2008 Virginia Football Schedule Announced
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Charlottesville, VA — The Atlantic Coast Conference released the 2008 football schedules for the league’s 12 schools today. The University of Virginia’s slate features 12 regular season games, including seven home contests. Starting times for all games will be announced at a later date. The Cavaliers will face a total of eight teams that participated in bowl games last year, including all three bowl championship subdivision non-conference opponents. Seven of UVa’s opponents won at least eight games in 2007.
“We like challenges and this is certainly a challenging schedule with four non-conference opponents who played in the post season and three teams in some of the pre-season top-10 polls,” said Virginia coach Al Groh. “This schedule very clearly sets the bar as to the level of performance we must strive for.”
For the first time in three years UVa plays its season opener at home when it hosts Southern California Aug. 30 at Scott Stadium. The match-up will be the first meeting between the Cavaliers and Trojans in football. The game marks a rare trek by USC to an Atlantic Coast Conference venue. The only previous occurrence was in 1998 when USC played at Florida State and lost 30-10 at Doak Campbell Stadium.
USC won the 2008 Rose Bowl and finished the season with an 11-2 record. It marked USC’s sixth consecutive Bowl Championship Series game appearance. The Trojans were ranked No. 3 in the final 2007 Associated Press poll and No. 2 in the final USA Today (coaches) rankings.
The following week Virginia renews its rivalry with Richmond that dates back to 1893 when the teams meet Sept. 6 in Charlottesville. It will mark the 29th meeting between the two teams. Virginia leads the series 24-2-2. The teams last met in 2001 when UVa defeated the Spiders 17-16 in Charlottesville. Last season Richmond won the Colonial Athletic Association championship, advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision and won 11 games for the first time in school history.
Virginia’s other non-conference match-ups include the Cavaliers’ first trip to Connecticut (Sept. 13) and a home game against East Carolina (Oct. 11).
Last season Virginia defeated UConn 17-16 at Scott Stadium. The Huskies went on to post a 9-4 record and lost to Wake Forest 24-10 in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
East Carolina leads the series with UVa 2-0 and the game will mark the first time the teams have played in Charlottesville since 1975. Last year East Carolina defeated Boise State 41-28 to win the Hawaii Bowl and finished 8-5.
Virginia’s home ACC schedule is highlighted by Clemson’s first trip to Scott Stadium since 2004. The teams will meet on Nov. 22 in UVa’s final home game of the season. The Tigers were 9-4 in 2007, losing to Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Clemson was ranked 21st in the final AP poll.
Maryland returns to Scott Stadium on Oct. 4. The Terrapins are coming off a 6-7 season that included an invitation to the Emerald Bowl. North Carolina (Oct. 18) and Miami (Nov. 1) round out UVa’s home ACC slate. The Tar Heels return to Charlottesville on Oct. 18 while Miami faces the Cavaliers on Nov. 1
Virginia’s four ACC road games include three trips to teams that appeared in bowl games in 2007. The Cavaliers travel to Duke on Sept. 27, Georgia Tech on Oct. 25 and Wake Forest on Nov. 8, before wrapping up the regular season against rival Virginia Tech on Nov. 29 in Blacksburg. Wake Forest won the Meineke Car Care Bowl in 2007 to finish the season 9-4. Georgia Tech appeared in the Humanitarian Bowl and was 7-6. The Yellow Jackets will be under the direction of new first-year coach Paul Johnson in 2008. Virginia Tech posted an 11-3 record including a loss to Kansas in the FedEx Orange Bowl.
Season tickets will go on sale on February 22 with a priority order and seating deadline of April 4. The Virginia Athletics Foundation’s priority deadline is March 31. Reserved seat season tickets for 2008 are $269 for the seven-game home schedule. To purchase season tickets or for more information on Cavalier football tickets, visit the ticketing section of VirginiaSports.com or call the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-542-8821 or 434/924-8821. The UVa athletics ticket office is open to the public weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The 2008 Virginia Spring Football Festival will take place Saturday, April 12 at Scott Stadium. Admission and parking for the event are free. Gates open at noon for fans to enjoy interactive games. The Virginia football team will take the field at 2 p.m.
2008 Virginia Football Schedule
Aug. 30 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Sept. 6 RICHMOND
Sept. 13 at Connecticut
Sept. 27 at Duke
Oct. 4 MARYLAND
Oct. 11 EAST CAROLINA
Oct. 18 NORTH CAROLINA
Oct. 25 at Georgia Tech
Nov. 1 MIAMI
Nov. 8 at Wake Forest
Nov. 22 CLEMSON
Nov. 29 at Virginia Tech
Game times to be announced later.