Cavaliers Outclass the Hokies in 2025 Commonwealth Clash Rendition

On Nov. 29, Virginia Tech football failed to show against Virginia, with the Cavaliers carving the Hokies, 27-7, at Scott Stadium.

“We didn’t have explosive play in the run game that we’ve been having,” said interim head coach Phillip Montgomery after the Hokies’ loss to the Cavaliers. “We got another drive down there and have an opportunity to get points. It didn’t come our way again, so you got to continue to keep battling and keep fighting.”

A cold and gelid night in Charlottesville set the stage for the Commonwealth Clash; Virginia needed only a win to cement their place in Charlotte for the ACC championship. As for Virginia Tech, they had nothing to lose, having been ineligible for a bowl after its loss to Florida State. A win for the Hokies would have sent the Cavaliers home with five straight losses to the Hokies and ended Virginia’s ACC Championship hopes.

“This is the most optimistic I’ve been in 20 years,” said an anonymous Virginia Cavaliers fan in attendance. “I still feel like we are going to find a way to lose though.”

Thankfully for the anonymous fan, his optimism didn’t turn into despair, with linebacker Maddox Marcellus intercepting a tipped Kyron Drones pass on the opening drive — a sign of things to come in the contest.

Quarterback Chandler Morris and running back J’Mari Taylor cashed in on the defense’s plunder with a one-yard rushing touchdown to take the lead with 7:26 in the first. The Hoos did not surrender the lead after that touchdown.

Virginia’s offense showed up and out for all four quarters with 27 unanswered points on Tech’s defense. Morris produced a decent outing, sporting a 21-for-35 mark through the air, accumulating 182 yards and putting up no passing touchdowns or interceptions. On the ground, Morris tallied a touchdown, in addition to 25 yards on the ground.

The Cavaliers produced 83 offensive plays for 380 yards; meanwhile, Virginia Tech only tallied 47 plays on offense for a measly 197 yards. In addition, Virginia sported a 25-6 first-down advantage. The Hokies went without a first down for two quarters, spanning the entirety of the second and third frames.

“Quarterbacks are always going to get too much praise when you win and they are going to get way too much criticism when they lose,” Montgomery said. “[Drones] were in it for the right reasons and doing the right things.”

Sadly for the Hokies, right reasons and right things didn’t lead to the right number of points. In his final collegiate contest, Drones produced a subpar statline: Four completions on 16 attempts for 78 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and two sacks. The majority of his 78 yards came off one play in the fourth quarter: a 57-yard house call to freshman wide receiver Shamarius “Snook” Peterkin for the wideout’s first collegiate touchdown.

“I saw [Virginia] was playing outside leverage, so I went to tell [Drones],” Peterkin said.“[Drones] said go running, [Virginia] gave me that and I scored.”

Negating that 57-yard score, Drones threw three completions for 21 yards; that Peterkin score was his only completion of the second half, a testament to Virginia defense which was suffocating Drones in the pocket almost every other play and locking down when the ball made it to the secondary.

Early on, freshman Jeffery Overton Jr., starting for the first time in place of Marcellous Hawkins, was a bright spot for the Hokies, producing an explosive 31-yard run that gave the Hokies their best field position all night.

Then, graduate running back Terion Stewart and Drones combined rushing attempts to put the Hokies within field goal range for redshirt junior kicker John Love.

Love’s 45-yard attempt went wide right, marking a nexus point in this contest for when the momentum shifted. After the miss, the Hokies were lethargic on offense for the remainder of the contest; a portion of that anemic play could be attributed to the absence of Hawkins and WR1 Ayden Greene.

“Knew [Hawkins] earlier in the week, just trying to hold it not to give [Virginia] any more ammunition,” said Coach Montgomery. “[Greene] was really a game time decision, just tried to go out and warm up, and just couldn’t do it.”

Greene’s absence in combination with Virginia’s strong defense made it hard for Drones and Co. to get going on offense, allowing Virginia to snag its first Commonwealth Clash win over Virginia Tech since 2019 and its second win against the Hokies in 21 tries.

Now, the Hokies look forward to a James Franklin-led future and a high school recruitment cycle that has already taken a turn for the better, with five recruits having committed as of the morning of Nov. 30.

Franklin has already started to change things in Blacksburg behind the scenes and a  $7 million increase in coach spending gives Virginia Tech fans hope for next season.

Meanwhile, Virginia is blossoming in the present with its first 10-win season since 1989 and a trip to Charlotte against the Duke Blue Devils. This matchup already happened recently on Nov. 15, with Virginia routing the Blue Devils 34-17 in Durham, N.C.

For Virginia, it’s still dancing with eyes set on Charlotte and potentially, the College Football Playoff. Meanwhile, for the Hokies, their season is over as they look now towards 2026.