The Hokies are going to a bowl game after Saturday’s 17-14 win against rival Virginia, which extended Tech’s winning streak in the series to a record nine games. You can read all about the game here.

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1. It was not a thing of beauty and will only get the Virginia Tech to a lower-tiered bowl, but the benefits are tangible.

As frustrated as a lot of fans have been, you don’t turn down wins against your rival or a bowl trip. The Hokies, despite being far from perfect this year, have won nine straight against the Cavaliers and 13 of the last 14. As much as the coaches say that doesn’t have a real tangible effect on recruiting, I have to believe there’s got to be some benefit. Nobody wants to be on the losing side of the state rivalry, particularly when it’s become as lopsided as this one. It’s got to be something of a recruiting tool for coaches to go into a high school and be able to say that they almost always have beaten their rival in the last decade and a half.

As for the bowl, I’ve seen plenty of disenchantment from blog commenters about not even wanting this team to go to a bowl after such a down year (and yes, I realize that’s not exactly a cross section of the fan base that’s always the most level-headed about its opinions). But getting to a bowl game, even a lower-tiered one, is a benefit. For starters, it gives this team something to do over the next month instead of stewing over a sub-par season. The December practice time is always valuable for young players, particularly the redshirts, who don’t usually get a ton of reps. And for seniors like Bruce Taylor and the rest, you always like to see them get a fitting ending to their career, not have it end with a loss in November. The fans might not be excited about a bowl trip for this team, but I guarantee you the players and coaches are.

2. Logan Thomas had a gritty performance, but there are throwing issues that can’t be overlooked.

First things first: Virginia Tech does not win that game without Logan Thomas. He struggled passing the ball and had a costly fumble that UVa turned into a touchdown, but he put the running game on his shoulders, grinding out 89 yards on 29 carries and scoring the game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter. Don’t believe me? Here’s what Virginia defensive coordinator Jim Reid said after the game: “I think anybody who plays Virginia Tech would say the same thing, It’s Logan Thomas. And, everybody who says that is exactly right. Gosh, I just think he’s magnificent. … You’d have to send me away if I didn’t say he was the difference in the game.”

Now, that’s not to say there aren’t larger issues to address with Thomas’ game. If he sticks around for his senior year (and I’d say the chances of that are very good), his passing, which took a step back this year, needs to be addressed. I’ve seen it mentioned that the offseason quarterback camp messed with Thomas’ mechanics. That seems like a red herring. Three days of a few drills on the beach cannot explain a full season of struggles, particularly when you consider that if this were true, he had all of spring, summer and fall to correct whatever missteps were made. (Plus, George Whitfield has coached Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Ben Roethlisberger and more. I think he knows what he’s doing.)

But something is off. The weather was horrible for passing yesterday, but he still went 18-for-38 for 129 yards, often missing low with his passes, a change from a season-long issues of throwing high. He’s had bouts of inconsistency all year, looking lost at times and sharp at others. You can see the potential there. Perhaps a chance to clear his head this offseason will help. Perhaps having his complementary parts get another year of experience will  help. And perhaps (and this is pure speculation) he might have different coaching his senior year. But I don’t think anyone can deny that something didn’t look right with Thomas all year. And the Hokies need him to be sharp if they are going to get back to a Virginia Tech-like level next season.

3. The running game needs a jolt.

It says something about the running game that when the Hokies needed tough yards and wanted to move the ball with any kind of consistency on the ground, they called Thomas’ number over and over. That’s never been the case. Tech has always had some kind of power back that can move the chains and get extra yardage after contact. Even David Wilson, although he wasn’t huge, had a knack for breaking tackles and getting extra yardage. But there’s clearly nobody on the roster right now that can do that consistently and be the dynamic back that the Hokies need. Martin Scales is a power guy, but he’s limited in what he can do as an everydown ballcarrier. J.C. Coleman is shifty, but there’s only so much someone who is 5-8, 185 can do running into the heart of the line. Tony Gregory is fast but probably not as rugged as Tech needs. And Michael Holmes, once the heir apparent in the ground game, didn’t come close to preseason expectations.

