Clemson, Georgia highlight 2020 UVA football schedule

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia’s exploration into big-boy football will continue in 2020.

The Cavaliers ended 2019 with losses to No. 3 Clemson in the ACC Championship game, then faced No. 6 Florida in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Eve. What UVA learned was that it could have played better against the Tigers, but took the Gators deep into the fourth quarter.

That experience against top-10 football programs should help the Wahoos when they open up the 2020 season with another pair of top-10 programs. UVA announced its football schedule Wednesday, with the season-opener against Georgia in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Monday, Sept. 7), followed with a game at Clemson on Sept. 26.

The Tigers, of course, lost to LSU in the national championship game and return the majority of their team, including quarterback Trevor Lawrence and ACC Player of the Year, running back Travis Etienne.

Five of Georgia’s veteran players have declared for the NFL Draft and will not return, including quarterback Jake Fromm, right tackle Isiah Wilson, left guard Solomon Kindley, running back D’Andre Swift and left tackle Andrew Thomas.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs will have a new offensive coordinator and a new offensive line coach. Coach Kirby Smart has hired former Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Todd Monken for the same position at Georgia.

Monken was the head coach at Southern Miss from 2013-15 (13-25 record), was offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oklahoma State, was the passing game coordinator at LSU and was an assistant at Louisiana Tech and Eastern Michigan during his career.

Georgia’s offense is going through a makeover with all the early NFL Draft departures along with leading receiver Lawrence Cager and a pair of tight ends — Charlie Woerner and Eli Wolf — also departing, as well as another offensive lineman, Cade Mays, who is transferring to Tennessee.

Monken replaces Jim Chaney, who left Athens to become offensive coordinator at SEC East rival Tennessee.

Georgia also hired former Ole Miss head coach Matt Luke as its new offensive line coach, replacing Sam Pittman, who moved on to become head coach at Arkansas. Luke was fired by Ole Miss after the Egg Bowl debacle vs. Mississippi State at season’s end.

While Georgia and Clemson dominate the 2020 schedule, the rest of the lineup doesn’t appear nearly as overwhelming. Here is the schedule (game times will be announced at a later date):

Sept. 7:    vs. Georgia (in Atlanta)

Sept. 12:  VMI

Sept 19:   UCONN

Sept. 26:  at Clemson

Oct. 3:      NORTH CAROLINA

Oct. 17:    at Georgia Tech

Oct. 24:    at Old Dominion

Oct. 31:    MIAMI

Nov. 7:     LOUISVILLE

Nov. 13:   at Duke (Friday)

Nov. 21:   PITT

Nov. 28:   at Virginia Tech (not a Friday)

Virginia has six home games (all on Saturdays) and the neutral-site contest with Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, which is the first neutral site season-opener for the Cavaliers since the 1989 Kickoff Classic game against Notre Dame in the Meadowlands. UVA’s game at Virginia Tech will be played on Saturday, a change from Friday games in the past several years.

Seven of UVA’s opponents played in bowl games last season: Georgia (Sugar); Clemson (Fiesta-and CFP Championship); North Carolina (Military); Miami (Independence); Louisville (Music City); Pitt (Quick Lane); Virginia Tech (Belk).

Here’s a breakdown of the 2020 opponents, courtesy UVA Media Relations:

Georgia (Sept. 7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium)

The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game is the 20th meeting between UVA and Georgia. The last three contests in the series have all come in bowl games, with two of those in Atlanta for the Peach Bowl. Georgia leads the series 9-7-3, including a 37-14 win in the last meeting at the 2000 Jeep O’ahu Bowl. The teams split the previous two games played in Atlanta. UVA won the 1995 Peach Bowl 34-27 while the Bulldogs prevailed 35-33 at the 1998 Peach Bowl. Georgia compiled a 12-2 record in 2019 that included a 26-14 win vs. Baylor in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

VMI (Sept. 12 at Scott Stadium)

The Cavaliers and the Keydets meet for the first time since the 2013 season and just the third time since 1991. This year’s game marks the 84th meeting in the series. UVA leads the series, which dates back to 1893, by a 57-23-3 margin. The Cavaliers have won the past 10 games between the schools and have shut out VMI in three of the past four meetings. VMI head coach Scott Wachenheim was an assistant at Virginia for five seasons (2010 to 2014). The Keydets finished 5-7 in 2019, their most wins since 2003.

