Virginia Heads West to Face No. 24 Oregon on Saturday

Sept. 5, 2016

Rare Trip West of the Mississippi
– Virginia continues its non-conference action Saturday when the Cavaliers hit the road at No. 24 Oregon
– This is only the 19th game played west of the Mississippi River in UVA school history.
– Virginia is 4-14 in games played west of the Mississippi.
– UVA’s last venture west was a 34-16 loss at then-No. 13 UCLA in 2015; the Cavaliers’ last win west of the Mississippi was a 45-40 win at BYU on Sept. 25, 1999.
– At approximately 2,800 miles from Charlottesville, this game is tied for the second-longest trip in school history.
– The longest is a journey of approximately 4,800 miles for the 2000 O’ahu Bowl in Honolulu, while this week’s journey ties a trip to Seattle in 1976 (approximately 2,800 miles).
– This is the third of four straight years that UVA will play a regular season game west of the Mississippi River.
– UVA is scheduled to play at Boise State in 2017.
Virginia vs. Oregon, Pac-12
– Virginia is facing Oregon for the second time in program history and the Ducks hold the edge, 1-0, in the all-time series after a 59-10 victory over UVA at Scott Stadium in 2013. Oregon was ranked No. 2 in the nation at the time.
– Saturday’s game is only the seventh time Virginia has faced a member of the Pac-12 Conference.
– UVA is 0-6 against the Pac-12 and it is the only ‘Power 5’ conference against whom the Cavaliers are winless.
– Oregon (2013) was only the second Pac-12 school to come to Charlottesville to play UVA. USC (2008) was the first. UCLA (2014) has since also traveled to the Commonwealth to face the Cavaliers.
– UVA’s road games against Pac-12 teams are Washington (1976), USC (2010) and UCLA (2015).

Five Top Storylines
– Kurt Benkert made his first collegiate start against Richmond. The East Carolina transfer was 26-of-34 for 264 yards and three touchdowns. The 26 completions and three touchdowns tied Mike Groh for the most by a UVA quarterback in his first career start, while the 264 passing yards ranked No. 3.
– Running back Taquan Mizzell has a reception in 34 straight games. The streak started against then-No. 2 Oregon on Sept. 7, 2013. It was Mizzell’s second career game. Mizzell is No. 3 all-time at UVA with 147 career receptions.
– Sixteen Cavaliers made their collegiate debut against Richmond, including five true freshmen.
– OLB Jordan Mack made his first collegiate start against Richmond, becoming the first UVA true freshmen to start a season opener at linebacker since Ahmad Brooks in 2003.
– UVA is playing in a contiguous state that borders the Pacific Ocean for only the fourth time.

Shared History: Lewis & Clark Expedition from Charlottesville to Oregon
– Meriwether Lewis was born locally in Albemarle County, Virginia, in the present-day community of nearby Ivy, also the hometown of former UVA All-American and current New England Patriot Chris Long.
– After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, President Thomas Jefferson wanted to get an accurate sense of the new land and its resources. Jefferson chose Lewis to lead the expedition. Lewis recruited another Virginian, William Clark, then age 33, to share command of the expedition.
– Clark was born in Caroline County, Va., but his family for years also lived in Albemarle County.
– The expedition commenced the beginning of what became the Oregon Trail. President Jefferson had hoped to find an “easy” route through the Rocky Mountains to discover a water route to the Pacific, via the Missouri, Columbia, Oregon or Colorado rivers as a direct and practicable water communication across the continent.
– The expedition made it all the way to Portland, Oregon and current day Astoria. Portland is roughly 110 miles north of Oregon’s campus in Eugene.
– On Main Street, in downtown Charlottesville, there is a statue to pay homage to the Lewis & Clark expedition.
– This impressive and historic statue is located at the intersection of Ridge and Main Streets and commemorates the 1803-1806 journey of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The statue has a brick walk and shrubs surrounding it, and visitors can view it anytime, though most clearly during the day.
– The statue of Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and Sacagawea was sculpted by Charles Keck, who was a prominent sculptor of his day. The statue was commissioned by Paul Goodloe McIntire and given to the citizens of Charlottesville in 1919. The statue is located in a prominent historic and geographic position in Charlottesville that predates the settlement of the town. The present day Main Street was once called Three Notch’d Road, and was constructed in the 1730’s by improving an old Monacan Indian trail to allow travel between Richmond and the Shenandoah Valley.
– Artifacts that Lewis & Clark brought back from the expedition as gifts to Thomas Jefferson currently hang in the former President and UVA founder’s home at Monticello.
– The Lewis & Clark Exploratory Center is located in Charlottesville, adjacent to land that William Clark’s family owned for years. The Lewis & Clark Exploratory Center is a hands-on center focusing on the historic expedition as a gateway for learning about exploration, transportation, the arts, science, the natural environment, and native cultures.
VIrginia – Oregon Connections
– When UVA head coach Bronco Mendenhall was a safety and linebacker at Oregon State (1986-87), his defensive back position coach as a senior in 1987 was current Oregon passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach John Neal.
– Mendenhall was part of a unit that Neal oversaw in 1987 that finished second in the Pac-10 in pass defense (183.3 per game).
– Neal is a BYU alum, narrowly missing out on playing with current UVA offensive coordinator and inside receivers coach, Robert Anae, who was serving his mission in Tulsa, Okla., when Neal finished up his playing career in Provo in 1979.
– Mendenhall, a 1988 graduate of Oregon State, played in two “Civil War” games. The Beavers lost in 1986 and 1987 to the Ducks.
– Mendenhall faced current Oregon defensive coordinator Brady Hoke in Mountain West Conference action in 2009 and 2010. Mendenhall was the BYU head coach and Hoke was the San Diego State head coach. Mendenhall won both meetings, including the 2010 meeting when Hoke ended up being named the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year.
– Oregon defensive line coach Ron Aiken has coached in the Commonwealth of Virginia before, serving as head coach at Greensville County High School in 1979. Greensville County High School is located in Emporia, Va., located roughly 70 miles south of Richmond.
The long family and bragging rights
– Saturday’s game will have sibling bragging rights for two sons of NFL Hall of Famer and Ivy resident Howie Long.
– The eldest son, Chris, was a UVA All-American (2007) and a current member of the New England Patriots. He played at UVa from 2004-07. The middle son, Kyle, spent the 2012 season as an offensive guard with the Oregon Ducks and was the Chicago Bears first round draft pick in 2013.
– Chris Long has a sandwich named after him at Littlejohns on UVA’s historic Corner.

