Hokies set to face West Virginia for the Black Diamond Trophy at FedExField

Rivalry game between Tech and the Mountaineers returns for the first time since 2005

August 28, 2017

BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech will kick off the 2017 season on a grand stage in primetime as the No. 21 Hokies take on No. 22 West Virginia at FedExField in Landover, Maryland at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 3. The game can be seen on ABC, with Steve Levy and Brian Griese in the broadcast booth and Todd McShay on the sideline.

MULTIMEDIA PAGE
• Includes links to Tech's game notes, this week's opponent's game notes, ACC weekly notes and head coach Justin Fuente and associate head coach/defensive coordinator Bud Foster's quotes from Monday's press conference.

A RIVALRY RENEWED!
• Once bitter BIG EAST rivals, Virginia Tech and West Virginia are rekindling a rivalry that has been dormant since 2005 when the two squads meet at FedExField.
• Tech has won seven of the last 10 meetings in the series, including the last two contests played on campus - a 34-17 win in Morgantown (10/1/05) and a 19-13 victory in Blacksburg (10/2/04).
• The signature win in the series for Tech was a thrilling 22-20 comeback at West Virginia (11/6/99) that is simply known as “The Miracle in Morgantown.”
• The No. 3 Hokies trailed 20-19 with 1:15 remaining before QB Michael Vick guided Tech on an iconic seven-play scoring drive. Vick’s improbable 26-yard scramble set up the game-winning 44-yard FG by K Shayne Graham that helped propel Tech to the National Championship Game.
• The Black Diamond Trophy will be presented to the winning team on the field after the game.

VIRGINIA TECH vs. WEST VIRGINIA: INSIDE THE SERIES
• This will only be the seventh time the Hokies and Mountaineers will have played each other on a neutral field. The last neutral site game between the two programs occurred in Richmond, Virginia (9/29/62).
• Sunday’s game will only be the fourth time that both Virginia Tech and West Virginia will play while both are ranked in the AP Top 25. The last time both teams squared off and were ranked nationally was at Lane Stadium (10/31/98) when No. 20 Virginia Tech topped No. 21 West Virginia, 27-13.
• This year’s game will be the first meeting in the all-time series that will be played on a Sunday.

NEW SEASON, NEW QB - JOSH JACKSON
• For VT, redshirt freshman QB Josh Jackson will make his debut for the Hokies, marking the second straight year that Tech has opened the season with a signal-caller starting his first major college football game.
• Jackson is the first redshirt freshman to open the season at QB for the Hokies since Tyrod Taylor in 2007.
• Jackson is the son of longtime college coach Fred Jackson, whose career included a stint at Michigan (1992-2014). The elder Jackson has served as head coach at Ypsilanti High School since 2015. The elder Jackson was the 2001 AFCA Asst. Coach of the Year and wore No. 17 as a collegiate QB at Jackson State.
• The younger Jackson wears No. 17 to honor his father. His older brother, Jeremy, played WR at Michigan.

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