We had the chance to sit down with Virginia Sports Hall of Famer and longtime UVA journalist Jerry Ratcliffe earlier this week. We were recording a podcast with Jerry to preview the 2026 season before the conversation spun to some of the best games Jerry has ever covered. While there were so many great wins Jerry got to see and cover, one game always stood out to him… and it was a loss.
When asked about the best game he had ever covered, Jerry Ratcliffe recalled, “Probably the best game I ever covered was actually the loss, the Georgia Tech game.”
For the first time in school history, Virginia became ranked No. 1 in the country in 1990 following a blowout victory over NC State at Scott Stadium. It was one of the most magical seasons ever in Charlottesville, getting jump-started in week 2 when the ‘Hoos knocked off No. 9 Clemson for the first time ever, 20-7. This would set up the Cavaliers to play No. 16 Georgia Tech at home on a national stage. The buildup and hype entering the game was unlike anything Ratcliffe had ever seen. “That whole week was just one of the most special weeks of my life as a sportswriter,” Ratcliffe explained, “Because of all the hype.”
Let’s set the scene and remind folks of the scenario and all that took place before the game. After Virginia beat NC State at home, it earned its first ever No. 1 ranking in the country. Virginia went on to blast Wake Forest in Winston-Salem 49-14, leading up to play No. 16 in the country Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets entered the game with a lot of momentum, still feeling a sting from tying against North Carolina two weeks prior 13-13.
For the first time ever, Virginia was getting an abundance of national media attention all week long leading up to the game. Of course, many folks know that this was NOT George Welsh’s style. Ratcliffe knew that firsthand, being so close to the program, “I’m not sure the hype did Virginia good because George, who hated that kind of stuff [laughter] was trying to protect his team from it and realized he couldn’t because there was just too much pressure to have these guys being interviewed and it just really got on George’s nerves.”
Jerry Ratcliffe also mentioned that he worked as hard as ever that week preparing for the game. “Even our own newspaper, our publisher come to us the week before and said if Virginia goes into this game undefeated, we’re going to put out a 36-page special edition just on this game. He said, “And I want nothing but fresh material to fill up this section.”
All this hype leading into the game… and it almost did not even take place. Infamously, the night before, vandals broke into Scott Stadium and set the AstroTurf on fire, burning a large portion of midfield. However, the field would be fixed by team personnel who took spare turf from the baseball field and stitched it into the field in patches to make the turf playable.
Once the game finally kicked off, it was evident that the hype was not false. Virginia outscored the Yellow Jackets 10-0 in the first quarter and would lead at the half 28-14. However, Georgia Tech would come steaming back into the game, tying it in the third quarter. “That game was so back and forth and full of excitement and a nailbiter to the very end,” Ratcliffe recalled.
Both sides then played physical defense for a lot of the fourth quarter until Georgia Tech’s final possession. The game ultimately would rip out the hearts of Wahoo fans as it would end with sophomore kicker Scott Sisson kicking a 37-yard field goal to win it for the Yellow Jackets, 41-38. Virginia QB Shawn Moore broke a school record that game for passing yards at the time with 344 yards on 18 completions.
Virginia would go on to lose three of its final four games of the season with the only victory coming the following week against North Carolina. To make matters worse for Virginia, Shawn Moore suffered an injury in the Maryland game which would keep Moore out the remainder of the season. The ‘Hoos closed the year with an 8-4 record including a bowl loss to No. 10 Tennessee by one point.
Meanwhile for the Yellow Jackets, they would go on to share the National Championship with Colorado, marking their win against Virginia as one of the games that propelled its season.
Jerry was not alone in thinking it was the best game he had ever covered. Years later, he received unexpected confirmation from another legendary sportswriter. Furman Bisher was a columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who covered sports there for nearly 60 years and hundreds of football games in his time. Ratcliffe never forgot this moment he had with Bisher a couple years later when Georgia Tech was back in Charlottesville to play Virginia. “He saw me at the game that night and he said, ‘Son, come here,’ he said, ‘I want to shake your hand,’ and I said, ‘Why is that Furman?’ He said, ‘I agree 100% with you that that is the best game that I have ever covered in my life.'” Ratcliffe noted Bisher was definitely one of the best sportswriters of all time, clearly something one would never forget.
While the game did not go Virginia’s way, the atmosphere around Charlottesville the week leading up to the game and the game itself was something Jerry Ratcliffe would never forget. “I think that game offered everything it could possibly offer except a win for Virginia.”
One of the biggest what-ifs in Virginia history is probably this: What if Virginia beat Georgia Tech that day and Shawn Moore never got hurt? It is a great question, but regardless of the result, Jerry had a front row seat to it all and I would bet he would not have traded it for the world.