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In a rare occurrence, the Virginia and Virginia Tech football teams are in the same boat after the fourth week of the season.
They aren’t even close to college football’s top 10, and Sagarin’s rankings published by USA Today have him No. 75 (UVa) and No. 98 (Virginia Tech) after the first four games.
Both teams are 2-2. Among Virginia schools, James Madison leads the way at No. 62 and Liberty is ahead of Tech at No. 88.
The two ACC schools ranked below Tech and UVA are Georgia Tech and Boston College, both 1-3.
That was followed by a 42-0 loss to Mississippi State earlier.
Selected to replace Stansbury as head coach is Brent Key, the Yellow Jackets’ assistant head coach and running game coordinator. That could cause confusion for Brent Pry, Virginia Tech’s head coach, and Brent Key in the conference.
Georgia Tech’s new athletic director, Frank Neville, is a former martial artist and bodybuilder as well as a baseball writer for The Sporting News. He also spent 15 years as a diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Hard to miss
Former Virginia Tech quarterback Hendon Hooker, who started 15 games over two seasons for the Hokies, is now being mentioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate after accumulating 461 yards of total offense in No. 11 Tennessee’s 38-33 win over No. 20 Florida.
Hooker has a streak of 212 pass attempts. It was the longest pass by a Tennessee quarterback against Florida since Peyton Manning in 1997. Hooker rushed for 112 yards against Florida.
Hooker, originally from Greensboro, N.C., passed for 22 touchdowns and will approach 3,000 yards at Tech in the 2019-2020 seasons, with completion percentages above 60 percent in both seasons.
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About Bennett
UVa’s Chico Bennett, who recorded two sacks at Syracuse and was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week, began his college career at Georgia Tech before transferring to UVa. Bennett, who has traveled extensively, lived in Ashburn, Va., before moving to Franklin, Tenn. Played two seasons at Rock Ridge High School.
Bennett’s father played at Hawaii and an uncle played three seasons in the NFL.
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Woe to tread
Coming off a 2021 season in which he made 11 field goals on 13 attempts, UVa senior kicker Brendan Farrell was 4-for-6 this season from 50 and 48 yards in Friday night’s 22-20 loss to the Syracuse Cavaliers.
Farrell, who scored the game-winning field goal a week ago in the Knights’ 16-14 win over Old Dominion, was backed up by Will Bettridge, the No. 3-ranked freshman at Gulliver Prep outside Miami. On 247 Sports. Head coach Tony Elliott announced Tuesday that Bettridge will kick field goals with Farrell as the starting power forward.
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Virginia, Virginia Tech began running for the Ray Guy Award
Virginia’s Daniel Sparks and Virginia Tech’s Peter Moore are on the Ray Guy Award list, the nation’s top punter.
Sparks, who played at Louisiana-Monroe before coming to UVa, averaged 45.25 yards on 20-of-25 carries. Moore is 10 in 20 with an average of 42.8.
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Amazing starter
Jelani Woods, a first-team All-ACC selection since catching 44 passes and scoring eight touchdowns at Virginia in 2021, had the game-winner for the Indianapolis Colts in a 20-17 victory over Cincinnati on Sunday.
Woods, a 6-foot-8, 253-pound tight end, began his college career at Oklahoma State and was a third-round pick in the NFL draft earlier this year.
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hire
Rodney Lora, from Woodberry Forest, east of Charlottesville, has decommitted from Virginia and said he plans to visit Penn State this weekend. He is ranked the No. 18 prospect in the state by rivals.com.
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