UVA and Indiana Meet Saturday at Scott Stadium

Sept. 4, 2017

Military Appreciation Day at Scott Stadium
– The University of Virginia welcomes the Indiana Hoosiers to Charlottesville on Saturday for Military Appreciation Day.
– The National Anthem will be performed by the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Band (TRADOC) Herald Trumpets from Fort Eustis, Va.
– The flag will be unfurled by Virginia’s ROTC units
– There will be several veteran recognitions to highlight the service of individuals from World War II, Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
– Army cadet recognition for recent Air Assault and Airborne School.
– Red, white and blue ribbons will be painted on the field.
– Fans can sign banners inside the West and East gates that will be sent to troops.
– There are discounted tickets available for active duty and retired military personnel.

Virginia vs. Indiana
– Virginia leads the all-time series with Indiana, 2-0.
– UVA defeated the Hoosiers at Scott Stadium by 40 points in 2009, 47-7. In UVA’s return trip to Bloomington in 2011 it took a Robert Randolph 23-yard field goal as time expired to escape with a 34-31 triumph.
– Randolph’s game-winning field goal is one of two all-time game-winning field goals for the Cavaliers that came as time expired. Jake McInerney’s 37-yard field goal against Louisville in 1989 is the other.

Five Top Storylines
– Saturday’s game serves as UVA’s seventh all-time contest against a school from the state of Indiana. The Cavaliers own a 3-3 record against the state. Indiana (2-0), Purdue (1-1) and Notre Dame (0-2).
– Saturday marks only the fifth time an active member of the Big Ten has visited Charlottesville. Indiana’s previous visit in 2009 is one of the games, while Penn State’s visits in 2001 and 2012 are two others. Chicago’s 1939 visit was the first. UVA is 3-1 all-time against the Big Ten at Scott Stadium. See more on UVA vs. the Big Ten on page No. 4.
– OLB Malcolm Cook made his first collegiate start last Saturday against William & Mary and led the Cavaliers with a career-high 13 tackles. He also made his first career sack. Cook missed most of 2014 and 2015 with injuries and all of 2016 with a medical condition. In six previous career games he made four combined tackles, mostly on special teams.
– FS Quin Blanding was second on the team with 12 tackles against William & Mary. Of Blanding’s 37 career games, he has 19 contests in which he has reached double digits in tackles. For his career, Blanding is averaging 10 tackles per game.
– QB Kurt Benkert has started 11 career games for the Cavaliers and in five of those starts he has thrown for at least three touchdowns.

Virginia Vs. The Big Ten
– In all-time meetings with schools currently in the Big Ten, UVA is 41-57-2.
– Seventy eight of those meetings came against
Maryland (32-44-2), a former ACC rival.
– Saturday’s game is only the 17th time UVA has faced an active member of the Big Ten. UVA is 7-9 in those games.
– Virginia’s wins over the Big Ten include a 47-0 triumph over the University of Chicago in 1939 (Chicago left the conference a year later). It was UVA’s first Big Ten win.
– Virginia is 1-0 vs. Chicago and Minnesota, 2-0 vs. Indiana, 2-1 vs. Penn State (Big Ten member only), 1-1 vs. Purdue, 0-3 vs. Michigan, 0-2 vs. Illinois, 0-1 vs. Ohio State and Wisconsin.
– UVA has a four-game winning streak against the Big Ten, dating back to a 34-31 Music City Bowl win over Minnesota. Wins over Indiana in 2009 and 2011, followed by a 2012 win over Penn State round out the current streak.
– There are more Big Ten games on the horizon for UVA: Virginia returns the trip to Bloomington on Sept. 8, 2018 to face Indiana.
– UVA has a future series slated with Illinois, starting in Charlottesville on Sept. 11, 2021 and Champaign on Sept. 10, 2022.
– The Cavaliers will renew their old ACC rivalry with Maryland, starting in College Park on Sept. 16, 2023. The Terps will return the visit on Sept. 14, 2024 at Scott Stadium.

