Tweet

Seventeenth-ranked Virginia Tech (2-0) will return home to take East Carolina (1-1) Saturday afternoon at Lane Stadium/Worsham Field. Kickoff is set for 12:01 p.m. Dave Pasch, Brian Griese and Tom Luginbill will have the call for ESPN. Tickets for the game are available and can be purchased online at www.hokietickets.com.

The Series
• Virginia Tech and East Carolina University will be meeting for the 19th time Saturday with the Hokies leading the series, 13-5. The Hokies have won 10 of the last 11 meetings. The series began in 1956 when the schools met in Bluefield, West Virginia.

• Tech is 6-2 all-time at Lane Stadium against the Pirates, winning each of the last five games. The last two meetings in the series were played in Greenville (2012, 2013).

• This will be the seventh meeting in a 13-game series that began in 2007. The Hokies and Pirates will play each year through 2020, with three more games at Tech and three more at ECU.

Coaching Their Alma Maters
• When the two teams meet Saturday, two alums will lead their respective teams onto the field. For the Hokies, it’s long-time head coach Frank Beamer leading the charge. The 1969 graduate of Tech is in his 28th year at the helm of his alma mater. On the other sideline, Ruffin McNeill leads the Pirates into battle. He is a 1980 graduate of East Carolina University and is in his fifth year at the helm of the Pirates’ program. They are two of 13 coaches at the FBS level who serve their alma mater as a head coach in 2014.

Military Appreciation Day
• Saturday is Military Appreciation Day as we take a moment to recognize all of those serving to protect this great country. Below is a list of some members of the football team who are serving or have family who have served/are serving our country:

Player: Family Member (relationship), Branch
Dewayne Alford: Dewayne Alford (father), Army
Joel Caleb: Jarrett Bailey (cousin), Army
Chuck Clark: Charles Clark, Sr. (father), Navy
Caleb Farris: Damien Farris (brother), Army
Laurence Gibson: Michelle Gibson (mother), Army
Mark Leal: Mark Leal (father), Army; Orton Trent (stepfather), Marines
Wyatt Teller: Rick Teller (father), Army
Josh Trimble: Jeremy Trimble (brother), Army; Jordan Trimble (brother), Army; Justin Trimble (brother), Army

• Tech will wear a special helmet Saturday to promote and honor our military. Twenty-five helmets will be auctioned off with proceeds going to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

Strong in September
• Tech has a 72-12 mark in September dating back to the start of its bowl streak in the 1993 season, including a 33-7 mark over the past eight seasons (2005-2014).

For updates on Virginia Tech football, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_Football