Stage Set for High-Stakes Showdown at Scott Stadium

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

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — About half of the players on the University of Virginia football roster were in other college programs or in high school last season. And so many of them knew little about UVA’s rivalry with Virginia Tech when they arrived on Grounds this year.

To educate the Cavaliers’ newcomers about the annual battle for the Commonwealth Cup, head coach Tony Elliott said, he leaned a little on “the assumption that everyone’s been a part of a rivalry game and so [understands the] importance of it and the impact that it has beyond just the Saturday that you play it.”

The team that wins this game has bragging rights for the next year, and so do its fans. For most of this century, the celebrants have been Hokies. The Wahoos beat Tech in 2003 and 2019—both times at Scott Stadium—but otherwise they’ve experienced little but frustration in this series since winning at Lane Stadium in 1998.

Another opportunity to reclaim the Commonwealth Cup comes Saturday night for Virginia, ranked No. 17 in the latest Associated Press poll. At 7 o’clock, UVA (9-2 overall, 6-1 ACC) meets Virginia Tech (3-8, 2-5) at Scott Stadium.

A win would send the Hoos, No. 18 in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings, to the ACC championship game for only the second time in program history. The first was in 2019.

“We have to carry the burden of what hasn’t been done in the past, and we’ve got an opportunity to change the future,” Elliott said Tuesday at the Hardie Center. “But we’re also not taking away from what got us to this point, and that is treating every game like it’s the biggest game. So we have that approach with our schedule. This is the next one, but we understand the significance, and so we’re really relying on that and then also the leadership of the guys that have been here, that have been a part of it, to let them know in their own way what this game means to them.”

Win or lose Saturday, the Hokies will play no more games this year. They’d like nothing better than to spoil what has been a special season for the Cavaliers, who haven’t finished above .500 since 2019.

Tech fired head coach Brent Pry early in the season. The Hokies haven’t always played well this fall, but they’ve continued to play hard for interim head coach Phil Mongtomery. Elliott said UVA is “anticipating that we’re going to get their best effort, their best focus, their best attention to detail in this game.”

Elliott, who’s in his fourth year at Virginia, said he expects this “to be a four-quarter game, and we’re anticipating that it’s going to come down to one possession, regardless of what everybody else may think, because [the Hokies are a] very, very capable football team, and they still have talent in that locker room, and they’re going to be motivated. They’re going to be motivated for those guys [for whom] this is their last game and they want to go out on top … I’m sure they have a certain mindset relative to this rivalry, and rightfully so. They’ve earned that. We got to change that mindset.

“So it’s going to be a battle. I think you’re going to see two teams out there playing physical football with passion and desire and a want to win. And it’s going to come down to the details and execution, ultimately.”

The Cavaliers haven’t played since Nov. 15, when they defeated Duke 34-17 in Durham, N.C. Junior linebacker Kam Robinson, an All-ACC candidate who is Virginia’s most dynamic player, left that game with a knee injury, and he’s out for the rest of the season.

Elliott said Tuesday that Robinson, who has returned two interceptions for touchdowns this fall, suffered a torn ACL at Duke.

“I’m really grateful for all that he did to help the team get to this point,” Elliott said, “and I’m sure that the guys are going to rally around him and support him in his recovery. It’s an unfortunate part of the game of football.”

UVA’s base defense is a 4-2-5. James Jackson has started every game at the Will linebacker spot. Landon Danley started the first three at the Mike spot while Robinson recovered from a broken collarbone, and Danley and Maddox Marcellus have played extensively all season.

“We’ve got a group of guys in the linebacker room who prepare like they’re going to play every weekend,” Jackson said. “Obviously, some weeks you don’t get the opportunity to show that, and then something like this happens. We talk about it all year. You’ve got to be ready to play. You’ve got to be ready to step up and take advantage of the opportunity.

“It’s big shoes to fill. It’s going to be a group effort. I think a lot of guys are capable, and we’ve seen it throughout the year.”

VOICE OF EXPERIENCE: A true freshman on the UVA team that defeated Tech in 2019, safety Antonio Clary is in his seventh (and final) year in the program. Clary, whose college career has been marred by significant injuries, was one of the four Virginia players who stopped by the Hardie Center team room for interviews Tuesday.

