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Virginia (5-5, 3-3 ACC) vs. Clemson (5-5, 3-4 ACC)
Game 11 Saturday, Nov. 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. CU: Clemson leads, 35-8-1
Last Meeting: 2004 (UVa 30, CU 10)
Television: Raycom
Radio: Virginia Sports Network
Satellite Radio: XM Radio Ch. 190-192, Sirius Radio Ch. TBA
School Websites: VirginiaSports.com, ClemsonTigers.com
Television Coverage
The Raycom/ACC Network is televising the game. Click here for a list of stations.
Steve Martin (play-by-play), Rick Walker (analyst) and Mike Hogewood (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 (color analysis) and Tim Sherman (sidelines) have the call.
The Clemson game also will be broadcast on WTEM-AM 980 in the Washington, DC area.
Things You Need To Know
Virginia and Clemson are meeting for the first time since 2004.
No current Virginia players have ever seen game action against Clemson only five were members of the last UVa team to face the Tigers.
The Cavaliers’ schedule is rated the toughest in the nation this week according to the Sagarin ratings.
Clint Sintim ranks third nationally and leads the ACC in sacks. The national leader in sacks among linebackers, he needs one sack to reach the top 10 in ACC history.
UVa is 11-1 all-time when Cedric Peerman gets 15 or more rushing attempts. The lone loss was Nov. 1 vs. Miami.
The Series vs. Clemson
Overall, the series has been one-sided, with Clemson holding a 35-8-1 edge.
The teams have not met since 2004, but UVa has won three of the last four.
Clemson holds a 15-5 edge in Charlottesville, although Virginia has prevailed in three of the last four in Scott Stadium.
The Tigers won the first 29 games in the series before UVa won in 1990. Since then, Virginia is 8-6-1 vs. Clemson.
Last Five Meetings:
2000 – Clemson 31, at Virginia 10
2001 – Virginia 26, at Clemson 24
2002 – at Virginia 22, Clemson 17
2003 – at Clemson 30, Virginia 27 (OT)
2004 – at Virginia 30, Clemson 10
Senior Day at UVa
Twenty-four fourth- and fifth-year players will be recognized prior to the game in a ceremony to mark Senior Day.
Those that will be recognized: Antonio Appleby, Will Barker, Denzel Burrell, Jon Copper, Maurice Covington, Kevin Crawford, Scott Deke, Andrew Dewey, Alex Field, Jason Fuller, Byron Glaspy, Eugene Monroe, Rashawn Jackson, Brandon Jarvis, Cary Koch, Kevin Ogletree, Cedric Peerman, John Phillips, Crutcher Reiss, Hall Simmons, Clint Sintim, Patrick Slebonick, Zak Stair, John Thornton
Nice To Meet You
Because of the ACC’s unbalanced schedule, this is the teams’ first meeting since 2004.
No current Virginia players have seen action against Clemson.
Only five current Cavaliers were members of the 2004 team Jon Copper, Scott Deke, Cedric Peerman, Clint Sintim, Zak Stair. All five redshirted the season.
Stop the Clemson Ground Game
Virginia’s ability to contain the Clemson running game has been an important factor in its eight wins over the Tigers.
Since 1990 Virginia has won eight of 10 games when holding Clemson under 200 yards on the ground.
The Tigers rushed for just 45 yards in 2004 vs. UVa the Tigers’ lowest rushing output ever vs. Virginia.
Virginia is 8-8 all-time against Clemson when the Tigers fail to rush for at least 200 yards, but six of the losses occurred prior to 1978 in the midst of UVa’s 29-game losing streak to Clemson.
Clemson Rushing vs. UVa
| UVa Wins |
CU Wins |
|
| Rushes | 39.4 | 57.3 |
| Avg/Carry | 3.2 | 4.7 |
| Yards | 129.8 | 269.7 |
| TDs | 0.8 | 2.5 |
** Note: tie in 1991 is not included
Expect An Aerial Attack
The Virginia-Clemson game features the top two passing offenses in the ACC.
Virginia ranks second in the ACC in passing offense at 220.1 yards per game. Only Clemson, at 229.1, averages more passing yards per game.
Over the last five games, Virginia has averaged 243.3 passing yards per game.
The game also features the ACC’s two leaders in passing offense CU’s Cullen Harper (207.5) and UVa’s Marc Verica (200.0).
2004: Virginia 30, Clemson 10
Alvin Pearman ran for 104 yards, including two fourth-quarter touchdowns, and Virginia shut down Clemson after the opening 15 minutes in a convincing 30-10 victory on Oct. 7, 2004, in the last meeting between the teams in Scott Stadium.
Pearman scored on a 2-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 23-10, then clinched it with another 2-yarder with 5:14 remaining.
The Tigers drove 80 yards in six plays on their opening drive, but had just seven first downs thereafter.
Connor Hughes added field goals of 21, 43 and 50 yards for the Cavaliers.
Virginia Schedule Rated Among Nation’s Best
Regardless of which service you check, the UVa strength of schedule is one of the toughest in the country.
Virginia currently has the toughest schedule in the FBS according to the latest Sagarin ratings.
Virginia’s opponents this year boast a combined winning percentage of .615, best in the ACC and fifth in the nation.
Nine of UVa’s 11 FBS opponents already are bowl eligible.
Sagarin Strength of Schedule Ratings
1. Virginia, 77.50
2. Washington, 77.00
3. Duke, 75.97
4. Arkansas, 75.64
5. Wake Forest, 75.60
NCAA Toughest Schedule Ratings (based on opponent winning pct.)
1. Georgia, .6563
2. Texas, .6321
3. Purdue, .6176
4. Arkansas, .6162
5. Virginia, .6154
Coming Out of the Bye Week
Under head coach Al Groh, the Cavaliers have put extra preparation time to good use, going 9-4 after a bye week.
UVa is 7-2 at home following a bye week under Groh.
Several of the post-bye week wins under Groh have been close, featuring games won by two, three (two) and six points.