Virginia Faces Wake Forest on Saturday for the First Time Since 2008

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Oct. 15, 2012

VIRGINIA FOOTBALL LOOKS TO END FIVE-GAME SLIDE
• Virginia seeks to halt its current five-game losing streak when the Wake Forest Demon Deacons come to Scott Stadium for an Atlantic Coast Conference football match-up. Kick-off is scheduled for 12:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on the ACC Network (NBC 29 in the Charlottesville area).
• The game is part of the ACC’s Fall Sportsmanship Week, and UVa and Wake Forest will engage in a pregame handshake to showcase their continued dedication to sportsmanship.
• Saturday’s game is Youth Day at Scott Stadium. The first 5,000 kids in eighth grade and under will received a free youth program upon entry.
• After playing every single season from 1980-2003, UVa and Wake Forest will only be meeting for the third time in the past nine seasons. Saturday’s game is the first meeting in the series since 2008 and the first at Scott Stadium since 2007.

VIRGINIA VS. WAKE FOREST
• Virginia owns a 34-13 all-time record over Wake Forest in a series that began in 1889, a 46-4 UVa win in a game played in Richmond.
• UVa is 13-3 all-time in Charlottesville, dating back to 1973.
• Virginia had a 17-game winning streak from 1984-2000, which is tied for the second-longest winning streak in ACC history against a league foe, FSU has a current 17-0 streak against Duke.
• Since the series was tied at seven wins apiece in 1970, Virginia has won 27 of the last 33 meetings.

CLOSE AFFAIRS THE NORM OF LATE
• Four of the last five games between Wake Forest and Virginia each have been decided by four points or fewer.
• The last three wins by UVa were by a combined eight points, including a one-point thriller in 2007 the last time Wake Forest came to Scott Stadium.
• Wake Forest’s 11-point win over UVa in the last meeting in 2008 matched the Demon Deacons’ previous three wins over Virginia (1981, 1983, 2001) which were also by a combined 11 points.
• Wake Forest’s last win in Charlottesville was a 34-30 victory in 2002.

VIRGINIA/WAKE FOREST CONNECTIONS
• Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe is a UVa graduate (`75, `78).
• Grobe earned his undergraduate degree in education in 1975 from UVa and a master’s degree in guidance and counseling in 1978. He was a two-year starter at middle guard and linebacker, lettering in 1973-74.

UVA PILES UP OFFENSE VS. DEACS
• The Cavaliers have put on some impressive offensive performances against Wake Forest in the last 30 years since the early 1980s.
• The Cavaliers have scored 30 or more points in 13 of the last 19 meetings.
• Two of UVa’s top-six total offense figures have come vs. the Demon Deacons.
• The most impressive output was a 643-yard performance (323 yards rushing, 320 yards passing) in 1982.
• The 643 yards of offense is tied for the fourth-highest total in school history and marks the only game in school history where the Cavaliers gained 300 yards both rushing and passing.

CAVALIER RUSHERS SHINE VS. WAKE
• In 18 of the last 26 games against Wake Forest dating back to 1980, Virginia has had at least one player rush for 100 yards.
• There have been 26 Cavaliers since 1954 who have rushed for at least 100 yards against Wake Forest, the most by UVa against any ACC team.

CONTAINING WAKE’S RUSH ATTACK
• The Virginia defense has done an outstanding job of bottling up the Wake Forest rushing attack en route to winning 20 of the last 22 games since 1984.
• During this span UVa has allowed Wake to rush for an average of 129.3 yards per contest and 4.1 yards per carry.
• However, Grobe’s Demon Deacon squads have averaged 210.8 rushing yards per game and 4.0 yards per carry in five games vs. Virginia.

SCORING EARLY, FIRST IMPORTANT
• One of the keys to either team winning this game has been the ability to score early and score first.
• Since 1982 (24 games), the winning team has scored first 18 times (Virginia 16 wins, Wake Forest two).
• UVa has scored on its first possession nine times since 1987 and won each time (The Cavaliers scored on their first drive on six consecutive occasions between 1987-92).
• The Demon Deacons scored on their first possession and ended UVa’s 17-game series winning streak in 2001.
• In the last meeting in 2008, the Deacs took the early lead on a two-yard TD pass from Riley Skinner to Ben Wooster.

Last Meeting: 2008 (WFU 28 – UVa 17)
• Wake Forest jumped out to a 28-3 lead in the first half and held on in the second half, despite UVa’s 14-0 run in the fourth quarter.
• UVa QB Marc Verica threw two fourth-quarter TD passes, one to John Phillips and one to Kevin Ogletree, both of whom currently play for the Dallas Cowboys.
• Ogletree had six catches for 95 yards.
• Verica was 23-of-45 for 279 yards and two TDs, but threw three INTs that led to two Wake Forest TDs.

UVA RANKS IN TOP 20 ON THREE & OUTS
• UVa ranks No. 19 in the nation as a defense forcing three and outs, posting a 4.0 three and out rate a game.
• UVa’s opponents have gone three and out 28 times over seven games. 29.7 percent of UVa’s opponents drives have ended in a three and out.
• UVa is tied for No. 3 in the ACC as Florida State leads the nation at 47.3 percent of drives end in a three and out. NC State (30.1) is No. 16 and Clemson is tied with UVa.
• UVa’s week four opponent TCU is No. 4 this week with a 42.5 percent rate or 5.8 per game. UVa only had four drives end at TCU as a three and out, nearly two drives fewer than the Horned Frogs’ average.