Football Hosts Georgia Tech Saturday
Story Links
Game 4:
Virginia Cavaliers (2-1, 2-0 ACC) vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (2-1, 0-1 ACC)
Saturday, Sept. 22, Noon
Carl Smith Center, Home of David A. Harrison III Field at Scott Stadium (61,500), Charlottesville, Va.
Surface: Prescription Athletic Turf
Series vs. Georgia Tech: Tied, 14-14-1
Last Meeting: GT 24, UVa 7, 2006
Television: ESPNU
Radio: Virginia Sports Network
Satellite Radio: XM Radio Ch. 191
TV Coverage
This game is being televised nationally on ESPNU. Clay Matvick (play-by-play) and Larry Coker (analyst) call the action.
Radio Coverage
All Virginia games are broadcast on the Virginia Sports Network, originating at WINA/WWWV in Charlottesville. Mac McDonald calls the play-by-play. He is joined in the broadcast booth by former Cavalier great Frank Quayle, the 1968 ACC Player of the Year. Former UVa quarterback Tim Sherman reports from the sidelines.
Things You Need To Know
Cedric Peerman has rushed for 100 yards in back-to-back games, including a career-high 186 yards vs. North Carolina last week
DE Chris Long is 11th among active players nationally with 13 career sacks
Long is second in the country in sacks this season averaging 1.67 per game
Virginia is 30-9 at home under head coach Al Groh
Virginia has not lost to Georgia Tech in Charlottesville since 1990, winning seven in a row
Cavaliers Sit Atop Coastal Division
Virginia looks to continue its winning ways in the ACC Saturday at home against Georgia Tech.
The Cavaliers have won their first two league match-ups and look to start 3-0 in the conference for the first time in four years.
Under Al Groh Virginia is 19-6 at home in ACC games.
Georgia Tech was knocked out of the rankings following a 24-10 loss to Boston College Saturday night. The Yellow Jackets are 2-1 overall and 0-1 in the ACC.
The Series vs. the Yellow Jackets
The 42-year old series is tied at 14-14-1
Virginia has won three of the last four games to even things up
The match-ups between the two schools have provided some of the most thrilling contest in ACC history so it’s no surprise that the series is so close.
All six meetings between 1996-2002 were decided by a touchdown or less
However, the last four meetings have been decided by double digits
Since 1996 Virginia’s six victories have come by an average of 9.0 points, while Georgia Tech’s five wins have come by an average of 13.8 points. The Yellow Jackets’ average is skewed by a 35-0 win in 2000, the only blowout in the last decade
The Cavaliers have an 8-2-1 edge in Charlottesville and have won the last seven on their home turf
Georgia Tech’s last win in Charlottesville came in 1990 when the Yellow Jackets knocked off the top-ranked Cavaliers 41-38 on a last-second field goal.
Virginia’s run of success in Charlottesville is typical of the recent history of the series that has seen the home side dominate
The home team win nine straight from 1995 until UVa’s 30-10 victory in Atlanta three years ago
Overall the home team has won 11 of the last 12 meetings
Tight Games or RoutsNo Middle Ground
Since the Yellow Jackets began playing an ACC schedule in 1983, the teams have met 24 times and half of the games have been decided by eight points or less (12).
Since 1983, the series has featured one tie and other games decided by one point (two games), three points (3), four points (2), six points (1), seven points (2) and eight points (1).
The last four meetings have been decided by at least 10 points, with UVa winning three.
Of the last 24 meetings, only six have been decided by nine to 16 points.
Turnovers Make a Difference
Since 1982, the Cavaliers are 9-1 (.900) vs. Georgia Tech when committing fewer turnovers. The lone loss occurred in 1991.
Georgia Tech, on the other hand, is 6-3-1 (.650) when it commits fewer turnovers.
There have been five games since 1982 (82, 87, 98, 02, 05) where the teams had equal turnovers; UVa won only in 1987 and 2005.
Since Al Groh took over as Virginia’s head coach in 2001, the Cavaliers have committed seven turnovers in the six games against Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets have managed to turn those miscues into only six points (field goals in 2001, 05). Virginia played error-free ball in 2003 and 2004.
Conversely, the Yellow Jackets have turned the ball over at least once in every game since 2001
In the last six meetings Virginia has recorded 10 takeaways and turned them into 36 points.
Georgia Tech Uses Field Goals to Sink Virginia
Georgia Tech has kicked 19 field goals vs. Virginia since 1990 and has seen five games decided by those kicks.
The Yellow Jackets won the 1990 and 1991 contests with last-second field goals by Scott Sisson.
The Jackets connected on two field goals to win the 1996 meeting by six points.
Georgia Tech booted two field goals and won by three points in 1998.
In 2004 the Yellow Jackets kicked three field goals in an eight-point win.
Virginia has turned things around somewhat recently.
Connor Hughes tied the school record by booting a school-record tying five field goals in UVa’s 29-17 win in 2003.
The following season he made three field goals in a 30-10 win and the following season he kicked two field goals.
Prior to the 2003 game, UVa kicked only three field goals from 1994-2002 and none from 1999-2002. Even with 10 field goals in the last four years (but none last year), Virginia has kicked only 12 field goals in the last 12 meetings.
Holding the Lead
Virginia has won seven games in a row at home over Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jackets have not had a lead in Charlottesville since the 2001 meeting, while Virginia has held the advantage for more than 54 minutes the last two games
Since 1992 Georgia Tech has led for 101:42, while UVa has led for 262:39
Former NFL Head Coaches Meet
This is the first match-up in ACC history featuring head coaches who have also been head coaches in the NFL.
Virginia’s Al Groh was the New York Jets head coach in 2000, while Georgia Tech’s Chan Gailey guided the Dallas Cowboys to the NFL playoffs in 1998-99 in his two seasons.
This is the six year in a row the two coaches have met.
Curiously this is the second of three consecutive games pitting former NFL head coaches
Last week Groh coached against North Carolina’s Butch Davis, former coach of the Cleveland Browns
Next week the Cavaliers host the Pitt Panthers coached by Dave Wannstedt, one-time Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins coach
Overall, this is one of 10 college games this season pitting former NFL coaches against each other; currently there are 12 former NFL head coaches who are Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches.
Several other ACC head coaches served as head coaches in the NFL after stints in the ACC, including Lou Holtz, John Mackovic, Bobby Ross and Steve Spurrier.