If there’s ever been a bigger day for college football in Virginia than what awaits fans on Saturday, we can’t remember it. Neither can most old-timers we’ve talked to.

Rivals Virginia and Virginia Tech square off Saturday afternoon in Charlottesville with more than just bragging rights on the line. The winner will advance to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.

While that old rivalry plays out to the northwest, a new one will begin in grand fashion in Norfolk, where Norfolk State and Old Dominion meet in the first round of the NCAA playoffs. The game is a hard sellout, reflective of the enthusiasm of Spartan and Monarch fans. The two schools weren’t scheduled to play each other until 2013, but the NCAA playoff matchmakers, to the delight of area fans, decided it should start sooner.

Count us among those fans who can’t wait for kickoff.