Football Opens 2008 Season Saturday vs. No. 3 USC

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Virginia (0-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. No. 3 (AP)/2 (USA Today) USC (0-0, 0-0 Pac-10)
Game 1 Saturday, Aug. 30 3:30 p.m.
Carl Smith Center,
Home of David A. Harrison III Field at Scott Stadium (61,500) Charlottesville, Va.

Surface: Prescription Athletic Turf
Series vs. USC: First Meeting
Television: ABC/ESPN2
Radio: Virginia Sports Network, ACC ISP Sports Radio Network
Satellite Radio: XM Radio Ch. 191 (UVa broadcast) Sirius Ch. 123 (USC broadcast)
School Websites: VirginiaSports.com, USCTrojans.com

TV Coverage
ABC (regional) and ESPN2 (rest of nation) are televising the game
Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Bob Griese (analyst), Paul Maguire (analyst) and Stacey Dales (sidelines) have the call

Radio Coverage
All Virginia games are broadcast on the Virginia Sports Network, originating at WINA/WWWV in Charlottesville
Dave Koehn (play-by-play), Frank Quayle (analyst) and Tim Sherman (sidelines) have the call
ACC ISP Sports Radio Network has the national radio broadcast, with Bill Rosinski (play-by-play) and Sonny Randle (analyst)

Bring on the New Season
Virginia (608-524-48) opens its 118th season of football Saturday, Aug. 30 against Southern California

New Faces Abound For Virginia
UVa features just 10 returning starters five on each side of the ball
That is the fewest returning starters since 1986 (nine)
Only seven schools have fewer returning starters (Air Force, Army, Hawaii have fewest with eight)
The Cavaliers will break in a new placekicker and punter this year, but return long snapper Danny Aiken and holder Vic Hall

Things You Need To Know
USC and Virginia are playing for the first time in football; Virginia is scheduled to make the return trip to Los Angeles in 2010
Virginia opens vs. a ranked team for the first time since losing 26-17 at No. 22 Wisconsin in 2001
Virginia is playing its first-ever home game against a Pac-10 opponent. The Cavaliers are 0-1 all-time vs. Pac-10 (38-17 loss at Washington in 1976)
No. 3/2 USC is the highest-ranked visiting team to play in Scott Stadium since then-No. 1 Florida State in 1999 (FSU 31-10)
The Cavaliers return 10 starters and 30 letterwinners, their fewest since 1986 in both categories

Virginia vs. Top-5 Teams
USC will be just the second top 3-ranked non-conference team to play in Charlottesville
It has been 64 years since the last occurrence when No. 2 North Carolina Pre-Flight, led by QB Otto Graham, and UVa played to a 13-13 tie
The Trojans are UVa’s highest-ranked non-league opponent since No. 2 Notre Dame in the 1989 Kickoff Classic (ND 36-13)
UVa is 2-16-1 all-time vs. top-five teams, including 2-5-1 at home
UVa’s last win and appearance vs. a top-5 team was Oct. 15, 2004 vs. No. 4 Florida State (26-21)

USC Makes Rare Trip to ACC School
USC is making just its second-ever visit to an ACC stadium
USC lost 30-10 at Florida State in 1998
The Trojans also played at Miami (1968), Georgia Tech (1973) and Boston College (1988) prior to those schools joining the ACC

UVa’s Season Opener History
UVa is 75-33-9 (.682) in season openers, including a 69-17-7 record in season openers at home
USC is the Cavaliers’ first season opener at home since 2005 (Western Michigan)

Non-Conference Home Games
Virginia has won 11 of its last 12 non-conference home games since 2002 and 36 of 45 since 1987
Under Al Groh Virginia is 13-3 at home in non-conference games and 34-10 in all home games
UVa also has non-league home games with Richmond and East Carolina this year
UVa has three non-conference games vs. 2007 bowl teams only Arkansas State (four) plays more

The West Comes East
USC becomes just the seventh team from west of the Mississippi River (second from California) to travel to Charlottesville all have come since 1991
UVa is 4-2 vs. those teams

Bring The A’ Game Early
UVa’s first three opponents (USC, Richmond, UConn) combined to win 31 games last year
USC is the FBS preseason No. 2 team (USA Today), while Richmond is the FCS preseason No. 4 squad
UConn is receiving votes in both preseason polls

Overall Schedule Also Strong
UVa’s opponents combined to go 91-64 (.587) last year
UVa’s opponents’ 2007 winning percentage ranks 19th nationally
Eight of the 12 opponents had .500-plus records in 2007 all eight played in bowl games as well

Top Crowds
The USC-Virginia game is sold out. With a strong student attendance expected, the stadium attendance record could be broken.
Top 10 Scott Stadium Crowds:

Dombrowski to be Honored Saturday
Former Virginia offensive tackle Jim Dombrowski (1982-85) will be honored during the game Saturday
He is a 2008 inductee to the College Football Hall of Fame
He was a unanimous All-American in 1985 and led UVa to three straight winning seasons and school’s first bowl berth and win (1984 Peach Bowl vs. Purdue)
He also was a two-time winner of Jacobs Blocking Trophy (ACC’s best blocker)

UVa Launches Power of Orange
The Power of Orange’ marketing campaign builds on UVa’s efforts, since the arrival of head coach Al Groh in 2001, to create a lively environment and sea of orange at Cavalier football games
UVa will unveil a Power of Orange pregame flag-raising ceremony at the USC game
Surprise guest celebrities will raise the flag prior to each game
UVa also will track opponent false-start penalties caused by Power of Orange

Legends Walk Opens at Scott Stadium
The pergola area at Scott Stadium now features the Legends Walk
The Legends Walk includes plaques and busts that pay tribute to those individuals for their outstanding accomplishments to the Cavalier football program.
It ensures their actions and deeds will live on as a testament to their greatness

2008 Football Fan Fest
UVa’s pre-game Football Fan Fest has expanded this year
Fan Fest is a family-friendly environment that will be the pre-game rallying point for both UVa and visiting team fans
There will be food, games and live entertainment available
It begins three hours before kickoff and end 45 minutes prior to kickoff. For games beginning at noon, the start time will be 10 a.m.
The outdoor location will be set up on the grassy area outside the O-Hill Dining Hall, with indoor activities set up inside the Aquatics and Fitness Center