“As far as just the significance of the game, it means a lot to everybody,” Clary said, “especially if you’ve been a part of this program, if you’ve been a part of this brotherhood.”

Clary said he hasn’t heard from many former teammates about the upcoming game. That’s because “people know what it is,” he said. “We know it’s a big game. We know the significance of it. A few former players just texted me about the game, [saying] Beat Tech and stuff like that, but everybody knows what it is.”

There’s more riding on this game, of course, than the Commonwealth Cup. With a win over Tech and a win in the ACC championship game, UVA would advance to the College Football Playoff. Still, the Hoos are focused on “keeping the main thing the main thing,” Clary said.

“Coach talks about it all the time, going 1-0 each week, and that’s our main focus. What happens after this week, we’ll leave that until that week comes. We’re focused on Virginia Tech. We’re not looking too far ahead in the future … because we’ve got to handle business this week, or we don’t get the goals that we want.”

The Cavaliers’ captains for the season are Jackson, quarterback Chandler Morris, tight end Sage Ennis and defensive tackle Jahmeer Carter, but they have plenty of other leaders, including Clary.

He hasn’t asked Clary to speak to the team about the rivalry, Elliott said, but No. 0 “does that on his own in the locker room.”

Elliott smiled. “He sometimes doesn’t want to reveal how old he is with the team, but he does that. And then there’ll be a time throughout the course of this week, because not only do we have the game, we’ve got Thanksgiving. So we’ll have an opportunity just to express what we’re thankful for. And then whoever wants to address the team at any time can. So I’m sure if he has something he wants to say publicly to the team, he will. But I know down there in the locker room, he’s letting the guys know how important this one is to him.”

Clary said he’s spoken to Kam Robinson in the athletic training room since the Duke game.

“I just told him: Keep your head up,” Clary said. “He’s been obviously through some injuries, so he knows what it is. But I just told him that if anybody can do it, he can do it, just by how resilient he is and the type of mindset he has of just going to work every single day and nothing’s too big for him.”

DUAL THREAT: Tech quarterback Kyron Drones has thrown 16 touchdown passes this season, but he might be more dangerous as a runner.

A 6-foot-2, 235-pound fifth-year senior, Drones has rushed 159 times for 609 yards and nine touchdowns this fall. He leads Tech in carries and TDs.

In the Hokies’ overtime win over Cal last month, they totaled 58 rushes and only 18 passes. Drones ran 21 times for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Elliott said he expects Tech to employ a similar strategy Saturday night, at least initially.

“That’s what I would do,” Elliott said. “I would make you stop the run.”

Tech also has talented tailbacks in Marcellous Hawkins and Terion Stewart, who are averaging 6.3 and 6.0 yards per carry, respectively.

“I think they’re super talented in running the football,” Jackson said. “I think it’s something they pride themselves in. Obviously, with talented running backs like they have, and then also having a talented quarterback, that creates a problem for any defense, having a quarterback who can run. And with their scheme, they can put people in positions where you have to make decisions, and they do a good job of that. So we’re just trying to manage that, and it’s going to take a lot on the defensive side of the ball throughout the week, preparation, knowing what they’re doing, being locked in on their keys, being able to handle whatever they give us.”

IMMEDIATE IMPACT: Virginia’s offensive leader is Morris, a graduate transfer from North Texas who’s had a sensational year.

Morris, who was one of 20 FBS semifinalists for the Davey O’Brien Award, has completed 215 of 323 passes for 2,404 yards and 14 touchdowns, with seven interceptions. He’s also rushed for four touchdowns, though he’s run less since hurting his non-throwing shoulder early in the season.

A victory Saturday would push Virginia to the 10-win mark for only the second time in program history. (The first was in 1989.)

Morris, who enrolled at UVA in January, acknowledged Tuesday that “there’s a lot of pressure on us and everything like that, but pressure is a privilege. We’ve worked to put ourselves in this position and also to put ourselves in this position to have this opportunity. Just be grateful for it, and I think if you’re grateful for the opportunity and really appreciative of it then I think you can go take advantage of it.”

For Clary, to bookend his lengthy college career with wins over Tech would be immensely gratifying. Whatever happens Saturday, he’s proud that the Hoos are back on sound footing.

“It’s definitely cool to see where this program has come from,” Clary said, “having success my first year here and then hitting a slump and then getting the program back to where it needs to be.”

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