UVa Returns Home Saturday for Non-Conference Tilt with Kent State

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Sept. 22, 2014

Virginia Returns Home for Final Non-Conference Game
• Virginia returns home to host Mid-American Conference-foe Kent State in the Cavaliers’ final
non-conference test of the 2014 regular season.
• Kent State and Virginia are meeting for the first time in series history.

London and UVa Coaching Staff to Take Part in Coach to Cure MD
• Mike London and his coaching staff will take part in Coach to Cure MD on
Saturday versus Kent State.
• Coach to Cure MD is a nation-wide project designed to build awareness and funding to support researchers trying to find a treatment and cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research.
• The Virginia coaching staff will be wearing the Coach to Cure MD patches during Saturday’s game.
• This is the seventh annual Coach to Cure MD effort and more than 110 FBS
schools will be wearing a Coach to Cure MD patch this week.
• Coach to Cure MD is a partnership between the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD), the largest nonprofit organization in the United States focused entirely on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, the leading childhood genetic killer of young men.

Virginia to Wear Throwback Uniforms on Saturday
• UVa will wear a throwback uniform on Saturday when Kent State comes to Scott Stadium.
• The Cavaliers will once again don the throwback uniform ensemble they wore in 2012 against Louisiana Tech.
• The Nike uniform is modeled after the style UVa wore from the era that encompassed the 1967-74 seasons.

Virginia and Kent State Square Off For The First Time
• Virginia and Kent State will play for the first time in football on Saturday.
• Kent State, located in Kent, Ohio, is located 50 miles south of Cleveland.
• The Golden Flashes are playing in the Commonwealth of Virginia for the third time in program history and for the first time since Nov. 11, 2006, a 23-0 loss at Virginia Tech. Kent State also played at Virginia Tech on Oct. 23, 1976, a 42-14 loss.
• Saturday’s game will be Kent State’s sixth all-time game against a team from the commonwealth of Virginia. Kent State has played Virginia Tech (1975, 1976, 2006) and Liberty (2004, 2013).
• Kent State is 11-24 against current members of the ACC. Nine of those victories came against Louisville before the Cardinals joined the conference.
• The only victory Kent State has against a team that was an active member of the ACC at the time of the game was in 1971 at NC State.
Virginia Vs. The Mid-American Conference
• Virginia is 10-2-1 all-time against teams that currently represent the Mid-American Conference.
• UVa is 2-0 vs. Akron, 0-1 against Ball State, 2-0 against Buffalo, 1-0 against Central Michigan, 1-0 against Eastern Michigan, 1-0-1 against Miami (Ohio), 1-0 against Ohio and 2-1 against Western Michigan.
• The Cavaliers have never faced the MAC’s Bowling Green, Kent State, Northern Illinois or Toledo.
• Virginia is scheduled to host Central Michigan (2016).

Virginia – Kent State Connections
• Kent State’s running backs coach Don Treadwell worked for two years under current UVa associate head coach for offense Tom O’Brien. Treadwell was the passing game coordinator for the first two seasons (1997, 1998) of O’Brien’s head coaching tenure at Boston College.
• One of Kent State’s most famous NFL players is the San Diego Chargers’ Antonio Gates. While Gates played only basketball at Kent State, he does have a connection to UVa. Offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild spent the 2012 season with the Chargers and worked with Gates.

Virginia Offensive Train Started Rolling at BYU
• UVa set a program record with 102 offensive plays at No. 21 BYU, breaking the previous record of 98 plays against South Carolina in 1968.
• The Cavaliers recorded 35 first downs, the third-most in a game in program history. The 35 first downs were one short of the UVa record of 36 that happened against Davidson in 1968 and William & Mary in 1990.
• UVa also held the ball for 40:55 against the Cougars and outgained BYU, 519-332.
• What was the difference in the game? In addition to BYU’s 99-yard kick return for a touchdown, twice UVa was inside BYU’s five yard line and had to settle for a field goal each time.

UVa’s Rushing Attack at BYU
• In BYU’s first three games the Cougars limited their opponents (UConn, Texas, Houston) to a combined 163 rushing yards on 79 attempts (2.1 yards per rush) and one touchdown.
• UVa surpassed those numbers in Provo, gaining 192 yards on 44 attempts (4.4 yards per rush) and two touchdowns.

What Virginia is Doing on First Down
• Through the first three games UVa only passed on first down 19 times.
• Against BYU the Cavaliers opened it up and passed 22 times on first down.