This issue is not limited to the running backs. The line needs to block better to open some holes. And with Vinston Painter, Nick Becton and Michael Via graduating, who knows what that group will look like next year? But some fresh faces in the backfield could help. Drew Harris, who went to Fork Union this fall, is still expected to sign with the Hokies this offseason. He’s a 220-pounder who, just from seeing him in person, seems like he could be a workhorse. Then there’s Trey Edmunds, a two-way player who started at running back but redshirted this year. Frank Beamer doesn’t throw out comparisons to Kevin Jones casually, so the fact that he did earlier this season tells you Edmunds is pretty impressive. In practice, we got a front-row look at Edmunds stand Scales up on a few one-on-one drills. He’s powerful. You’d have to imagine with the way the ground game lacked that type of runner this year that both Edmunds and Harris would get a good, long look in the backfield next season. It’s not a cure-all, but it would certainly help.

4. If the defense had played like this earlier in the season, the Hokies would probably be in the ACC title game.

This is not to pin Virginia Tech’s shortcomings on the defense. Some of those early-season loses, particularly Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, were total team failures. But the Hokies’ defensive performance ever since the debacle against North Carolina has been commendable. Since the Tar Heels put up 533 yards, Tech has allowed the following yardage totals — 329 to Duke, 295 to Clemson, 347 to Miami, 311 to Florida State, 296 to Boston College and 217 to Virginia. That’s 299.2 yards per game, which, had they been doing it all season, would rank 10th nationally. (Some of those big-point games like Clemson and Miami were more a function of field position than poor defense.)

Now, I know it doesn’t work that way. You can’t take away your worst outings and say what could have been. But it’s encouraging after the early struggles that Virginia Tech could right the ship on defense, and it bodes well for next year. Taylor, Antoine Hopkins, Jeron Gouveia-Winslow and Alonzo Tweedy are the only seniors in the group. Taylor is obviously a leader, but Jack Tyler has played well and could step in at mike if Tariq Edwards can return to form after what was essentially a lost season because of a shin/leg injury. Hopkins was a part-time player at a position where the Hokies have depth. And while Gouveia-Winslow and Tweedy leaving hurts the depth at whip linebacker, Ronny Vandyke has always been considered the future of the position. If guys like James Gayle, Antone Exum and Kyle Fuller stick around for their senior year, this could be a pretty strong defensive unit next season.

5. The Hokies’ bowl picture is muddled but cleared up a little bit last night.

Tech won’t know for sure what its bowl destination is until after the ACC title game, but everybody in the league moved down a peg once Clemson lost to South Carolina last night. That’s because the Tigers probably have no shot at an at-large BCS berth, which pushes everyone down in the bowl pecking order to the usual ACC slots.

This is what we know. The ACC order of bowl picks is this: Orange (Miami), Chick-fil-A (Atlanta), Russell Athletic (Orlando), Sun (El Paso), Belk (Charlotte), Music City (Nashville). The bowl eligible teams in the league right now are: Florida State (10-2), Clemson (10-2), N.C. State (7-5), Georgia Tech (6-6), Virginia Tech (6-6), Duke (6-6). That’s it. North Carolina (8-4) and Miami (7-5) have postseason bowl bans.

That would seem to put the Hokies in the range for the Russell Athletic, Sun, Belk and Music City bowls. What really matters is how Georgia Tech is treated. Because of all the postseason bans, the Yellow Jackets, despite being .500, are in the ACC title game against Florida State. Lose that and they’ll be 6-7, which would technically be ineligible for a bowl. CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm wrote about the pecking order for 6-7 teams that lose their conference title game. With 72 bowl-eligible teams for 70 spots right now, that would seem to leave Georgia Tech on the outside looking in if it loses to FSU.

But, the ACC has a rule that the title game loser can’t be selected lower than the Sun Bowl. Joe Giglio of the Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News & Observer tweeted that Georgia Tech is trying to file a waiver to be bowl eligible even if it’s 6-7 (something UCLA did last year, although it seems like the NCAA’s legislation changes this offseason was written specifically to address that situation). Perhaps it has something to do with the league trying to fill all of its affiliations with bowls (something the ACC won’t come close to doing this year). It’s unclear at this point how that will play out. Either way it goes, it will likely impact where the Hokies go for the holidays.

