Virginia Hosts Duke in Homecomings Game

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (4-2, 2-2 ACC) returns home for the first time since Sept. 24 to host ACC Coastal Division foe, Duke (3-3, 0-2 ACC) on Saturday (Oct. 16) at Scott Stadium. The game will kick at 12:30 and is scheduled to air on ACC Regional Sports Networks.

Game Coverage: Saturday’s game will air live on ACC Regional Sports Networks and locally in Virginia on MASN. A complete list of affiliates carrying the game can be found here. The matchup will be available on the ESPN App/ESPN.com and is subject to blackout. 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 returns home on Saturday for the first time since Sept. 24 and is coming off back-to-back road ACC wins at Miami and Louisville. Virginia won consecutive road ACC contests for the first time since 2011 (d. Miami 28-21; d. Maryland 31-13).
• Dating back to Oct. 31 last season, Virginia has won eight of its last 11 games.
• Saturday will be Virginia’s 96th homecomings game, a tradition that debuted in 1923.
• Virginia has won six-straight meetings against Duke, including a 38-20 season-opening victory last year at Scott Stadium.
• Virginia enters the game as the No. 2 passing offense in the country with 412.8 yards per game. Duke comes to Charlottesville with the ACC’s second-best rushing offense (218.3 yards per game).
• Duke will be the first of four Coastal Division foes Virginia will face to close out its ACC slate. Three of the four matchups are at Scott Stadium.

AGAINST DUKE

• Virginia and Duke have met every year since 1963. UVA leads the all-time series with Duke, 39-33.
• Since 2000, Virginia is 15-6 against Duke with win streaks of eight and six games.
• Virginia hosts Duke for the third-straight season. UVA has never hosted an ACC team three-straight seasons since the formation of the league in 1953.
• During UVA’s current six-game winning streak, Duke has committed 26 turnovers to Virginia’s ten. Nine of those 18 turnovers were interceptions thrown by current New York Giants’ quarterback Daniel Jones. Nine of his 29 career interceptions thrown at Duke came against the Cavaliers.
• At one time Duke had a 12-game advantage in the series, but by winning 28 of the last 38 meetings since 1982, UVA now leads the all-time series by six wins over the Blue Devils.
• Virginia has played 72 games vs. Duke – fifth most among all UVA opponents (UNC, VT, VMI, MD).

HOMECOMINGS NOTES

• Last year was only the third time (1942, 1944) since 1923 that UVA did not have a homecomings game.
• Virginia has won its last two homecomings matchups (2018 d. Miami 16-13; 2019 d. Georgia Tech 33-28).
• The Cavaliers have squared off against Duke seven times in homecomings games and are 4-3 in those meetings.
• UVA has won four-straight homecomings games against Duke including a 38-7 victory in the last homecomings meeting back 2005.
• Virginia held off Georgia Tech, 33-28 in 2019 behind 258 yards passing and 106 yards rushing from quarterback Bryce Perkins to go along with two touchdowns.

ROAD WARRIORS

• Virginia has won its last two games on the final play of the game. As time expired, Miami a missed 33-yard field goal on Sept. 30 and Louisville was wide left on a 49-yard field goal try on Oct. 9.
• Against Miami, Virginia snapped a five-game road losing streak and recorded its first win since Nov. 2, 2019 at North Carolina.
• The win at Hard Rock Stadium was the first since 2011 and the first in the last seven games at the facility.
• Virginia had previously been 0-4 in Louisville before the 34-33 win on Oct. 16.
• The back-to-back road victories were the first since 2017 (Boise State/UNC) and back-to back road ACC wins were the first since 2011 (Miami/Maryland).

COMEBACK CAVALIERS

• Virginia erased a 17-point fourth quarter deficit against Louisville, outscoring the Cardinals 21-3 in the final stanza. The 21 points were the most points in the fourth quarter all season. The Cavaliers scored 21 points in a quarter one other time this season, the second quarter against North Carolina.
• The last time Virginia scored 21 points in the fourth quarter was the 2020 season opener against Duke, all coming unanswered in a 38-20 victory.
• The game-winning touchdown against Louisville was caught by Grant Misch from a yard out with 22 seconds remaining, only his fourth career catch, two of which have been TD receptions.
• The game-winning score in the final minute was the first by UVA since 2012 when Michael Rocco connected with Jake McGee with six seconds remaining for a 10-yard score to top Miami, 41-40.
• The 17-point fourth quarter UVA comeback victory was the largest since overcoming a 10-point deficit against Syracuse in 2015.
• The 17-point deficit after three quarters was tied for the third largest ever by a winning ACC team (South Carolina down 24 at UNC in 1968; NC State down 20 vs. Maryland 2011; Wake Forest down 17 at UNC in 2001).

