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UVA Back in Action After Bye Week
• Virginia returns to home for its first ACC Coastal matchup of 2018 as the Miami Hurricanes come to Scott Stadium.
• UVA is 28-31 all-time when coming off a bye week and 1-1 under head coach Bronco Mendenhall, defeating Duke (28-21) in 2017.
• The game will be televised live on ESPN2 and kick is set for 7 p.m.
It is Homecomings in Charlottesville
• Saturday is Homecomings at UVA and the Cavaliers own a 46-45-2 (.505) all-time Homecomings record.
• UVA’s last win on Homecomings was in 2015 when the
Cavaliers defeated Syracuse, 44-38, in three overtimes.
Virginia vs. Miami
• This is the 16th meeting between the Coastal Division rivals. With UVA winning four of the last eight
meetings, Miami leads the series by three games, 9-6.
• Miami won the first three games in the series (1996, 2004, 2005), but it’s been a 6-6 draw since.
• Since the Hurricanes’ arrival in the Atlantic Coast Conference (2004), Miami leads the series narrowly, 8-6.
Five Top Storylines
• Saturday is the earliest date on the schedule that UVA has ever played Miami and is only the third time the game has been contested in the month of October. UVA is 2-0 against Miami in the 10th month of the year, winning in 2010 (Oct. 30) at Scott Stadium, 24-19, and in 2011 (Oct. 27) on a Thursday night at current Hard Rock Stadium, 28-21.
• Since ACC Divisional play began in 2005, this marks the first season UVA has not played an ACC Coastal team in either of its first two conference games. UVA started the ACC slate with games against Louisville and NC State from the Atlantic Division.
• Virginia has rushed for 959 yards through its first five games of 2018. It’s only the third time since 2000 the Cavaliers have rushed for at least 900 yards through their first five games. The only year UVA rushed for more than this year’s squad during that spand was the 2004 season (1,375).
• HB Olamide Zaccheaus is the only active player in the nation with at least 2,000 career receiving yards (2,196) and 450 career rushing yards (490). There is no other active player that even has 1,500 career receiving yards and 450 career rushing yards.
• QB Bryce Perkinsis one of 10 FBS quarterbacks since 2000 to record 1,100+ passing yards, 340+ rushing yards, 11+ passing touchdowns and 3+ rushing touchdowns through the first five games of the season. A complete list is on page six.
More on the UVA-Miami Series
• The first match-up occurred in the 1996 Carquest Bowl at then-Joe Robbie Stadium, a 31-21 victory by Miami.
• That game was the final collegiate action for several notable Cavaliers, including Tiki and Ronde Barber, James Farrior, Jon Harris and Jamie Sharper.
• In addition to this Cavalier quintet, the game featured a large number of future pros.
• Of the 44 starters in the game, 20 were drafted by NFL teams (11 UVA, 9 Miami). The group of NFL draftees included nine first-round picks. Twenty-one Cavaliers and 22 Hurricanes went on to play in the NFL.
• Saturday is the fifth time UVA and Miami have played a night game. UVA is 3-1 all-time against Miami when playing at night. UVA closed Miami’s tenure at the Orange Bowl with a 48-0 win in 2007, followed by a Thursday Night win at Hard Rock Stadium in 2011, defeating the Hurricanes 28-21. Most recently, UVA defeated Miami in a Saturday night game in 2014 at Scott Stadium, 30-13. The 2014 game is UVA’s last in the series. The lone loss came in the 1996 Carquest Bowl (31-21).
UVA First School to Accomplish This Florida Feat
• UVA’s trip to then-Sun Life Stadium in 2011 resulted in the Cavaliers’ 28-21 victory. The win set the table for Virginia to become the first program in college football history to win road games at Miami and Florida State in the same season. UVA later won in 2011 at then-No. 23 FSU, 14-13.
• UVA was the only team in college football history to accomplish the feat until North Carolina did so in 2016.
• Florida State and Miami have brought eight combined national titles to the Sunshine State.
Last-Second Heroics in 2012
•The 2012 game at Scott Stadium saw last-second heroics by the Cavaliers.
• Michael Rocco tossed a 10-yard pass to Jake McGee in the back of the end zone with six seconds left to beat Miami, 41-40 at Scott Stadium. The touchdown capped a 10-point, fourth quarter comeback.
• Rocco was 29-of-37 for 300 yards and four touchdowns in the win.
• McGee had four catches for 26 yards including the game-winning score.
• WR Dominique Terrell had a career day in the 2012 meeting with nine catches for 127 yards.
• The victory serves as the most recent UVA “last-minute win,” which means the winning score came with 60 seconds or less remaining in the game.
Virginia Roster Has 13 From Florida
• Virginia’s roster boasts 13 players from the Sunshine State.
•DE Mandy Alonso (Miami), OT Marcus Applefield (Weeki Wachee), WR Shane Eilers (Tampa), QB Tristan Hillerich (Sarasota), WR Tavares Kelly (Fort Lauderdale), S Brenton Nelson (Miami), FB Jamari Peacock (Yulee), NT Jordan Redmond (Kissimmee), ILB Dominic Sheppard (Miami), TE Ryan Swoboda (Windermere), WR Wooby Theork-Youmans (Naples), Martin Weisz (West Palm Beach) and Andrew Yavinsky (West Palm Beach).
Virginia – Miami Connections
• UVA’s defensive back Brenton Nelson was born in Miami and played three seasons at Winter Springs High School near Orlando before his family moved to Maryland and he enrolled at DeMatha.
• UVA’s Tavares Kelly attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), as did Miami’s Mike Harley, Al Blades, Jr., and Michael Irvin, II. The NFL announced that St. Thomas Aquinas High School had the most alums on NFL rosters entering the 2018 season with 15.
Zaccheaus Collecting 100-yard Receiving Games in 2018
• HB Olamide Zaccheaus has three 100-yard+ receiving games in 2018 through the first five games of the season.
• Zaccheaus and WR Kris Burd in 2010 are the only Cavaliers to record at least three 100+-yard receiving games in the first five games of a season.
• With six career 100+-yard receiving games, Zaccheaus is tied with Terrence Wilkins for No. 6 all-time on the UVA career ledger.
Zaccheaus Most UVA Receiving Yards Through Five Games
• HB Olamide Zaccheaus has 501 receiving yards through the first five games of the season, making the senior the first Cavalier to record over 500 receiving yards through the first five games of the season.
• Until 2018, Billy McMullen’s 466 receiving yards through the first five games of 2001 used to be the most by a Cavalier.
Cavaliers Strong on Third Down Through Five Games
• Through five games, Virginia has done well when it’s faced a third down situation of 10 yards or less. UVA is 33-of-54 (61.1) on third downs where it needs 10 yards or fewer for a first down.
• UVA is 20-of-26 (76.9) on third downs where it needs five yards or fewer for a first down.
• Overall, UVA is 36-of-71 (50.7 percent) on third downs, which is No. 2 in the ACC and No. 10 nationally.