2013 Virginia Tech Football: Virginia Game Guide

Virginia Tech Hokies (7-4) vs. Virginia Cavaliers (2-9)

Time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
Date: Saturday, Nov. 30, 2013
Place: Charlottesville, Va.
Stadium: David A. Harrison III Field at Scott Stadium
(Cap: 61,500, Open: 1931, Field: Grass)
TV: ESPNU
Radio: VT IMG, XM 197, Sirius 112
Spread: Virginia Tech -13
Weather: High of 40, 0% Chance of Rain

Virginia: In their last game against the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday, the Cavaliers were routed 45-26. It started early and the 'Canes never let up. Miami intercepted a David Watford pass just six seconds into the game and returned it to the house for a 7-0 lead. Midway through the first, the Cavs would add a field goal, pulling it back within 4. But Miami would answer back almost immediately with a 62-yard pass from Stephen Morris to Stacey Coley to make it 14-3. The Cavs would grab a score on a 24-yard pass from David Watford to Kevin Parks to cut it back to 4 again. The Wahoos added another field goal early in the second quarter to make it 14-13, but that's as close as it would get, as Miami ripped off 17 straight points over the next quarter and a half, a 1-yard Dallas Crawford run before half, a field goal and a 26-yard pass from Morris to Allen Hurns to make it 31-13 Miami. Taquan Mizzell opened up the fourth quarter with a score on a 10-yard Watford pass to cut the score to 31-20. Crawford then ran it in from 5-yards out to restore the 18-point Miami advantage. They then expanded on that lead to make it a 25-point advantage on a 72-yard David Gilbert fumble return. Mizzell would punch it in again on a 7-yard run to provide the final margin (after a missed PAT) with just minutes left. Kevin Parks rushed for 130 yards on 26 carries and a touchdown. David Watford threw for 106 yards with 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions, but split time with Greyson Lambert, who fared much better.

Trends: Virginia Tech won the last game in the series, in 2012, 17-14 in Blacksburg. The Hokies got on the board first, early in the second corner, courtesy of a 7-yard pass from Logan Thomas to Randall Dunn. Seven minutes later, the Cavs answered on a 62-yard pass from Michael Rocco to Tim Smith to tie it up at 7 going into half. The Hokies fell behind early in the third on a 16-yard fumble Brent Urban return to put the visitors up 14-7. Thomas knotted it up on a 4-yard plunge late in the third, but there was no scoring in the fourth until the clock went dead, as Mike London foolishly gambled that Cody Journell would miss the field goal, but instead he hit and the Hokies escaped with a 17-14 victory. Thomas was responsible for 218 total yards out of the 303 Virginia Tech yards and both touchdowns.

History Lesson: The following information is all provided via Hokiesports.com. The Hokies lead the all-time series 52-37-5, and 17-3-3 in conference, 9-0 in the ACC. The Hokies are also 17-10-3 against Virginia at Scott Stadium and 20-17-3 in Charlottesville all-time. The Hokies won their last game over the Cavaliers, 17-14 in 2012, making it nine wins in a row in the series. Beamer is 3-0 against fourth-year UVA coach Mike London. He is 17-9 against UVA all-time. The Hokies are 22-20-1 in the series when they are unranked. Virginia Tech lost the first game of the series in 1895, a 38-0 Virginia win in Charlottesville. They would go on to win the first eight games, allowing only 5 points to the Hokies during that stretch. The average score of the series is a 17-15 Virginia Tech advantage. The Cavaliers and Hokies have each shut one another out multiple times. Tech is 61-18 all-time in ACC conference games, including a 39-6 record against Coastal Division opponents and a 30-10 mark in ACC road games (18-3 against Coastal Division opponents at home) (rankings data dates back to 1950, the earliest year of Hokiesports' poll of choice, the Coaches' Poll).

What to Expect

• Virginia runs a pro-style offense.
• Virginia runs a 4-3 formation defensively.
• The Cavaliers rank No. 86 nationally in total offense with 376 yards per game. They are also scoring 21 points per game, which ranks No. 104 nationally.
• Virginia ranks No. 79 in passing offense with 215.1 yards per game through the air.
• The Cavaliers rank No. 76 nationally with 160.9 yards per game on the ground.
• Defensively, the Cavaliers are giving up 407.2 yards per game, good for No. 71 nationally. They also are No. 102 in the nation in scoring defense, giving up 34.8 points per game.
• In rushing defense, Virginia is No. 71 nationally, allowing 174.7 yards per game. Through the air, they've allowed 232.5 yards per game, good for a No. 72 ranking in the nation.
• David Watford has passed for 2,080 yards with 8 touchdowns and 15 interceptions so far this season in 11 games.
• Running back Kevin Parks is the Cavaliers' leading-rusher at 926 yards and 11 touchdowns.
• The Cavaliers' top receiver is Tim Smith, who has 26 receptions for 389 yards and 1 touchdown.

Hokies Win If: They show up and play Virginia Tech football.

Cavaliers Win If: There is no God.

Dot-dot-dots: The triple-overtime win over Marshall was win No. 700 for the program. The Hokies are one of only 15 teams in the FBS to have that many wins. Frank Beamer is in sixth place all-time in wins among FBS coaches with 265. He needs 34 more to pass Joe Paterno, who now stands at 298 wins after 111 wins were vacated from Paterno's record. Individually, Logan Thomas is now the all-time leading-passer in Virginia Tech history in passing attempts (1,208), completions (677) and career passing yardage (8,728 yards). Thomas became the all-time leader in passing yards in Virginia Tech history against North Carolina, passing Tyrod Taylor. In the win over Georgia Tech, Thomas moved into third place all-time at Virginia Tech in wins for a quarterback with 22. He now has 25 and needs one more wins to move into a tie for second place all-time with Bryan Randall with 26 wins. Thomas is also now the all-time leader in total yardage in Tech history after passing Tyrod Taylor in the loss to Boston College, and stands at 10,064 yards. He is the school's first 10,000-yard player in total offense. In the loss to Duke, Thomas also moved passed Tyrod Taylor for first place all-time in rushing touchdowns among Virginia Tech quarterbacks, with 24. In the win over Miami, Thomas also moved into sole possession of the passing touchdown record at Virginia Tech with 50, passing Bryan Randall whom he had previously been tied for with 48. He now has 52. Thomas is also fourth all-time in rushing yards among Virginia Tech quarterbacks with 1,336, 190 yards behind Bryan Randall for third all-time. Against Maryland, Thomas tied Randall for the all-time consecutive starts record for a quarterback at Virginia Tech with 38. He will set the Virginia Tech record against Virginia with 39-straight starts. The Hokies are 5-2-1 all-time on November 30.