Marty Gordon
Virginia Tech is going bowling, while UVA’s football team is going home and planning for next season.
The Hokies retained the Commonwealth Cup on Saturday for the fifth consecutive year. Both teams entered the contest with a 5-6 mark. The winner would go to a bowl game, while the loser would not.
Pop Watson threw for 254 yards and a touchdown and rushed for a score to lead Virginia Tech to a 37-17 victory in bitterly cold temperatures. But the Hokies were red hot, keeping the mercury higher than the cold temps throughout the stadium.
Bhayshul Tuten added 124 yards rushing and two scores for the Hokies, who finish the regular season at 6-6 and snapped a three-game losing streak.
On Saturday, Virginia Tech defensive end Antwaun Powell-Ryland finished with three of the Hokies’ five sacks and now has 19 sacks on the season to go with 19 tackles for a loss and three forced fumbles. This year’s performance has PR in the talk for the ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
PR took over the national sack lead with the three on Saturday. He is currently in fourth place on the most sacks list in a season at Tech.
To say, Tech has been dominant in this Commonwealth matchup is an understatement as they beat UVA for the 23rd time in the last 25 matchups. Since Tech joined the ACC in the 2024, they have a 19-1 mark against their cross-state rivals. Also, they have not lost to UVA in Blacksburg since 1998 and hold a 61-35-8 mark in the series.
Overall, UVA still leads the Commonwealth All-Sports Competition. The Commonwealth Cup has been a part of the rivalry since 2014 and is an all-sports points competition. UVA captured the 2023-2024 trophy and has won all five other competitions this fall. Following Saturday’s game, UVA now leads 5-1.
Saturday’s game finished the 60th year of at Lane Stadium.
The Hokies are projected to play Tulane in the Fenway Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 28. The Fenway Bowl is one of three active bowl games played in a baseball stadium, along with the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium and the Rate Bowl at Chase Field. The Hokies played in the Pinstripe Bowl four years ago. So, they are slowly trying to accomplish the trifecta.
