, while Duke, Miami and Georgia Tech would be 2-2 and UNC would be 1-3.
• If 1 and 2 above happen and Pitt beats Miami, Virginia Tech wins a four-way tie with Duke, Georgia Tech and North Carolina based on record within a four-team minigroup. Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech are 2-1, while Duke and North Carolina would be 1-2. Virginia Tech would win based on its head-to-head defeat of Georgia Tech.
• If North Carolina beats Duke and Virginia beats Virginia Tech, Miami represents the Coastal if it beats Pitt; if Pitt beats Miami, Georgia Tech wins the Coastal if both the Hokies and Blue Devils lose.
• There are eight possible scenarios left in the Coastal Division with Duke winning four, Virginia Tech winning two and Miami and Georgia Tech both winning one.
• Either Virginia Tech or Georgia Tech has represented the Coastal Division in every ACC Championship Game.
More On Tech-UVa
• This year’s senior class is 3-0 against UVa and with a win, the Hokies would have a 10-game winning streak against the Cavs, adding on to the longest winning streak all-time for the Hokies in the series. Virginia’s longest winning streak in the series is eight games (1895-1904).
• The Hokies have actually fared better on the road than at home over the past 11 seasons against the Cavaliers. In the five games at Scott Stadium since 2002, the Hokies averaged 37.2 points per game, while in six games at Lane Stadium since 2002, Tech averaged just 18.7 points per game.
• The 1998 game marked the 80th meeting between Virginia Tech and Virginia. That made the UVa series the longest-standing football series in Tech history, surpassing the 79-game VMI-Tech series, which ended in 1984.
• Tech has outrushed UVa in 33 of their last 41 meetings, while the Cavs have posted more passing yards than the Hokies in 15 of the last 29 games in the series.
Recently in the Series
• Last year’s game came down to the last second as Cody Journell booted a 29-yard field goal, set up by Antone Exum’s late interception, as time expired to give Tech a 17-14 win on Senior Day to make the Hokies bowl eligbile for the 20th-straight year.
• In 2012, David Wilson had 153 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and Logan Thomas passed for two more scores as the Hokies blanked UVa 38-0 on the road to clinch the ACC Coastal Division. It marked the first time since 2006 - and the 16th time in the long-running series - that Virginia Tech had shut out the Cavaliers.
• In 2010, Wilson had a 20-yard touchdown catch and a 2-yard scoring run, and Ryan Williams added two rushing scores as the Hokies won at home.
• In 2009, Williams ran for 183 yards and four touchdowns in the win as the Hokies scored 28 points in the second half to pull away.
• In 2008, UVa led 14-7 at the half behind converted quarterback Vic Hall, who had two rushing touchdowns. But Tech scored on a Greg Boone rushing touchdown in the third quarter and Dustin Keys won it with a 28-yard field goal with 6:37 left.
• In the 2007 win by Tech, Branden Ore had 147 yards rushing, while Eddie Royal had 147 yards receiving.
• Tech’s 52 points scored in the 2005 game were the most scored by either team ever in the series. It marked the first time since 2002 that the Hokies had two 100-yard rushers in a game. Branden Ore ran for 115 yards on 15 carries against the Cavaliers, while senior starter Cedric Humes added 113 yards on 17 attempts.
• In 2004’s game, the 0-0 halftime tie was the first game Virginia Tech had played where neither team scored in the first half since a 1990 game at Georgia Tech.
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