UVA Hosts No. 24 VT on Friday in Regular Season Finale

Nov. 20, 2017

Commonwealth Cup Up for Grabs Friday
– Virginia and Virginia Tech will play a nationally-televised game on Friday night on ESPN.
– The winner of this game claims the Commonwealth Cup for the next year.
– The award was started for the 1996 game between the two state foes, with the Hokies receiving the trophy for the first time with a 26-9 win.
– The Cup is made of marble and cherry wood, stands four feet high and weighs more than 100 pounds.
– The scores of all 98 games in the rivalry are engraved on the sides of the trophy.

Five Top Storylines
– Virginia and Virginia Tech are meeting for the 99th time in series history and for the 23rd time in the last 26 years in the regular season finale for both teams. UNC (122) is the only team the Cavaliers have played more times than the Hokies.
– The season finale against the Hokies is the second of two this season where the Cavaliers will play on a Friday. UVA played at Boise State on Sept. 22, marking the first time in program history UVA has two Friday games in the same season.
– Olamide Zaccheaus (794), Doni Dowling (614) and Andre Levrone (603) are the first UVA receiving trio to have 600 or more receiving yards in the same season. The 2011 season is the only time in program history three Cavaliers even had 500 or more receiving yards in the same season.
– ILB Micah Kiser (115) and FS Quin Blanding (104) are the only `Power 5′ teammates in the nation to each have at least 100 tackles. Wyoming also has two players with 100+ tackles. UVA is the only school with three players in the Top 150 in tackles as ILB Jordan Mack is No. 7 in the ACC and No. 50 in the nation with 92 stops.
– QB Kurt Benkert needs 101 passing yards to surpass Matt Schaub (2,976, 2002) for a Virginia single-season record for passing yards.

Commonwealth Clash Point On the Line
– The Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529 is a head-to-head, points-based competition between the athletic teams at University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. The Commonwealth Clash encourages a friendly, statewide rivalry between the two schools across all school-sponsored sports with 21 individual event points on the line. The school that accumulates 11 points or more will be crowned the winner and take home the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash trophy. Visit www.TheCommonwealthClash.com for more information and updated standings.
– There is one point at stake on Friday in the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash, one point for the football game.

Benkert Has Strong Outing at No. 2 Miami
– QB Kurt Benkert completed 28-of-37 passes for 384 yards and four touchdowns at No. 2 Miami last time out.
– That was the most passing yards against Miami this season and the most passing TDs vs. the Hurricanes this year.
– In the first half, he completed his first 12 passes and finished the first half completing 17 of 18 throws for 262 yards and three scores. UVA led the third-ranked Hurricanes 21-14 at the half. He had TD passes of 33, 75, 33 and 26 yards.
– The 75-yard pass was the longest scoring play against Miami this season.
– Entering the game, Miami’s defense had held opponents to an average of 192.6 passing yards per game and just nine passing TDs in its previous nine games.
– Benkurt’s passing total ties for the seventh most by an ACC QB this season.
– His 455 passing yards against UConn is the second most by an ACC QB this season.

Virginia Has Three Receivers with 600+ Receiving Yards
– For the first time in program history, UVA has three receivers with 600+ receiving yards in the same season.
– Olamide Zaccheaus (794), Doni Dowling (614) and Andre Levrone (603) all have over 600 yards receiving in 2017.
– The 2011 season (Kris Burd, Perry Jones, Tim Smith) was the only year UVA has ever had three players with at least 500 yards receiving in the same season.
– The 2010 season (Kris Burd, Dontrelle Inman) and the 2015 season (Canaan Severin, Taquan Mizzell) are the only years UVA has had at least two players with 700 yards receiving. With two games to play, UVA has a chance to equal or surpass that number.

Levrone’s Long Touchdowns
– Senior WR Andre Levrone has seven touchdown catches for 295 yards, or 42.14 yards per scoring reception.
– Overall, Levrone is No. 2 in the ACC and No. 8 in the nation with 20.79 yards per reception.
– Levrone has 12 receptions of 20 yards or more, the most by a Cavalier since Canaan Severin had 13 in 2015. Severin had 14 receptions of 20 yards or more in 2014, while Darius Jennings had 13 in 2014.

Goal-2-Go Has been UVA’s specialty
– Outside of two turnovers on downs at Pitt, UVA is 14-of-14 on scoring when they are goal-to-go.
– UVA has scored 11 touchdowns (7 rush, 4 pass) and three field goals when in a goal-to-go situation.