Virginia Returns Home Saturday to Host Miami on Senior Day

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Nov. 17, 2014

Virginia and Miami Set to Collide on Saturday at Scott Stadium
• Virginia and Miami will play a nationally-televised game on Saturday night on ESPN2. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Scott Stadium. It is senior day for UVa and 34 fourth and fifth-year players will be honored prior to the game.
• Saturday’s game is UVa’s first-ever Saturday night home game in the month of November. It will be UVa’s third all-time November home night game. The first was UVa’s 33-28 win over No. 2 Florida State on Thursday, Nov. 2, 1995. The other was a 37-13 setback to North Carolina on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012.

Darius Jennings to Honor Against Miami
• Senior WR Darius Jennings will wear Miles Gooch’s No. 17 on Saturday against Miami to honor his fellow senior who suffered a season-ending injury against North Carolina.
• Gooch was enjoying a breakout year in 2014 before his injury. First downs were gold for Gooch where he recorded a first down on 19 of his 24 receptions this season (79.2 percent).
• Gooch was averaging 18.1 yards on catches that resulted in a first down for UVa.
• Jennings has had success against Miami, recording 12 catches for 153 and three touchdowns in three career games against the Hurricanes. He had a 53-yard touchdown reception to start the 2011 game at Sun Life Stadium.

Virginia Coming off a Bye Week
• Virginia is is 26-29 all-time when playing a game after a bye week.
• Virginia is 1-1 all-time against Miami when playing the Hurricanes after a bye week (2006 and 2013).
• UVa is 4-2 all-time under head coach Mike London when playing a game following a bye week.
• UVa won the first four games following a bye week under London before dropping its last two.

Virginia vs. Miami
• This is the 12th meeting between the Coastal Division rivals and after UVa has won three of the last four meetings, Miami narrowly leads the series, 6-5.
• Miami won the first three games in the series (1996, 2004, 2005), but Virginia holds a 5-3 advantage since.
• UVa’s three-game winning streak was snapped last season at Sun Life Stadium.
• Since the Hurricanes’ arrival in the Atlantic Coast Conference (2004), the series is tied, 5-5.

More on the UVa-Miami Series
• The first match-up occurred in the 1996 Carquest Bowl at then-Joe Robbie Stadium, a 31-21 victory by Miami.
• That game was the final collegiate action for several notable Cavaliers, including Tiki and Ronde Barber, James Farrior, Jon Harris and Jamie Sharper.
• In addition to this Cavalier quintet, the game featured a large number of future pros.
• Of the 44 starters in the game, 20 were drafted by NFL teams (11 UVa, 9 Miami). The group of NFL draftees included nine first-round picks. Twenty-one Cavaliers and 22 Hurricanes went on to play in the NFL.

London and O’Brien Connections with Al Golden
• UVa head coach Mike London and Miami head coach Al Golden were assistant coaches together at UVa from 2001-04.
• Golden was the youngest defensive coordinator in the nation in 2001 when he was hired at UVa. He left after the 2005 season to become the head coach at Temple.
• Golden was a GA at UVa from 1994-96 and when current UVa associate head coach for offense Tom O’Brien left UVa in 1997 for the head coaching job at Boston College, Golden followed him as the Eagles’ linebacker coach.
• London also joined Golden and O’Brien at Boston College as the defensive line coach.

Last Meeting: 2013 (@Miami 45 – UVA 26)
•Tracy Howard returned an interception 19 yards for a touchdown on the game’s first snap, the first of four scoures created by the Miami defense.
• Stephen Morris passed for 214 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
• Taquan Mizzell rushed for one touchdown and received another for UVa, while Kevin Parks ran for 130 yards and another score.
• Off the bench, QB Greyson Lambert had his most productive game of his redshirt freshman season going 13-of-19 for 134 yards, and leading two UVa touchdown drives.

Last Scott Stadium Meeting: 2012 (@UVa 41 – Miami 40)
• Michael Rocco tossed a 10-yard pass to Jake McGee in the back of the end zone with six seconds left to beat Miami, 41-40 in last meeting at Scott Stadium in 2012. The touchdown capped a 10-point, fourth quarter deficit.
• The loss for Miami is its only one under current head coach Al Golden when scoring at least 40 points.
• Rocco was 29-of-37 for 300 yards and four touchdowns in the win.
• McGee had four catches for 26 yards including the game-winning score.
• WR Dominique Terrell had a career day in the 2012 meeting with nine catches for 127 yards.

UVa’s Place in Miami & Orange Bowl History
• Seven years ago on Nov. 10, Virginia marched into the Orange Bowl and topped Miami 48-0. It was the Hurricanes’ final game at the famed Orange Bowl after a 70-year stay.
• The Nov. 10, 2007 game was Miami’s biggest shutout loss in the venue’s history.
• Former Cavalier and current San Francisco 49er Chris Cook had a 44-yard fumble return for a score with 2:26 left in the game, putting Virginia’s effort into the Miami history book.
• The win topped a 44-0 beating Notre Dame put on the Hurricanes at the Orange Bowl in 1973.
• Mikell Simpson had a pair of one-yard touchdown runs and quarterback Jameel Sewell scored twice, while completing 20-of-25 passes for 288 yards.

UVa-Miami Connections
• UVa safeties coach Mike Archer is a 1976 graduate of Miami and was a standout defensive back and punter for the Hurricanes. He later became a graduate assistant coach and was elevated to defensive backs coach from 1979-83, including being a member of Howard Schnellenberger’s staff on the1983 national championship squad at Miami.
• Miami head coach Al Golden was an assistant coach and defensive coordinator at the University of Virginia from 2001-05.
• Two players on the Cavaliers’ roster hail from the state of Florida: Caanan Brown (Clearwater) and Tucker Gamble (Weston), both of which are redshirting this season.
• Miami assistant head coach Mark D’Onofrio was an assistant coach at Virginia from 2004-05.