Oct. 24, 2016

Virginia vs. 5/5 Louisville – #LOUvsUVA
Date/Time Sat., Oct. 29, 2016 | 12 p.m.
Location Charlottesville, Va. | Scott Stadium (61,500)
Television ABC/ESPN2 (Mirror) | Coverage Map
Radio Virginia Sports Radio Network |
Satellite Radio — Sirius 81 | XM 81
Multimedia | WatchESPN
Twitter @UVA_Football | @UVACoachBronco | @VirginiaSports
Game Notes Virginia | Louisville | ACC | UVA Depth Chart
Additional Information Tickets | Facebook | Instagram | 2016 Fact Book |
Game Day Central | 2016 Season Stats | Coach Mendenhall Weekly Press Conference Transcript

UVA Welcomes Louisville to Scott Stadium
– Saturday Virginia welcomes the Louisville Cardinals to Charlottesville for the fifth all-time meeting in the series.

Matt Blundin to Have Jersey Retired
– Former quarterback Matt Blundin will have his No. 14 jersey retired on Saturday. A plaque honoring Blundin will be added to UVA’s Legends Walk under the colonnades at Scott Stadium. Jersey retirement honors Virginia players who have significantly impacted the program. Individuals recognized in this way will have their jerseys retired, but their number will remain active.
– Blundin played for Virginia from 1988-1991, backing up former UVA All-American Shawn Moore for three seasons.
– When Blundin was handed the reigns in 1991 he set an NCAA record that still stands today by throwing 224 straight passes without an interception. He finished the year 135-of-224 passing for 1,902 yards and 19 touchdowns with zero interceptions.
– The Kansas City Chiefs selected Blundin in the second round of the 1992 NFL Draft.
– Blundin’s son, Ethan, is a walk-on freshman wide receiver on this year’s Cavalier team.

George Welsh to Be Honored Saturday
– The Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will celebrate legendary coach George Welsh‘s 25th anniversary of winning the national coaching award on Saturday with an on-field presentation.
– Coach Welsh was awarded The Dodd Trophy in 1991 after an 8-3-1 season at Virginia that was capped off with an appearance in the Gator Bowl.
– During his tenure as head coach of Virginia from 1982-2000, Coach Welsh led the Cavaliers to an impressive overall record of 134-86-3, including two ACC titles and 12 bowl appearances.

Five Top Storylines
– No. 5 Louisville is the highest-ranked team to visit Scott Stadium since then-No. 2 Oregon in 2013.
– UL’s last visit to Scott Stadium ended in a 23-21 win by the Cavaliers over the then-No. 21 Cardinals. Former kicker Ian Frye booted the third-longest (42 yards) game-winning field goal in program history with 1:24 left to seal the victory.
– TB Taquan Mizzell needs 36 rushing yards to pass former Cavalier great, College Football and Pro Football Hall of Famer, “Bullet” Bill Dudley (1,631) for No. 25 all-time in career rushing yards at Virginia.
– Mizzell’s 174 career receptions rank No. 2 all-time at UVA, No. 3 among active ACC players, No. 1 all-time among ACC running backs and tied for No. 28 all-time in ACC history.
– P Nicholas Conte is No. 1 in the ACC and No. 13 in the nation with a 45.3 punting average. Eight of his 18 punts inside the 20 have also landed inside the 10. Five of the eight have pinned the opponent inside the five with four being downed at the one.

