Virginia Plays Host to No. 11 Georgia Tech at Noon Saturday

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Game 7 • Oct. 24 • Noon
David A. Harrison III Field at Scott Stadium

Game Details
Playing Surface: Grass
Series vs. GT: UVa leads, 16-14-1
at Charlottesville: UVa leads, 9-2-1
Where to Watch on Television: Raycom (affiliates)
P-b-P: Steve Martin
Analyst: Rick ‘Doc’ Walker
Sidelines: Mike Hogewood
Radio: Virginia Sports Network (affiliates)
P-b-P: Dave Koehn
Analyst: Frank Quayle
Sidelines: Chris Slade
Satellite Radio: XM Radio 190, Sirius 211

Live Stats: Click here for the link to the LiveStats page. Note: Link available 30 minutes before kickoff. Allow 1-2 minutes for it to load at the start.
Rosters: Virginia Georgia Tech
Game Notes: Virginia Georgia Tech
Statistics: Virginia Georgia Tech

Five Things You Need to Know
• Virginia has won eight straight in Scott Stadium against Georgia Tech and five of the last six meetings overall.
• UVa opponents have converted on 29.3 percent of third-down tries (best in the ACC, 10th-best in the FBS). GT’s offense ranks fourth in the FBS on third down (52.6%).
• The Cavaliers have allowed 82.3 rushing yards per game the last three games.
• UVa is one of two teams nationally (San Jose State) to convert on 100 percent of its red-zone opportunities.
• UVa has played 12 true freshmen in the first five games (tied with UNC, FSU for most in ACC).

Virginia-Georgia Tech Series
• Virginia holds a 16-14-1 edge in the 44-year-old series and has won five of the last six games to take the series lead.
• Overall the home team has won 12 of the last 14 meetings.
• The home team won nine straight from 1995 until UVa’s 30-10 victory in Atlanta in 2004.
• The Cavaliers have a 9-2-1 edge at home and have won the last eight on their home turf.

Last Five Meetings
2008 Virginia 24, @ Georgia Tech 17
2007 @ Virginia 28, Georgia Tech 23
2006 @ Georgia Tech 24, Virginia 7
2005 @ Virginia 27, Georgia Tech 17
2004 Virginia 30, @ Georgia Tech 10

More On The UVa-GT Series
• Georgia Tech’s last win in Charlottesville came on Nov. 3, 1990, when the No. 16 Yellow Jackets knocked off the top-ranked Cavaliers, 41-38, on a last-second field goal.
• All six meetings between 1996-2002 were decided by a touchdown or less.
• Since 1996 Virginia’s seven victories have come by an average of 8.2 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.

Tight Games The Norm In Series
• Since the Yellow Jackets began playing an ACC schedule in 1983, the teams have met 26 times and 14 of the games have been decided by eight points or fewer.
• Since 1983, the series has featured one tie and other games decided by one point (two games), three points (3), four (2), five (1), six (1), seven (3) and eight points (1).

Turnovers Make a Difference
• Since 1982, the Cavaliers are 9-1 vs. Georgia Tech when committing fewer turnovers. The lone loss occurred in 1991.
• Georgia Tech, on the other hand, is 6-4-1 when it commits fewer turnovers.
• There have been six games since 1982 (‘82, ‘87, ‘98, ‘02, ‘05, ‘08) where the teams had equal turnovers; UVa won in 1987, 2005 and 2008.
• In the last six meetings, Virginia has recorded 15 takeaways and turned them into 57 points.
• Since Al Groh took over as Virginia’s head coach in 2001, the Cavaliers have committed 13 turnovers in the eight games against Georgia Tech.
• Conversely, the Yellow Jackets have turned the ball over at least once in every game since 2001 (15 total).

Virginia vs. Ranked Teams
• Virginia is 0-1 vs. ranked teams this year with a 30-14 loss to then-No. 16 TCU (current No. 10) on Sept 12.
• Virginia is 12-18 against ranked teams under head coach Al Groh (since 2001).
• The Cavaliers are 9-8 at home vs. ranked teams under Groh.

Virginia vs. Ranked Georgia Tech Teams
• UVa has won four of its last five games against ranked Georgia Tech teams, including a 24-17 win over No. 21 Georgia Tech last year in Atlanta.
• The Cavaliers were not ranked in any of those contests.
• Virginia is 5-5-1 all-time against ranked Georgia Tech teams, including an 4-1-1 record in Charlottesville.
• At No. 11 in the AP poll this week, this Georgia Tech team is the second-highest-ranked Yellow Jacket team to play in Scott Stadium since 1999 (UVa 45, No. 7 GT 38).

Last Five Meetings vs. Ranked Georgia Tech Teams:
2008 Virginia 24, @ No. 21 Georgia Tech 17
2005 @ Virginia 27, No. 24 Georgia Tech 17
2001 @ Virginia 39, No. 20 Georgia Tech 38
2000 @ No. 24 Georgia Tech 35, Virginia 0
1999 @ Virginia 45, No. 7 Georgia Tech 38

Georgia Natives on UVa Roster
• Virginia has two natives of the state of Georgia on its 2009 roster.
• WR Javaris Brown is from Macon (Northeast HS) and DE Tory Allen-Ford is from Fayetteville (Lovejoy)

Cavaliers Reverse Turnover Woes
• After being minus-6 in turnover margin the first two games, UVa is plus-9 the last four games, including plus-8 in the three victories.
• Virginia has turned the ball over one time in its last three games and once in its last 49 possessions, dating to an interception in the second quarter of the Southern Miss game.

Cavaliers Start Games Strong
• Virginia has been particularly strong on defense early in games this year, giving up just one score in the first quarter.
• UVa has not allowed an opponent to score in the first quarter since William & Mary reached the end zone in the opener.
• Virginia is outscoring its opponents 37-7 in the first quarter.
• The Cavaliers have not given up a first-half TD since the Southern Miss game.

Octoberfest!
• Virginia has won seven straight games in October, dating to 2008, and 12 of its past 13 games in that month.
• UVa last lost an October game on Oct. 27, 2007, a 29-24 defeat at NC State.
• The Cavaliers’ last home loss in October was Oct. 14, 2006, to Maryland.

Twenty-Seven Cavaliers Earn First Playing Time
• Twelve true freshmen have played for UVa this season, while 11 redshirt freshmen have seen their first action.
• Overall, 27 UVa players have earned their first career playing time this year.
• 37 percent of the Cavalier players to see playing time this season have been freshmen (27 of 73).
• True freshmen (12): Oday Aboushi, LoVante Battle, Will Hill, Quintin Hunter, Drew Jarrett, Perry Jones, Corey Lillard, LaRoy Reynolds, Tim Smith, Javanti Sparraw, Dominique Wallace, Tucker Windle.
• Redshirt freshmen (11): Javaris Brown, Steve Greer, Torrey Mack, Kyle McCartin, Matt Mihalik, Mike Price, Aaron Van Kuiken, Colter Phillips, Bill Schautz, Ausar Walcott, Devin Wallace.
• Others (4): sophomores Max Milien and Matt Snyder, juniors Patch Duda and Daniel Childress.

True Freshmen Get Chance to Shine
• Al Groh is not afraid to use true freshman, as evidenced by the 12 he already has played this year.
• That total is tied for sixth among FBS programs and first in the ACC (with FSU, UNC).
• Tulane (17) has played the most true freshmen among FBS programs.
• Since Groh started as UVa’s head coach in 2001, 65 true freshmen have seen playing time for the Cavaliers.

Jackson Steps into Spotlight
• Fullback Rashawn Jackson has been a big part of the offense the last four games.
• Last week, he had 19 rushes for 90 yards (both career highs) and recorded his first career rushing touchdown.
• He had just one carry for two yards in the TCU game and did not record a reception in either of the first two games.

Perfect in the Red Zone
• Virginia is one of two teams nationally to convert on all of its red-zone opportunities this year (San Jose State).
• UVa is 17 of 17 (10 TD, 7 FG) this year when entering the red zone. All 10 touchdowns have come via the run.

Sewell Precise with Passes
• Jameel Sewell has not been intercepted in his last 109 pass attempts, dating to the Southern Miss game.
• Virginia has won all three games in that stretch.
• The school record for consecutive passes without an interception is 231, set by Matt Blundin from 1990-91.

Sewell Moves Up Passing Charts
• With his 308-yard passing day against Indiana, Jameel Sewell moved into sixth place in career passing yards at Virginia.
• After a 137-yard day at Maryland, Sewell now has 4,611 career passing yards. He passed Mike Groh (4,366) vs. Indiana.

Career Passing Yards at Virginia
1. Matt Schaub (2000-03) 7,502
2. Shawn Moore (1987-90) 6,629
3. Scott Gardner (1972-75) 5,218
4. Aaron Brooks (1995-98) 5,118
5. Marques Hagans (2002-05) 4,877
6. Jameel Sewell (2006-07, ‘09) 4,611

UVa Holds Opponents to Single Digits
• Virginia has held three straight opponents to fewer than 10 points.
• It marks the first time since 1994 that Virginia has limited its opponents to 10 or fewer points in three straight games.
• In 1994, UVa held four straight teams to fewer than 10 points.

Shutdown Defense
• Virginia’s defense has been swarming in shutting down its opponents in the three wins.
• The Cavaliers rank 21st nationally in total defense (293.8 yards/game).
• Virginia ranks third in the ACC in total defense and scoring defense (18.7 points/game) this year.
• UVa gave up at least 309 yards of total offense in each of the first three games; no opponent has topped 300 since.
• Opponents have reached the red zone just four times in the last three games.
• Before Indiana scored with 8:18 left in the game, UVa had held its opponents out of the end zone for the previous 119:43, dating to the Southern Miss game.

Opponent Yards/Game Comparison
Avg. First 3 Last 3
Rushing 180.7 82.3
Passing 163.7 161.0
Total 344.3 243.3

Scoring Off the Defense
• Virginia got its first non-offensive TD of the year on Saturday on Nate Collins’ 32-yard interception return.
• UVa had not scored a non-offensive TD since Vic Hall returned an interception 60 yards vs. Richmond on Sept. 6, 2008.
• Collins’ INT was the first by a UVa lineman since Nick Jenkins recorded one against North Carolina in 2008.

Pass Defense Locks It Down
• Virginia’s pass defense has been solid, giving up just 162.3 yards per game – 11th fewest nationally.
• Opponents are averaging 8.77 yards per completion – second fewest in the FBS. Only North Carolina (7.91) allows fewer yards per completion.
• In pass efficiency defense, Virginia is seventh in the FBS (93.86 rating).
• UVa has allowed no more than 190 yards passing in any game this year.
• UVa held Maryland to a season-low 158 yards passing last week.

Rush Defense Improves
• While the pass defense has been strong all year, Virginia’s rush defense has been especially stout the last three games.
• UVa has given up just 82.3 yards rushing per game the last three contests.
• Virginia has avoided big plays in the running game as well – the longest opponent run in the last three games is 12 yards.

Buckling Down on Third Down
• Virginia’s defense has been tough on third-down opportunities this year.
• UVa opponents have converted on just 27 of 92 attempts on third down (29.3%).
• That is 10th best nationally and first among ACC schools (BC, 29.6%).
• Georgia Tech ranks fourth nationally on offense in third-down conversions (52.6%).

Randolph Takes Charge of Kicking
• Robert Randolph has hit his first nine field-goal attempts this year, including a 7-for-7 mark the last three weeks.
• Virginia already has matched its field-goal total from 2008 – UVa ranked at the bottom of the ACC in field goals (9), attempts (15) and percentage last year (.600).
• Reynolds’ three field-goal day at UNC was a career best and he booted his two longest field goals, from 38 and 43 yards.
• He is now 12-for-13 career in field-goal attempts. He also has hit all six of his PAT attempts this year and is 12-for-12 in his career.
• Randolph spent the offseason working on his leg strength (much through underwater running) and also competed at an elite kicking camp.