Slept On It: Hokies Win 13th Straight Commonwealth Cup by Embarrassing the Hoos

The circumstances surrounding Saturday's Commonwealth Cup between the Hoos and Hokies were notably different than in recent years. Both programs had spent the past few seasons mired in mediocrity; Virginia always the lesser of the two, viewing the annual tilt with Tech through the lens of the maligned little brother. The past two years had featured a more level playing field than usual, leading to consecutive nailbiting victories for the Hokies.

Despite offseason staff turnover for both programs, the two teams entered play this weekend on completely opposite ends of the football spectrum: UVa had not won a game since October 1st; The Hokies had been crowned the ACC Coastal champs the night before.

With the pressure relieved, the Hokies were suddenly able to take Saturday's game at face-value. The background noise was gone, no looming pressure at the first sign of distress. The Hokies came out of the gates relaxed and focused, and then proceeded to walk all over the Hoos on the way to a 52-10 win. In the end, the greatest adversity Tech faced all day was the frigid temperature.

Forgive the cliche, but the way the game played out seemed more like a videogame than reality. Frankly, it was laughable. Sam Rogers was running all over the place, Jerod Evans was carving up the UVa secondary and the Tech defense forced punt after punt. One quarter into the game and I wondered why I had bothered stressing myself out over this game. Virginia might as well have been a mid-tier FCS team.

UVa did little to help their cause. They rotated quarterbacks Matt Johns and Kurt Benkert — who have almost identical skillsets — depending on the down-and-distance; receivers struggled to haul in passes; and defenders struggled to make tackles or stay with receivers. There was little-to-no fire from the Hoos, as though the outcome was a fait accompli.

The talent drop-off in Charlottesville had been so dramatic in recent years that Bronco Mendenhall had the unenviable task of MacGyvering a middle-of-the-pack team from nothing more than two former blue-chip recruits and a Costco-sized box of paper clips. With the Hokies on the rise and the few talented Wahoo pieces heading out the door after this season, it's hard not to wonder when — if ever — the Hoos will be able to regain the cup.

The rivalry has become so lopsided in recent years that Frank Beamer lost count. During an in-game interview with the ESPN crew, Beamer was reflecting on the annual matchup when he interrupted himself saying, "the last...I don't know how many...times we beat Virginia straight." Yeesh.

In many ways, it's sad. Rivalries are part of what makes college football so wonderfully authentic. I wasn't raised (nor have I resided in adulthood) anywhere near Virginia, so my ties to the rivalry are a bit more simplistic. However, for those who grew up or live alongside Wahoos, beating them year-after-year never gets old. But I think I speak for most when I say that, over time, the postgame ecstasy has progressively been replaced by relief.

As the Hokies prepare for their sixth ACC Championship Game appearance, they will once again be under the college football microscope. Clemson will garner most of the attention in the lead-up, and rightfully so. They are on the verge of another College Football Playoff berth, sporting a talented roster led by 2015 Heisman finalist Deshaun Watson.

But Hokies everywhere know that Tech thrives when they're discounted, lying in the weeds waiting to attack at the first sign of weakness. A similar script was in-hand and playing out perfectly heading into the Battle at Bristol, but it was set ablaze on the first play of the second quarter.

That was a team still trying to work out the kinks as they adjusted to a new offensive system. Today fresh faces are more comfortable in their roles, and Tech's talented roster is considerably more seasoned after tough road trips to UNC, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame.

Heading into a conference championship game, perception matters. Facing a team like Clemson, losses to Syracuse and Georgia Tech force many to question Tech's merits. But when a division champion faces their rival to close the regular season — regardless of record — pummelling them the way the Hokies did is exactly what's expected.

"This game was a statement game to tell Clemson that we're coming," noted DE Ken Ekanem."I think we got the ball rolling and we're going to have a great week of practice with a lot of energy."

I woke up on Sunday morning and immediately started reading everything I could about the impending ACC Championship Game matchup with Clemson. The previews were not particularly kind to the Hokies. But then again, many were rather myopic. Joe Pantorno from Bleacher Report seemed wholly unaware of the Hokies' accomplishments, stating:

"However, Virginia Tech doesn't have major weapons that can take over a game. Its passing and rushing attack is ranked 42nd and 57th, respectively, in the nation, while the defense allows a respectable 22.6 points per game."

After losing to Tennessee in early September on the biggest stage in college football history, it was easy for national writers to ignore Virginia Tech the rest of the way. No sooner would Tech make noise would they then take themselves out of the equation by losing to "lesser than" teams. But to call Tech devoid of weapons is just plain lazy.

Consensus Top 5 Heisman candidate Deshaun Watson continues to reap the benefits of a third place Heisman finish last year, the Tigers' continued success after losing in last year's National Championship Game, and an uber-talented supporting cast. Yet the Hokies' Evans has thrown nine less interceptions, has a higher passer rating, and has thrown for only 600 less yards on 98 less attempts. Evans' deep ball isn't as polished as Watson's, but he is arguably a more well-rounded dual-threat than the Tigers quarterback.

Clemson's Mike Williams, Jordan Leggett and Artavis Scott get most of the attention from national pundits, but the Hokies' three-headed monster at receiver is arguably just as talented and touts matchup nightmare Bucky Hodges.

And after a full season of play, Tech is widely considered the only Coastal Division team capable of matching up with the Tigers both offensively and defensively.

Expectations have always been high for Clemson this season. Tech, on the other hand, was picked to finish fourth in the Coastal.

So forgive the Hokies for having their stumbles and celebrate what this program has accomplished in such a short period of time. Justin Fuente's roster was always far from perfect, and a lot of growth was needed this season to get where they are. That growth has manifest itself in many ways, never more evident than last week's come-from-behind road win at Notre Dame.

Beating Virginia was sweet, as always. But there is a bigger goal at stake now. Taking down Clemson and reclaiming the ACC crown would send shockwaves through the college football landscape.