There is no better way to welcome the turkey-devouring holiday than with Virginia's biggest football game of the season against its biggest rival, No. 6 Virginia Tech, whose mascot happens to be a turkey.
The noon game tomorrow is something all Cavalier freshmen have been anticipating and all seniors will be cherishing, as it is the last home football game of their undergraduate careers.
The two teams first battled each other in 1895, which, coincidentally, resulted in a home win for the Cavaliers. Overall, however, Virginia's history against the Hokies is 36-43-5. Virginia's defense managed to step up last week against Georgia Tech even with three defensive players suspended, holding P.J. Daniels, the No. 3 rusher in the ACC, to 11 carries for 41 yards. Marcus Hamilton left Calvin Johnson, the leading receiver in the ACC, with only one catch for 41 yards.
"Marcus has really matured as a player," Virginia head coach Al Groh said. "The hours that he put in studying tape, charting what the player did by alignment, formation, how he ran his routes -- he was just very professional about how he went about it. And clearly, his preparation showed."
If the Cavaliers want to take down Virginia Tech, the defense will need to display the same amount of poise and endurance they did in last week's match up.
The phrase "easier said than done" comes to mind here. They will have to stop the leading scoring offense in the ACC, and the main threat is none other than Marcus Vick, the leading passer in the ACC.
"He'll put it on the money and beat you with his feet, so he's definitely a different kind of quarterback you have to defend," redshirt freshman linebacker Clint Stintim said. "You definitely don't see too many quarterbacks with his stature and his style anymore."
Despite Vick's uniqueness, the commander of the field for the Cavaliers seems to display very similar characteristics.
Marcus Hagans' strong arm and accuracy makes him a threat in the pocket, while his ability to scramble and make plays on the run confuses defenses.
"They're certainly more similar than they are different," Groh said. "They're multiple threats -- run, pass, scramble out of trouble, on the edge on bootlegs, strong arms. And they're from the same school district."
While Virginia Tech claims the No. 2 rank in total defense in the ACC, senior tailback Wali Lundy has momentum on his side, accumulating more yards the last two games than in the first six combined and a total of six touchdowns.
The biggest advantage Virginia has in tomorrow's slugfest is having a 12th man: Scott Stadium. Home field advantage has turned out to be more helpful than anyone anticipated this season, helping the Cavaliers defeat top-ranked teams like Georgia Tech last week and Florida State Oct. 15.
All the same, there is nothing that should not be expected from the No. 6 team in the country.
"I expect that we'll be playing the best team that we've played this year, by far, in terms of strength in all areas," Groh said. "They've got very good talent on the team -- most of it's mature talent. So, it's talented, it's experienced, and I think the schemes are well put together and very challenging to play against."
Don't forget, though, it is the time of the season for eating lots and lots of turkey.
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