Virginia Heads to Wake on Saturday for an Afternoon Tilt

Oct. 31, 2016

Virginia Travels to Wake Forest
– UVA returns to the road and will travel to Winston-Salem to face the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Saturday.
– After playing every single season from 1980-2003, UVA and Wake Forest will only be meeting for the fourth time in the past 13 seasons. Saturday’s game is the first meeting in the series since 2012 and the first at BB&T Field since 2008.

Virginia vs. Wake Forest
– Virginia owns a 34-14 all-time record over Wake Forest in a series that began in 1889, a 46-4 UVA win in a game played in Richmond.
– UVA is 15-2 all-time at BB&T Field, dating back to 1968.
– Virginia had a 17-game winning streak from 1984-2000, which is the third-longest winning streak in ACC history against a league foe.
– Since the series was tied at seven wins apiece in 1970, Virginia has won 27 of the last 34 meetings.
– Virginia has won 10 of the last 11 games they have played against Wake Forest at BB&T Field.

Close Affairs the Norm of Late
– Five of the last six games between Wake Forest and Virginia each have been decided by six points or fewer.
– The last three wins by UVA were by a combined eight points, including a one-point thriller in 2007 at Scott Stadium.
– After UVA won 20-of-21 meetings with Wake Forest (1984-2007), the Demon Deacons have won two straight.

Five Top Storylines
– ILB Micah Kiser has recorded 208 tackles in his 20 career starts, giving the junior 10.4 tackles per game over his 20 starts. Kiser has 223 career tackles in 32 games.
– P Nicholas Conte is No. 1 in the ACC and No. 9 in the nation with a 45.4 punting average. Saturday is a matchup of two of the ACC’s best punters. Wake Forest’s Dom Maggio is No. 3 in the ACC and No. 25 in the nation with a 43.9 punting overage. Of Conte’s 21 punts inside the 20, nine punts are inside the 10, five of those punts are inside the five and four of those punts have been downed at the one-yard line. His career 45.0 punting average is a program best.
– QB Kurt Benkert needs 62 passing yards to move in 15th place in the UVA record book for passing yards in a season. He would pass Shawn Moore’s 1988 total of 2,158.
– Benkert’s 17 touchdown passes place him in a tie at No. 11 for all-time for passing touchdowns in a season at UVA. Gene Arnette also had 17 passing touchdowns in 1968.
– TB Taquan Mizzell is the only Cavalier in program history to accure at least 1,400 career rushing yards (1,662) and 1,400 career receiving yards (1,411).

UVA Piles Up Offense vs. Deacs
– The Cavaliers have put on some impressive offensive performances against Wake Forest in the last 30 years since the early 1980s.
– The Cavaliers have scored 30 or more points in 13 of the last 20 meetings.
– Two of UVa’s top-six total offense figures have come vs. the Demon Deacons.
– The most impressive output was a 643-yard performance (323 yards rushing, 320 yards passing) in 1982.
– The 643 yards of offense is tied for the fourth-highest total in school history and marks the only game in school history where the Cavaliers gained 300 yards both rushing and passing.

Cavalier Rushers Shine vs. Wake
– In 18 of the last 27 games against Wake Forest, dating back to 1980, Virginia has had at least one player rush for 100 yards.
– There have been 26 Cavaliers since 1954 who have rushed for at least 100 yards against Wake Forest, the most by UVA against any ACC team.

Scoring Early, First Important
– One of the keys to either team winning this game has been the ability to score early and score first.
– Since 1982 (25 games), the winning team has scored first 19 times (Virginia 16 wins, Wake Forest three).
– UVa has scored on its first possession nine times since 1987 and won each time (The Cavaliers scored on their first drive on six consecutive occasions between 1987-92).
– The Demon Deacons scored on their first possession and ended UVA’s 17-game series winning streak in 2001.

UVA-Wake Connections
– Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson spent four seasons as the head coach at Richmond, but never faced Virginia.
– Other Wake Forest assistants that coached at schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia are: Assistant head coach/wide receivers coach Kevin Higgins (Richmond, 1985-87); defensive coordinator/safeties coach Mike Elko (Richmond, 2004-05); offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Warren Ruggiero (William & Mary, 1999).

Louisville Game Highlights
– Virginia’s 6-play, 69-yard touchdown drive to start the second half against Louisville was the first time this season the Cardinals allowed an opponent to score on its opening drive of the second half.
– Kurt Benkert found Olamide Zaccheaus on a nine-yard scoring strike to cap the drive.
– Other firsts for Louisville against Virginia: First time UL’s opponent scored first and its seven first half points were its fewest at halftime this season. Louisville leading receiver James Quick did not catch a pass and quarterback Lamar Jackson did not rush for a touchdown.
– UVA’s five sacks equals the most Louisville has given up this season. Clemson also had five.

Blanding Ranks High Among Active players in career tackles
– Blanding’s 321 career tackles rank No. 7 among all active FBS players. He is tied with Illinois’ Hardy Nickerson.
– He is the only junior that ranks in the Top 25 among top active career tacklers.
– Blanding is No. 3 among active ACC players with the most career tackles, trailing Duke’s Devon Edwards (327) and Wake Forest’s (322) Ryan Janvion.