Virginia Hosts Illinois on Saturday Morning

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (1-0) will host Illinois (1-1) at Scott Stadium for the first time on Saturday (Sept. 11). Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. and the game will air live on ACC Network.

Game Coverage: Information on providers of the ACC Network can be found on GetACCN.com. The game is also available to ACC Network subscribers via the ESPN App and ESPN.com. The contest can be heard on Virginia Sports Radio Networks around the commonwealth and live on VirginiaSports.com. A list of stations can be found here. Fans can follow along via live stats and the Virginia Mobile app and get in-game updates on the team’s official twitter account, @UVAFootball.

OPENING KICK

• Virginia will square off against a Big Ten foe for the first time since 2017 & 2018 when it played Indiana in a home and home series.
• UVA has won nine-straight games against non-conference opponents at Scott Stadium. UVA is 10-2 under Mendenhall against non-ACC foes.
• Fans returned to Scott Stadium last Saturday for the first time since the regular season finale against Virginia Tech in 2019, a span of 645 days. In 2020, the attendance totaled 4,500 people over six home games due to COVID-19 restrictions. A total of 42,982 attended the home opener against William & Mary.
• Virginia will kick-off pre-noon at Scott Stadium for the first time on Saturday. The last time UVA played at 11 a.m. EST. was the 2003 Continental Tire Bowl where the contest kicked at 11 a.m. in Charlotte. The Cavaliers defeated Pitt, 23-16.

AGAINST ILLINOIS

• Saturday will mark the first meeting between Illinois and Virginia in the regular season. The two previous meetings have both occurred in bowl games, the 1990 Florida Citrus Bowl and the 1999 Micronpc.com Bowl.
• In the Citrus Bowl, the Cavaliers were ranked No. 15 in the country while Illinois checked in at No. 11.
• The Fighting Illini scored 63 points against the Cavaliers in the Micronpc Bowl, the most by a UVA opponent in a bowl game.
• Virginia will also play Illinois in week two of the 2022 season, the program’s first trip to Champaign.

AGAINST THE BIG TEN

• In all-time meetings with schools currently in the Big Ten, UVA is 41-59-2. The Cavaliers have played eight of the 14 current members of the league.
• Seventy-eight of those meetings came against Maryland (32-44-2), a former ACC rival.
• Saturday’s game is only the 19th time UVA has faced an active member of the Big Ten. UVA is 7-11 in those games.
• Virginia’s wins over the Big Ten include a 47-0 triumph over the University of Chicago in 1939 (Chicago left the conference a year later). It was UVA’s first Big Ten win.
• Virginia is 1-0 vs. Chicago and Minnesota, 2-2 vs. Indiana, 2-1 vs. Penn State (Big Ten member only), 1-1 vs. Purdue, 0-3 vs. Michigan, 0-2 vs. Illinois, 0-1 vs. Ohio State and Wisconsin.
• UVA’s four-game winning streak against the Big Ten, dating back to the 2005 Music City Bowl, was snapped when Indiana beat UVA, 34-17, at Scott Stadium in 2017. The streak started with a 34-31 Music City Bowl win over Minnesota and included wins over Indiana in 2009 and 2011, followed by a 2012 win over Penn State.
• The Cavaliers will renew their old ACC rivalry with Maryland, starting in College Park on Sept. 16, 2023. The Terps will return the visit on Sept. 14, 2024 at Scott Stadium.

STARTING IT OFF RIGHT

• Virginia won its fifth-straight season opener with a 43-0 shutout of William & Mary last Saturday. It marked the first shutout in a season-opening game since blanking Duke 27-0 to begin the 2003 campaign. The shutout was the first since the 28-0 Belk Bowl victory over South Carolina.
• The Cavaliers amassed 500 yards of total offense for the third-straight home game. The Cavaliers compiled 518 yards against Abilene Christian on Nov. 21 and 549 against Boston College in last year’s home finale.
• On the defensive side of the ball, Virginia limited William & Mary to 183 yards (89 passing and 94 rushing). It was the lowest by a UVA defense since holding the tribe to 193 yards in 2019.
• The last time UVA recorded five-straight season-opening wins was 1928-1932.

THE THIRD SIDE

• Virginia’s special teams was nearly flawless in week one against William & Mary. It began with a career-high 55-yard punt return by Billy Kemp that led to Virginia’s first points of the 2021 season.
• Placekicker Justin Duenkel was successful on both of his field goal attempts, converting from 39 and 25 yards. On his kickoffs, Duenkel had five go for touchbacks in eight kicks. William & Mary averaged just 12.5 yards on its two kickoff returns.
• Nick Grant blocked a William & Mary field goal attempt in the third quarter, the first by a Cavalier since D’Angelo Amos got a hand on an attempt at Miami last season. The Cavaliers are the only ACC team with a blocked field goal and one of 18 in all of college football through the first two weeks.
• To open the second half, returner Mike Hollins had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown negated by a penalty marker.
• William & Mary had an errant snap on a punt attempt that resulted in Virginia’s first safety since 2017.

ARMSTRONG’S RECORD SETTING DAY

• UVA quarterback Brennan Armstrong’s 339 yards passing were the most ever by a Virginia quarterback in a season-opening game. The only other two Cavalier passers to throw for 300+ yards on opening day were Michael Rocco (311 yards vs. Richmond in 2012) and Aaron Brooks (305 vs. Auburn in 1997).
• 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.
• The 300-yard effort was the of his career. He is one of 10 quarterbacks in UVA history with multiple 300-yard passing performances. Each of the three starting quarterbacks under Bronco Mendenhall have multiple 300-yard – Bryce Perkins (5) & Kurt Benkert (4).
• The two rushing scores for Armstrong were the sixth and seventh of his UVA career. It was the second time he ran for two touchdowns in one game, the last coming against Louisville on Nov. 11.
• Virginia is 5-0 when Armstrong records a rushing touchdown.
• The signal caller was selected for UVA’s “Break the Rock” ceremony in the locker room after the victory.

2021 CAPTAINS

• Defensive end Mandy Alonso, quarterback Brennan Armstrong, linebacker Nick Jackson and running back Wayne Taulapapa will serve as team captains for the 2021 season.
• Armstrong is a captain for the second-straight season, while Alonso, Jackson and Taulapapa were elected for the first time. Only Micah Kiser (2016 & 2017) and Armstrong have been elected captains twice in Mendenhall’s tenure.
• Including Armstrong, 12 Cavaliers have been named a captain twice since 1960: Perry Jones (2011-12), Vic Hall (2008-09), Chris Long (2006-07), Brennan Schmidt (2004-05), Byron Thweatt (1999-2000), Anthony Poindexter (1997-98), Shawn Moore (1989-90), Roy Brown (1988-89), Sean Scott (1986-87), Louis Martig (1960-61)

HOOS AT SCOTT

• Since 2019, UVA is 13-1 at Scott Stadium. That is the seventh best overall home winning percentage in college football over the past two seasons and UVA’s 17-2 home record since 2018 ranks No. 2 among all ACC teams.
• Against non-conference opponents at Scott Stadium, Virginia is 10-2 under Bronco Mendenhall and has won nine-straight games at home against non-ACC foes.
• Since 2018 season, Virginia is 18-2 at home. Last year’s loss against NC State in Charlottesville snapped a nine-game win streak at home, the third-longest of the UVA modern era.