STATISTICAL JUGGERNAUT

• Quarterback Brennan Armstrong comes into the weekend as the nation’s leader in passing yards with 2,460. The total is already the 12th most in a single season through just six games.
• Armstrong has four games this season in which he totaled 400 or more yards passing, the most in school history. Prior to this season, a UVA quarterback had eclipsed the 400-yard mark three times.
• He ranks in the top-10 in the Nation in passing yards per game (2nd – 410), total offense (2nd – 417.3), completions per game (3rd – 30.3) passing touchdowns (7th – 17) and points responsible for (8th – 116).
• Of the 20 top passing performances in terms of yardage across FBS, Armstrong has four of them. Tops on the list is his school-record, 554-yard game against North Carolina.
• On the receiving end, Virginia has four players in the top-66 in receiving yards, including Dontayvion Wicks who ranks 10th overall with 554 yards receiving. UVA is the only school to have four receivers in the top 66.

KEMP CLOSING IN ON TOP-5 AT UVA

• Wide receiver Billy Kemp IV led the Cavaliers with nine catches against Miami, one shy of his career high. It marked the sixth time in his career he had nine or more catches in a game.
• Going into Saturday, Kemp has 144 career catches, tied with Heath Miller (2002-04) for the sixth most ever by a UVA receiver. Of the 15 wide receivers inside the top 20 on UVA’s career receptions list, nine have played for wide receivers coach Marques Hagans.
• Kemp has caught a pass in 21-straight games, a streak that dates back to the 2019 season.
• The sure-handed Kemp is also one of the most experienced punt returners in college football, fielding 52 career punts, the seventh most among active FBS players.

Career Receptions at UVA

PLENTIFUL PASS CATCHING OPTIONS

• 15 Cavaliers have caught a pass this season, including quarterback Brennan Armstrong who has 18 receiving yards to his name. Six pass catchers have 16 or more receptions this season.,
• To date, Billy Kemp IV, Keytaon Thompson, Dontayvion Wicks, Ra’Shaun Henry and Mike Hollins have a reception in each game this season.
• Wicks has emerged as Virginia’s top receiver with 25 receptions for 554 yards. His 92.3 receiving yards per game are third best in the ACC and his five touchdowns are tied for fourth most in the league. Wicks caught all five touchdowns in a four-week span beginning with two against Illinois.
• The Cavaliers have had two players with 100 yards receiving in the same game twice this season. Wicks (183) and Kemp (104) each eclipsed 100 against North Carolina while Thompson (149) and Henry (179) went over 100 against Louisville. Adding tight end Jelani Woods (122 vs. Illinois), five different Cavaliers have put together 100-yard receiving performances.
• Jelani Woods has a touchdown in all but one of the games he played this season. He had caught four scores in three seasons against Oklahoma State and has four in five games at UVA.
• Four Cavalier receivers rank in the ACC’s top 10 in receiving yards through six games – Dontayvion Wicks (2nd – 554 yards), Keytaon Thompson (7th – 436), Henry (9th – 412) and Billy Kemp (10th – 409)
• Armstrong has spread the ball around, at least nine different receivers have caught a pass in five of the first six games this season including a season-high 11 against North Carolina.

Number of Receivers to Catch a Pass
William & Mary – 9
Illinois – 10
North Carolina – 11
Wake Forest – 9
Miami – 7
Louisville – 10

NOTING THE DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS

• The Virginia defense features two of the top six tacklers in the ACC, Nick Jackson (6th – 8.83 TPG) and Joey Blount (T-3rd – 9.0 TPG). Jackson, a preseason All-ACC selection, has made 53 stops in six games and Blount has 45 tackles in five games. Blount’s 30 solo tackles are tied for the second most in the ACC.
• The Cavalier defense clamped down in the fourth quarter limiting Louisville to 17 plays on four drives including a pair of three-and-outs.
• Coen King halted a Cardinal scoring opportunity on the Virginia side of the field, forcing and then recovering a fumble in the second quarter. The forced fumble and recovery were career firsts.
• Against Miami, Virginia had season-high four sacks. The Cavaliers are 3-0 this season when recording multiple sacks in a game.
• Virginia possessed the ball for 33:42, the second highest total of the season. UVA is 15-3 when possessing the ball for 34 minutes or more under Bronco Mendenhall.
• Since taking over for an injured Justin Duenkel, specialist Brendan Farrell has been a perfect 7-for-7 on extra point tries and 4-for-5 on field goal attempts with a long of 43. His only miss was from 55 against Louisville, a yard shy of a would be program record.
• Punter Jacob Finn pinned the Cardinals to the 15-yard line after the offense’s only 3 and out of the fourth quarter with 5:26 remaining in the game. Finn has seven punts of 50 yards or more, five of them coming in the last two games.