UVA Heads to Pitt Saturday in ACC Coastal Clash

Oct. 23, 2017

Virginia Continues ACC play at Pitt
– Virginia returns to the road on Saturday when the Cavaliers travel to Heniz Field to take on the Pitt Panthers. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. and the game will be televised by regional sports networks, which will be NBC Sports Washington in the Commonwealth of Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

Virginia AT NFL Stadiums
– Virginia is 10-18 all-time in stadiums that at the time of the contest were active NFL stadiums.
– Seven of the 14 NFL stadiums UVA has played in are still active today.
– Since UVA’s 28-21 win at Miami in 2011, the Cavaliers have lost their last five games in NFL stadiums, including twice at Pitt (Heinz Field) and twice at Miami (Hard Rock Stadium). The streak started in the 2011 Chick-fil-A Bowl (Georgia Dome).
– Virginia also plays at the Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium this season, when the Cavaliers play the Miami Hurricanes on Nov. 18.

Five Top Storylines
– The series between UVA and Pitt began in 1953, but until the Panthers joined the ACC in 2013, these two teams only met twice in the regular season between 1956 and 2012.
– FS Quin Blanding needs four tackles to pass Jamie Sharper and become UVA’s all-time career leader in that category. He needs 35 tackles to pass UNC’s Dexter Reid (2000-03) for the most career tackles in ACC history by a defensive back.
– WR Doni Dowling needs to two receptions to become the 22nd player in Virginia history with 100 career receptions.
– With 338 career tackles, ILB Micah Kiser ranks No. 13 all-time at Virginia in career tackles. He is four tackles away from No. 12 Athony Poindexter and 16 away from entering the Top 10, where Stuart Anderson sits with 354 career stops.
– UVA has started off 2-0 on the road for the first time since the 2000 season when the Cavaliers won road games at Duke and Wake Forest. The last time UVA started a season 3-0 on the road it was 1992 with wins at Navy, Duke and Wake Forest.

The Series vs. The Panthers
– Pittsburgh leads the all-time series by a 6-3 margin.
– Between 1956 and 2012 UVA and Pitt only met twice in the regular season and once in a bowl game. Once Pitt joined the ACC in 2013, the two programs have met every season as members of the ACC Coastal Division.
– Until UVA’s 44-14 win in the 2007 Scott Stadium meeting, Pittsburgh had won all three regular-season meetings. The Panthers won 26-0 in Charlottesville in 1953, 18-7 in Pittsburgh in 1955 and 38-13 in Pittsburgh in 2006.
– Virginia’s 23-16 win over Pittsburgh in the 2003 Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., was one of the most closely contested game of the series.
– UVA’s Tony Franklin played a big role on defense in the bowl game to end Larry Fitzgerald’s 18-game streak with a touchdown reception.
– The teams seesawed back and forth in the first half with Virginia holding a 17-13 lead at halftime. The second half featured only field goals in UVA’s seven-point win. Matt Schaub closed his stellar career by capturing MVPÃÆ’¢Ãƒ¢’¬Ãƒâ€¹Ã¢â’¬ honors after passing for 244 yards. Former Pittsburgh Steeler tight end Heath Miller had a big day for UVA with four receptions for 84 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown reception from Schaub late in the first quarter for the game’s first score.

More on the Pitt Series During the Lean 1950’s
– The 26-0 loss in 1953 remains one of the worst offensive performances in the modern era of UVA football. The Cavaliers recorded three first downs, an all-time low, and had just 43 yards of total offense, their second-lowest modern-day total.
– Pittsburgh scored on its first possession 5:52 into the contest and scored in every quarter to win.
– In 1955, UVA ended more than 80 scoreless minutes against Pitt when halfback Ralph Kneeland scored UVA’s first touchdown in the series on an eight-yard run at the 9:39 mark of the second quarter. That score gave UVA a brief 7-6 lead, but Pitt halfback Lou Cimarolli scored the game-winner on a 32-yard dash midway through the third quarter.