Tech and Tennessee set for Saturday's Battle at BristolTech and Tennessee set for Saturday's Battle at Bristol
Football

Tech and Tennessee set for Saturday's Battle at Bristol

Virginia Tech football will travel to Bristol, Tennessee this Saturday to take part in the Battle at Bristol. The Hokies and the Tennessee Volunteers will face each other in a regular-season game, for the first time since 1937 at Bristol Motor Speedway with an 8 p.m. kick - a game that can be seen live on ABC.

CLICK HERE to go to football's multimedia page that includes links to Tech's game notes, Tennessee's game notes (when available), ACC weekly notes and Fuente's quotes from Monday's press conference.

Lastly, CLICK HERE to navigate to the Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol Game Day Information page that includes a game information, a schedule of events this weekend, and traffic and parking information.

THE FUENTE ERA BEGINS WITH WIN

  • Justin Fuente led the Hokies to a 36-13 win vs. Liberty (9/3) in his debut game at Virginia Tech.
  • Tech’s formula for victory wasn’t new, as the Lunch Pail Defense of Bud Foster forced four turnovers (3 INTs, 1 FR), while the special teams registered a safety.
  • The Hokies limited the Flames to a mere 160 yards of total net offense, holding Liberty to 13.3% (2 of 15) on third down.
  • Making his debut as Tech’s starting signal caller, QB Jerod Evans completed 20 of 32 passes for 221 yards with four TDs and no INTs. Those four TD passes were the most ever by a Hokies’ QB in his first start. He was also Tech’s leading rusher with 46 yards.
  • Despite the victory, the Hokies did leave plenty of room for improvement losing four fumbles, two of which set up short fields for both of Liberty’s touchdowns.
  • Tennessee registered a 20-13 OT win vs. Appalachian State (9/1) in its opener.

KEY FOOTBALL STATS ON BATTLE AT BRISTOL

  • WRs Isaiah Ford & Cam Phillips, RBs Sam Rodgers & Travon McMilian and TE Bucky Hodges accounted for 78.6% (3,938 yds) and 72.1% (31 TDs) of Tech’s offensive production in 2015. Ford (2), Phillips (1) and Hodges (1) all caught TDs vs. Liberty (9/3) from QB Jerod Evans.
  • Ford owns a VT-record four straight 100-yard receiving games, catching 37 passes for 620 yards (16.8 avg.) with four TDs over that span as the Hokies have gone 3-1 in those contests.
  • Dating back to 2005, the Hokies are 24-1 in non-conference games when scoring 30+ points. That lone loss was a 33-30 setback vs. No. 3 Boise State at FedEx Field (9/6/10).
  • VT is 18-3 dating back to 1996 vs. ranked foes when forcing two or more INTs, including a streak of nine straight wins.
  • Under Butch Jones, 43.6% (17 of 39) of UT’s games have been decided by seven points or fewer (9-8 record).
  • Dating back to 1996 the Hokies are 31-2 when holding ranked foes to 21 points or fewer. Those only two losses came by a 14-10 margin vs. No. 2 Boston College (10/25/07) & 16-13 vs. No. 3 Auburn (1/3/05).
  • The Vols have been held to 21 points or fewer in 70.6% (12 of 17) of their losses under Jones.
  • Ten different Virginia Tech players registered at least one rushing attempt vs. Liberty (9/3).

TRIPLE-DIGIT ATTENDANCE NOTES

  • Bristol Motor Speedway will host the biggest crowd to ever watch a football game, period.
  • The current NCAA attendance record is 115,109 fans for Notre Dame at Michigan (9/7/13).
  • An estimated, but unconfirmed, crowd of approximately 120,000 to 123,000 packed Soldier Field as Notre Dame hosted USC (11/26/27), but the actual “paid attendance” was “only” 99,573.
  • The largest crowd to see the Hokies was 107,517 fans at VT’s 35-21 win at Ohio State (9/6/14).
  • A preseason game between the Cowboys and Oilers at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City (8/16/94) drew a crowd 112,376 fans.
  • The regular season NFL attendance mark of 105,121 was set as Dallas hosted the N.Y. Giants (9/21/09).

NASCAR LOVES HOKIES

  • The Stuart, Va., based Wood Brothers Racing Team ran a Virginia Tech-themed No. 21 Ford at Bristol Motor Speedway (8/20) and driver Ryan Blaney will again run the car at the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 held at Martinsville Speedway (10/30).
  • In 2000, Elliott Sadler drove a Wood Brothers’ No 21 with a VT paint scheme at Richmond Speedway.
  • Following the 2007 tragedy at VT, NASCAR donated $160,000 to the VT Memorial Fund. In subsequent races, all NASCAR drivers featured VT stickers on their cars, and Ward Burton (Halifax, Va.) added a VT logo to his hood. Burton’s son, Jeb, an aspiring driver himself, is a lifelong Hokies fan & practiced with the squad for a day this August.