Hokies keep Commonwealth Cup in Blacksburg by throttling UVa
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Bhayshul Tuten raised his left arm into the air and pointed to the Virginia Tech fans standing in the Scott Stadium north end zone Saturday. The Hokies tailback was 30 yards away from the goal line and knew he was going to finish his run with a score.
There was no doubt. A dominating first half and a flurry of third-quarter points made sure the Commonwealth Cup’s residence remained in Blacksburg for one more year.
Virginia Tech flexed its muscles with a powerful run game. Kyron Drones picked apart the Virginia secondary with three touchdown passes. And the Hokies claimed a 55-17 victory over the Cavaliers before an announced crowd of 42,576.
The 55 points are the most by a winning team in the series history.
The lopsided triumph allowed the Hokies (6-6, 5-3 ACC) to become bowl eligible and all but secure their appearance in a bowl game for the 35th time. Tech will find out its postseason destination one week from Sunday.
The series had been fairly competitive over the last five seasons. The most lopsided score was a 33-15 Tech win during the COVID-altered season in 2020, and the Cavaliers (3-9, 2-6) had lost three other times by a combined margin of 18 points.
Drones threw for 244 yards and three scores on 10-of-22 passing. He completed two touchdown passes to Da’Quan Felton for 84 and 34 yards, and he found Stephen Gosnell on a 44-yard touchdown.
Tuten had himself another stellar outing. He rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, and he tallied his second kickoff return touchdown of the season on a 94-yard return.
The offensive fireworks were made possible by a first-half defensive performance that set the tone.
Tech held UVa to 60 yards in the opening 30 minutes and raced out to a 24-0 lead.
It was the Hokies’ first time holding an opponent scoreless in the first half since 2022 against Wofford, and it’s the first time Tech held an ACC opponent scoreless in the opening 30 minutes since the 2021 opener against North Carolina.
It marked the 12th time since the start of the 1987 season Tech has held an opponent to 60 or fewer first-half yards.
Damien Sordelett (540) 981-3124
Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy . Sordelett, Damien Get email notifications on {{subject}> daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}>
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Manage followed notifications Followed notifications
