Lots at stake in Tech, U.Va. game
By PAUL WHITE, The Virginian-Pilot
© November 30, 2002

Up until a few weeks ago, the contest appeared to be, well, no contest.
On the one side there was Virginia Tech, a bona fide national title contender. Ranked third in the land, the Hokies were making big noise in the Bowl Championship Series rankings.

On the other side stood Virginia, an inexperienced, defenseless wanna-be.

That was then.

The fortunes of both have shifted dramatically throughout November. And today, when the 22nd-ranked Hokies host the Cavaliers at Lane Stadium at 3:30 p.m., few will be surprised if the 84th meeting between the in-state rivals turns out to be one of the most competitive.

The Cavaliers (8-4) opened the season with two straight losses. But they’ll enter today’s game winners of eight of their last 10. Like the Hokies, they’ve beaten three teams that were nationally ranked when the game was played. Last Saturday, in their best performance of the campaign, the Cavaliers smacked around then-18th-ranked Maryland 48-13.

Cavaliers coach Al Groh maintains he saw his team’s surge coming all along. But the Hokies admit they didn’t see this Virginia team coming.

“They’ve surprised me,’’ Tech defensive end Lamar Cobb said. “I thought it was going to be a long year for them after the way they started, but the coaches and players hung in there. They’ve improved a lot.’’

Cobb’s Hokies, meanwhile, have seen an 8-0 start disintegrate into an 8-3 mark as Big East foes Pittsburgh, Syracuse and West Virginia took turns smashing Tech’s BCS hopes.

Making matters worse, the Hokies were beaten in areas where Tech teams have traditionally ruled. Their three conquerors have averaged 246 rushing yards a game against a team that has long prided itself on stopping the run. Two of the defeats came at Lane Stadium, typically one of the nation’s most intimidating venues.

And two of the losses came on ESPN2. Tech teams had gone 10-1 on that network heading into November.

Given the way things have shaken out so far this month, the Cavaliers are understandably upbeat about their chances today.

“We’re confident, but we have level heads,’’ offensive tackle Elton Brown said. “We feel we can play with anybody.’’

Their recent slump aside, the Hokies also have reasons for optimism. While mindful of his team’s sudden deficiencies, Hokies coach Frank Beamer pointed out that his team is just a few plays away from being 11-0. Tech was in position to either win or tie in the last seconds in each of its defeats before costly mistakes sent the Hokies off the field losers.

Consequently, Beamer believes the Hokies believe they still present a formidable challenge.

“I’m sure Virginia takes us as seriously as we take them,’’ Beamer said.

As an added bonus, the current form of both teams suggests today’s game could be as entertaining as it is competitive. While the Cavaliers’ defense has acquitted itself reasonably well of late, it’s still ranked 99th out of 117 Division I-A teams.

Tech’s defense, meanwhile, has surrendered nearly 500 yards per contest in its last three games.

With defenses like these in play, big days could be in store for Virginia’s passing game and Virginia Tech’s rushing attack.

Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub’s year mirrors his team’s — early struggles followed by rousing success. On Tuesday, he was named the ACC’s Offensive Player of the Year. Schaub is completing nearly 70 percent of his passes and ranks fourth in the nation in passing efficiency.

Virginia Tech quarterback Bryan Randall is just two spots behind Schaub in the passing-efficiency standings. But the Hokies’ offensive calling card is a relentless running game led by tailbacks Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones.

The Hokies have gotten away from their strength in recent weeks with Jones slowed by a sore hamstring. But with both backs 100 percent for the first time in weeks, the Hokies figure to return to the style that highlighted their successful early season run.

“They’re fun to watch,’’ Groh said. “It’s unfortunate we have to watch them from the other sideline. We’d rather just watch them on television.’’
 

Heading in opposite ways
Hokies stumbling; Cavs rolling
BY MIKE HARRIS
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Nov 30, 2002
 

BLACKSBURG - Fans do it. Coaches do it. Players do it. Reporters do it. Everybody does it.

