Virginias First ACC Road Test Will Say A Lot Early

Virginia looks to extend its recent success against Florida State as kick-off time and broadcast details for their highly anticipated ACC road game at Doak Campbell Stadium are finalized.

Virginia’s trip to Florida State now has a kickoff time.

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Monday that the Cavaliers will open league road play at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 3:30 p.m. The 21st meeting between Virginia and Florida State will air on either ESPN2 or ACC Network, with the Virginia Sports Radio Network also carrying the game.

The matchup comes one season after Virginia stunned the then-No. 8 Seminoles in one of the wildest games of the year, a 46-38 double-overtime win in prime time at Scott Stadium.

That ESPN telecast drew a record 6.9 million viewers, the most ever for a Friday football game, and gave UVA its first back-to-back wins over Florida State. It also came nearly 30 years after Virginia beat No.

2 Florida State for the Seminoles’ first ACC loss in 1995.

Florida State still owns the overall series, 15-5, though Virginia has won four of the last seven meetings and is looking for its fifth win in the last eight. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, have had little success in Tallahassee, going 1-9 all-time at Doak Campbell Stadium. Their only win there came in 2011, when a 14-13 victory was sealed by a missed Seminole field goal with three seconds left.

Before the Oct. 2 showdown, Florida State will be back in action this Saturday against Central Arkansas at 3 p.m. on ACC Network. The Seminoles are 1-2 after opening with a 34-17 win over New Mexico State and then dropping two straight.

They fell 27-24 to then-No. 19 SMU when the Mustangs went 71 yards in nine plays to set up a 20-yard game-winning field goal with 21 seconds left.

Last week at Alabama, Florida State led 21-6 before the Crimson Tide stormed back, outscoring the Seminoles 44-15 over the final 32:36.

Virginia, now 2-1, will wrap up its non-conference schedule this Saturday against Delaware at 6 p.m. That game will be shown on ACC Network and carried on the Virginia Sports Radio Network, which can also be streamed in the Virginia Sports mobile app.

The Delaware game is UVA’s annual Strong game, and the program will honor the lives and memories of Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry, three football players who died in the shooting on Grounds on Nov. 13, 2022. Permanent memorials are in place on the south end zone fascia at Scott Stadium, with additional plaques along UVA’s “Legends Walk” on the north end zone concourse.

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