Cavaliers with Pac-12 Ties
– In addition to UVA head coach Bronco Mendenhall who played at Oregon State, three other Cavaliers have ties to the Pac-12 Conference.
– QB Connor Brewer spent two years at Arizona. He was on the sidelines at Autzen Stadium when Arizona beat Oregon in 2014. He later was on the sidelines at the Pac-12 Championship game at Levi’s Stadium when Oregon avenged the early season loss to Arizona.
– DE Jack Powers spent two seasons at Arizona State, redshirting one. Arizona State did not play Oregon in 2014, the only season Powers appeared in games for the Sun Devils.
– Offensive coordinator Robert Anae spent the 2011 and 2012 seasons in the Pac-12 at Arizona as the offensive line coach for the Wildcats.

Virginia and Bronco Mendenhall in Night Games
– Virginia is 56-43-1 all-time in night games, which is determined by events that begin at 6 p.m. or later.
– UVA is 22-26 all-time in road night games and is playing its first road night game since the 2014 season finale at Virginia Tech.
– Bronco Mendenhall is 28-17 all-time in night games in 11 seasons as a head coach, including a 38-8 Las Vegas Bowl win over Oregon to conclude the 2006 season. The 2006 meeting against Oregon is the only time Mendenhall has faced the Ducks as a head coach.
Five True Freshmen Debut in Opener
– True freshmen Hasise Dubois (WR), Bryce Hall (CB), Jordan Mack (OLB), Juwan Moye (DE) and Joe Reed (WR) made their college debut against Richmond on Sept. 3.
– In all, 13 freshmen, including true and redshirt, made their debut against Richmond: Warrent Craft (WR), Tanner Cowley (WR), Hasise Dubois (WR), Bryce Hall (CB), Eli Hanback (DE), Jordan Mack (OLB), Juwan Moye (DE), Gladimir Paul (OLB), Joe Reed (WR), Chris Sharp (S), Jahvoni Simmons (ILB), James Trucilla (DT) and Steve Wright (DE).
– Other collegiate debuts against Richmond were made by sophomores Jake Fieler (OG), Ben Hogg (WR) and Cory Jones (OLB).
Noting First Career Starts in 2016
– Six Cavaliers made their first career starts against Richmond on Sept. 3.
– First time starters on offense vs. Richmond: Kurt Benkert (QB), Warren Craft (WR), Jake Fieler (LG).
– First time starters on defense vs. Richmond: Jordan Mack (OLB), Jack Powers (DE) and Myles Robinson (CB).

Wide Receiver Debuts Mirror Each Other
– True freshman WR Hasise Dubois and redshirt freshman WR Warren Craft each made their collegiate debut against Richmond. Both wide receivers caught two passes for 16 yards.
– Craft played football for the first time as a junior at William Fleming High School in Roanoke, Va. Craft, a basketball standout, originally accepted a scholarship to play basketball at Virginia Tech.

Jordan Mack starts at Outside linebacker
– True freshman Jordan Mack (Lithonia, Ga.) started at one of the outside linebacker positions against Richmond. Mack finished with three tackles
– Mack became the first true freshman to start at linebacker in a season opener since Ahmad Brooks in 2003. Brooks made seven tackles and broke up two passes in his debut against Duke on Aug. 30, 2003.