The football season is about to start and, mentally, you go down the schedule game by game, figuring the wins and the losses. As the season progresses, you do it again to make adjustments for unexpected happenings.

So let's have a show of hands - and be honest. Two months ago, when Virginia Tech went to 2-0 by thumping Louisiana State and Virginia went to 0-2 after getting thumped by Florida State, how many picked the Hokies to win today's matchup against the Cavaliers?

Uh huh, almost everybody. Just what we figured.

Hands down, and we'll do it again.

Tech (8-3) and Virginia (8-4) play today at 3:30 p.m. at Lane Stadium. The Hokies, who a month ago thought they'd be setting themselves up to go into next week's game at Miami unbeaten, are trying to figure out how to stop a three-game losing streak. They've gone from third to 22nd in the national rankings. The Cavaliers, picked to finish eighth in the Atlantic Coast Conference, have beaten Maryland and North Carolina State in their past two and will do no worse than a tie for second in the league. They could earn a Peach Bowl bid with a victory today.

How many are picking the Hokies now? Uh huh, almost nobody. Just what we figured.

Has the face of this game changed or what?

"They have a lot of confidence coming in with them," Tech tailback Lee Suggs said. "They probably think we're pretty much done."

Not exactly.

"It doesn't matter how many games they've lost or how many we've won. It's a rivalry," Virginia safety Jerton Evans said.

But confidence is a key factor. Virginia has gained it on both sides of the ball. It put up 48 points against Maryland a week ago and has allowed only 22 points the past two games. Virginia gave up at least 21 points in nine of its first 10 games.

Tech has lost it on both sides. Loss No.2 in the streak came because of a series of defensive letdowns at Syracuse. Loss No.3 came when the offense twice failed to deliver late from in close against West Virginia.

"When you're playing with confidence like they are, you feel you can beat anybody," Tech quarterback Bryan Randall said. "When you have confidence like that, you play a lot better.

"Here and there, we show signs of being a great team. Then we'll have moments where we fall off. We just have to be consistent."

Randall and junior Ernest Wilford have hooked up 13 times for 337 yards the past two games. The Hokies' passing attack appears much better than it was earlier in the season. But Tech's running game, with Suggs' tailback partner Kevin Jones limited by a hamstring injury, has fallen off. Tech dearly would love a big running game today to help keep the ball away from Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub, the ACC's player of the year. Jones gained 181 yards against Virginia last season.

"It kind of doubles the challenge for us in that I think each one of these players in his own right is amongst the elite running backs in the country," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "That there are two of them, one after the other, should make for a pretty challenging afternoon."

If Tech wins today, it will be the first team to win four consecutive in this series since the Hokies did it from 1980-83.

If Tech loses today, it will be the Hokies' first four-game skid since 1994-95, when it lost the final regular season game, the Gator Bowl and the first two in 1995. The Hokies answered that by winning the next 13.

Tech hasn't lost four consecutive in the same season since 1992.

"This is as big a game as we've had all year," Suggs said. "We have to win. It'd be real ugly if we lost four in a row."

 

From U.Va., Tech to NFL
Pro rosters filled with Cavs, Hokies
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Nov 30, 2002

There's Michael Vick and the Barber twins and Bruce Smith and Aaron Brooks and Keion Carpenter and James Farrior and Andre Davis and Jamie Sharper. And so on and so on.

The list of NFL players who attended the University of Virginia or Virginia Tech gets longer every year, a fact not lost on high school players during the recruiting process. The coaches from this state's Division I-A programs, which collide today at Lane Stadium, make sure of that.

Inside the back cover of U.Va.'s 2002 media guide are color photos of Brooks (New Orleans), Tiki Barber (New York Giants), Ronde Barber (Tampa Bay), Terrence Wilkins (St. Louis), Thomas Jones (St. Louis), Patrick Kerney (Atlanta) and Germane Crowell (Detroit).

