The implications for this week’s Virginia game have been discussed all week long. If UVa defeats Maryland, it locks in its sixth win to guarantee at least a .500 regular season. A victory would end a four-year bowl-free stretch and a 13-game losing streak in November. For the Terps, a win would end a four-game losing skid and send their seniors off with a win in the final home game of their season.
Drilling deeper into the matchup, the key factor may be the running game. A UVa media relations note indicates that the team with the most rushing yards is 56-6 since 1937. The only years the loser had more all came in the last 25 years: 1987, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2006, and 2009. Plus, the Hoos are 22-8 against Maryland during that same time span when rushing for at least 150 yards.
Certainly those nuggets are statistically encouraging for the Cavaliers since they have eclipsed the 150 mark in seven of eight games this season and enter this contest as the ACC’s No. 3 rushing offense (186.4 yards per game). While the Terps rank fourth in the same category (171.9 yards per game), the difference comes on defense. UVa is No. 4 in the ACC in rushing defense (131.6 rushing yards allowed per game), while Maryland is No. 12 (234.8).
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