UVA and Duke Set for a Tobacco Road Clash on Saturday

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UVA and Duke set for a Tabacco road Clash 
• Virginia returns to the road on Saturday when the Cavaliers head to Durham, N.C., to face the Duke Blue Devils. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on the ACC’s regional sports networks.
• In the Commonwealth of Virginia, the state of Maryland and Washington, D.C., the game will air on NBC Sports Washington.

Virginia vs. Duke
• Virginia leads the series with Duke by a narrow 36-33 margin.
• Virginia’s 42-34 victory over Duke at Scott Stadium in 2015 snapped a three-game winning streak in the series by the Blue Devils and commenced UVA’s current three-game winning streak. UVA’s 34-20 win at Wallace Wade Stadium in 2016 preceded the Cavaliers’ recent 28-21 win in Charlottesville in 2017. 
• After UVA won eight games in a row in the series from 2000-07, Duke has won six of the last 10 meetings.
• At one time Duke had a 12-game advantage in the series, but by winning 25 of the last 35 meetings since 1982, UVA now leads the all-time series by three wins over the Blue Devils.

Five Top Storylines
• Duke is Virginia’s oldest opponent (1890) this season, while North Carolina is the second oldest (1892).
• Duke quarterback Daniel Jones has thrown seven of his 22 career interceptions (31.8 percent) in two career games against Virginia. UVA’s Juan Thornhill has three of those picks, while Bryce Hall owns two. Former UVA All-American Quin Blanding recorded the other two.
• Thornhill was named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week after he made six tackles and two interceptions in UVA’s win over then-No. 16 Miami. His two interceptions were returned for 86 yards, including a career-long 62-yard return that set up UVA’s only touchdown.
• Virginia has rushed for 1,098 yards through its first six games of 2018. It is the most rushing yards through the season’s first six games since the 2013 team rushed for 1,133 yards. 2018 also marks the sixth time since 2000 a UVA team has rushed for at least 1,000 yards through the first six games of the season.
• HB Olamide Zaccheaus is the only active player in the nation with at least 2,000 career receiving yards (2,211) 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.

More on Virginia-Duke Series
•  Duke is Virginia’s oldest opponent (1890) this season; North Carolina is the second oldest (1892).
• Virginia has played 69 games vs. Duke – fifth most among all UVA opponents (UNC, VT, VMI, MD).
• The teams have played every year since 1963.

Offense Typically Excels vs. Blue Devils
• The Cavaliers have put up some impressive offensive performances against Duke in recent games. 
• Virginia has scored at least 30 points in 19 of the last 35 meetings against the Blue Devils and topped 40 points seven times.
• In the last 28 games, UVA has outscored Duke, 836-511 (avg of 29.86-18.25).
• The 2011 meeting between UVA and Duke at Scott Stadium marked one of the Cavaliers’ four UVA victories in the last 10 meetings. UVA scored 17 third-quarter points in the win, including a Chase Minnifield pick-six and a Perry Jones one-yard rushing touchdown.
• In the 2010 meeting at Wallace Wade Stadium in 2010, Virginia’s 48 points were the most scored in a UVA loss and there were 103 combined points between the two teams – at the time it was the second-highest combined total in ACC history.
• Former UVA quarterback Marc Verica set the then-school record for passing yards in a game with 417, which has been surpassed twice by Kurt Benkert. In 2016, Benkert first broke the record with 421 passing yards against Central Michigan and broke his own record in 2017 with 455 passing yards against UConn. 
• The 417 passing yards in the 2010 meeting also stood as a school team record for passing yards until UVA broke the record with 480 team passing yards in the 2012 meeting with Louisiana Tech.
• When Duke came to UVA in 2015, the Cavaliers held on late for a 42-34 triumph.
• Matt Johns passed for a career-high 344 yards and two touchdowns as Virginia held off a late Duke rally to win 42-34.
• Duke rallied from a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit and drove inside the Virginia 20 in the final minute behind a 49-yard pass from backup quarterback Parker Boehme to Anthony Nash. But on fourth down, Wilfred Wahee batted away Boehme’s pass attempt to Nash in the end zone to seal the victory.

Last Time at Wallace Wade – 2016
• Virginia intercepted five passes and forced six turnovers in a 34-20 victory over Duke the last time these two teams met at Wallace Wade Stadium in 2016.
• The five interceptions tied the program record, last accomplished against Miami in 2010.
• Kurt Benkert threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns, finishing 23-of-41 with touchdowns covering 28 yards to David Eldridge, 12 yards to Olamide Zaccheaus and three yards to Richard Burney.
• Albert Reid also had a short TD run to help the Cavaliers snap their 17-game road losing streak.
• Daniel Jones threw five interceptions for Duke, and fumbled in his own end zone with 4:24 left after a hard hit from Jordan Mack. Eli Hanback recovered for the touchdown that put the Cavaliers back up by two touchdowns.

Virginia – Duke Connections
• UVA’s Tavares Kelly attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), as did Duke’s Rocky Shelton II. The NFL announced that St. Thomas Aquinas High School had the most alums on NFL rosters entering the 2018 season with 15.

UVA Defense Holds Miami in Check
• UVA held Miami’s offense to 339 yards of total offense. Miami tallied 100 of those yards on two plays, a 70-yard rush by Travis Homer and a 30-yard reception by Lawrence Cager. 
• The other 54 plays the Miami offense recorded managed only 239 total yards (4.42 YPP).
• UVA also held Miami wide receiver Jeff Thomas in check. Entering the game last Saturday, Thomas was No. 2 in the nation with 24.75 yards per reception. Against UVA, he managed one catch for five yards, while being targeted four times.

Highlights from the Miami Win
• UVA defeated a ranked team for the first time since beating then-No. 21 Louisville in 2014 at Scott Stadium. It was the highest ranked win by UVA since beating then-No. 12 Georgia Tech for Homecomings in 2011.
• It was the first UVA victory over a ranked team under Bronco Mendenhall.
• It was Mendenhall’s first victory over a ranked team since his BYU team beat then-No. 20 Boise State in 2015. 
• UVA has won four of the last five games it has played against Miami at Scott Stadium.
• PK Brian Delaney kicked his first three career field goals, connecting on field goals of 26, 46 and 32 yards.
• Delaney’s 46-yard field goal to end the first half was UVA’s longest since connecting on a 46-yard field goal at Louisville in 2015.
• It was UVA’s first 40+ yard field goal since the 2015 finale against Virginia Tech when Ian Frye connected on two field goals of 42 yards.
• UVA’s 16-play drive that resulted in a 32-yard field goal by Delaney in the fourth quarter is the most plays on a drive this season for the Cavaliers. The drive also lasted 8:35, which is the longest drive of the season for the Cavaliers.

Dubois In Midst of Breakout Season
• WR Hasise Dubois is enjoying a breakout season. He has 26 receptions for 279 yards and two scores. 
• During his first two years on Grounds, he had 24 combined catches for 219 yards and one touchdown.
• He enters Saturday with 50 career receptions for 498 yards and three scores.