UVa Returns to ACC Play on Saturday Night When Pitt Comes to Town

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Sept. 29, 2014

Virginia Hosts Pittsburgh in Return to ACC Play
• Virginia returns to ACC play as the Pittsburgh Panthers make their first-ever ACC trip to Scott Stadium and third overall. Pittsburgh owns the series lead over the Cavaliers with a 4-2 record, including a 1-1 mark at UVa.

Virginia Playing Its Fifth Home Game of the Season
• On Saturday, UVa will be playing its fifth home game through the first six weeks of the season.
• Virginia is one of two schools in the nation to play five home games over the first six weeks of the college football season.
• Florida International is the only other school to accomplish the feat with Virginia.

Virginia To Play First Night Game at Scott Stadium Since 2012
• Virginia is playing a night game for the first time since hosting North Carolina on a Thursday night (Nov. 15) in 2012.
• UVa is 54-40-1 all-time in night games and 6-4 under head coach Mike London.
• UVa won five straight night games under London that encompassed contests played over the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

The Series vs. The Panthers
• Pittsburgh leads the all-time series by a 4-2 margin.
• Saturday’s game is only the fourth regular-season meeting with Pittsburgh in the last 59 years.
• Until UVa’s 44-14 win in the last Scott Stadium meeting in 2007, Pittsburgh had won all three regular-season meetings (in convincing fashion). The Panthers won 26-0 in Charlottesville in 1953, 18-7 in Pittsburgh in 1955 and 38-13 in Pittsburgh in 2006.
• Virginia’s 23-16 win over Pittsburgh in the 2003 Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., thus far has been the most closely contested game of the series.
• UVa’s Tony Franklin played a big role on defense in the bowl game to end Larry Fitzgerald’s 18-game streak with a touchdown reception.
• The teams seesawed back and forth in the first half with Virginia holding a 17-13 lead at halftime. The second half featured only field goals in UVa’s seven-point win. Matt Schaub closed his stellar career by capturing MVP honors after passing for 244 yards. Current Pittsburgh Steeler tight end Heath Miller had a big day with four receptions for 84 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown reception from Schaub late in the first quarter for the game’s first score.

More on the Pitt series during the lean 1950s
• The 26-0 loss in 1953 remains one of the worst offensive performances in the modern era of UVa football. The Cavaliers recorded three first downs, an all-time low and had just 43 yards of total offense, their second-lowest modern-day total.
• Pittsburgh scored on its first possession 5:52 into the contest and scored in every quarter to win.
• In the 1955, UVa ended more than 80 scoreless minutes against Pitt when halfback Ralph Kneeland scored UVa’s only touchdown in the series on an eight-yard run at the 9:39 mark of the second quarter. That score gave UVa a brief 7-6 lead. But Pitt halfback Lou Cimarolli scored the game-winner on a 32-yard dash midway through the third quarter.

Last Meeting: 2013 (Pitt 14, UVa 3)
• Pittsburgh turned a pair of UVa turnovers deep in Cavalier territory into touchdowns to secure the 14-3 win.
• UVa fumbled inside its own 20-yard line on back-to-back possessions, one of which was on a punt return. Pitt needed only six plays total over the two drives to score its only touchdowns of the day.
• Virginia’s defense was stellar all day in the setback, limiting Pitt to 199 total yards, including eight rushing yards.
• The game marked the first time since 1972 that UVa held back-to-back opponents to under 200 yards of total offense. A week prior Virginia held VMI to 79 total yards.
• Making his first career start, OLB Max Valles made five tackles and recorded 2.5 sacks. Valles entered the game appearing only in one previous career game, seven defensive plays and two special teams plays against VMI a week prior.
• Current Baltimore Raven Brent Urban had seven tackles and 4.0 tackles for loss, helping UVa amass 13.0 tackles for loss and seven sacks of Pitt quarterback Tom Savage.
• Ian Frye kicked a 32-yard field goal in the third quarter. Frye left the game with an injury and missed the final eight games of the 2013 season.
• UVa QB David Watford was only 15-of-37 for 123 yards passing in the game, but 10 of his passes were dropped by Cavalier receivers, which was one reason attributed to the offense stalling with 188 total yards.
• Some offensive personnel changes were made after the Pitt game, one was inserting Eric Smith into the starting right tackle spot. Smith has started all 13 games since at right tackle.

Virginia Has Three Wins Before the End of September
• UVa has three wins before the month of October for the first time since 2007 when the Cavaliers had four.

Virginia Has Forced 18 Turnovers Through five Games
• UVa is No. 1 in the nation with 18 takeaways through five games.
• UVa is No. 1 in the nation with 10 fumble recoveries. Of the 10 fumble recoveries, seven came on defensive sacks by the Cavaliers.
• Virginia had 13 takeaways through the first three games, the most by the Cavaliers through the first three games of a season since 13 to start the 2002 campaign.

Virginia Has Seven Players with Interceptions
• Virginia leads the nation with seven different players with at least one interception, sharing the top spot with Houston, Ole Miss and USC.
• Quin Blanding, Maurice Canady, Anthony Harris, Tim Harris, Demetrious Nicholson, Brandon Phelps and Daquan Romero all have recorded an interception for Virginia.

Virginia No. 2 in the Nation with Points Off of Turnovers
• UVa is No. 2 in the nation with 65 points off of turnovers.
• UVa’s 18 takeaways this season have turned into 65 points, while the Cavaliers had 21 takeaways for 13 points last season. Seven of those 13 points came in the 2013 season opener against BYU.
• UVa has scored a touchdown or field goal on 11 possessions following an opponent’s turnover. Two
additional drives ended with the conclusion of the first half (Richmond and Kent State).
• Virginia had seven takeaways against Richmond. The seven forced turnovers is the most by a UVa team since the Cavaliers also notched seven vs. South Carolina (Sept. 7, 2002).