Fresh Opportunity Awaits Cavaliers in Blacksburg

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Few things would make Ahmad Hawkins happier than having to share the spotlight this time of year.

In 1998, Hawkins was on the receiving end of the Aaron Brooks pass that put the University of Virginia football team ahead to stay in its stunning comeback victory over Virginia Tech at Lane Stadium, a moment captured in an iconic photograph taken by Mike Ingalls. Ever since that November day, Hawkins’ catch has been brought up whenever the Wahoos are preparing to play in Blacksburg.

“It’s like a gift and a curse,” Hawkins, now the analyst on UVA football radio broadcasts, said Friday. “I appreciate being remembered and getting to reminisce each Thanksgiving. But I wish there were other teams and other individuals who could share their stories about winning down there at Lane Stadium. So sometimes I feel like it’s a curse.”

The Cavaliers, who trailed the Hokies 29-7 at halftime in 1998, rallied to win 36-32. That still ranks as the largest comeback in program history, but Virginia hasn’t won at Lane Stadium since that game.

“So it’s a celebration,” Hawkins said, “but it’s become a weapon against us, because in the other fan base you’ve got people like, ‘Oh, I wasn’t even born then,’ because it was 26 years ago. It’s one of those things where I wish we’d go ahead and break that streak and start to make it a regular occurrence.”

Virginia’s next opportunity to do so comes on the final day of the regular season. In a game to air on ACC Network, UVA meets Tech at Lane Stadium at 8 p.m. Saturday. Each team is 5-6 overall and 3-4 in ACC play, so the winner will become bowl-eligible, but that’s almost of secondary importance to the Hoos.

Only twice in the past 25 years have the Hoos defeated Tech—in 2003 and 2019, each time at Scott Stadium—and they know that reclaiming the Commonwealth Cup is an essential step if the program is to ascend to prominence again.

“It’s rivalry week,” UVA head coach Tony Eliott said Tuesday. “That’s been the message to everybody. Nothing else matters. It really doesn’t. Nothing else matters but what you do this week … Yes, bowl-eligibility is on the line, but there is a lot more on the line. Bowl-eligibility is what we’re after, but I’m really after having all the folks that support Virginia have the upper hand for 365 days.”

This is the third season at Virginia for Elliott and his staff. In the wake of the Nov. 13, 2022, tragedy on Grounds, the UVA-Tech game scheduled for later that month was canceled, so Elliott’s first experience with the rivalry came last season at Scott Stadium.

The Cavaliers would like to forget that game. The Hokies romped 55-17, the most points UVA has allowed in a series that began in 1895. Virginia’s defense gave up 500 yards, and its offense gained only 286.

“It was embarrassing,” offensive coordinator Des Kitchings said. “It was distasteful. Not something that we enjoy … And it’s our job, it’s our responsibility as a program, to make those who support UVA—alumni, fans—proud at midnight Saturday. And that’s our objective.”

Virginia’s seniors include All-ACC safety Jonas Sanker, a graduate of The Covenant School in Charlottesville. This could be the final game of his college career, Sanker noted Tuesday, so there’s “a lot at stake. Every game I approach with the mindset of being a killer and just going 100 percent and leaving it all on the field, but this one really means something special. And just being from Charlottesville, I’ve kind of grown up around this rivalry for long time. So, yeah, it’s a big one.”

The Hoos haven’t played in Blacksburg since November 2020, and that was not a typical Commonwealth Cup battle. COVID-19 protocols were in place for that game, and a crowd of 250 saw Tech defeat UVA 33-15.

At Virginia, only a handful of players remain from that 2020 team. Sanker was a Covenant senior that fall, so this will be his first game at Lane Stadium, where a sellout crowd of 65,632 is expected Saturday night. Few of those fans will be pulling for UVA, but that doesn’t bother Sanker and his teammates. The Cavaliers have often sputtered at home this season, but their road record includes wins over Wake Forest, Coastal Carolina and Pittsburgh.

“I think the guys embrace kind of the villain role going on the road,” Elliott said.

Virginia Tech supporters are famously inhospitable to visiting teams, but Sanker doesn’t mind being heckled.

“I kind of like just coming in and everybody there wants you to lose, everybody there wants to see you fail,” he said. “It’s just something about being in that adversity and just being in that tough situation with all your guys, I just love it. I can’t even explain it. I just love it.”

A hostile environment is nothing Virginia hasn’t faced already this season.

“Shoot, we played at Notre Dame,” Sanker said. “We played at Clemson. You’re not preparing for an atmosphere. You’re preparing for an opponent. I’m not really too focused on the atmosphere. I know the atmosphere is great. I know it’s going to be an amazing experience. So have fun. Embrace the atmosphere. Don’t let it affect how you play.”

UVA tight end Tyler Neville, a graduate transfer from Harvard, agreed.

“It really just comes down to execution,” said Neville, who’s from Williamsburg. “We’ve executed well on the road. We’ve had a great game plan and we’ve stuck to it. Those road wins are definitely gritty wins, but we just did what was expected of us and we ended up being in the right spots at the right time.”

Injuries have been a major storyline this week. UVA’s Xavier Brown hurt his collarbone last weekend against SMU and won’t play Saturday, and fellow tailback Kobe Pace is questionable for the regular-season finale. Pace leads Virginia with 499 yards rushing this season, and Brown is second with 488.

For Virginia Tech, injuries to their top two quarterbacks, Kyron Drones and Collin Schlee, might mean a start for Pop Watson. In Tech’s 31-28 loss to Duke last weekend in Durham, N.C., Watson completed 12 of 25 passes for 146 yards and no touchdowns, with one interception. He was sacked seven times. Watson carried 17 times for minus-4 yards, largely because of that sack yardage.

“They’ve been banged up, we’ve been banged up,” Sanker said. “But if there’s one thing I know about Virginia Tech, they’re going to find a way to put their best foot forward. So we’re preparing for their best. We’re preparing for Drones, we’re preparing for everybody, because we know they’re going to show up this weekend.”

No matter who plays quarterback for Tech, tailback Bhayshul Tuten figures to carry the ball often. Tuten has rushed for 1,035 yards this season and averages 6.3 yards per carry.

“He’s always falling forward,” Elliott said. “That’s the sign of a great back. They fall forward.”

Among ACC teams, Virginia ranks 15^th in scoring offense (23.2 points per game), and the Hokies rank sixth in scoring defense (23.3 ppg).

“They’ve got several good pass-rushers,” Elliott said. “Their D-line is in my opinion up there with the top in the league. They’ve got so much depth. They can roll so many guys in at those four positions up front. They don’t miss a beat and stay fresh … If they get you behind the chains, then they can turn all the pass-rushers loose.”

The key for UVA’s offensive players, tight end Sackett Wood Jr. said, is to “just lock in on doing your 1/11^th. That would be my biggest thing, because there’s no big answer. It’s not like the plays are bad or anything. Everyone just needs to take care of their 1/11^th. Don’t overcomplicate it.”

Hawkins knows that when each player does his job, magical things can happen on the football field.

“I took advantage of one opportunity versus my rival school, and people talk about me every Thanksgiving,” he said.

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