By Dave Holcomb
SouthernPigskin.com

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Dave Holcomb previews the Virginia-Virginia Tech rivalry.

Virginia football has accomplished a lot in six years under head coach Bronco Mendenhall. The Cavaliers will aim to achieve another milestone this weekend against archrival Virginia Tech.

Short of winning an ACC championship, theres nothing better for Virginia football than beating big brother Virginia Tech. Thanks to Mendenhall, the Cavaliers finally beat the Hokies in 2019 for the first time in 16 years.

Virginia Tech began a new winning streak against Virginia last year, but a Cavaliers win this weekend will give Virginia its first 2-1 record against Virginia Tech in a three-year span since the late 1990s.

The Cavaliers are primed to make that happen behind ACC Player of the Year candidate Brennan Armstrong.

Virginia has counted on Armstrong for pretty much all of its offense this season, and the junior has delivered. Armstrong was the first ACC quarterback to reach 4,000 yards last week, and with him leading the way, Virginia is third in the nation and first in the ACC in passing yards with 390.2 per game.

Armstrong is accomplishing that all while the Cavaliers are 12th in the ACC in rushing. Last week, Virginia had 34 rushing yards and averaged 1.4 yards per carry versus Pitt. Yet, the Cavaliers were in the game until the final minutes.

That ground game needs to improve this week against Virginia Tech because the Hokies are coming into Saturday with the No. 2 pass defense in the ACC. However, theres serious doubts as to how motivated that pass defensive unit will be.

In their first game after firing coach Justin Fuente, the Hokies allowed 357 passing yards, including 10.8 yards per attempt, and three touchdowns versus Miami. It was the first time all season Virginia Tech gave up 300 yards passing, and if the game had been closer, it easily would have been more.

While Virginia Tech should be motivated to face its biggest rival, its still not a given the Hokies pass defense plays hard all afternoon, especially if the Cavaliers get an early lead. Thats what happened last week when the Hurricanes jumped out to a 14-3 lead against the Hokies.

If Armstrong and the Cavaliers offense is humming, Virginia Tech will need to keep up by its ground game. Hokies junior quarterback Braxton Burmeister has struggled most of the season and averaged just 5.3 passing yards per attempt last week.

Burmeister passed for a season high 254 yards on Oct. 30 against Georgia Tech. Armstrong is averaging 404.4 passing yards per game in 2021.

Although the quarterback comparison is a mismatch, Virginia Tech will have an advantage on the ground. The Hokies are ranked sixth in the ACC in rushing yards and have been moving up that list in the second half of the season. Virginia Tech has eclipsed 225 rushing yards in four of the last five games. During that stretch, the Hokies have averaged 5.5 yards per carry.

Meanwhile, Virginia has given up the most rushing yards in the ACC. Only three Power 5 teams have allowed more rushing yards than Virginia this season. In the last four games, the Cavaliers have yielded 10 rushing touchdowns.

That huge weakness gives Virginia Tech hope that it can continue its dominance in this series. The Hokies are 19-2, including 8-2 in Charlottesville against the Cavaliers in the 21st Century.

But that history isnt going to help slow down Armstrong and a pair of wide receivers, Dontayvion Wicks and Keytaon Thompson, that average 80 receiving yards per game. Wicks leads the ACC with 21.3 yards per reception and is third with 1,148 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns.

Now is as good of a time as ever for Virginia to knock off Virginia Tech, who, by the way, has to win in order to have a shot at bowl eligibility.

Prediction: Virginia 34, Virginia Tech 26