Hokies and Cavaliers meet for 98th time on the gridiron

Tech seeks 13th straight win over Virginia and sixth ACC Coastal crown

November 21, 2016

Virginia Tech football will host the Virginia Cavaliers this Saturday at Lane Stadium with a Noon kick and plenty on the line for the Hokies. It will be Senior Day for a dozen players and Tech will seek to send them out as winners, which would also be the program's 13th straight victory over Virginia and the ninth straight win at home over the Cavaliers. Also with a win, Tech will clinch the ACC Coastal Division crown, the team's sixth in 12 seasons, and a berth in the 2016 ACC Championship Game.

• GAME NOTES - includes links to Tech's game notes, this week's opponent's game notes, ACC weekly notes and head coach Justin Fuente's quotes from Monday's press conference.
• CLICK HERE - for gameday information.

CAN HOKIES WIN #13STRAIGHT VS. UVA?

• Virginia Tech looks to extend its winning streak over UVA to 13 straight games, the longest active victory string among in-state FBS rivals.
• The Hokies are 16-1 in their last 17 games vs. Virginia. The next-closest teams in terms of in-state dominance over an in-state rival over that span are Oklahoma (13-4 vs. Oklahoma State) & USC (13-4 vs. USC).
• UVA hasn’t won at Lane Stadium since a 36-32 victory (11/28/98) with its most recent victory in the series coming by a 35-21 count in Charlottesville (11/29/03).
• VT has won seven of its last nine contests and is coming off a 34-31 win after trailing 17-0 at Notre Dame (11/19). It was VT’s biggest comeback since bouncing back from a 20-0 margin for a 41-20 win vs. Duke (10/13/12).
• UVA is seeking to snap a six-game losing streak after suffering a 31-17 loss at Georgia Tech (11/19).
• Saturday will mark the second meeting between Justin Fuente & Bronco Mendenhall and their first as ACC head coaches. Fuente’s Memphis squad registered a thrilling 55-48 double-OT win over Mendenhall’s BYU squad in the 2014 Miami Beach Bowl.

MORE ON THE COMMONWEALTH CUP CLASH

• The Hokies are 6-2 in ACC play dating back to last season’s 23-20 win at UVA (11/28/15). That game marked the final regular season game of Frank Beamer’s legendary career. The hiring of Fuente was announced the following day by the Hokies.
• VT is bowl eligible for the 24th consecutive season, the longest active streak recognized by the NCAA.
• Dating back to a 17-14 UVA loss at VT (11/24/12), the Cavs have lost 15 of their last 16 ACC road games.
• The Hokies are 39-3 (.929) in ACC play when scoring 30+ points, including an 4-0 mark in 2016.
• UVA has lost 19 straight ACC road games when permitting 30 points or more dating back to 2003.
• The Hokies are 28-4 (.875) all-time in ACC home games when holding foes to 17 points or less.
• UVA has lost 19 consecutive games when being held to 17 points or less dating back to a 27-7 loss vs. TCU (9/22/12), a contest that was the first as offensive coordinator for Fuente with the Horned Frogs.

MORE DATA ON HOKIES AND CAVALIERS

• The Hokies have never thrown more than one INT during their 12-game winning streak vs. Virginia. UVA has thrown two or more INTs in 10 of those 12 contests.
• VT has held UVA to 21 points or fewer in all 16 of the Hokies’ victories in the series dating back to 1999. Over that timeframe, VT is 87-7 (.926) at home when holding foes to 21 points or less.
• UVA has been held to 20 points or less in six of its nine losses in 2016.
• Virginia Tech has outscored its foes by a 38.4-17.1 ppg margin in its eight wins in 2016.
• Virginia Tech is +6 (14 takes/8 gives) in its seven wins and -9 (2 takes/11 gives) in its three losses.
• UVA is +5 (7 takes/2 gives) in its two wins and are -10 (18 gives/8 takes - up) in its nine losses in 2016.
• VT is 5-0 this season when it doesn’t throw an INT and is 23-8 (.742) all-time in ACC home games without an INT.

DISRUPTIVE #LPD, SLYE & MORE NUGGETS

• Among P5 defenses, only Michigan (21.1%) & Wisconsin (27.1%) have lower third-down conversion rates than VT (27.6%) and only Michigan, Ohio St., Alabama & LSU have allowed fewer first downs per play in P5 games.
• VT is tied for seventh among FBS squads with 89.0 TFLs.
• DT Woody Baron is third in the ACC and is tied for fifth in the P5 with 17.0 TFL, while LB Tremaine Edmunds (15.5) is tied for sixth in the ACC.
• K Joey Slye (62) is seven made FGs shy of breaking the VT career record of 68 set by longtime NFL K Shayne Graham. His 19 made FGs on the season are tied for sixth in the P5.
• Slye is fifth in VT history with 301 points and could bypass K Carter Warley (307) and K Brandon Pace (310) this week. His 98 points lead all ACC kickers and are fourth among all players.

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