I’ll have more on this during the week. In the meantime, here’s Palm’s projections for the bowls. It has Virginia Tech in the Russell Athletic Bowl playing Rutgers.

OK, here’s a full wrap of our coverage from the game, starting with the stories in the newspaper. They include:

** My game story

** Mark Berman‘s sidebar on Cody Journell‘s clutch kick

** Aaron McFarling‘s column on Logan Thomas shouldering the load

** Doug Doughty‘s story on Virginia’s offensive struggles

** Bob Molinaro‘s column on UVa’s questionable coaching decisions

** A Virginia Tech notebook and a Virginia notebook

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Now for some more post-game notes and quotes from Virginia Tech’s 17-14 win against Virginia …

** The win makes Virginia Tech bowl eligible for a 20th straight season. That’s the third-longest streak in the country behind Florida State (31 years) and Florida (23).

“It probably makes it that much more significant that we were just fighting like heck to get to a bowl game and overcome some real frustration,” Tech coach Frank Beamer said. “It’s been a rugged year in some ways, but I’m really proud of what we’re made of.”

Just where the Hokies end up remains to be seen. A lot depends on whether or not Clemson, which as I write this is just getting going against South Carolina, can get an at-large bid to a Bowl Championship Series game. If the Tigers can do that, it would bump everyone else up in the ACC’s bowl pecking order.

If the Tigers make a BCS bowl, the Hokies (6-6, 4-4 ACC) would have a shot — albeit a long one — at the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta. N.C. State (7-5), Georgia Tech (6-6) and Duke (6-6) are their competition.

The ACC’s bowl pecking order after the Orange and Chick-fil-A bowls is Russell Athletic (Orlando, Big East No. 2), Sun (El Paso, vs. Pac-12 No. 4), Belk (Charlotte, vs. Big East No. 3) and Music City (Nashville, vs. SEC No. 7). I’ll probably write more on this tomorrow, once the picture becomes a little clearer following the Clemson-South Carolina game.

** Linebacker Bruce Taylor had the quotes of the night, as you can see in my game story. He was clutching the Commonwealth Cup afterward like it was a football.

“This grip right here? Whoever can pry this kung-fu grip away from this cup can have it,” he said, a sense of relief coming across his face. “And I don’t see that happening.”

What are his plans with the Cup tonight?

“It’s going out with us,” Taylor said. “We’re probably going to put a few beverages in it and drink from it. Soak it all in. … Like I said earlier, this thing ain’t leaving my sight.”

** Overall, it was a defensive slugfest (which is a kind way of saying it was an offensively-challenged outing). Virginia Tech’s defense, other than a 42-yard touchdown it gave up to Tim Smith after safety Detrick Bonner missed a tackle, shut Virginia down.

The Cavaliers finished with 217 yards, only 30 of which were on the ground. They had seven first downs, only three of which came in the second half. Tech held the Cavaliers to five yards in the fourth quarter and only one first down. UVa was 3-for-14 on third downs.

“The weather was perfect for defense,” linebacker Jack Tyler said. “That’s the kind of weather we all like to play in, even though it was a little cold. They’re either going to run the ball or throw the ball short, and we like to say that we can pin our ears back when they do that, because everything’s so short and it’s in front of us.”

The game turned on an Antone Exum interception in the final minutes, a pick that set up Cody Journell‘s 26-yard field goal as time expired. Exum jumped a corner route by Smith — getting away with some contact in the process — and snagged his fourth pick of the year at the UVa 36 before returning it to the 24.

“I think that he knew that I knew that he was going to do a corner route, so he kind of bulldozed me just to try to bully me on his route,” Exum said. “I just undercut him and the quarterback threw it right to me.”

** Journell got a chance to atone for a miss from 42 yards with 3:38 on the clock, an attempt into a swirling wind that missed wide left.