At Tech, in the section of the Merryman Center dedicated to position meeting rooms, two large boards are displayed. One is for AFC teams, the other for NFC teams. Under the team names are listed the former Hokies (if any) on each roster. Under Atlanta, for example, appear the names of Vick, Carpenter and Kevin McCadam.

The Hokies have had 16 players selected in the past three NFL drafts, including eight in 2002.

"I think it's very obvious" Tech does a good job preparing players for the pros, coach Frank Beamer said. "Our strength and conditioning program under [Mike Gentry], the way we coach them - last year we had the third-highest number taken in the draft."

That the NFL's hottest young player spent three years in Blacksburg doesn't hurt the Hokies' recruiting efforts, of course. If Beamer had a vote for MVP, he said, he'd give it to Vick.

"Me and a whole lot of other people," Beamer said.

Virginia had six players drafted in 1999, then dipped to four in 2000 and one in'01. But three Cavaliers went in the 2002 draft, and second-year coach Al Groh's progress in restocking his program's talent pool has been well-documented. His first-year class includes numerous players who, barring injuries or other setbacks, appear to have NFL potential, among them are linebacker Darryl Blackstock, safety Willie Davis, fullback Jason Snelling and offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson.

Groh has used his extensive NFL coaching background as a selling point with recruits. Several members of his staff also have strong ties to the NFL, including offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave, special-teams coach Corwin Brown and graduate assistant Andy Heck.

On one wall of the media room at Scott Stadium hang framed NFL jerseys of former Wahoos, ranging from Bill Dudley to Don Majkowski to Chris Slade to the Barbers.

"I think it has a positive effect on all the recruits," said Virginia tight end Heath Miller, a redshirt freshman, "because as a kid, everyone wants to grow up and be a professional athlete. To have an opportunity to come to an institution that sends people to the pros, it's a positive thing."

Sophomore offensive guard Elton Brown noted U.Va.'s academic reputation.

"Then you see it's putting people in the NFL, and you're getting basically the complete package here," Brown said.

Groh, who coached the New York Jets in 2000, said U.Va. benefits in several ways from having alumni in the NFL.

"One, in just keeping the name out there for the institution. It shows that successful players have come from here," he said. "And I think a real followup to it is just about every one - if not every one - of those you can cite all have their degrees. . . . That's a pretty rare combination."

When members of Virginia's NFL contingent are in Charlottesville, Groh likes to have them talk to his players.

"Because, hey, they've done it, and they know what [the current players are] going through," Groh said. "They can say, 'I know where you are and what you're taking. It wasn't easy for me, either, but look at where I am now.'

"They're kind of a model of what a lot of them are aspiring to become."
 

What a long, strange trip it's been
Cavaliers-Hokies 107-year-old rivalry has odd moments
By Dave Johnson
Daily Press

Published November 30, 2002

It began on Oct. 5, 1895, when the University of Virginia defeated Virginia Polytechnic Institute 38-0 in something called "Foot Ball." Not too many people seemed to notice or care, and you get the impression that President Grover Cleveland had other things on his mind.

But in the 107 years since, like all of college football, this rivalry has grown. It stands at 42-36-5 in favor of Virginia Tech, which VPI became known as years ago. The last seven games have been televised and last year's meeting in Charlottesville drew 61,625 fans.

There have been heroic performances, one-hit wonders, controversy and wacky moments. Here are five of many:

Nov. 18, 1995 You stick your left leg in ...

You know the old saying: You never notice the team trainer unless he runs out to tape the star quarterback's ankle or tries to trip an opposing player running down the sideline.

In all fairness, U.Va. trainer Joe Gieck probably wasn't trying to trip Virginia Tech cornerback Antonio Banks as he scored on a 65-yard interception return to clinch a 36-29 win. We'll never know for sure what Gieck was thinking because he won't talk about it. Who can blame him? After four decades of healing athletes, it's not the greatest thing to be remembered for.

