Virginia Tech Sports News 11/18/19

Virginia Tech had an impressive weekend with VT football picking up a 45-0 victory at Georgia Tech, No. 11 VT Wrestling upsetting No. 3 Ohio State, and VT men's and women's basketball staying undefeated. Here are some of the latest news and notes on the Hokies from football and basketball.

Virginia Tech-Virginia Kickoff Time Set

The annual Commonwealth Cup showdown has become a staple on Black Friday with this year's game receiving a nationally-televised spot.

Virginia Tech vs. Virginia will be televised on ABC and kick off at noon. ABC only has two national TV spots on Black Friday with the 3:30 spot going to a likely top 20 matchup between Cincinnati and Memphis.

While some have complained about the early start especially on Black Friday, there's no doubt that this will be the must-see game in the noon window and should satisfy the want to watch college football on the day after. While some fans may have liked getting to say this game was in primetime, having it on national TV on ABC rather than at night on ESPN is better for commanding more people's attention.

Landers Nolley Named ACC Freshman of the Week

Landers Nolley has more than lived up to the hype over his first four games of the season with 3 20+ point performances, all of which he shot at least 50% from the field and from three-point range.

Today, Nolley received some recognition for his strong second week of the season.

Nolley was named ACC Freshman of the Week after averaging 25 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 32 minutes per game last week. Most impressive, Nolley was extremely efficient shooting 18-33 from the field including 11-19 from three-point range.

Nolley has proven to be a versatile scorer who can stretch the floor and attack the rim with a good mid-range game to compliment it all.

So far, Nolley has proven that he is more than up to the challenge of being the Hokies' centerpiece on the offensive end. However, the difficulty of tests that Nolley will face is set to increase next week with the Hokies' trip to Maui that starts with No. 3 Michigan State.

Oscar Bradburn Named Ray Guy Award Semifinalist

Oscar Bradburn has been one of the best punters in America and today, the junior from Australia receive the most prestigious honor for punters to date this season.

Bradburn was one of 10 punters named semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award after an impressive season that has him as the frontrunner to earn an All-ACC First Team spot.

The numbers back it up as Bradburn leads the nation in average yards per punt at 48.3 while his 42.7 net yards per punt ranks among the top 12 punters with at least 15 punts this season. Half of Bradburn's punts have gone for 50+ yards while 17 of his 40 punts have been downed inside the 20.

Bradburn has been consistent throughout the season and has been a big reason why Virginia Tech has usually done well in the field position and hidden yardage battles. While some are honored to simply make this list, Bradburn has a serious chance to win this year's Ray Guy Award.

General Admission Seating For Students for VT-Pittsburgh

Virginia Tech made some news among Hokie students when they announced that men's basketball student tickets would be general admission. Now, Virginia Tech is using the final game of the 2019 season to experiment whether it could work for football games.

If there is a time to experiment with GA student seating, this is the game given that Virginia Tech's Fall Break begins this weekend and student attendance is usually inconsistent for home games on this weekend. Of course, it still isn't ideal for students who may not be the earliest to games, but have stuck it out in North End Zone and now don't have that guarantee.

Outside of that, this decision makes a lot of sense especially since Virginia Tech appears almost certain to go to GA student seating in 2020. While Virginia Tech hasn't officially announced that, they did mention that this experiment will give them a clearer picture while rumors about a change have been going for months with the GA student seating for men's basketball fueling those rumors even more.