Halftime: Virginia Tech Hokies Lead Virginia Cavaliers, 3-0

The Virginia Tech Hokies and Virginia Cavaliers are meeting for the 99^th time. Both teams suffered throughout November, and both squads would love to punctuate the regular season with a win over their greatest rival. The Hokies look to extend their winning streak to 14 years while the Cavaliers are looking to stop this losing streak before it’s old enough for a driver’s license.

The Hokies received the ball to start the game. Josh Jackson and the offense got to work on the ground early and often, running the ball five straight plays before an incomplete pass would force a punt. In the first 15 minutes of play the Hokies have only mustered 84 yards of offense. Luckily, the Hoos have only managed 39 yards – 23 of which came from a singular play. Virginia has come out swinging, throwing deep on several occasions, but only connecting on the 23-yard play mentioned above. Defense and pedestrian offense has been the theme for the first quarter.

The Hokie offense started to drive at the start of the second, but stalled in the red zone. Joey Slye is still nursing an injured hamstring, but Brian Johnson hit a 30-yard field goal to put the Hokies on the board, with just under 12 minutes to play in the half. The second quarter looked largely like the first, except this time UVA was able to get into a scoring position after a Jackson interception. But, the Wahoo kicker hooked it right and the Hokies remained in the lead. The VT offense continues to look simplistic, and seems to spend an inordinate amount of time running into piles for a no gain or a loss. The Virginia Tech defense, on the other hand, spent the majority of the first half living in the Cavaliers’ back yard. The UVA offense could find no purchase, amassing only 68 yards and failing to score.

The Hokies lead, 3-0. Points are a premium in this game where neither offense seems able to get it together.