The Atlantic Coast Conference announced this morning that the Virginia Tech-Virginia game next Saturday, September 19 will be played at 7:30 PM. The game will be televised nationally on ABC.
https://twitter.com/ACCFootball/status/1304423598485057537
It was previously announced that the game would be on ABC at 3:30 or 7:30. The main competition for the night time slot was Miami at Louisville. Following the 'Canes 31-14 victory over UAB last night, ABC/ESPN chose to air Virginia Tech-Virginia at 7:30 on ABC, preceded by Miami-Louisville at 3:30 on ABC. Both games are national broadcasts.
This is a bit of a surprise, as the Louisville-Miami matchup was thought to have a few advantages over Virginia Tech-Virginia:
- Louisville is allowing 18,000 fans to attend games, whereas Lane Stadium will only have 1,000 fans for the foreseeable future (taken up mostly by players' and coaches' families, top level staffers, etc. -- Virginia Tech has not sold any tickets).
- ESPN has been hyping up Miami transfer QB D'Eriq King while providing little publicity for Virginia Tech or Virginia.
- The Cardinals-'Canes matchup is a game between teams picked to finish No. 4 and No. 6 in the conference, while Virginia Tech-Virginia is a No. 5 vs. No. 9 matchup.
Nonetheless, the Hokies and Cavaliers will have the more visible 7:30 ABC time slot. Other games in that time slot on Saturday September 19 are:
- SMU at North Texas, 6:00, CBSSN
- Louisiana Tech at Southern Mississippi, 7:30, ESPN2
- Texas State at UL-Monroe, 7:30, ESPNU
- Wake Forest at NC State, 8:00 ACC Network
Virginia Tech holds a 58-38-5 advantage in the rivalry with Virginia. The Hokies have won 19 of the last 21 meetings, and Tech won the first 15 after entering the ACC in 2004. Virginia finally broke Virginia Tech's stranglehold on the Commonwealth Cup last season with a 39-30 win in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers have not won in Blacksburg since 1998, when they came back from a 29-7 half time deficit to beat Tech 36-32.
We have updated our schedules with the 7:30 time.