“I tried to put it at the left upright and I pulled it just a little bit,” he said. “The wind never moved the ball.”

The second one was a chip shot by comparison. Virginia, which inexplicably didn’t use its two timeouts to stop the clock earlier and give its offense a chance after a Tech field goal, used them both to try to ice Journell. On a cold day, it was somewhat effective.

“Being a kicker you kind of get used to that,” Journell said. “You’ve just got to attack it a little bit. It was a little different today. Kind of took me away from the heater for a little while. Felt like my legs were freezing up out there on me. You can’t expect it because that’ll throw you off too if they don’t call a timeout. You’ve just got to go through your motions like you do every kick.”

He hit the kick as time expired, his second game-winner this year, matching the one from the opener against Georgia Tech.

“Awesome for Cody, coming back from everything he’s been through the last year to put us back into a bowl game,” Tyler said. “I can’t even imagine what he’s going through right now.”

** Regarding those timeouts the Cavaliers didn’t use until the clock had already run down to four seconds, UVa coach Mike London had this to say afterward (and I’ll run it verbatim because it’s a meandering thought that doesn’t make much sense):

“I felt that we were playing well defensively and you just have to make a decision of how to save timeouts with seconds left on the clock or hope your defense gets a crack and causes a turnover or knocks them back a little bit, but that didn’t occur. You try to play the game there to see if you can get into it at the last second and their kicker did a good job. He made it.”

** Offensively, it was a rough day for the Hokies. Tech finished with 303 yards on an astonishing 95 plays, the third-most the Hokies have ever run in a game. That’s 3.2 yards per play, though, which was lower than UVa’s 3.9.

Quarterback Logan Thomas did not have a great passing effort, completing only 18 of 38 passes for 129 yards on a blustery afternoon. He had one touchdown pass to Randall Dunn from 7 yards out in the second quarter.

Thomas did shoulder the rushing load, however, carrying it a career-high 29 times for 89 yards and a 4-yard touchdown.

“Obviously we needed it,” Thomas said. “I think it helped us pull out the win. You kind of go to something until the well dries up. It was working for us a long time. … If I have to run the ball, I’ll do it. It doesn’t bother me too much.”

Overall, the Hokies ran for 174 yards, getting limited production from their tailbacks. Martin Scales got the start and had 10 carries for 37 yards, although one was a hard-nosed run on third-and-two on the final drive to move the chains. J.C. Coleman had 13 carries for 36 yards. Tony Gregory had only two carries for 1 yard.

It was still a frustrating day for the Hokies, who were 8-for-23 on third downs and only scored 17 points, despite a 23-7 advantage in first downs.

“Any time you go three and out its frustrating,” Thomas said. “As an offense, that’s the last thing you want to do. We put ourselves in tough situations on first down. … We weren’t moving the ball the way we wanted to. Everybody was frustrated, not just me.”

Beamer, as you’d imagine, praised the effort.

“I thought we showed what we were made of when things didn’t look good today,” he said. “We were down a touchdown and we didn’t really play that well offensively. So I thought we really showed some stuff.”

** The Hokies made a huge stop on a fake field goal attempt in the third quarter. UVa was ahead 14-7 and could have gone ahead two scores with a 38-yarder, but London called for a fake. Reserve linebacker Chase Williams sniffed it out and stuffed holder Jacob Hodges two yards shy of the marker.

The 38-yarder might have been a stretch for UVa kicker Drew Jarrett, who is 8-for-12 this year with a long of 46.

“Not that it was out of range, but it was close,” London said. “You notice the wind there a little bit, there was a swirling wind there.”

“We’re always prepared for fakes,” said Tyler, who helped stop a fake field goal against Cincinnati earlier this year. “That’s one of our things. We’re always anticipating fakes.”

** The win moved Beamer into a tie for sixth-place on the all-time career victories list among Football Bowl Subdivision coaches.

After passing Nebraska’s Tom Osborne last week, Beamer is now up to 257 career wins, tied with Brigham Young’s Lavell Edwards.

