It’s a multi-state rivalry brought back to life as No. 22 West Virginia opens up its season against No. 21 Virginia Tech at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.
As always, scroll on down for the live blog. Keep reading for the press release from West Virginia.
BETHESDA, Maryland – The Black Diamond Trophy is back on the line as 22nd-ranked West Virginia battles No. 21 Virginia Tech in a season-opening affair at FedExField in Landover, Maryland.
The longtime series, which began in 1912, resumes after a 12-year hiatus in a neutral-site venue for just the seventh time in 52 overall meetings.
That last game, played in Morgantown in 2005, resulted in a 34-17 Virginia Tech victory – West Virginia’s lone blemish on the way to an 11-1 season and a Sugar Bowl victory over SEC champion Georgia.
Prior to that, the two border rivals had played consecutively from 1973-2005 and from 1957-1968.
Legendary coaches Don Nehlen and Frank Beamer will be on hand to serve as ceremonial captains. ABC (Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Todd McShay) will televise the game nationally, while the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG’s radio coverage (Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning) can be accessed on stations throughout West Virginia, online through WVUsports.com and via the mobile app WVU Gameday, available for download through the Apple and Google Play stores.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Here is Sunday’s Countdown to Kickoff:
10 – Either Virginia Tech or West Virginia has been nationally ranked the last TEN times these two programs have met dating back to November 23, 1996.
9 – West Virginia has NINE players on offense returning with at least one game’s worth of starting experience, led by senior right guard Kyle Bosch’s 26 career starts.
8 – Although Virginia Tech is very familiar with WVU, that’s not the case with the Big 12 Conference in general. This will be just Tech’s EIGHTH meeting against a team from the current Big 12 in its 125-year history of football, the last instance coming in 2008 against Kansas in the Orange Bowl.
7 – Since 2011, West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen’s Mountaineer teams have been ranked during six of the SEVEN seasons he’s been at WVU, totaling 37 weeks during that span of time.
6 – West Virginia has shut out Virginia Tech SIX times in the series, the last coming in 1983, a 13-0 Mountaineer victory in Morgantown.
5 – The Mountaineers have won FIVE of their six season-opening games under coach Dana Holgorsen. The lone defeat came in 2014 when WVU fell, 33-23, to second-ranked Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta.
4 – Sunday’s game will represent the FOURTH time in series history both teams are nationally ranked while playing each other. The prior three occasions happened in 1996, 1997 and 1998.
3 – West Virginia’s last visit to FedExField last season resulted in a THREE-point victory over BYU when Maurice Fleming’s late interception in the end zone preserved a 35-32 Mountaineer victory.
2 – In the past the West Virginia-Virginia Tech game has usually featured players from both states on each team’s roster, but this year that’s not the case. Virginia Tech doesn’t have a single West Virginian on its roster while the Mountaineers have just TWO – starting wide receiver Gary Jennings Jr. and backup running back Lorenzo Dorr.
1 – Sunday’s game will be the FIRST time West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen and Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente have met on the gridiron, and the first time both coaches will vie for the Black Diamond Trophy.
The game is on your local ABC affiliate at 7:30 p.m. EST Watch it with me.
