This is it: the Commonwealth Cup. The most important game in the Commonwealth of Virginia no matter how good or how bad either team is. This year’s edition brings along some stakes for the first time since 2019, as a Virginia victory would secure its spot in the ACC Championship Game next weekend. Inversely, a Virginia Tech victory would likely bring UVA's dream regular season to an end without a conference title or CFB Playoff bid.
It does not matter where you are from in Virginia, this game means something to you. The Cup, and the bragging rights associated with it, means so much for the players, coaches, students, and fans of the winning team. Although this rivalry has not lived up to the hype in the last 25 years, this will be Virginia’s best shot to win since 2019, where they defeated the Hokies to secure their spot in the ACC Championship.
As a lifelong fan of Virginia Tech athletics and lifelong resident of Southwest Virginia, I will not be unbiased here: it is absolutely imperative that the Hokies win this game. The feeling that would come with keeping the Cavaliers out of Charlotte would be the greatest way to end a disappointing season and to start a very promising offseason under James Franklin. The Commonwealth of Virginia needs both Virginia and Virginia Tech to be nationally relevant. It seems that Virginia has turned a corner and they hope to build on the success they have found from this season; the question is how high can Virginia Tech soar under James Franklin?
Keeping our eyes on this game, however, let us take a look at some things the Hokies need to do to defeat the Cavaliers Saturday night.
