UVA football (1-3, 0-0 ACC) opens its 2016 ACC schedule at Duke (2-2, 0-1 ACC) on Saturday in Durham.
| Virginia at Duke • #UVAvsDUKE |
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| Date/Time | Sat., Oct. 1, 2016 | 12:30 p.m. |
| Location | Durham, N.C. | Wallace Wade Stadium (61,500) |
| Television | ACC Network | Affiliates |
| Radio | Virginia Sports Radio Network | Satellite Radio — Sirius 119 | XM 204 |
| Multimedia | Gametracker | WatchESPN |
| @UVA_Football | @UVACoachBronco | @VirginiaSports | |
| Game Notes | Virginia | Duke | ACC | UVA Depth Chart |
| Additional Information | Tickets | Facebook | Instagram | 2016 Fact Book | Game Day Central | 2016 Season Stats | Coach Mendenhall Weekly Press Conference Transcript |
UVA Opens up ACC Play At Duke
Virginia enters ACC play on Saturday when the Cavaliers head to Durham, N.C., to face the Duke Blue Devils. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on the ACC Network.
Get to know: Duke
Quarterback Daniel Jones has done a solid job stepping up after Duke lost starting quarterback Thomas Sirk for the season with an injury in training camp. Jones has thrown for 1,090 yards, completing 64.3 percent of his passes, for five touchdowns and three interceptions, and a QB rating of 135.7.
Duke averages 449.5 yards per game on offense, getting 167.5 yards per game on the ground, 4.0 yards per carry.
Jela Duncan, who will miss Saturday’s game with a leg injury, leads the running game with 314 yards (78.5 yards per game) and gaining 5.6 yards per carry with four rushing TDs.
T.J. Rahming has 26 catches to lead the receiver corps, averaging 9.2 yards per catch. Anthony Nash has 19 catches and averages 15.8 yards per catch, and Johnathan Lloyd is a good third option with 14 catches, averaging 12.4 yards per catch.
The defense has been a sore point, and will now have to account for the loss of Edwards, an All-ACC safety. Opponents average 360.2 yards per game, and Notre Dame put up 534 yards last week, including 381 through the air.
The strength has been the run defense, which allows 3.2 yards per carry and 129 yards per game.
Edwards is the leading tackler on the team, with 29, along with three sacks, two quarterback hurries, one pass breakup, one pass defensed and one forced fumble.
Punter Austin Parker averages 42.2 yards per kick, with seven kicks of 50 yards or more, and eight of his 23 punts downed inside the 20.
Placekicker A.J. Reed is 1-for-4 on the season, the make a 19-yarder that was the game-winner at Notre Dame.
Get to know: UVA
Starting QB Kurt Benkert threw for a school-record 421 yards and five touchdowns in last week’s win over CMU, propelling an impressive day for the UVA offense, which gained 569 yards total offense.
Benkert has thrown for 1,119 yards, completing 60.8 percent of his passes, with 10 touchdowns, five interceptions and a QB rating of 134.8.
The Virginia offense is averaging 410.0 yards per game, and the run game is gaining 129.8 yards per game on the ground, averaging 4.4 yards per carry.
The ground game is more impressive after factoring in the poor effort in the opener against Richmond, which saw the ‘Hoos gain 38 yards on 21 rushes.
Since then, Virginia has gained 160.3 yards per game, and 5.0 yards per carry.
Albert Reid has gained a team-best 274 yards (68.5 yards per game), averaging 6.0 yards per carry. Taquan Mizzell has run for 200 yards (50 yards per game) and is averaging 5.3 yards per rush.
Another pat on the back for the offensive line: no sacks allowed the past two weeks, after allowing 10 total in the first two weeks.
Olamide Zaccheaus leads the receivers with 22 catches, averaging 13.5 yards per catch, with three touchdowns, including an 82-yarder in the fourth quarter that broke a 28-28 tie and pushed Virginia toward victory.
Keeon Johnson has 21 catches and averages 10.4 yards per catch with three TDs. Mizzell has 18 catches, averaging 9.1 yards per catch, and Doni Dowling has 16 catches for a team-best 16.0 yards per catch.
The Virginia D has been getting better, but you wouldn’t know that by looking at the numbers, which have UVA surrendering 482.0 yards per game, 306 yards per game through the air, and 176 on the ground, at 4.4 yards per rush.
Linebacker Micah Kiser (40) and safety Quin Blanding (39) are the leading tacklers, with linebacker Zach Bradshaw piling up 31 tackles, with four tackles for loss, two pass breakups, one pass defended and one forced fumble.
Punter Nicholas Conte averages 44.8 yards per kick, with 11 of his 20 punts downed inside the 20.
Placekicker Alex Furbank is 1-for-2 on field-goal efforts this season, and he missed an extra point last week.
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