More on the UVA-IU Series
– Indiana is playing only its second game all-time in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its first trip to Scott Stadium in 2009 was the first.
– In UVA’s 47-7 triumph in the 2009 meeting, the Cavaliers were led by Jameel Sewell, who was 20-of-30 passing for 308 yards and one score. He also rushed for 29 yards and another score.
– Mikell Simpson led UVA with four rushing touchdowns on 15 carries and 83 rushing yards.
– Eight Cavaliers made receptions, led by Vic Hall’s six for 85 yards and a score.
– Ras-I Dowling made nine tackles, one interception and one sack to lead the UVA defense.
– Rodney McLeod picked up one fumble and returned it 32 yards, setting up UVA’s first score of the game, a five-yard rushing touchdown by Simpson

UVA wins opener over William & Mary
– Virginia’s 28-10 win over William & Mary is the first season-opening win since 2013 when the Cavaliers defeated BYU, 19-16, at Scott Stadium.
– That BYU team was coached by current UVA head coach Bronco Mendenhall.

Ten True Freshmen Debut in Opener
– Ten true freshmen made their collegiate debut against William & Mary on Sept. 2. Mandy Alonso (DL), Lamont Atkins (TB), Joey Blount (FS), Germane Crowell (CB), Brian Delaney (PK), Matt Gahm (LB), Terrell Jana (WR), PK Kier (TB), A.J. Mejia (PK) and Jamari Peacock (FB) all made their collegiate debuts against the Tribe.
– In the 2016 season-opening game against Richmond, only five true freshmen played for UVA.
– Six redshirt freshmen also made their collegiate debut against William & Mary. Dillon Reinkensmeyer (OT), Brenton Nelson (CB), DeVante Cross (WR), Nick Grant (CB) Nash Griffin (Holder) and Ben Knutson (OG) also made their collegiate debuts against the Tribe.
– Additionally, sophomore walk-on linebacker Reed Kellam and junior punter Lester Coleman also made their collegiate debut against William & Mary.

Noting First Career Starts in 2017
– Six Cavaliers made their first career starts against William & Mary on Sept. 2.
– First time starters on offense vs. William & Mary: Jordan Ellis (TB), Ben Hogg (WR), John Montelus (OG) and Dillon Reinkensmeyer (OT).
– First time starters on defense vs. William & Mary: Malcolm Cook (OLB) and Brenton Nelson (CB).

UVA was +16 in Field possession against William & Mary
– UVA was +16 in the field possession battle with the Tribe. UVA’s average starting field possession was on its own 37-yard line.
– It was UVA’s best advantage in field possession since being +24 against then-No. 21 Louisville in 2014.

Chris Moore Has shined over the last two games
– OLB/DB Chris Moore appeared in 11 games for UVA in 2016, but really saw a lot of playing time in the finale against Virginia Tech, making a career-high eight tackles on defense.
– Moore made five stops in the 2017 season-opener against William & Mary, giving the sophomore 13 tackles over UVA’s last two games.

Reinkensmeyer starts opener at left tackle
– Dillon Reinkensmeyer is the first freshman, true or redshirt, to start a season-opening game on the offensive line for UVA since R-Fr. Will Barker started at RT in 2006 vs. Pitt.
– Reinkensmeyer is the first freshman, redshirt or true, to start a season-opening game at LT since D’Brickashaw Ferguson (true freshman) in 2002 vs. Colorado State.

Levrone Finds Endzone against William & Mary
– WR Andre Levrone’s 34-yard touchdown reception against the Tribe was his first score since Nov. 8, 2014, when he made a tremendous scoring grab at then-No. 2 Florida State.
– Levrone missed 11 games in 2015 due to injury and was slowed at the start of 2016 with another injury.

Former Walk-on Ben Hogg gets first collegiate reception
– WR Ben Hogg, a former walk-on, made his first collegiate catch in UVA’s opener against William & Mary.
– The reception came on UVA’s first offensive snap, in what was Hogg’s first career start.
– Hogg was awarded a scholarship on the eve of the 2016 season. He went on to appear in nine games that season.
– Hogg walked-on to UVA in 2014 after earning first-team VHSL all-state honors at Brookville High School in Lynchburg, Va., where he caught 63 passes for 1,078 yards and nine scores as a senior.