UVA head coach Bronco Mendenhall seems to be committing to the Cavaliers for the long term.

The Battle for Virginia is finally here, and the regular season finale matchup between the No. 25 Virginia Tech Hokies and the Virginia Cavaliers is set for Friday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN (live stream).

It’s been some years since Virginia football was in the national discussion for postseason honors and team potential. With Bronco Mendenhall at the helm, that’s starting to change. Now that the head coach has seemingly confirmed his allegiance to the Cavaliers — at least in terms of remaining the head coach — the team can continue to improve over the offseason, and maybe see themselves as part of the CFP top 25 next year.

Time, TV channel, and streaming info

• Time: 8 p.m. ET
• Location: Scott Stadium, Charlottesville, Va.
• TV: ESPN
• Streaming: WatchESPN
• Odds: Virginia Tech is a 7-point favorite.

Virginia Tech vs. Virginia news:

• The Virginia depth chart is unchanged ahead of this week’s in-state rivalry game.
• The Hokies claimed a win over Pitt in a nail-biter of a finish.

You could make the case that Greg Stroman has been the most consistent DB, and he undercut a corner route to make a HUGE play for a struggling team. It’s only fitting that a play of that magnitude happened on senior day.

• It doesn’t look like Virginia will be losing head coach Bronco Mendenhall to the Oregon State job.

“That job came open a number of years ago, and there will be rumors that are accurate that I was a finalist or the short list and that I was contacted...I’ve moved on since then.”

Virginia Tech vs. Virginia prediction:

The Hokies have too many weapons for Virginia to claim the upset, especially coming off a win that bumped Virginia Tech into the CFP top-25. The Cavaliers may be on the upswing, but against their in-state rivals, they head home with a loss.