UVA’s Elliott has a fresh approach to Virginia Tech rivalry

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Tony Elliott has an interesting theory on Virginia’s rivalry with Virginia Tech, a concept he mentioned during his game-week press conference on Tuesday.

If you’re a fan of either side of the rivalry, you’re keenly aware of the series. Virginia has won only three times in the last 24 years: the Wahoos’ great comeback in Blacksburg in 1998 under George Welsh; 2003 in Charlottesville under Al Groh and 2019 in C’ville under Bronco Mendenhall.

UVA has had the Hokies up against the ropes a few times during that span, but let them off the hook, such as in 2021 when the Cavaliers had a first down inside the 10 in the waning moments and instead of letting Brennan Armstrong win the game, then-offensive coordinator Robert Anae called the dumbest play this columnist has ever seen on fourth down. With everything on the line, Anae called a tackle-eligible pass to a 300-pound tackle, who would have had to run at least 12 yards to score. Tech buried the tackle and Virginia’s hopes with ease.

Anyways, having covered 39 of the last 40 UVA-Tech games (I didn’t cover the 1990 game because Doug Doughty of The Roanoke Times and I decided to attend the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage to cover the beginning of the Jeff Jones era), I’ve never quite understood why the rivalry was so lopsided.

Maybe, just maybe Elliott’s approach will change UVA’s luck.

Remember that Bronco was so obsessed with beating Tech, that he mentioned it 24/7/365. He even had a clock in the Virginia locker room with a countdown to the Tech game.

While Elliott understands the importance of the game, he said he learned a valuable lesson while he was on the Clemson staff concerning the Tigers’ fierce rivalry with South Carolina.

“So going back to my experience, I was part of a very intense rivalry and there was a time we lost several games in a row, and after looking back at it, a lot was we put too much emphasis on it,” Elliott said.

Clemson lost five straight to South Carolina from 2009 to 2013.

“So you’ve got to balance it, right? I think we all know the implications, that is this 365 days. However, you have to work towards each opponent as you play those opponents. The approach I’m trying to get everybody to understand is that every game is the most important game of the season, and then when you get to this game, now here is the significance around this game,” Elliott explained.

Once Clemson realized that perhaps it was putting more emphasis than necessary on its annual game with the Gamecocks, then the Tigers reeled off seven-straight wins until last season.

“I think you do have to frame it the right way, because it’s a long week and really it’s all year,” Elliott said. “Everyone talks about it all year and it leads up to this week.

“Trying not to put undue pressure on the guys because at the end of the day you’ve got to prepare the same way that you prepared for other games. The way you frame it is this is just like any other game in terms of the preparation process, but the significance of the outcome is a little bit different.”

Elliott’s theory is one that I’ve never thought of when it comes to a rivalry game, but maybe that’s been Virginia’s problem in the past: they’ve put too much emphasis on it, too much pressure for the players to handle the buildup.

Most of the pressure come Saturday (3:30 p.m., Scott Stadium, ACC Network) will be on the Hokies, who are 5-6 and need a win to become bowl-eligible. Tech is a 2.5- to 3-point favorite, depending on what oddsmaker you choose.

Tech coach Brent Pry, who will be coaching against Elliott for the first time due to last year’s shooting tragedy that caused the game to be canceled, realizes what’s at stake.

“I know how much it means to everybody,” Pry said Tuesday. “You guys know I’ve been pretty much 1-0, 1-0. Well, this is a big 1-0 and I’m not afraid to say it.”

There’s no mistake about Pry’s goals to establish Tech as the major football power in the state, although Liberty and JMU would probably beg to differ. Down in Charlotte last July, Pry talked about Tech owning the state, and when a sportswriter approached Elliott with that quote, the UVA coach smiled and said, “Well, that’s what he’s supposed to say.”

Certainly, Elliott would like to make that claim, and a win Saturday would give him an upper hand in the battle for the Commonwealth Cup.

“It’s an opportunity for both of us,” Elliott said Tuesday. “We’re battling and jockeying to say this is our state. He’s saying that they want to own the state; we want to own the state. That’s what happens when you have a rivalry.”

Elliott has utmost respect for Pry in the aftermath of how Virginia Tech responded to Virginia’s tragedy a year ago, and because Elliott was once on the same coaching staff with Pry’s younger brother at South Carolina State.

“Tremendous amount of respect for him, his younger brother, his dad. It’s a football family,” Elliott said.

For three hours on Saturday, the gloves are off.

“Going to be big because it’s the first time that we get to show and prove … we get to talk about we want to recruit the best players in the state, take ownership of the state,” Elliott said. “Now we get a chance to settle it on the field. I think that’s important for each program, but then also it’s an opportunity for all of the recruits from the state of Virginia to see both teams showcased.”