CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia Cavaliers can give added weight to their historic season with a victory over their in-state rival, although unlike seasons in recent memory, this campaign won’t come to a close quite yet. Already bowl-eligible for the first time since 2021, No. 17/18 Virginia (9-2, 6-1 ACC) hosts Virginia Tech (3-8, 2-5) on Saturday as part of the annual Smithfield Commonwealth Clash, also UVA’s sixth game under the Scott Stadium lights this season. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN and the Virginia Sports Radio Network. 

A win Saturday would secure the Wahoos’ second-ever berth in next weekend’s ACC Championship Game and tie the program’s single-season victories record (10). Full Game Preview →

INSIDE SATURDAY’S MATCHUP 

• Saturday marks the 106th meeting between Virginia and Virginia Tech. The rivalry, first contested in 1895 with a 38-0 Cavaliers win in Charlottesville, has served as the regular-season finale in 30 of the last 35 years. 
• Established in 1996, the Commonwealth Cup is awarded annually to the winner of the football matchup, and Virginia is seeking its first Cup victory since 2019 – a season in which the Cavaliers also captured the ACC Coastal Division and earned the program’s inaugural Orange Bowl berth. 
• With a 6-1 record in ACC play, a win over the Hokies would guarantee UVA of at least a share of first place in the ACC standings and a berth in the ACC Championship game (Dec. 6) in Charlotte, N.C. The Cavaliers have won six games in league play only seven times in program history. The program record for ACC wins in a season is seven, established by the 1995 team. 
• With a 9-2 overall record, Virginia has reached the nine-win plateau for only the ninth time in the program’s 136-year history and first since 2019. The only other occasion Virginia had nine wins entering the Commonwealth Clash was in 2007. 
• In the annual all-sports competition between the two schools, the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash, Virginia leads, 4.5-0.5. UVA and VT tied in men’s soccer in Blacksburg back on Sept. 5. UVA has won the Clash each of the last three years and seven of the last 10 years. 
• The 1989 co-ACC champion squad is the only UVA team to win 10 games in a season. The 1995 co-ACC champion team is the only Cavalier contingent to win seven ACC games in a season. 
• Virginia heads into Saturday’s game nationally ranked against Virginia Tech for the first time since 2011 when it garnered the No. 24 spot in the AP poll. The Cavaliers have won five games against the Hokies as a ranked team, most recently a 36-32 victory in 1998 as the No. 16 team in the country. 
• Virginia is inside the AP Top 25 for the ninth consecutive week. It’s the longest stay in the poll since 2004, when it was featured for the entirety of the season. On Nov. 18, the Cavaliers were included in the latest College Football Playoff rankings for the fourth straight week, the longest stretch in program history.  
• Saturday marks Virginia’s seventh and final home game of the season, the most since the 2021 season. The Cavaliers are 5-1 at Scott Stadium in 2025, the best mark since going 6-1 in the 2021 campaign.

TOP STORYLINES

• Virginia is 9-2 in its first 11 games for the first time since 2007. It marks only the fifth time (1895, 1989, 1998, 2007, 2025 that UVA has won nine games in the regular season. Virginia is bowl-eligible for the first time since 2021 after winning six of its first seven games. 
• Virginia’s offense rushed for more than 200 yards for the fifth time this season with a 224-yard output at Duke (Nov. 15). J’Mari Taylor led all players with 133 yards rushing, his third 100-yard rushing performance as a Cavalier. With 913 yards rushing yards and 13 TDs in 11 games this season, Taylor looks to become the 16th player in program history – and first since Jordan Ellis in 2016 – to eclipse 1,000 yards on the ground in a season. 
• Virginia’s balanced offense has amassed 2,067 yards rushing and 2,751 yards passing. For only the fifth time in school history (1990, 1995, 2011, 2018, 2025), UVA has accumulated at least 2,000 yards rushing and 2,500 yards passing in the same season. 
• In its last five outings, Virginia’s defense has held opponents to 278.4 yards of total offense per game. In that same span, UVA opponents have not scored more than 21 points in a game. 
• Against Duke (Nov. 15), the Cavaliers’ defense shut out their opponent in the first half for the sixth time this season, allowing UVA to race out to a 31-3 advantage. Cavalier opponents are averaging only 63.0 rushing yards per game over the last three games, including an eight-yard output by Cal (Nov. 1), the fewest by a UVA opponent since 2020.  
• The Cavaliers boast one of the top third-down defenses in the country, allowing 43 conversions in 151 attempts (28%). Virginia Tech has been in the upper half of the ACC in third-down conversions with a success rate of 43% through its first 10 games. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW