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Cavaliers Match Up with No. 14 Hokies in Season Finale Saturday
Story Links
Game Details
Playing Surface: Grass
Series vs. VT: VT leads, 48-37-5
at Charlottesville: Tied, 18-18-5
Telecast: ABC/ESPN (click here for coverage map)
P-b-P: Clay Matvick
Analyst: David Diaz-Infante
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.
Rosters: Virginia Virginia Tech
Game Notes: Virginia Virginia Tech
Statistics: Virginia Virginia Tech
Five Things You Need to Know
• Steve Greer, with 87 tackles, has the most tackles by a UVa freshman since Darryl Blackstock recorded 108 in 2002.
• UVa’s strength of schedule is ranked fourth nationally this week in the Sagarin ratings – only Washington, Washington State and Oregon rank higher.
• This game will feature 96 players from the Commonwealth of Virginia – 51 from UVa and 45 from Virginia Tech.
• UVa will recognize 30 fourth- and fifth-year senior prior to the game.
• Will Barker is slated to make his 49th career start Saturday – that will tie for second in UVa history.
Virginia-Virginia Tech Rivalry
• Virginia Tech leads the all-time series 48-37-5 and has won nine of the last 10 meetings.
• The series began in 1895 with UVa gaining a 38-0 win in Charlottesville.
• Virginia’s most recent victory was a 35-21 win at home in 2003.
• The series is tied, 18-18-3, in Charlottesville.
• The Hokies (90 games) are UVa’s second most-frequent opponent – UVa has played North Carolina 114 times.
Commonwealth Cup Up for Grabs
• The winner of this game claims the Commonwealth Cup for the next year.
• After holding the trophy following wins in 1997 and 1998, the Cavaliers have taken it just once since then (2003) with the Hokies winning nine of the last 10 meetings.
• The award was started for the 1996 game between the two state foes, with the Hokies receiving the trophy for the first time with a 26-9 win.
32 is Virginia’s Magic Number
• Scoring a lot of points against the Hokies means good things for the Cavaliers.
• Virginia has scored at least 32 points in each of its last seven series wins dating back to 1989.
Groh Faces Hokies as Player, Coach
• Head coach Al Groh has a long history against Virginia Tech as both a player and coach.
• A Cavalier gridder during his undergraduate days in the 1960s, he was a member of the 1964 squad that posted UVa’s only win over Tech between 1957-1970. Virginia defeated the Hokies 20-17 at home that season.
• As the head coach at Wake Forest, he led his Demon Deacons to wins over Tech in 1982 (13-10 in Blacksburg) and 1983 (13-6 in Blacksburg).
Virginia in Season Enders
• This game is the Cavaliers’ final game of the regular season.
• UVa is 44-71-4 all-time in regular-season finales and has lost its last five.
• This is the fourth straight year and the 15th time in the last 19 seasons Virginia has closed the regular season against the Hokies.
Senior Day
• Saturday will be Senior Day at Scott Stadium, and Virginia will recognize its 30 fourth- and fifth-year seniors:
• Will Barker, Denzel Burrell, B.J. Cabbell, Isaac Cain, Darnell Carter, Daniel Childress, Darren Childs, Aaron Clark, Nate Collins, Chris Cook, John-Kevin Dolce, Patch Duda, Vic Hall, Raynard Horne, Rashawn Jackson, Brandon Jarvis, Staton Jobe, Matt Leemhuis, Zach Mendez-Zfass, Mike Parker, Nathan Rathjen, Jameel Sewell, Jack Shields, Mikell Simpson, Patrick Slebonick, Joe Torchia, Marc Verica, Matt Weiler, Trey Womack, Brandon Woods.
Randolph Named Lou Groza Award Semifinalist
• Virginia placekicker Robert Randolph has been named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award presented by the FedEx Orange Bowl.
• Randolph is one of 20 semifinalists.
• Three finalists will be selected and the winner will then be announced Dec. 10.
• Randolph is 15-for-17 in field goals this season with a long of 49 yards.
• Randolph currently has the second-best single-season conversion percentage in UVa history (88.2%) – only Connor Hughes (23 of 25, 92%) in 2003 is better.
Schedule Ranks Among Best
• Virginia is facing one of the nation’s toughest schedules again this season.
• UVa’s strength of schedule is ranked fourth in the Sagarin ratings – only Washington, Washington State and Oregon have a higher Sagarin SOS.
• The UVa schedule currently is ranked seventh nationally by the NCAA, based on cumulative opponent records.
• UVa has played four ranked teams (TCU, Georgia Tech, Miami, Clemson) with Virginia Tech remaining.
• In addition, Virginia has a win over North Carolina, who was not ranked at the time but is once again in the top 25.
Cavaliers Start Games Strong
• Virginia has gotten off to strong starts this year.
• UVa is outscoring its opponents 57-40 in the first quarter.
• The Cavaliers have surrendered just four first-quarter TDs this year.
• Virginia has not allowed a touchdown on the first drive of any game this year – UVa only has allowed field goals to Duke and Miami.