Virginia Game Guide

Virginia Tech vs. Virginia

Time: Noon
Date: Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008
Place: Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, Va.
TV: ESPN

Last Meeting: Virginia Tech beat Virginia for the fourth consecutive time and the eighth time in the last nine meetings to capture the Commonwealth Cup and the ACC Coastal title...Branden Ore ran for 147 yards and Tyrod Taylor had two rushing touchdowns to lead the Hokies to a 33-21 win...the Hokies out-gained the Wahoos, 430-241.

Trends: The Hokies have won eight of their last nine meetings with the Wahoos, including the last four...Virginia Tech has won the last four meetings in Blacksburg, with its last home loss coming in 1998...Tech has won 15 of its last 16 home games...the Wahoos have lost three consecutive games.

What to Expect: Two anemic offenses. I don't think there will be a lot of points scored on Saturday. Expect a score similar to UVa's 13-3 loss to Clemson or Virginia Tech's 14-3 win over Duke.

Obviously, in tight ballgames, the kicking game and field position will be important. The Hokies have a solid kicker and punter in Dustin Keys and Brent Bowden. If they both have good games, it will be a good day for Tech.

Both teams will try to control the line of scrimmage through the run game. UVa has a good running back in Cedric Peerman, but he struggled to find running lanes against Clemson.

The Wahoos are just as good at stopping the run game as the Hokies. Their defense has finally come together late in the season. However, they have given up big plays at inopportune times during the current losing streak.

The Hokies have played well on defense their last three games and I expect them to again this week. The question will be finding enough points to beat the Wahoos. First team to 20 wins.

As for the Hokies quarterback situation, who knows? Tyrod will probably start. But I wouldn't be surprised if Glennon gets called into duty at some point during the game.

Hokies win if: They are solid on defense and the kicking game and take advantage of good field position on offense.

'Hoos win if: They avoid giving up big plays on defense and get a good performance from Peerman.

Dot-dot-dots: A win would give the Hokies their third division title in the four years since the ACC split into two divisions in 2005...since 2000, the Commonwealth Cup game has been played the weekend after Thanksgiving seven of nine years...Jarrett Boykin's touchdown catch in the second quarter last week was the first touchdown for a Hokie wide receiver this season...running back Darren Evans is averaging 121.8 yards per game at home and 56.0 yards per game on the road.