The series marked its 100th year with one of its wildest games. No. 13 Virginia led 29-14 going into the fourth quarter, but the 20th-ranked Hokies went ahead 30-29 on Jim Druckenmiller's 32-yard pass to Jermaine Holmes with 47 seconds left. The Cavaliers quickly made up ground and moved to the Tech 40-yard line with :06 left. But as quarterback Mike Groh tried to hit wideout Bryan Owens on a quick out, Banks read it perfectly. He made the interception and sprinted down the left sideline, directly in front of Virginia's bench.

As Banks neared the 35-yard line, Gieck stuck out his left leg in what appeared to be more of an attempt to startle Banks - you know, "psych!" - than to trip him. In fact, Gieck's leg didn't appear to come near Banks, nor did Banks appear to notice.

Yet the play was shown that night on "SportsCenter," forcing Virginia athletic director Terry Holland to deal with it. Gieck was suspended for the Cavaliers' Peach Bowl appearance.

"If I'd really have wanted to, I'd have gone out there and gotten him," Gieck said at the time. "I thought about tackling him, but I'm not going to break my leg."

Nov. 11, 1989 A lesson learned

It was a thriller, with Virginia holding off a furious Hokie rally led by a third-string quarterback to win 32-25 in Scott Stadium.

It was almost as eventful as the postgame brawl that resulted in Tech coach Frank Beamer crawling on the AstroTurf looking for his tooth. First, the game. The 18th-ranked Cavaliers led 32-8 in the third quarter, but behind quarterback Rodd Wooten - who was subbing for Cam Young, who was subbing for Will Furrer - Tech rallied. A field goal with four minutes left pulled the Hokies to within a touchdown. But Jason Wallace intercepted Wooten with 1:13 remaining to seal it.

Then the fun started. On the game's final play, Tech defensive end Jimmy Whitten got into it with Virginia tight end Bruce McGonnigal. Both benches emptied. As Beamer was trying to get Whitten away from the melee, Whitten's elbow caught Beamer in the mouth and knocked out a front tooth.

Beamer ended up on all fours, bleeding, searching for the tooth. Initially, that image was frightening. Three weeks earlier, Beamer had experienced chest pains and underwent an angioplasty.

The tooth was recovered, and dental work was successful. But Beamer learned a lesson.

"That taught me not to walk up behind a player and try to break things up," he said. "Just let them go at it."

Nov. 25, 1982 Money talks

Today, it's a common occurrence. Twenty years ago, it was a foreign concept, at least in these parts.

The game was scheduled for Nov. 27, a Saturday afternoon in Lane Stadium. But Ted Turner's superstation, WTBS, was interested in televising the game on Thanksgiving night. Since Lane had recently installed lights, that was possible. But on Thanksgiving night?

Well, Turner gave each school 850,000 reasons to do it.

George Welsh was in his first year at Virginia; Bill Dooley in his fifth at Tech. The Cavaliers were 2-8; the Hokies 6-4. Though it was missing star running back Cyrus Lawrence, Tech was a 10-point favorite. Kickoff was set for 8:15 and the crowd was predictably poor - only 23,800 showed up. Maybe it was because ABC was airing a very special "Joanie Loves Chachi."

The game was, pun intended, a turkey. Tech won 21-14 but the teams combined for eight turnovers on a chilly night. Behind 124 yards from tailback Otis Copeland - the aforementioned one-hit wonder - the Hokies handed Dooley his 100th career victory.

Oct. 19, 1974 'One offsets the other'

You get on with life. Bruce Arians has a wife and two grown children. He has his career, which at the moment means being the Cleveland Browns' offensive coordinator. But you just know that whenever he reflects on the U.Va.-Tech rivalry, he still wants to chew a nail.

It remains probably the most controversial call in the series. Arians, Virginia Tech's senior quarterback, had just thrown an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Scales as time expired to cut Virginia's lead to 28-27. There was no overtime then, so Tech coach Jimmy Sharpe elected to go for the two-point conversion on the road.

