Television: ACC Network Extra
Play-by-Play — Josh Appel
Analyst — Hutson Mason
Local Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports
Play-by-Play — Jon Laaser
Analyst — Mike Burnop
Sideline — Andrew Allegretta
Flagship — 105.3 FM
GAME SPONSOR
HOKIES, HERD SET TO PLAY 12TH GAME
• In a contest not originally on either team's schedule, circumstances made the 13th all-time meeting between Virginia Tech and Marshall a possibility this Saturday as the Hokies seek a sixth win and bowl eligibility.
• Both teams had contests cancelled on Sept. 15, presenting the opportunity for each squad to play a 12th game on December 1.
• Only 190 miles separate Blacksburg, Virginia from Huntington, W.Va., making this contest very logistically feasible for Marshall and its fans to return to Virginia Tech.
• This week's game will mark the first meeting between the two schools since Tech registered a 29-21 triple-OT thriller at Lane Stadium (9/21/13).
• Saturday's contest will be the first December game at Lane Stadium since a contest vs. Miami (12/1/01).
• The Hokies have won the last eight meetings in the series dating back to 1951. Marshall's two wins against Tech came in 1939 and 1940 in Huntington.
• Tech registered an emotional 34-31 OT win vs. Virginia (11/23) that extended the Hokies' streak of supremacy over the Cavaliers to 15 consecutive victories.
• The victory over UVA also marked the 50th career win for Justin Fuente as an FBS head coach. This week he's seeking his 25th victory at Virginia Tech.
• Marshall is coming off a 28-25 win at FIU (11/24), marking a third consecutive win for the Herd.
• VT head coach Justin Fuente owns a 5-1 record at Lane Stadium against non-conference foes with that lone loss coming at the hands of Notre Dame (10/6).
VIRGINIA TECH-MARSHALL: INSIDE THE SERIES
• Saturday's game will mark the13th football meeting between Virginia Tech and Marshall University.
• Tech holds a 10-2 edge in the series, which began in 1913.
• Tech won the first two games of the series in Blacksburg during the 1913 and 1914 seasons. The Hokies traveled to Huntington, W.Va., in 1939 and 1940 to take on the Thundering Herd and lost both contests.
• From 1951-53, the two schools met in night games at Bluefield, W.Va., with the Hokies winning each game by seven points or less. The last of those meetings was a 7-0 Tech win in 1953.
• Head coach Justin Fuente is 0-1 in his career vs. Marshall after falling to the Herd in his initial season at Memphis, 38-28 (11/3/12).
• In regular season December contests, the Hokies are 1-4 all-time.
• Saturday's game will only be the second game ever played in Lane Stadium in December following a 26-24 loss to Miami on Dec. 1, 2001.
VIRGINIA TECH-MARSHALL CONNECTIONS
• Two Hokies - Frank Loria and Rick Tolley - were on the Marshall staff that was part of the Southern Airways Flight 932 that crashed on Nov. 14, 1970 as the team was returning from East Carolina.
• Loria played for the Hokies from 1965-1967, helping lead Tech to a berth in the 1966 Liberty Bowl. He joined the Marshall University coaching staff in 1969 as the defensive backs coach.
• Loria played safety in the same defensive backfield with former Tech head coach Frank Beamer. Tolley played football as a center and linebacker at Tech from 1958-61 and was the head coach of the Marshall football team during the 1969 and 1970 seasons.
• Marshall's defensive ends coach Cornell Brown was a defensive lineman for Virginia Tech from 1993-96 and is often regarded as one of the most important players in program history.
• A native of Lynchburg, his commitment to Frank Beamer in the early 1990s marked the beginning of the Hokies' run as one of the best and most consistent programs in college football.
• Brown's freshman season in 1993 kicked off the Hokies' streak of 25 consecutive bowl games and earned consensus first-team All-American as a junior in 1995 while helping lead Tech to a win over Texas in the 1995 Sugar Bowl.
• Brown's No. 58 jersey was retired by Virginia Tech in 2002.
• Marshall's defensive tackles coach J.C. Price was also a defensive lineman for Virginia Tech, helping the Hokies win a Big East title in 1995 while earning first-team All-Big East and third team All-America honors.
• He was a third-round selection by the Carolina Panthers in the 1996 NFL Draft. Price earned bachelor's degrees in interdisciplinary studies (1998) and health and education (2002) from Tech.
