Wide receiver Cam Phillips of the Virginia Tech Hokies carries the ball following his reception. (Photo by Michael Shroyer/Getty Images)
BLACKSBURG, Va. - A nifty fifty.
That's the number of days Virginia Tech football fans are away from seeing their beloved Hokies from hitting the field for the first time during the 2017 regular season. Tech, the defending ACC Coastal Division champion, opens its second campaign under head coach Justin Fuente Sunday September 3rd against West Virginia.
The border war will not be played in Virginia or West Virginia - it will be contested at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, home of the Washington Redskins.
6 Nov 1999: Mark Thurston of West Virginia. The Hokies defeated the Voulunteers 22-20. (Courtesy: Doug Pensinger /Allsport)
The contest will mark the 52nd meeting between the two schools, with Tech owning a two-game winning streak in the series that dates back to 1912. The Hokies claimed a 34-17 victory in the most recent game in Morgantown in 2005 and also won a 19-13 decision against then-No. 6 West Virginia at Lane Stadium in 2004. Arguably the most memorable contest in the series for Tech fans was a 22-20 victory in Morgantown on Nov. 6, 1999 when Michael Vick led a last-minute Hokies’ comeback that Shayne Graham capped with a 44-yard game-winning field goal as time expired.
This season’s game will mark Virginia Tech’s fourth appearance at FedExField since 2004. The two teams last played a neutral-site game in 1962 when both sides met in Richmond, Virginia. Tech and West Virginia also will play a two-game series starting in 2021, with the Hokies traveling to Morgantown for a Sept. 18, 2021 game and the Mountaineers coming to Blacksburg for a Sept. 24, 2022 contest.