The Hokies were a wishbone team, and Arians ran his offense's bread-and-butter - the triple option. He faked an inside handoff, rolled right and tried to hurdle his way into the end zone. U.Va. linebacker Dick Ambrose met him head-on. The officials ruled the conversion no good and sprinted off the field.

Arians was incensed. Sharpe was incensed. Everybody with a pulse knew Arians had made it. And that included Cavaliers coach Sonny Randle, who after watching the game film conceded that the conversion was good. Then again, Randle said, the film also showed that Scales was out of bounds on the touchdown catch. "I guess," he said, "one offsets the other."

When the teams met in Scott Stadium two years later, Arians was a graduate assistant. During pregame warmups, he went to the spot in the end zone where he landed, took out a roll of masking tape, and marked an X. Tech got its revenge that day with a 14-10 win.

Nov. 16, 1935 'The Blooper Bowl'

The series has seen 83 games. Some of them have been memorable for classic comebacks, others for wonderful individual performances or crazy moments. And then there's this game, which is remembered for being maybe the worst ever played.

Neither team had much to offer. Virginia was 1-6-1 and had been blanked by Washington and Lee the previous week. Tech was 2-4-1. At least the Daily Press treated it accordingly. The big news in the Sunday paper, which cost a nickel, was that prohibition might be repealed. The Dartmouth-Cornell game got better coverage.

Here's how The Associated Press summed it up:

"Virginia, in her efforts to break through near the goal line, tried two goals from placement in the final period but both times (Herb) Bryant's kick was low." Goals from placement? You kids probably know them as field goals.

It remains, as you might expect, the last scoreless tie between the two teams.

UM's Peach hopes ride on a fruitful rebound
Terps need to bowl over Wake today in finale, put loss to Va. behind them
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Christian Ewell
Sun Staff
Originally published November 30, 2002

COLLEGE PARK - It took two months of winning football games for Maryland to regain the respect it lost in two blowout losses early in the season.
The 25th-ranked Terps hope last week's 48-13 loss to Virginia didn't erase all of the progress gained during the eight-game winning streak, but their stature needs repair, beginning today against Wake Forest in the regular-season finale.

"Our pride is on the line," said punter Brooks Barnard, one of 11 Terps who will be at Byrd Stadium for their final game. "We want to show that we can play, that we aren't that team that played last week. That's not us."

The stakes include not only pride, but also a Peach Bowl berth, which the Terps probably would get by beating Wake Forest. They would likely get the bid over the Cavaliers, the team ahead of them in second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Virginia (8-4, 6-2 ACC), with a win over Virginia Tech today, would finish with three straight wins, including victories over North Carolina State and Maryland. The Cavs have drawn strong fan support in previous trips to the Peach Bowl, to be played Dec. 31 in Atlanta.

But the Terps (9-3, 5-2 ACC) spent more of this season in the national rankings, and the school's 23,000-person contingent at last year's Orange Bowl is fresher in the minds of bowl representatives. Coach Ralph Friedgen acknowledged that his Atlanta ties don't hurt, either. He lived in the area for nine years while coaching at Georgia Tech.

"I hope so," he said, when asked if that might be a factor. "I know a lot of the people on the committee ... so I know a lot of the people. They're closely connected with Georgia Tech."

The Peach Bowl would prefer Tennessee as the Southeastern Conference opponent for Maryland or Virginia, though Auburn is the top alternative, and the SEC picture might not clear up until the middle of next week.

Peach Bowl president Gary Stokan is expected to be at Byrd Stadium today, but said he'd be pleased with either the Terps or Cavaliers, though a loss by either would make it easier for him to choose.

"I lose a little more of my hair in making a decision," Stokan said of the possibility of both Maryland and Virginia winning today. "We'll try to do something after Saturday's games, so other bowls can make decisions, and so we can move along on tickets."