UConn (Sept. 19 at Scott Stadium)

The Huskies and the Cavaliers are meeting for the fifth time, with the series tied at 2-2. This year’s game marks the third time the two teams have met at Scott Stadium. In the most recent game in the series, UVA defeated UConn 38-18 during the 2017 season. This will be the fifth time in eight years Bronco Mendenhall has faced the Huskies. UConn played his BYU teams in 2014 and 2015 and the Huskies were on UVA’s schedule his first two years in Charlottesville. The Huskies were 2-10 last season.

Louisville (Nov. 7 at Scott Stadium)

Following last year’s 28-21 win in Louisville, the Cardinals lead the series against the Cavaliers 5-3. The first two games between the teams – 1988 and 1989 – were played before Louisville joined the ACC. The home team has won all but one game in the series. Six of the eight games in the series have been decided by a touchdown or less. Under first-year coach Scott Satterfield, the Cardinals were 8-5 in 2019 and defeated Mississippi State 38-28 in the Music City Bowl.

Miami (Oct. 31 at Scott Stadium)

The two teams have split their past 10 meetings. Miami leads the overall series 10-7. The Cavaliers have won four of the past five games at Scott Stadium. The Hurricanes took last year’s meeting 17-9 in a Friday game at Hard Rock Stadium. Under first-year coach Manny Diaz, Miami was 6-7 last year and lost to 14-0 to Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl.

North Carolina (Oct. 3 at Scott Stadium)

The South’s oldest college football rivalry will continue when the Tar Heels travel to Scott Stadium for the 125th game in the series. UVA won its third consecutive game against the Tar Heels in 2019 with a 38-31 victory at Kenan Stadium as quarterback Bryce Perkins compiled a career-best 490 yards of total offense. UNC leads the series,63-57-4. In Mack Brown’s return to UNC as head coach, the Tar Heels went 7-6 in 2019 and defeated Temple 55-13 in the Military Bowl.

Pitt (Nov. 21 at Scott Stadium)

Pitt leads the all-time series 8-4. Last year UVA picked up its first win in Pittsburgh, defeating the Panthers 30-14 in the season opener for both teams. That ended Pitt’s four-game winning streak in the series. Between 1956 and 2012, UVA and Pitt met only twice in the regular season and once in a bowl game (2003 Continental Tire Bowl). Pitt produced an 8-5 record in 2019 and defeated Eastern Michigan 34-30 in the Motor City Bowl.

ODU (Oct. 24 at S.B. Ballard Stadium)

The Monarchs will be under the direction of first-year coach Ricky Rahne. Last season, UVA defeated Old Dominion 28-17 in Charlottesville in the first meeting between the teams. After trailing 17-0 at halftime, UVA posted its biggest comeback since the 2002 season in the victory. This will be UVA’s 31st game played in Norfolk, but the first against ODU. The last time UVA played in Norfolk was 1976 versus VMI. That contest was played at Foreman Field, the current site of ODU’s S.B. Ballard Stadium. Old Dominion was 1-11 in 2019.

Clemson (Sept. 26 at Memorial Stadium)

The Cavaliers and the Tigers will meet in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2008-09. Clemson handed UVA a 62-17 loss at the 2019 ACC Championship game in Charlotte in the most recent meeting. The Tigers won the first 29 games between these programs and lead the series 39-8-1. This will be the Cavaliers’ first trip to Death Valley since the 2009 season. Clemson was 14-1 in 2019 and advanced to the College Football Playoff championship, where it lost to LSU 42-25 in New Orleans.

Duke (Nov. 13 at Wallace Wade Stadium)

Duke and Virginia will be meeting for the 58th consecutive season in a series that started in 1890. With five straight victories over the Blue Devils, the Cavaliers own a 38-33 advantage in the all-time series. Since 1982, UVA has won 27 of the last 37 games between the two teams. Duke went 5-7 during 2019.

Georgia Tech (Oct. 17 at Bobby Dodd Stadium)

UVA and Georgia Tech will be meeting for the 43rd time in the series. The Yellow Jackets hold a slim 21-20-1 advantage in the series that only dates back to 1965. Georgia Tech won the first six games between the schools. The Cavaliers have not won at Georgia Tech since the 2008 season. Under first-year coach Geoff Collins, the Yellow Jackets went 3-9 in 2019.

Virginia Tech (Nov. 28 at Lane Stadium)

The 2020 matchup will be the 102nd in series history. The Hokies lead the all-time series with Virginia, 58-38-5. Last year UVA defeated Virginia Tech 39-30 at Scott Stadium for the Cavaliers’ first win in the series since 2003. UVA hasn’t won at Lane Stadium since 1998. The Hokies were 8-5 in 2019, including a 37-30 loss to Kentucky in the Belk Bowl.