CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — When Virginia Tech was 1-3, its bowl hopes were all but dead.

The Hokies fumbled a chance against a manageable non-conference slate, had what seemed like a tough ACC schedule coming up and didn’t seem like they had much hope of getting the requisite five league wins to get to the postseason.

Not only did they get there, they got there emphatically, pounding rival UVa 55-17 on Saturday in what was the most points scored in the rivalry’s history.

“Coach [Brent] Pry tells us to just stay the course,” quarterback Kyron Drones said of Tech’s turnaround. “And just stay together. Block out the noise and then just keep pushing, and that’s what we did all season.”

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