Virginia won the Commonwealth Cup against Virginia Tech for the first time in 16 years.

The Virginia Cavaliers knocked off the No. 24 Virginia Tech Hokies 39-30 at home in their Commonwealth Cup rivalry clash Friday, following 15 straight years of losses in that game. That win improved the Cavaliers to 9-3 and also gave them the ACC Coastal Division championship, which means they’ll face the No. 3 Clemson Tigers next week in the ACC championship. And their fans rushed the field afterwards:

This was a big one in terms of the conference championship game, as 8-4 Virginia Tech also could have advanced to that title game if they’d won. But it was the Cavaliers moving on instead, and that had a lot to do with quarterback Bryce Perkins. Perkins completed 20 of 33 passes (60.6 percent) for 311 yards with one touchdown and one interception, but he also rushed 19 times for 164 yards (8.63 yards per carry) and two touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Virginia Tech had their own chance to win it here. They got the ball back down just 33-30 with 1:23 left, but then ran into some trouble. Quarterback Hendon Hooker (who finished the day with 18 completions on 30 attempts (60 percent) for 311 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions) was sacked for a two-yard loss on the Hokies’ first play from scrimmage, then sacked again for a loss of nine. Facing third and 21 at his own seven, Hooker was then sacked again and fumbled, with Eli Hanback recovering for a touchdown that put Virginia up 39-30 (after the Cavaliers elected to kneel rather than kick the extra point and risk a block and return):

Virginia Tech got one more chance after that, and Hooker managed to drive them all the way to the Virginia 7, but they couldn’t punch the ball in and ran out of time. That meant that the Cavaliers claimed the Commonwealth Cup, and the ACC Coastal title.

[ESPN]

 

 

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.