Game Notes: Virginia faces another road test at Louisville

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia (3-2, 1-2 ACC) will be on the road for the second-straight week when it visits Louisville (3-2, 1-1 ACC) on Saturday for an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup. The game will kick off at 3 p.m. and 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 is seeking back-to-back wins on the road for the first time since 2017 when it defeated Boise State (Sept. 22) and North Carolina (Oct. 14). The Cavaliers have not won consecutive ACC road games since 2011 (d. Miami 28-21; d. Maryland 31-13).
• A founding member of the ACC, Virginia has 189 ACC wins, the fourth most of any current member.
• Virginia enters the weekend as the No. 2 passing offense in the country, averaging 398 yards through the air. The Cavaliers rank seventh in the nation in total offense with 526.2 yards per game.
• Louisville will be Virginia’s final cross-divisional opponent before finishing out the 2021 seasono with Coastal Division foes Duke, Georgia Tech, Pitt and Virginia Tech.

AGAINST LOUISVILLE

• Saturday will mark the 10^thmeeting between Virginia and Louisville and the eighth in ACC regular season play.
• The Cardinals hold a 5-4 edge in the series and have won all four matchups in Louisville.
• Since joining the ACC, the two teams have played every year since 2014. The Cardinals have the lone road victory in the series, a 32-25 victory in 2016, Bronco Mendenhall’s first season.

THOMPSON’S HISTORY WITH LOUISVILLE

• UVA “football player” Keytaon Thompson’s first career start at Mississippi State as a true freshman in 2017 was in the Taxslayer Bowl. He led the Bulldogs to a 31-27 victory over the Lamar Jackson-led Louisville Cardinals, rushing for three scores and tying a MSU bowl record.
• In the game Thompson rushed 27 times for 147 yards, in addition to the three rushing touchdowns, all are still career highs. He also was 11-of-20 passing for 127 passing yards against the Cardinals.

THURSDAY NIGHT AT HARD ROCK

• Virginia captured its first road victory since Nov. 2, 2019, snapping a five-game road losing streak after defeating Miami, 30-28. The road win over the Hurricanes was the first since 2011.
• The Cavalier defense limited the Hurricanes to an opponent season-low, 203 yards passing, the fewest by an ACC opponent since Louisville’s 161 in 2020. Virginia held Miami to just 10 yards of total offense in the first quarter, allowing the Cavaliers to jump out to a 9-0 lead.
• Miami missed a 33-yard field goal as time expired to give Virginia the thrilling victory.
• Virginia won possession battle, holding the ball for a season-high 34:24, including 11:40 of the first quarter. Under Bronco Mendenhall, Virginia is 15-3 when possessing the ball for 34 minutes or more.

MIAMI MANDY

• Playing in his hometown for the fifth time in his career, Alonso put forth a career effort in his first win in South Beach. The senior defensive end recorded a career-high in sacks (2) and tackles for loss (3). One of his five tackles on the night was a stop in the end zone in the first quarter to record UVA’s second safety of the season.
• For his efforts he was named ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week, the first Cavalier defensive lineman since 2012 to take home the award (Chris Brathwaite).

THE 1,000 YARD CLUB

• Senior Wayne Taulapapa rushed for a season-high 62 yards and 11 carries against Miami. In the process he became the 45^thCavalier to eclipse 1,000 yards for his career.
• He has three total touchdowns this season (2 rush; 1 receiving) and 20 (19 rush; 1 receiving) touchdowns for his career, the team’s active leader.

KEMP ENTERS TOP-10 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 136 career catches, the eighth most ever by a UVA wideout. 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 20-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 50 career punts, the eighth most among active FBS players.

BILETNIKOFF DUO

• Both Kemp and Dontayvion Wicks are listed on the Biletnikoff Award Watch list, annually recognizing the country’s top receiver. Kemp was on the preseason watch list and Wicks was a midseason addition on Sept. 29.
• UVA is the only ACC school with multiple players on the watch list and one of seven programs nationally to have two or more on the list.
• Wicks (2^nd) and Kemp (8^th) both rank in the top-10 in the ACC in receiving yards. Virginia is the only ACC school with multiple players ranked in the top-10 in receiving yards.

NOTING THE DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS

• The Virginia defense features two of the top five tacklers in the ACC, Nick Jackson (4^th) and Joey Blount (5^th). Jackson, a preseason All-ACC selection, has made 46 stops and Blount has 45 tackles through five games. Blount’s 30 solo tackles are the second most in the ACC and tied for the 11^thmost in the country.
• Against Miami, Virginia a season-high four sacks. The Cavaliers are 3-0 this season when recording multiple sacks in a game.
• Virginia forced Miami to go three-and-out seven times and recorded a safety on the first play Miami’s third drive of the game.
• Nick Grant had a career-high three pass break ups.
• Virginia ranks second in the ACC and seventh in the country in kick return defense, allowing just 13.3 yards per kick return. Cavalier kickers, Justin Duenkel (16) and Brendan Farrell (7)  have totaled 20 touchbacks in five games.

RECORD PACE

• Brennan Armstrong is on a blistering pace, throwing for 1,973 yards in five games, the most in the first five games to start a season in school history. He’s 309 yards away from cracking UVA’s single season top-15 passing yards list.

CAVALIER PASS CATCHERS

• Dontayvion Wicks caught a season-low two passes against Miami but still racked up 75 receiving yards and scored his fifth touchdown of the year. He has caught a touchdown in four-straight games.
• With back-to-back 100-yard receiving performances against UNC (183) and Wake Forest (114), Wicks became the first Cavalier wide receiver with consecutive 100-yard receiving games) since Hasise Dubois in 2019 (Virginia Tech & Clemson).
• Ra’Shaun Henry, Billy Kemp, Keytaon Thompson, Mike Hollins & Dontayvion Wicks have each caught a pass in all four games this season.
• Prior to sitting out the Miami game, tight end Jelani Woods had a touchdown in three-straight games.
• Four Cavalier receivers rank in the top 19 in receiving yards through five games – Dontayvion Wicks (2nd – 535 yards), Billy Kemp (8th – 362), Keytaon Thompson (16th – 287) and Jelani Woods (19th – 247).