Penn State’s Joe Paterno, who had 111 wins vacated as part of the NCAA’s punishment for the Jerry Sandusky scandal, is in fifth place with 298 wins.

** Here are some quick hitters:

• Dunn’s touchdown catch was his second in as many games. He has four in his career.
• Tech’s 95 plays were the third-most it has ever run in a game. The Hokies ran 98 in a game against Cincinnati in 1985 and 96 in a game against Wake Forest in 1975. They also ran 95 plays against South Carolina in 1972.
• Tech had a 37:30 to 22:30 advantage in time of possession.
• Virginia Tech is now 4-1 under Beamer in games when the temperature at kickoff is 32 degrees or lower.
• Thomas now has 20 career rushing touchdowns, one behind Bob Schweickert for second on Tech’s all-time list for a quarterback. Tyrod Taylor is No. 1 with 23.
• A.J. Hughes punted a career high nine times, averaging 39.1 yards. He only punted once in the second half, though.
• An overlooked play in the grand scheme of things was linebacker Jeron Gouveia-Winslow‘s 8-yard run on a fake punt in the first quarter. The senior got the snap as the up back and ran around the end for a first down. Tech went three more plays before punting it anyway.
• Demitri Knowles and Marcus Davis tied for the team lead with four catches for 33 yards apiece.
• Exum had a big day. He also stripped the ball loose from UVa running back Perry Jones in the first quarter and recovered the fumble. He finished with five tackles, a TFL, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception.
• Tech only notched two sacks, but it pressured UVa’s quarterbacks throughout, particularly in the fourth quarter. The Hokies have 24 sacks in the last six games.
• Bonner led the team with 10 tackles, adding two pass breakups. Tyler was next with nine stops.

** Lastly, the win keeps the Commonwealth Cup in Virginia Tech’s possession for a ninth straight year. That’s 2,919 days and counting.

“It’s huge for a lot of reasons,” Tyler said. “Obviously coming here, bragging rights, you want to be the best team in Virginia. Most of us are from Virginia and most of us got recruited by Virginia. It’s a great feeling knowing that — nine years in a row — we can keep coming up on top and hopefully keep this streak going. But it’s just joyous. It’s a great moment and it feels good that we have 365 days to brag a little bit.”

BLACKSBURG — Offense was at a premium in a low-scoring affair at Lane Stadium, where Virginia Tech and Virginia went into halftime tied at 7.

A 7-yard touchdown from Tech’s Logan Thomas to Randall Dunn was matched by a 42-yarder from UVa’s Michael Rocco to Tim Smith, the only scoring in a game that has had very little offense.

Virginia (4-7, 2-5 ACC) had 149 yards of offense, Virginia Tech (5-6, 3-4) had only 109.

The Hokies need a win to gain bowl eligibility.

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Neither team could get anything going in the first quarter. They combined for 99 yards, six punts and only four first downs.

Virginia Tech struck first early in the second, though. Thomas, who was 2-for-7 in the first quarter against the wind, only completing a couple of screens, went 3-for-4 for 33 yards with the wind, adding a 13-yard run.

On third-and-five, he hit tight end Dunn for a 7-yard touchdown to give the Hokies a 7-0 lead. It’s Dunn’s second touchdown in as many weeks.

It stayed that way until 3:30 before the half, when Virginia quarterback Rocco completed a third-down pass to Smith, who shook a tackle from Hokies safety Detrick Bonner and went 42 yards for a touchdown to tie it at 7.

Other than that, it was a defensive battle. The Cavaliers finished with 25 rushing yards in the first half. The Hokies weren’t much better, with 54.

Thomas was only 8-for-22 for 55 yards. Rocco was 9-for-18 for 114 yards.

The teams were a combined 6-for-21 on third downs and had 14 punts in the half.

I hope everyone bundled up for today, because it’s cold outside. How cold? It’s supposed to be 32 degrees at kickoff with a wind chill of 20. That’s because winds will be blowing at 21 mph. It’s a good thing it will be 70 degrees with no breeze in the press box.

I’m not really sure if this weather is an advantage for either team. With the wind, you’d figure the team that runs the ball better would have an advantage. Well, neither team runs the ball that well. So call it a push.