The Louisville Series
– Saturday marks the fifth time in series history the Cavaliers and Cardinals have met in football and the third time in ACC play.
– The all-time series is tied, 2-2. The series is tied, 1-1, since Louisville joined the ACC in 2014. The home team has won every game in the series.
– All four games in the series were won by a touchdown or less, including the first three on field goals in the closing minutes.
– The two schools first met at Louisville in 1988, a 30-28 Cardinal win. Louisville kicker Ron Bell connected on a 39-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the game to give the Cardinals the triumph at Old Cardinal Stadium. UVA had led Louisville 28-14 after scoring on its opening drive of the second half. But Louisville scored 16 unanswered points to snatch the victory away from the Cavaliers.
– The tables were flipped when the series moved to Charlottesville in 1989. Jake McInerney kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired to lift UVA over Louisville, 16-15.
– McInerney’s kick is one of two field goals in UVA history to win a game with zeros on the clock. The most recent was in 2011 when Robert Randolph chipped a 23-yard game-winner at Indiana.
– Shawn Moore gave UVA a 13-9 lead with his 4-yard passing strike to Herman Moore in the closing seconds before halftime. Louisville used two fourth-quarter field goals to build a 15-13 lead before McInerney’s heroics.
– On UVA’s game-winning drive, Moore orchestrated the offense on a 10-play, 60-yard drive, to set up McInerney’s field goal. The drive included a 25-yard quarterback draw by Moore as the UVA signal caller accumulated for 40 yards during the drive with his own legs.
– PK Ian Frye’s 42-yard field goal with 1:24 left won the game for the Cavaliers in 2014. Frye’s field goal is the third-longest game-winning field goal in UVA program history.

Louisville is UVA’s Yearly ACC Atlantic Division Foe
– The ACC said so long to Maryland when Louisville joined the league on July 1, 2014. Maryland had served as UVA’s annual Atlantic Division crossover opponent every season since the ACC created the division format in 2005.
– Louisville not only takes Maryland’s spot in the Atlantic Division, but also serves as UVA’s annual crossover opponent.

UVA at Scott Stadium vs. AP Top 5
– Ranked No. 5 in the nation by the Associated Press, Louisville becomes the 12th Top 5 team to come to Charlottesville to face UVA and the first since then-No. 2 Oregon in 2013.
– UVA is 2-8-1 all-time in Charlottesville against the AP Top 5. Four of those games, including both wins (1995, 2005) came against Florida State.
– UVA last played an AP Top 5 team in 2014 when the Cavaliers traveled to then-No. 2 Florida State.
– Louisville is the highest ranked opponent UVA head coach Bronco Mendenhall has faced since his 2012 BYU team played at then-No. 5 Notre Dame.
– Mendenhall is 1-2 all-time against the AP Top 5. It is the fourth time Mendenhall has faced an AP Top 5 team in his career. He beat then-No. 3 Oklahoma in 2009, lost at then-No. 5 TCU in 2010 and lost the 2012 game at Notre Dame.

UVA vs. Teams from the Bluegrass State
– Virginia has played eight games against teams from the Commonwealth of Kentucky.- UVA is 4-4 all-time against teams from the “Bluegrass State.”
– UVA played Centre College from Danville, Ky., at Lambeth Field in Charlottesville in 1919, a 49-7 loss.
– UVA played Kentucky in 1902, 1903 and 1930. The 1902 and 1930 games against the Wildcats were played in Lexington, Ky., while the 1903 meeting was in Charlottesville.
– Including the 1898 meeting in Louisville between UVA and Vanderbilt, UVA has played five all-time games in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

UVA-Louisville Connections
– When Louisville head coach Bobby Petrinio was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, he coached former UVA standout Jason Snelling.
– A nice UVA tie to the Kentucky Derby involves alum Hollis B. Chenery. He earned a masters degree in Charlottesville at the University of Virginia. Chenery’s sister, Penny, raced Secretariat on behalf of the family after their father passed. Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby in 1973 on the way to the Triple Crown. After Secretariat’s victory in the Belmont Stakes, Hollis Chenery led the horse down the walkway to the winner’s circle as cameras took pictures and the crowd gave a standing ovation.

Blanding and Kiser top the acc in tackles
Micah Kiser (11.0) is leading the ACC in tackles per game and Quin Blanding (10.7) is No. 2 in the ACC in tackles per game.
– Kiser and Blanding join TCU’s Travin Howard (9.86) and Ty Summers (9.29) as the only defensive duo from the same school to rank No. 1 and No. 2 in tackles for their respective conferences.
– This is old hat for Kiser and Blanding, as they were the only defensive duo from the same school in 2015 to rank No. 1 and No. 2 in their respective conferences in tackles.
– Kiser ranks No. 6 nationally in tackles, while Blanding ranks No. 8 nationally. Blanding is the only “Power 5” defensive back that ranks in the Top 20 nationally in tackles.
– Blanding finished 2014 and 2015 No. 2 in the ACC in tackles.