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UVA, Virginia Tech break into pregame fight before Commonwealth Clash

Wade-Peeryby:Wade Peery•11/30/24
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(Ryan Hunt / Getty Images)

Virginia and Virginia Tech are set to take to the gridiron on Saturday night to renew their heated rivalry. The Commonwealth Clash will get underway at 8:00 PM on ACC Network. Both teams took to the field a few hours during warmups, and tempers flared. Players got into a scuffle, before being separated.

Reports have emerged that Virginia will start Tony Muskett at quarterback on Saturday night. And William “Pop” Watson III will start under center for the Virginia Tech Hokies. Both teams currently sit at 5-6 overall on the 2024 season. And besides bragging rights, both teams will be battling for the chance to go to a bowl game.

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One of the key matchups to watch will be the Virginia offensive line against the Virginia Tech defensive line and front seven. The Cavaliers have one of the nation’s worst offensive lines coming into the game. Virginia has allowed 42 sacks in 11 games, ranking them second to last in the country in that stat category.

The best player on the VT defensive line is without a doubt, Antwaun Powell-Ryland. In 11 games this year, he’s tallied 13 sacks, ranking him in a tie for second in the nation in that stat category. He figures to be one of the top defensive prospects selected in the 2025 NFL Draft in the spring.

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Virginia will be without their top two running backs. Kobe Pace was not going through warmups. And Xavier Brown has been ruled out for the season with a collarbone injury he suffered against SMU. It looks like Noah Vaughn, Donte Hawthorne, and potentially Chris Tyree will be the options at running back for the Cavaliers.

Virginia has not won a game in Lane Stadium since 1998, when Aaron Brooks connected with Ahmad Hawkins for the game-winning touchdown in the final few minutes of the game. Virginia Tech has dominated this rivalry more than just about any other rivalry in all of college football. And quite frankly, it hasn’t even been close. The Hokies have won 22 of the last 24 games in the battle for the Commonwealth Cup, the trophy awarded to the winner.

The temperature for the 8:00 PM EST kickoff in Blacksburg, Virginia is going to be a chilly 27 degrees Fahrenheit.