Here are a few more links to get your gameday started …

** Follow me on Twitter and Facebook. I’ll be tweeting throughout the game.

** Virginia Tech’s players don’t want to be the ones to end the bowl streak or the winning streak against UVa.

** That eight-game losing streak motivates the Cavaliers, even if they haven’t been around for the entire time.

** Columnist Aaron McFarling writes that the Hokies have to approach this game as though it may be their last this season, an unusual feeling in Blacksburg.

** Who has the edge? I broke it down here, along with a prediction: Virginia Tech 26, Virginia 17. Other predictions: UVa beat writer Doug Doughty: Virginia Tech 27, Virginia 10. McFarling – Virginia Tech 24 Virginia 17.

** Aaron and I recorded another podcast this week. Give it a listen here.

** The injury report was pretty light this week. Safety Michael Cole (neck) is out, although that was already announced. Receiver Kevin Asante (toe) is also out.

** The Hokies say they’re going with the fighting gobbler helmet again, along with orange unis and white pants. Last week they ran a little misdirection with the uniform choice. Are they doing it again?

** The line opened at 10 and held pretty steady all week. That’s where it is heading into the game too.

Less than 24 hours to Saturday’s kickoff for the Commonwealth Cup. I did a chat earlier Friday. You can read the replay here. And Aaron McFarling and I did a podcast before that. You can get to that here.

You can also check out our stories today about what went wrong for Virginia Tech and Virginia this season that they’re both under .500 heading into the final game of the regular season. I’ve posted the graphic of sad-looking Hokies and Hoos to illustrate the point of the article.

So there’s one last piece to the preview puzzle: today’s matchups post. Let’s get it going …

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Virginia at Virginia Tech

• Where: Lane Stadium, Blacksburg
• When: Saturday, 12:01 p.m.
• TV: ESPNU
• Records: Virginia 4-7, 2-5 ACC; Virginia Tech 5-6, 3-4 ACC
• Series: Virginia Tech leads 51-37-5
• Last meeting: Hokies won 38-0 in Charlottesville last year
• Line: Virginia Tech by 10

When Virginia Tech passes

After a humbling week, Marcus Davis had one of his best games this season, making five catches for 104 yards and a touchdown in the second half of the win against Boston College last week. The senior looked renewed after being called out for his lack of effort on blocking the previous week and gave Logan Thomas a big-play target that the Hokies lack when he’s not on the field. Thomas was average at best against BC, completing less than 50 percent of his passes for the third time this year and being off target with even a few of the easy throws he had on screens and quick passes over the middle. He still threw for more than 200 yards for the ninth time this year and two touchdowns (plus, he snapped his six-game streak of throwing at least one interception), but he’ll need to be more accurate this week for Tech to thrive. The o-line didn’t allow a sack last week for the first time this year. Thomas did face plenty of pressure, though.

The Cavaliers’ secondary had a stretch this year against — against Maryland, Wake Forest and N.C. State — where it shut down the opposing teams’ passing game. That’s fallen apart in the last two games, though. Miami only threw for 197 yards, but it had four passing touchdowns. Last Thursday, North Carolina torched UVa for 319 yards and three touchdowns. The 22 touchdowns the Cavs have given up in the air are tied for most in the league. UVa starts three sophomores and a freshman in the secondary, led by cornerback Demetrius Nicholson, who has 51 tackles and a team-best 13 pass breakups. But the Cavaliers haven’t been a ball-hawking group. UVa has only four interceptions this year, tied with Maryland for fewest in the ACC. The Cavs’ 1.27 sacks per game rank 102nd nationally.