If the Terps were to get sent to the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 23, the opponent from the Big 12 would range from No. 8 Kansas State to a swooning Iowa State squad that just got beaten at home by Connecticut.

First, Maryland has to shake off a 35-point loss to Virginia on national television, one that ruined the team's hopes of a co-league championship and a possible Bowl Championship Series berth. With the loss, the Terps also handed a New Year's Day bowl berth to N.C. State, the Gator Bowl's choice.

After the loss, some blamed the poor showing on fatigue. Today will be the 13th game of the Terps' regular season, in contrast to the 12 games of the entire 2001 season, including the Orange Bowl. Friedgen may have seen his team running out of gas, from his days in the NFL watching rookies adjusting to the increased schedule, and hearing Maryland players asking to lighten the load heading into the Virginia game.

Maryland players practiced without pads for the first two days in preparing for Wake Forest, and apparently had a more productive week.

"It's been spirited all week - I've been pleased with that," Friedgen said. "I thought it might be tough getting them up, but we had them in shells [only helmets and shoulder pads] the first few days and we had very good practices in those, and that's normally tough to do."

If the Terps are wearing down, the Deacons' problem is rustiness, if their narrow victory over Navy is any indication.

Coming off two weeks without a game, Wake Forest (6-5, 3-4) gave up 317 rushing yards and needed a 5-yard touchdown run by Fabian Davis in the final minute to beat the Midshipmen, 30-27, and become bowl-eligible.

Wake, however, was bowl-eligible with six other ACC teams last year and stayed home in December. Unless the team can go .500 in the league by pulling off an upset against Maryland, it will probably sit again.

"It's obvious to our kids - they've figured out that it would be nice for us to play well on Saturday," Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said. "There are different scenarios that could put us in a bowl. Seven wins would look a lot better."
 

For the Winner, Good Prospects
U-Va.-Va. Tech Game Impacts Recruiting Between State's Top Programs
By Angela Watts and Jim Reedy
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, November 30, 2002; Page D01

Kickoff between No. 22 Virginia Tech and Virginia may not come until this afternoon in Blacksburg, but the contest between these two in-state rivals heated up months ago -- off the field.

Sitting in the stands at Lane Stadium today will be nearly 25 recruits, all football prospects visiting the campus hoping to decide if they want to play for Virginia Tech (8-3, 3-3 Big East), a team which has lost three consecutive games after starting the season with eight victories and is, accordingly, desperate to stop the slide before traveling to face No. 1 Miami next weekend.

Some of those same recruits already have watched a game at Scott Stadium during a visit to the campus in Charlottesville and watched Virginia (8-4, 6-2 ACC) overcome its own midseason slump with consecutive victories the past two weeks against No. 21 N.C. State (14-9) and No. 25 Maryland (48-13), its most decisive win this season.

On the field, the Hokies and Cavaliers will square off for state bragging rights and to improve their respective bowl positions, but in the process they will be vying for an even more important victory -- in recruiting.

"The coaches don't say it, it's something really that they barely touch on, but it's something that's understood," said Virginia Tech senior safety Willie Pile, a 1997 graduate of West Potomac who also was recruited by Virginia. "If the talent is going to stay in-state they are either going here or to U-Va. So it's understood that winning this game is important. Because U-Va. is a school that's just across the way, we battle every year. Some of the younger teammates I have now wouldn't be here if Virginia Tech wasn't in the position it has been recently."

For years, Virginia had the edge luring local prospects. Consistent success in the ACC under coach George Welsh was enough to entice top recruits. But the tide began to change in the mid-1990s, when Virginia stumbled just as Virginia Tech began to rise. The Hokies, who are one of only seven teams nationally in the midst of a streak of nine consecutive bowl appearances, were winning the recruiting battle while improving their facilities and stadium capacity to match Virginia.

"How many seats do they have up the road?" Beamer would often, if jokingly, ask. "Well, we need more."

