The last time Georgia Tech won a football game in Charlottesville, Bobby Ross was the Yellow Jackets' coach.

Ross never coached at Scott Stadium again.

However, he'll be in attendance today when 11th-ranked Georgia Tech (6-1 overall, 4-1 ACC) meets Virginia (3-3, 2-0) at noon in search of its first victory at Scott Stadium since 1990.

"Has it been that long?" Ross asked Thursday. "I had no idea."

Ross, who was in Roanoke to address a group of Patrick Henry High School boosters, lives in Lexington and said he will be sitting with members of his family Saturday.

It won't be his first trip to Scott Stadium since 1990. His son, Kevin, was the running backs coach on Al Groh's Virginia coaching staff from 2001-04, and Charlottesville was a regular Ross destination during that time.

In 2004, Bobby Ross accepted the coaching job at Army, whose chief rival was the Naval Academy, when current Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson ran the show until he took over the Yellow Jackets' program in 2008.

"It doesn't surprise me, the job [Johnson's] done down there," Ross said. "Heck, we couldn't beat him. He does as good a job of in-game adjustments as I've seen in college football."

Ross' 1990 Georgia Tech team defeated then-No. 1 Virginia 41-38 on a 37-yard Scott Sisson field goal with seven seconds remaining and went on to share the national championship.

Georgia Tech was picked No. 1 in the college coaches' poll, and Colorado was the choice in The Associated Press writers' poll.

So, what does Ross remember about the 1990 Virginia-Georgia Tech game?

"That they almost called it off," Ross said. "The turf had been burned the night before the game and they eventually had to get turf from one of the practice fields and replace it."

Vandals had snuck into the stadium several hours before sunrise and set the artificial surface on fire in the middle of the field. A quick repair job foiled the defacers, however.

Then the Jackets knocked UVa from the top of the poll.

Ross remained at Georgia Tech through 1991, then moved on to the San Diego Chargers in the NFL. Ross' five-year tenure in San Diego included reaching Super Bowl XXIX.

Georgia Tech has had four head coaches in the post-Ross era (Bill Lewis, George O'Leary, Chan Gailey and Johnson), but has remained successful. One more win would give the Jackets their 13th consecutive year with at least seven victories.

Georgia Tech has had at least a .500 ACC record for 15 consecutive seasons. The only Division I-A team with a longer streak is Florida with 23.

Former Georgia Tech AD Dave Braine, now retired and living in Blacksburg, once said that the Yellow Jackets could hope to win nine or 10 games on occasional basis but "they will never do that consistently."

Ross said he didn't think Braine's statement was particularly outrageous, "but, this scheme gives [Johnson] a little better chance," Ross said.

The Yellow Jackets have a triple-option attack featuring quarterback Josh Nesbitt and running back Jonathan Dwyer, last year's ACC player of the year. Last week, Tech completed one pass but had the ball for more than 38 minutes in a 28-23 upset of then-No. 4 Virginia Tech.

Ross likens Georgia Tech's triple-option to the wide-tackle six defense that he installed at Maryland following his arrival. The wide-tackle six was widely identified with coach Jerry Claiborne's Virginia Tech teams of the 1960s.

"Eventually, people caught up with it," said Ross, who won ACC titles at Maryland in 1983, 1984 and 1985, "but, at first, they just hadn't seen it."

On Saturdays when VMI is at home, Ross, an alumnus, can be found at Keydets' games. When VMI is on the road, as it is today at Presbyterian, Ross frequently will go to a Virginia or Virginia Tech game.

He buys his own tickets, admitting that they're often harder to get in Blacksburg.

He was a secondary coach for the Kansas City Chiefs in the late 1970s and early '80s and pays attention to the coverages, but mostly he likes to watch the line of scrimmage.

Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer coached under Ross at The Citadel, and Ross marvels at the success his pupil has had in Blacksburg, much of which Ross attributes to Beamer's ability to hold onto his assistants.

UVa, on the other hand, really hasn't been the same since assistants Al Golden, Ron Prince and Danny Rocco took head-coaching jobs following the 2005 season.

"Now, Prince has come back," Ross said, "but, do you realize, there's only one assistant still there, [Bob] Price, who was there with Kevin at the beginning. It makes a difference."