Edge: Virginia Tech

When Virginia Tech runs

Tony Gregory and J.C. Coleman continue to get the lion’s share of carries. Gregory had 14 for 69 yards at BC and Coleman had 12 for 48. But it was Martin Scales who provided a boost off the bench, getting some tough-yardage runs on third-and-short. He got the ball in four of those situations and converted four first downs, including a clutch run in overtime when he was hit behind the line. The tailbacks averaged 4.36 yards per carry last week. Michael Holmes could get some looks this week too, now that he’s better from a thigh bruise. It takes some of the load off of Thomas, who ran it 13 times (mostly on scrambles) for 7 yards and a touchdown last week. It’s an unusual running dynamic for Tech. The Hokies haven’t had a leading rusher finish with fewer than 600 yards since Vaughn Hebron had 592 yards in 1992. Coleman leads the way this year with 450 yards, eight yards ahead of Thomas.

The Cavaliers are allowing 142.2 yards per game on the ground, although it has been and up-and-down effort. During its hot three-game stretch, UVa held Maryland to negative 2 rushing yards, Wake Forest 105 and N.C. State 19. Then Miami ran for 233 yards. But the Cavaliers did a good job of bottling up UNC’s Giovani Bernard in the Thursday night game, holding the ACC Player of the Year candidate to 57 yards on 15 carries. Take away a 461-yard rushing day by Georgia Tech’s triple option earlier this year, and UVa is allowing 110.4 yards per game on the ground. So it’s tough to tell which group shows up. Linebacker Steve Greer is a magnet to the ball, his 103 tackles being third-most in the ACC. Fellow linebacker La’Roy Reynolds (75 tackles, 6 TFLs) is a play-maker too. UVa’s line, which has two senior starters and two juniors, is led by end Jake Snyder (40 tackles, 5 TFL).

Edge: Virginia

When Virginia passes

UVa will use both Michael Rocco and Alabama transfer Phillip Sims at quarterback, rotating the two in and out of the game with not much rhyme or reason. (Rocco completed 18 straight passes against Miami and still was rotated out of the game.) Rocco has been slightly more efficient of the two, completing 62 percent of his passes for 1,740 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Sims is completing 56.6 percent of his passes for 1,253 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions. Against Miami, the duo combined for 388 passing yards and four touchdowns. Like last year, the Cavaliers use running back Perry Jones liberally in the passing game. He leads the team with 46 catches for 378 yards. Receivers Darius Jennings (45 catches, 545 yards, 5 TD) and Dominique Terrell (35 catches, 448 yards)  have been solid, but tight end Jake McGee (27 catches, 366 yards, 5 TD) is probably the biggest threat, particularly in the red zone. UVa has allowed 23 sacks this year, ranking 77th nationally. Right tackle Morgan Moses (leg) is listed as probable.

The Cavs will need him to be on his game to hold off a Hokies pass rush that has thrived the last few weeks. Tech has 22 sacks in the last five games, giving it 30 this year (19th nationally). That included seven sacks last week against BC, the team’s most in a game since 2006. End James Gayle had two sacks on Moses last year and, given Moses’ injury situation, has to be licking his chops this time around. But the Hokies’ linebackers have been especially active in the pass rush, with 5.5 sacks the last two games from Bruce Taylor, Jack Tyler and Alonzo Tweedy, many of which have come on blitzes. Expect the Hokies to continue to bring the house, putting their corners on an island. Kyle Fuller finally appears to be healthy at corner. Antone Exum on the other side is starting to establish himself. If Tech gets all those factors going, it could be a tough afternoon for UVa’s passing game.

Edge: Virginia Tech

When Virginia runs

The Cavaliers haven’t established the run a whole lot this year either, averaging 137.4 yards per game, 89th nationally. Kevin Parks leads the team with 713 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 4.7 yards per carry. Jones has been less effective as a ballcarrier, with 445 yards, two touchdowns and a 3.4-yard average. Virginia has had four games this year (Penn State, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Miami) in which it failed to get to the 100-yard mark. The one game in which the Cavaliers ran it from beginning to end, though, was against N.C. State, when they ran 48 times for 248 yards and two scores. Moses and Oday Aboushi are bookend tackles, but the interior line hasn’t been as strong as UVa had hoped, making it tough for the backs to run with any consistency.

