Virginia to Host Louisville on Homecomings Saturday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (2-3, 0-2 ACC) returns to action on Saturday (Oct. 8) for its 97th homecomings game and to host Louisville (2-3, 0-3 ACC) at Scott Stadium. Kickoff time is scheduled for noon and the game will be televised on ACC Network as well as the Virginia Sports Radio Network.

GAME COVERAGE: In addition to the linear broadcast on ACC Network, the game can be streamed on ESPN.com and the ESPN app. For more information on the ACC Network visit GetACCN.com. The pregame radio show on the Virginia Sports Radio Network will begin at 11 a.m. Fans can listen to the game on the Virginia Sports App, the TuneIn App and any one of the VSRN affiliates across the commonwealth. For a list of expanded coverage visit: virginiasports.com/radio

INSIDE SATURDAY’S MATCHUP

• Virginia returns home for the first time since Sept. 17 and will play five of the next six games at Scott Stadium.
• Since 2018, Virginia is 23-5 at Scott Stadium, including a 2-0 mark this season.
• The Cavaliers are below the .500 mark for only the second time since the 2018 season and the first time since 2020 when began that season 1-4 before rattling off four wins in the last five games to finish 5-5 on the year.
• UVA is seeking to avoid its first 0-3 start in ACC play since the 2013 season.
• • Louisville will be the first opponent UVA has faced this season with a losing record. The previous five Cavalier foes have combined for a 18-7 overall records through the first five weeks of the season.
• Virginia and Louisville are two of the top teams in the ACC at getting to the quarterback. The Cardinals are averaging 3.20 sacks per game, tied for the most in the ACC and 13th most in the country. The Cavaliers are averaging 3.00 sacks per game, tied for third most in the ACC and 18th most in the nation.

TOP STORYLINES

• Against Duke, Brennan Armstrong pulled within one touchdown pass of matching UVA’s career mark held by Matt Schaub. Armstrong sits at 55 career TD passes, tied for the second most with Shawn Moore (1987-90) in UVA history.
• The 202 passing yards against Duke marked the 21st time Armstrong threw for 200 or more yards, breaking Schaub’s career mark.
• Saturday’s game will be the first since last year’s 34-33 thriller in Louisville. The Cavaliers erased a 17-point deficit, capped by a one-yard touchdown pass from Armstrong to tight end Grant Misch. The win for UVA was the first in five games at Cardinal Stadium.
• Saturday marks Virginia’s 97th homecomings game. The Cavaliers have won three-straight homecomings games dating back to the 2018 season and hold a 49-45-2 record on homecomings. The Cavaliers squared off one other occasion against Louisville on homecomings a 16-15 UVA victory in 1989.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

2 – Armstrong needs two touchdowns to become UVA’s all-time leader in career touchdown passes.

24.1 – The average yards per reception this season for Lavel Davis Jr., the second highest in the nation. He has 30 career receptions, 14 have gone for 20+ yards.

8 – Of the 10 all-time meet­ings between UVA and Louisville, eight have been decided by one score, four by one or two points.

7 – Fumbles recovered through five games by the UVA defense, the second most in the ACC and the tied for the third most in the country.

COMEBACK FOR THE AGES

• Brennan Armstrong orchestrated the largest fourth quarter comeback since erasing a 10-point deficit against Syracuse 2015 to help UVA stun Louisville last season. The then-junior threw for 487 yards and three touchdowns in the contest, the sixth most yards in a game in UVA history.
• UVA scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including touchdown receptions by Jelani Woods and the game-winner by Misch with 22 seconds remaining in regulation.
• Keytaon Thompson rushed for UVA’s fourth quarter score and finished the game with 10 receptions for 149 yards.
• Perhaps the biggest play of the game was made by UVA defensive back Darrius Bratton. With Louisville holding a 30-27 advantage and under four minutes remaining, Cardinal running back Hassan Hall broke free and appeared headed for a score when Bratton tracked him down from behind after a 53-yard scamper and tackled him on the UVA 27-yard line. The Cavalier defense held and forced UL to make a field goal that improved its lead to 33-27.
• Louisville had one last shot to take the lead but a 47-yard field goal attempt went wide right as time expired. It marked the second-straight week UVA won on a missed field goal attempt.

CAVALIER/CARDINAL CONNECTIONS

• Virginia quarterback Coach Taylor Lamb played four seasons as quarterback at Appalachian State, coached by Louisville’s current head coach and former Appalachian State head coach Scott Satterfield.
• Lamb and Louisville’s Lamar Jackson were two of only three quarterbacks in 2017 who finished their careers with at least 9,000 yards, and 2,000 rushing yards.
• In 2021, while at Air Force, defensive coordinator John Rudzinski’s team beat Louisville 31-28 in the SERVPRO First Responders Bowl, marking the second time in three years the Falcons counted 10 victories.
• Virginia special teams coordinator Keith Gaither and Louisville assistant coach Greg Gasparato both served as members of Army’s 2020 coaching staff.

1989 HOMECOMINGS GAME

• The Cavaliers squared off one other occasion against Louisville on homecomings, a 16-15 UVA victory in 1989 thanks to a 37-yard field goal by Jake McInerney as time expired. It was one of three field goals for McInerney made on the day and the 12-straight successful attempt, establishing a new program record at the time.
• Current Cavaliers coach defensive ends coach Chris Slade had five tackles, fumble recovery and 1.5 sacks in the contest.
• Shawn Moore completed a four-yard pass for a touchdown to Herman Moore for the game’s only touchdown.

MILESTONE WATCH

• Wide receiver Billy Kemp IV sits just 13 yards shy of passing Heath Miller on the school’s all-time receiving yards list. Miller accounted for 1,703 yards receiving in his three seasons with the Cavaliers from 2002-04.
• Keytaon Thompson continues to climb UVA’s all-time receptions list passing Herman Moore (1988-90) and Wali Lundy (2002-05) for 18th last week at Duke. He’s currently 17th all-time with 117 and needs three receptions to enter UVA’s top-15.
• Armstrong recorded his 16th career rushing touchdown last week at Duke and sits alone in fifth place all-time UVA rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.

MAN IN THE MIDDLE

• Despite sitting out the first half due to a targeting pen­alty in UVA’s previous game against Syracuse, Nick Jack­son registered 10 tackles and went over the 300-tackle mark for his career. He has 301 career tackles and the effort against Duke marked the 17th double-digit tackle effort of his career (all in the last three years). Jackson’s 27-game start streak ended due to the suspension.

UVA Career Tackle Leaders (10-15)

DEFENSIVE NOTABLES

• A total of seven different Cavalier defenders have recorded a sack this season.
• Virginia is averaging 3.00 sacks per game, the third most in the ACC.
• Chico Bennett Jr. leads all Cavaliers with four sacks which included a two-sack effort against Syracuse en route to ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors. Bennett recorded a sack in three-straight games begin­ning at Illinois.
• Kam Butler forced his second fumble of the season against Syracuse, stripping All-American Sean Tucker on the Orange’s second drive of the game. He is one of seven players

WEAPON IN THE KICK RETURN GAME

• Speedster Demick Starling has accumulated 197 yards on seven kickoff returns this season including a 37-yard return that helped setup the game-winning field goal against ODU.
• Starling’s 197 yards are tied for the fourth-most in the ACC and nine yards shy of the team’s total kickoff return yardage from the 2021 season.