UVA Returns to Scott Stadium Saturday to Host Syracuse on Homecomings

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Oct. 12, 2015

Virginia Returns To Scott Stadium to Host Syracuse For Homecomings
• Virginia returns to Scott Stadium when the Cavaliers continue ACC play against the Syracuse Orange. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on regional sports networks. The game will air on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
• Saturday is Homecomings at UVA and the Cavaliers own a 45-43-2 (.511) all-time Homecomings record.
• UVA’s last win on Homecomings was against then-No. 12 Georgia Tech in 2011, a 24-21 triumph.

Virginia and First Meetings With New ACC Members
• Saturday’s game marks the first time in the series that a meeting between UVA and Syracuse will count toward the ACC standings. The Orange officially joined the league on July 1, 2013.
• UVA is 1-6 when facing a new ACC member for the first time in conference play, dating back to when Georgia Tech joined the ACC in 1979.
• UVA has lost to Georgia Tech (1982), Florida State (1992), Miami (2004), Virginia Tech (2004), Boston College (2005) and Pitt (2013). Virginia’s lone win came in 2014 against Louisville.

Countdown to 450 at Scott Stadium
• Virginia has played 447 all-time games at Scott Stadium.
• The Nov. 21, 2015 game against Duke will mark the 450th all-time game at Scott Stadium.
• Scott Stadium opened on Oct. 15, 1931, an 18-3 VMI win over the Cavaliers
• UVA is 252-183-12 all-time at Scott Stadium.
• 2015 is the 85th season the Cavaliers have played at Scott Stadium.
• The oldest living UVA football alum, Dr. John Risher, is 105 and was on the 1931 Virginia football team. He stood on the sidelines at both Lambeth Field and Scott Stadium. You can now find him on game days keeping stats in the Scott Stadium press box.

The Series vs. The Orange
• After the rivalry sat dormant for 27 years, the teams began a home-and-home series in 2004 and 2005.
• The Cavaliers swept the series, starting with a 31-10 win in Charlottesville for their first victory over Syracuse in 2004. The 27-year gap between meetings is tied for the 14th-longest between games in UVA history.
• The Hoos made a return trip to Syracuse in 2005, the first meeting in central New York in 28 years when the Orange eked out a 6-3 win in a battle of field goals as Dave Jacobs hit two of five attempts. This game remains one of only five UVA games since 1937 where all the points came via field goals.
• After a scoreless first half, Syracuse kicker Dave Jacobs sandwiched field goals of 24 and 25 yards around a Russ Henderson 29-yard field goal to gain the win. (Jacobs also missed field goals of 45, 57 and 60 yards. The 60-yard miss is the longest attempt ever vs. UVA)
• Former NFL great Art Monk was a sophomore who had a big all-around day in `77. He rushed for 89 yards, caught five passes for 62 yards and returned four punts for a 10.8-yard average for 194 all-purpose yards.
• In the 2004 meeting the Orange rushed for just 113 yards, by far their fewest in the series.
• Syracuse had two 100-yard rushers in the first meeting in 1975–a 37-0 Syracuse win. QB Jim Donoghue ran for 136 yards and Jim Grubbs added 117 as the Orange ground out 497 yards rushing.
• That game represents the second-most rushing yards in SU history and the fourth-most yards allowed in the history of the UVA program.
• In 1977, Syracuse featured a powerful rushing attack that picked up 322 yards.
• This 2005 match-up was Virginia’s first game in the Carrier Dome; the 1977 game was played at Archbold Field.

Virginia-Syracuse Connections
• Current UVA wide receivers coach Marques Hagans won two games over Syracuse as the starting quarterback for the Cavaliers. They stand as the only Cavalier wins in the series with the Orange.
• Hagans collected 538 combined yards of total offense in UVA’s 2004 and 2005 wins over the Orange.
• Hagans was 11-of-12 passing for 202 yards and one touchdown in UVA’s 31-10 win in 2004. His 91.7 completion percentage is the third-highest for a game in program history.
• Hagans collected his only career 100-yard rushing game in the Carrier Dome, a 27-24 win over the Orange.

T.J. Thorpe’s Return Brings excitement
• WR T.J. Thorpe broke his clavicle on Wed., Aug. 12 in preseason camp and returned to action against the Tribe on Sept. 19, making his Virginia debut.
• The North Carolina transfer was cleared on Wed., Sept. 16, five weeks after being injured.
• Thorpe made his first catch for the Cavaliers against Boise State, a 75-yard touchdown reception.
• Thorpe’s previous catch at Scott Stadium was the game-winning score for North Carolina on a 16-yard reception on Oct. 25, 2014.
• Thorpe led UVA with five catches for 70 yards at Pitt in his third game back.