Cavaliers Face Miami in Penultimate Game

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Game 11: Saturday, Nov. 10, 7:15 p.m.
Virginia Cavaliers (8-2, 5-1 ACC/No. 19 BCS, No. 21 USA Today, No. 23 Associated Press) at Miami Hurricanes (5-4, 2-3 ACC)
Orange Bowl (72,319), Miami, Fla.

Surface: natural grass
Series vs. Miami: 1-3
Last Meeting: UVa 17, UM 7, 2006
Television: ESPN2
Radio: Virginia Sports Network
Satellite Radio: XM Radio Ch. 191
Live Statistics: virginiasports.com

Game Day Information

TV Coverage
This game is being televised nationally on ESPN2. Mark Jones (play-by-play), Bob Davie (analyst) and Stacey Dales (sidelines) 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 tailback Frank Quayle. Former UVa quarterback Tim Sherman reports from the sidelines.

UVa Plays Final Road Game
Virginia plays its final road game of the season against Miami in the last game played in the Orange Bowl. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 7:15 p.m.
The Cavaliers have won eight of their last nine games and are 8-2 overall. Virginia holds a half-game lead over Virginia Tech in the ACC’s Coastal Division with a 5-1 league mark. Virginia’s last four victories have been by a combined five points. Miami is 5-4 overall this season and 2-3 in the ACC. The Hurricanes have lost their last two home games by a combined six points.

Five Things You Need To Know About Virginia Football
Virginia has set an NCAA FBS record with five victories by two points or fewer
For the first time in school history, Virginia won its eighth game by Nov. 3
DE Chris Long is fifth in the country in sacks (1.20/g), second among D-linemen in passes defended (PBUs+INTs) with eight, third in PBU (seven) and third in tackling by a lineman with an average of 6.5 tpg
The Cavaliers have six wins of six points or fewer, the most in the country and twice as many as any team in the nation
QB Jameel Sewell has combined to complete 17 of 20 passes for 199 yards on UVa’s final drive of its last four wins (MTSU, UConn, Maryland, Wake Forest)

The Series vs. the Hurricanes
This is the fifth all-time meeting between the two teams, however as both are paired in the Coastal Division of the ACC, they will meet annually from now on
Miami won the first three games, but the Cavaliers claimed a 17-7 win last season
The first match-up occurred in the 1996 Carquest Bowl at Dolphin Stadium (then known as Joe Robbie Stadium), which will be the Hurricanes’ home beginning next season
That game was the final collegiate action for several notable Cavaliers, including Tiki and Ronde Barber, James Farrior, Jon Harris and Jamie Sharper
In addition to this Cavalier quintet, the game featured a ridiculous number of future pros
Of the 44 starters in the game, 20 were drafted by the NFL (11 UVa, 9 Miami). The group of NFL draftees included nine first-round picks. As best as we can tell, 21 Cavaliers and 22 Hurricanes went on to play in the NFL

Not So Sunny Florida
Florida is nicknamed the “Sunshine State” but it has been anything but for the Cavaliers on the gridiron
Virginia has played 15 games in the state of Florida and has lost each time
UVa has given up at least 31 points in 14 of the 15 games played in Florida, while allowing an average of 39.1 points per game
On the other hand, the Cavaliers have never scored more than 24 points in the Sunshine State and are averaging 14.1 points per game overall
This is only the third time Virginia has played in Florida against an unranked team (Illinois in the 1999 MicronPC.com Bowl, 2006 vs. Florida State)

Winning the Close Ones
One characteristic of this year’s Cavalier squad is its ability to win the close games
Six of the Cavaliers’ eight wins have been by six points or fewer
UVa’s average margin of victory is currently 6.6 points, fourth closest among teams with at least three wins
UVa’s six wins by six points or fewer are twice as many as any other team in the nation (11 schools have three wins)
This is only the third time in ACC history a team has won as many as six games by six points or fewer during the regular season (North Carolina-1976 and Maryland-2006 each won six games in this fashion)
This is also the seventh time in ACC history a team has played five consecutive games decided by six points or fewer (Maryland played seven games like this last season)
In addition to this year’s Cavalier squad, Wake Forest 68, North Carolina 78, Wake Forest 79, Wake Forest 80, and Clemson 05 all played five games in a row decided by six points or fewer (no team has played six in a row yet)

Cavaliers Set NCAA Record
By virtue of their one-point win over Wake Forest last week, their fifth victory of the season by two points or fewer, the Cavaliers are the first team in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivion history to win five games by one or two points in a season
The 1971 Columbia team held the previous record with four wins by one or two points

Virginia Among Most Improved
Virginia is one of seven schools this season to improve by at least three wins over last year
This is the Cavaliers’ best improvement since 2002 when they won nine games, four more than the previous season

Cavaliers Win Eight Games
For the first time in school history, Virginia won its eighth game by Nov. 3
This is the first time in three years the Cavaliers have won eight regular season games
The last time UVa won nine games in the regular season occurred in 1998 when the Cavaliers finished 9-3 overall
This is the fourth time Virginia has won at least eight games under Al Groh
The record for wins in a season is 10 in 1989 (10-3)

Offense Much Improved in 07
Virginia had just 100 yards of offense, including -3 yards rushing, in the opener at Wyoming
However, that game was clearly an anomaly as the Cavaliers have gained more than 300 yards in every game since
Virginia is averaging 329.1 yards per game this season, an improvement of 71.9 ypg over last year
To begin the recent seven-game winning streak UVa scored 20+ points in five consecutive games for the first time since 2004
The chart below shows the increased production on a percentage basis as compared to last season

Improved Running Game
With an experienced offensive line featuring players with a combined 121 career starts, Virginia’s ground game is much improved this season
Virginia is sixth in the ACC rushing with an average of 128.7 ypg
This is a 28.8-yards per game improvement over last season, the offense’s best in three years

Virginia One of Seven
As noted above, Virginia is much improved offensively over last season, with increases in rushing and passing
Virginia is one of only seven schools to improve its rushing AND passing performances by at least 25 percent this year
The complete list, listed as a percent increase over last year, is below