CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – As he laid out preseason goals for his program, fourth-year Virginia football coach Tony Elliott put two things on that list that hadn’t happened since 2019 – reaching an ACC championship game and beating rival Virginia Tech.

Back in August, when Elliott talked about those objectives with the media, they seemed, to many, beyond far-fetched. 

Afterall, under Elliott, the Cavaliers hadn’t so much as posted a winning record, were 6-17 in league play, and had been outscored 92-34 in the last two meetings with Tech. 

“We have to carry the burden of what hasn’t been done in the past,” Elliott said this week. “And we’ve got an opportunity to change the future.”

Saturday, UVA will host the Hokies as 8 ½ point favorites. A win would give the Cavaliers at least a share of the ACC regular-season championship and a spot in the title game in Charlotte next weekend.

“My first year, I got here and beat Tech, had a nine-win season, went to the bowl game, all that stuff, ACC championship (game),” said seventh-year safety Antonio Clary. “Being able to possibly do that again my last year here is pretty sweet.”

Virginia has been one of the league’s and the nation’s biggest surprises in 2025, a remade roster bolstered by an influx of money that became key transfer portal additions, including quarterback Chandler Morris, running back J’Mari Taylor, center Brady Wilson and defensive ends Mitchell Melton and Fisher Camac. 

Morris, who was a part of rivalries at both TCU and North Texas, said his message to his teammates this week has been about staying the course – not doing any more or less than the things they’ve done all year to put themselves in this position. 

“Not getting caught up too much in the pressure,” Morris said. “And just being grateful for the opportunity.”

A crowd of over 55,000 is expected Saturday night, a group grateful for what Morris and company have brought to Charlottesville – an offense scoring the fourth-most points in the ACC and a defense allowing the sixth fewest.

A string of four straight memorable one-score victories over Florida State, Louisville, Washington State and North Carolina.

A spot in the Associated Press Top 25 and the College Football Playoff rankings.

And, Saturday, a very real shot to beat Tech and play for an ACC championship. 

“It means a lot to everybody, especially if you’ve been a part of this program, if you’ve been a part of this brotherhood,” Clary said. “This is a game of significance and it’s been going on for a long, long time.”

For Clary, it’s a chance to end things the way they started all the way back in 2019.

Of course, that year, both teams were strong and the winner of the Commonwealth Cup also earned a Coastal Division title and a spot in the ACC championship game. 

This year, the Hokies have no such stakes. They stumbled out of the gates, opening up 0-3 with losses to South Carolina, Vanderbilt and – in what turned out to be the final game for coach Brent Pry – Old Dominion. 

Interim coach Phillip Montgomery briefly righted the ship, going 3-2 in his first five games leading the program.

But the Hokies have lost three in a row coming into Saturday’s matchup. At 3-8, a loss would give them their most defeats in a single season since 1987, Frank Beamer’s first year coaching Tech.

The Hokies boast a beyond-capable defensive line, anchored by Kemari Copeland, Ben Bell and Kelvin Gilliam Jr., and a dual-threat quarterback who, when he’s at his best, is a dynamic force in Kyron Drones.

Complicating the defensive challenge against Drones, UVA will play without star linebacker Kam Robinson. Robinson suffered a torn ACL against Duke and will miss the rest of the season. 

Still, even without Robinson, UVA is a heavy favorite and – for the first time since 2019 – it should be.

Of course, the only history that matters in a rivalry is the history that is about to be made Saturday.

“You don’t really consider what’s gone on in the beginning of the year or what’s after this game,” senior linebacker James Jackson said. “We could play this game and there be no implications at all and it’s going to mean the same thing. This is why you play this game, for games like this. You feel it all week.”