Virginia Opens Season With 43-0 Win Over William & Mary

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Brennan Armstrong threw for two touchdowns and rushed for two more as Virginia (1-0) shut out William & Mary (0-1) 43-0 at Scott Stadium on Saturday night (Sept. 4) in the season opener for both teams.

Virginia amassed 545 yards of offense while limiting the Tribe to 183 yards in the victory. Armstrong passed for 336 yards on the night. It was the first opening-day shutout for Virginia since the 2003 season and the Cavaliers posted seven tackles for loss, including a third-quarter safety in the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After a first-quarter field goal, the Cavaliers scored a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter – including a five-yard pass from Armstrong to Ra’shaun Henry with 32 seconds left in the half to take a 17-0 lead at the break. A 65-yard pass from Armstrong to Demick Starling put Virginia on top by 24 as the Cavaliers would add 26 points in the second half for the 43-0 victory.

STAT LEADERS
QB Brennan Armstrong
• Passing: 20-30, 336 yards, 2 TD
• Rushing:  0, 2 TD

WR Dontayvion Hicks
• 4 receptions, 94 yards

LB Nick Jackson
• 12 tackles (4 solo, 8 assisted), 2 QBH

NOTES
• UVA is 66-53-1 in night games and 42-18-1 at Scott Stadium at night.
• Virginia has now won eight-straight night games
• The Cavaliers improve to 84-39-9 all-time in season openers
• Under Bronco Mendenhall, Virginia has won five of six season openers
• Billy Kemp had four receptions against W&M and now has 106 for his career, the 20th most in UVA history and one shy of Patrick Jeffers who sits at No. 19
• Kemp’s career-high, 55-yard punt return in the first quarter setup the game’s only points in the first quarter, a field goal by Justin Duenkel.
• Virginia’s last shutout in a season opener came on August 30, 2003, a 27-0 blanking of Duke
• Virginia is 31-6-1 against W&M and has won five-straight meetings
• Saturday’s shutout was the 13^thagainst William & Mary in 39 all-time games. The last time the Cavaliers shutout the Tribe was in 1951, a 46-0 victory in Charlottesville.
• It marked the first time William & Mary was shutout since September 29, 2018 (23-0 against Colgate).
• Quarterback Brennan Armstrong passed for 336 yards, his second 300-yard passing game of his career
• The Cavalier offense amassed 500 yards of total offense for the third-straight home game. The Cavaliers compiled 549 against Boston College in last year’s home finale.
• Armstrong scored Virginia’s first touchdown of the season, a two-yard rush in the second quarter. The signal caller also scored the first of the year last year, a four-yard score against Duke.
• UVA has now wone nine-straight games against non-conference opponents at Scott Stadium.

UP NEXT
Virginia continues to play at home next weekend, hosting Illinois on Saturday, September 11. Kick against the Illini is set for 11 a.m. on ACC Network.