Virginia Tech took a step back in its rush defense last week (although anything would have been a step back from the negative 15 yards it held Florida State to the previous week). Boston College’s feeble rushing attack finished with 167 yards. Still, it took the Eagles 45 carries to do so, meaning a 3.7-yard average. That’s not as low as Tech would like it, but it’s not far off. Defensive tackle Derrick Hopkins has been key to the Hokies’ run-stopping efforts. He had five tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss last week. Linebackers Tyler, Taylor and Tweedy combined for 26 tackles against the Eagles, their most active game yet, made possible by the line freeing them up to make plays. Since the UNC debacle, the Hokies are allowing 93.2 yards per game on the ground.

Edge: Virginia Tech

Special teams

Demitri Knowles gave Virginia Tech the lift it needed to start the second half last week with a 75-yard kickoff return that set up a Thomas touchdown. He’s had three kickoffs this year that have gone for 50 yards or more and ranks 11th nationally in kick return with a 29.3-yard average. Kyshoen Jarrett‘s punt return average is still ninth nationally (13.89 avg.). Kicker Cody Journell came up with a huge kick last week, sneaking a 41-yarder inside the left upright to tie the game (Trey Gresh had a heck of a hold to make it happen too). After a strong game against FSU, punter A.J. Hughes took a step back at BC, with a 39.6-yard average on seven kicks. The Hokies are 10th in the ACC in net punting and gave up a long return last week. The kickoffs were a struggle at first with Michael Branthover resuming those duties, but the last one, a high, deep kick that allowed the Hokies to make a tackle at the 17-yard line, was what Tech has been looking for.

The Cavaliers have been pretty mediocre on special teams — and that’s being nice. Khalek Shepherd is averaging 22.3 yards per kick return, which is probably the highlight of the group. He hasn’t been as good on punt returns (3.2 avg.), where UVa ranks 112th nationally. Punter Alec Vozenilek has a 40.9-yard average, which is fourth in the ACC. But kickers Drew Jarrett and Ian Frye are a combined 11-for-17 on field goals this year. UVa’s coverage teams have been pretty bad. The Cavaliers rank 90th nationally in covering punts (9.72-yard avg.) and dead last in covering kickoffs (28.11-yard avg.).

Edge: Virginia Tech

Coaching

Frank Beamer has owned the series since Mike London took over as head coach at UVa, with Tech winning 37-7 and 38-0 the last two years. Then again, Beamer and Virginia Tech are experiencing their worst season since 1992. Still, defensive coordinator Bud Foster seems to have his defense playing at an extremely high level right now, about what Hokies fans expected coming into the season. London and Co. pulled a rabbit out of the hat a few weeks ago, stunning N.C. State with an utterly dominating performance. They followed it up with an impressive shootout win against Miami before a flat performance against North Carolina in the team’s first home Thursday night game in six years. Who knows if he and his staff can get the good Cavaliers to show up for this one?

Edge: Virginia Tech

Prediction

Despite the way the edges broke down, I think the game is closer than what that would indicate, especially since Virginia Tech hasn’t been able to put together too many good performances in a row (the Hokies haven’t beaten two FBS teams in a row all season). What I think this game comes down to is Virginia’s offensive line and how it can handle the Hokies’ revved up pass rush. Tech has made things rough for teams that haven’t protected the quarterback very well the last few weeks and figures to continue to roll the dice with its blitzes, a tactic that worked pretty well last year against the Cavaliers. If Moses can go and has the same effectiveness, it gives UVa a better chance. If he can’t or is clearly less than 100 percent, it could be a long day.

But more than that, Tech seems to be a different team at home, where it is 4-1, with the only loss being probably one of its better games this season, a 28-22 loss to Florida State. I don’t envision a score like the last few years, where the Hokies were overwhelmingly the better team on the field. UVa might not be great this year, but Tech, as I’ve mentioned several times, has had its most struggles in two decades this season. I’m curious to see what the Cavaliers have left in the tank now that a bowl trip is out of the picture. The Hokies still have that to play for. Tech has won eight straight in the series and 12 of 13. That streak will end someday, but I don’t envision a 4-7 Virginia team being the one to do it, even against a Hokies squad with so many question marks.

Prediction: Virginia Tech 26, Virginia 17