Resurgent Cavs get a big test

Four weeks ago, few would have predicted what would be on the line at Scott Stadium today.

The start time (noon) and the television slot (Raycom) where the contest was placed are proof.

Yet with a pair of three-game winning streaks on the line, Virginia (3-3, 2-0 ACC) and No. 11 Georgia Tech (6-1, 4-1) play in what could ultimately determine the champion of the league’s Coastal Division.

“We try to take it one game at a time, but this is a big game,” Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell said. “We know they are ranked 11th in the country and we know we have to match Georgia Tech on the field.”

The Yellow Jackets enter on the heels of their biggest win of the year, last week’s upset over Virginia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

“It is about as good a challenge as we could look for this week in an opponent,” said Virginia coach Al Groh. “Sure could make a pretty strong argument, the hottest team in the ACC with a unique system of play in two of the three elements of their team.

“They passed a lot more tests than we have.”

Virginia, which beat Maryland 20-9 last week, has history on its side. Georgia Tech has not won in Charlottesville since 1990, and coach Paul Johnson has pointed that out to his players.

“He reminded us we have a chance to make history,” linebacker Sedric Griffin told reporters. “It has been 19 years. Some of these kids were not born when Georgia Tech got its last win there.

“We really want to go up there and have a good showing.”

A five-point favorite, Georgia Tech is under the impression that it will require its best game to end the streak. That is partly because Virginia has played remarkably better in the past three contests.

“[Virginia] reverted back to what they used to do. They scrapped the new offense; they’re back to running the same offense they ran forever under Al and they stopped turning the ball over,” Johnson said. “They were a turnover a minute earlier in the year. They weren’t giving themselves a chance to play, but the last three games they have created turnovers, they’ve taken care of the ball and that’s the difference between winning and losing.

“When you look statistically, they’ve been pretty good defensively the whole time, but they couldn’t survive the turnovers.”