Losing at Virginia in 2019 stung for Virginia Tech. The Hokies were riding high after three straight wins, having won six of their last seven.
Justin Fuente & Co., needing a 16th win straight in the series to clinch the ACC Coastal Division and advance to the league's Championship Game, faltered.
Leading 27-20 entering the fourth quarter, Tech allowed Bryce Perkins to complete six of his seven attempts in the last 15 minutes for 101 yards. With that, UVa scored a rushing touchdown, kicked two field goals and snatched the Commonwealth Cup back thanks to Mandy Alonso forcing Hendon Hooker to fumble, which was scooped up for a Cavalier score.
Virginia won 39-30, snapping The Streak, and Cavalier fans rushed the field.
"It's hard to forget," Tech wide receiver Tre Turner said about what he remembers from the 2019 game in Charlottesville. "Hurt. It was kind of like we got punched in the gut. ... I'll never forget that pain that I felt in 2019."
This time around, Virginia Tech and Virginia aren't each 8-3 and fighting for the Coastal Division. It's been a bit of a chaotic season for both programs, actually, and the Hokies have had a hectic last ten days.
VT sits at 5-6 and needs a win against UVa to clinch bowl eligibility, while the Cavaliers are 6-5 and no longer in the Coastal Division race, which Pitt clinched, after losing to the Panthers last week.
Both teams still have the ultimate prize to play for, though: Pride. And for Virginia Tech, that also means getting revenge for 2019.
"The last time in Charlottesville was one of the worst things I've ever felt," Hokies defensive end TyJuan Garbutt said. "I want to get the taste out of my mouth."
"If you can't be fired up to play this game, you don't even need to be going out there because we know what we have to do," Turner said. "We've got to get that sixth win, we've got to get this second win in a row vs. UVa and get that cup and keep it."
Getting To A Bowl
Last season, the Hokies, who finished 5-6, opted out of a bowl game. It ended Tech's streak of 27 consecutive years with a trip to the postseason.
It was a year full of ups and downs with COVID-19, and while some fans were disappointed with the team's decision, it was understandable given the circumstances.
This year, however, the Hokies need a win at UVa to become bowl eligible. In the last decade, Virginia Tech has been in this situation multiple times: 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2018. All times the program needed a win to continue its season, it did.
For Virginians like Garbutt, who is from Fredericksburg, that grew up watching the rivalry, it means everything to them, something they've relayed to their teammates.
"It's really a big-time game," Garbutt said. "For me, being from this state, going against those guys up the road, this means a lot to me. I feel like, as a collective unit, we know what the goal is, the goal is to win so we can have one more game together as this group. For me, I'm taking it as a personal challenge to go play my best football yet.
"We know, no matter what's happened, this is the biggest game. Not only because it's the next game, but it's the guys up the road."
With bowl eligibility riding on the result of Saturday's game, too, Tech has even more to play for. Interim head coach J.C. Price, who lives and breathes Virginia Tech, explained to the players last week about how the bowl streak started back in 1993, his sophomore year, and what it means to be able to go to the postseason.
"They didn't start that streak because it was the plan," Garbutt said. "It was because they had pride to try to go play in the postseason and get some recognition to this place and create an identity for Virginia Tech. Just knowing that, if we win this one against our biggest rivals, we will have one more game and we will be remembered as a resilient group."
Price brings passion and juice to this Hokies program. Tech linebacker Dax Hollifield said he'd "run through a wall" for Price. Garbutt said Price embodies the saying, "the VT never comes off."
Led by Price, Virginia Tech has an opportunity to extend its season in Charlottesville. They'll be playing for many things, including bowl eligibility and the cup, but pride will be at the top of the list.
"Losing the streak [in 2019] sort of upset me," Hollifield said. "It's gone, but I want to start a new one. I want to get this win this weekend, and with that comes a bowl. But we want this one this weekend. Bowl would be great. That's the outcome of it, but yeah. UVa is my big plan."
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