But when Virginia brought in Al Groh to replace the retired Welsh two years ago, it was an automatic spark to the Cavaliers' program. Groh's NFL coaching experience and proven record was pitted against the consistency of Beamer's program and the continuity of his coaching staff. The recruiting war was back on, and dead even.

Two of the state's biggest prospects a year ago, quarterback Marcus Vick of Warwick High and linebacker Ahmad Brooks of Hylton, were heavily sought by both programs and ultimately split. Vick sided with his brother Michael's alma mater; Brooks committed to Virginia.

But as soon as Brooks was forced into a stop at Hargrave Military Academy to improve his academic standing, the Hokies began their pitch again. Rumors were flying among fans at both schools at last week's home games on where Brooks could end up next season, an obvious indication that the recruiting rivalry between these two teams -- and their coaches -- has heated up.

"We've got the same lawyer," Beamer teased this week when asked about his relationship with Groh. "We bump into each other every once in a while -- we just don't have reason to be buddy-buddy. But I've known him for a long time."

The two coaches -- both graduates of their respective universities -- agree that winning this game isn't as important as their respective conference championships. But Groh also added that, "Anybody who's involved in this game that tells you that it's not a significant game isn't being forthright with you.

"Games like this are fun, those kind of rivalry games. If you ask me about being [a coach in the NFL] with the Giants, what do I remember? I remember the games with the Redskins. You ask about the Jets, I remember the games with Miami. It's just those kind of games that bring out an intense competitive spirit in all the participants."

The impact that winning the annual meetings actually has on the recruits' decisions is unknown.

"I'm sure that [recruiting ramifications] are there, but that's just part of it," Groh said. "Our team didn't win the game last year and we got a lot of good players."

Said Beamer: "I think recruits, most of them, make their decision on the personality of the school and I think that the personalities of the schools are very different. Whether they like the players there and whether they like the coaches there, whether they like the school itself, that's what they should make their decision on. It shouldn't be on who wins a particular game."

Pile, though, said that while it is the school and the coaches' styles that really impacts the recruiting process, make no mistake: "You also want to play for a winner."

In addition to recruiting clashes, the rivalry between these two programs also is strengthened by personal ties that connect the players and creates a healthy desire to beat a friend from back home or a former high school teammate.

"It's just bragging rights when you go back home," said Virginia sophomore guard Elton Brown, a Hampton native who is friendly with several Tech players. " . . . When they're riding high, they call me, so when we're riding high, I call them."

Brown isn't the only one. Cavaliers center Zac Yarbrough attended Fork Union Military Academy with Virginia Tech defensive end Jim Davis. Several other players from the two schools attended the same high schools, with 65 of the 100 players in Virginia Tech's program growing up in the state and 50 of Virginia's 95 players doing the same.

"This is one that you never want to lose," said Virginia Tech quarterback Bryan Randall, who is from Williamsburg.

Virginia Tech leads the all-time series 42-36-5, and none of the current Cavaliers has played in a win against the Hokies, who have won three straight in the series. Only three of them were even on the team when Virginia rallied from a 29-7 deficit to win in Blacksburg, 36-32, in 1998. For seniors such as Billy McMullen, Angelo Crowell and Jerton Evans, this is the last chance. Of course, they're not the only ones eager to end Virginia Tech's three-year win streak. Even out-of-towners such as Cavaliers quarterback Matt Schaub, named ACC player of the year this week, has warmed to the rivalry since arriving from West Chester, Pa.

"There's a lot of hype around it from all directions," Schaub said. "It's a great contest to play in toward the end of the year when it means a lot for both teams, as it does this year."

And with only eight seniors on the Cavaliers' roster and 12 on the Hokies', in the coming years the annual grudge match could mean even more in regards to rankings, bowl games and recruiting.

"This rivalry divides the state," Pile said. "It has to. You have to choose. You're either for one team or the other. You may know people on both teams, but you're either maroon-and-orange or you're orange-and-blue. You can't be both."