Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech guard Nick Marshman shows off a pair of ACC championship game patches following the Hokies' win over Virginia.

Arguably, there may not be two major college football teams in the country that know each other better than Virginia Tech and Boston College.

"We've played a bunch of times," Tech coach Frank Beamer noted Sunday.

No kidding. Especially lately.

Forget about playing just once a year. These two old Big East rivals will be playing twice for the second consecutive season when they collide in Saturday's ACC championship game.

When they meet at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., Tech (8-4) and 18th-ranked BC (9-3) will be squaring off for the fourth time in 14 months. The winner will be the ACC's BCS representative in the Jan. 1 Orange Bowl, where it will likely face Big East champion Cincinnati (10-2).

"I think we're familiar with each other," second-year BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski said Sunday. "And I tell you, our kids, they love to compete against them. It's always a good football game. I think we bring out each other's best."

The Hokies, who clinched the ACC's Coastal Division title for the third time in four years with a 17-14 victory over archrival Virginia on Saturday, have won only one of the past three meetings with BC. But that was the big one, taking last year's ACC title game 30-16 in Jacksonville, Fla.

The Eagles, who have beaten the Hokies in each of the past two regular-season meetings, desperately want this one. BC has gone to bowls the past nine years in a row, but it's never played in a BCS bowl. Tech, meanwhile, has played in three BCS bowls during that span.

"It would be huge to be able to get to a BCS bowl," Jagodzinski said. "But to do that, you're going to have to play an unbelievable game against Virginia Tech. Frank's been there before, his kids have been there before, and our guys haven't. So, hopefully, we can make the next step."

While Tech was a heavy preseason favorite to win the Coastal Division, BC was picked fourth in the Atlantic Division behind Clemson, Wake Forest and Florida State. Without graduated star quarterback Matt Ryan, BC stood 2-3 in the league going into November, but rallied to win it final three league games and beat Florida State on a tiebreaker to capture the Atlantic.

Jagodzinski said making the title game a second straight year has been especially satisfying for him and his players, not to mention fun.

"It's been very gratifying to see this team come together, especially when no one gives you a chance to do what we've done so far," he said. "But to see these guys come together and play as a team, this is better because no one expected that. ... No one said that we could do this. Nobody.

"It's been very gratifying to have a team and not having to count on just one guy. Matt Ryan was a real special player, but we've come together and [are] counting on just everybody doing their thing and pulling together as a team. This is actually the best team chemistry I think I've ever been around. I mean they count on each other, and I think that's what being a team is all about. It's not just one guy, everybody is taking turns making plays."

The Eagles have scored at least one defensive or special teams touchdown in seven games in a row. Jagodzinski said he's never seen such a run. Well ...

"It's like Virginia Tech," said Jagodzinski, laughing.

"No, I haven't, I really haven't," he continued. "Now, through the years if you look at Virginia Tech's defense, they've won a lot of games doing that, scoring defensive touchdowns and special teams touchdowns. It's been great to have those defensive scores. It obviously makes a big difference in the outcomes of games.

"I'm really happy with how our defense is playing right now. I think we're playing with a lot of confidence on that side of the football. We just need to continue doing what we're doing."

Tech ranks sixth in the nation in total defense (274.5 yards per game), while BC is eighth (276.7). Tech is 16th in scoring defense (17.9 points per game), two spots behind BC (17.6).

Tech will face a different BC offense than the one it saw in mid-October. Redshirt sophomore Dominique Davis is now the Eagles' quarterback in the wake of senior Chris Crane's fractured right collarbone sustained in a 24-21 win at Wake Forest on Nov. 22. In his first career start in Saturday's 28-21 division-clinching victory over Maryland, Davis threw two TD passes and led the Eagles on a 88-yard touchdown drive that gave them a quick 7-0 lead.

"I think it tells you a lot about the kid," Jagodzinski said. "Because he didn't even flinch. He just went out and played football and had fun out there."

Beamer knows what his team is going to run into Saturday. Despite having a 5-1 edge in turnovers, the Hokies lost 28-23 at BC on Oct. 18. Tech had only 240 total yards and allowed Rich Gunnell to score on a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown.

"All I know," said Beamer, "is they're a hard team to beat."

Two hard teams to figure. Ask the Las Vegas' oddsmakers. Sunday's opening line was pick 'em.