After taking over sole possession of first place in the Coastal Division last week with a big win in Chapel Hill, UVa’s road slate is complete and the Hoos now return home for the first of three in a row to close out the regular season.

And up first for the Cavaliers will be a matchup against Georgia Tech (12:30 p.m., RSN) in a game that should look very different from the overtime affair these two played a season ago.

Virginia (6-3, 4-2 ACC) is looking to get a win at Homecomings that could play a big role in defining this entire season. With a vicotry, the Hoos would draw even closer to their first division title and head into an off week preparing for a non-conference opponent.

GT, meanwhile, will come in without Paul Johnson at the helm, which isn’t the only thing about the Jackets that will take some getting used to. A new head coach, a new offensive scheme, and even new uniforms could lead one to feel pretty unfamiliar with this version of the Ramblin' Wreck.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (2-6, 1-4 ACC)

Head coach: Geoff Collins, third season (17-16 overall, 2-6 in his first year at GT)

Series: GT leads the all-time series 21-19-1.

Last Meeting: The Jackets beat the Cavaliers 34-31 (OT) last year in Atlanta.

-- Much to the relief of coaches and fans around the ACC, the triple-option is gone at Georgia Tech. After years of being the equivalent of a knuckleball pitcher that was hard to prepare for on short notice, the Jackets are finally transitioning into a 21st century offense and the results have been as rough as expected. The new staff inherited a roster designed to run the option, with a slew of running backs but without many tight ends or wide receivers. In Collins’ first season on The Flats, Georgia Tech has struggled to score, averaging just 17.1 points per game. That ranks 121st nationally and last in the ACC by a pretty significant margin. The Jackets are also averaging just under 300 yards per game, which is also 121st nationally. The red zone has been a unique struggle as well: Opportunities inside the 20 aren’t plentiful for this team, with only 19 on the year, and Tech has scored on just 11 of those possessions. That gives GT the worst red zone scoring average in the nation.

-- Unsurprisingly, the passing game is struggling in a transition year after not having much of an aerial attack at all for more than a decade. This year the Yellow Jackets average a mere 141 yards per game through the air, which is nearly dead last nationally. Most of the teams below them in passing yards per game are triple-option teams like Army and Navy. They have played three different quarterbacks a significant amount this year with Tobias Oliver, James Graham, and Lucas Johnson sharing duties. Graham has thrown the ball the most by far, completing 43.4 percent of his 122 attempts on the year for 723 yards with six touchdowns and four picks. A freshman, he has had double-digit passing attempts in each of Tech’s last five games without a great deal of success. Graham completed just three of his 13 attempts last week against Pitt for a total of 57 yards. He did have a 202-yard passing day against Duke earlier this season but completed just 15 of 35 throws in a lopsided loss. Freshman receiver Ahmarean Brown has been a bright spot and could develop into a very nice player down the road once the passing game comes along. He leads the Jackets with 16 receptions, 302 yards, and four touchdowns.

-- While the passing game has struggled, the running game has been decent in the first year after the scheme change. The offense was completely predicated on running the ball under Johnson, so the transition hasn’t been as harsh. Sophomore Jordan Mason has emerged as the team’s leading ball carrier this year, with 110 attempts in eight games. He leads the Jackets with 622 yards rushing and six rushing touchdowns as well. Mason has rushed for more than 100 yards in two of the previous three games, both on the road. Oliver, meanwhile, is the second-leading rusher on the team but hasn’t received a carry in either of the last two games. Graham is the only other ball carrier to reach the end zone this season and he has carried the ball 12 times on three occasions this year.

-- Collins is a defensive coach and without a massive scheme overhaul like the offense has gone through this is the more consistent side of the ball at this stage. Still, Tech’s defense has been far from dominant. The Jackets are allowing 29.1 points per contest, which is the 11th best in the ACC. The scheme is listed as a “4-2-5 Effort Based” defense, so clearly Collins is going to want to see a group that’s flying around to the football. The red zone offense has been terrible but the red zone defense is doing a nice job, forcing stops on 30 percent of opponent spossessions. That average ranks first among ACC teams. Opponents are converting 3rd downs on 44 percent of their tries this year, and averaging 5.6 yards per play.

-- Tech’s pass defense has been its greatest strength so far. The Yellow Jackets allow just 187.9 yards per game through the air, which is 20th best nationally. Six different players have forced interceptions this year, including sophomore Kaleb Oliver, who leads the team with a pair of picks. Another player with an interception is sophomore DB Juanyeh Thomas, who has been surging of late with back-to-back big games. Cavalier fans may remember him as he returned a free kick for a touchdown after a safety last year. This season, he has become a more reliable defender in Collins’ defense. Thomas had a career-high eight tackles last week against Pitt, including two tackles for loss.

-- Up front, Georgia Tech has improved when it comes to creating pressure in the backfield. The Jackets have recorded 13 sacks on the season and 42 tackles for loss. According to Georgia Tech’s game notes, this is the first time they have hit those numbers since the 2010 season and they still have four games to go. Junior linebacker Bruce Jordan-Swilling leads the team in sacks with 2.5, and sophomore backer Charlie Thomas has two of his own. Georgia Tech’s leading tackler is linebacker David Curry, who was once committed to the previous coaching staff at UVa. He has 65 stops on the year and is one of those six aforementioned Yellow Jackets with an interception.