Jackson relishing role on offense
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
October 4, 2007

Al Groh could see the writing on the wall.

Virginia’s coach knew his team had numerous offensive flaws in 2006.

The offensive line was inexperienced. The quarterback play was erratic. A consistent pass-catching threat to complement Kevin Ogletree was never unveiled.

Groh saw another problem: Virginia did not have flexibility without a true fullback.

“We certainly lacked that circumstance last year and it was very clear to us during the winter that we wanted to avert that situation again,” Groh said. “And fortunately, we had a very good option available.

“It gives us more options to answer some questions.”

That option - Rashawn Jackson - was hiding deep on the Cavaliers’ depth chart at inside linebacker.

An accomplished running back in high school, Jackson, now a sophomore, jumped at the chance to return to the offensive side of the ball as an impact player.

“Last season was pretty hard on me,” Jackson said. “After the season I had to do a little re-evaluating of myself, just seeing where I fit in and how I could become a better player and contribute to the team.

“After I spoke with Coach Groh and he said I was going back to ‘O,’ I knew it was my chance to step up and make plays for the team.”

It was not a success overnight. Opening holes against opposing defensive linemen and powerful linebackers proved tricky initially.

“Blocking was a weakness that he had,” Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell said, “but he has been doing a great job with that.”

Jackson also had to learn to be patient - playing fullback, as he pointed out, is a thankless job in almost every offense in the country.

It would appear on the surface that any fullback needs to remain modest. Groh, however, took his description of Jackson further.

“Rather than say ‘modest,’ I would say that he is very understanding of his role on the team and very pleased to play that particular role,” the coach said. “He knows whenever that position is called for to be in the game, it is an important time, whether it is 25 times in the game or four times in the game.

“We need a top-level performance on those plays, so he prepares himself for that.”

Jackson said he has been quite content admiring the stats obtained by Virginia tailback Cedric Peerman, who leads the ACC with 566 yards rushing.

“Those stats … that’s me,” he joked. “Cedric knows it.”

When told, Peerman could only smile.

“[Jackson] is a hard worker and he pries a lot of runs open with his blocks,” Peerman said. “Trust me … we are thankful to have him.”

Entering Saturday night’s game at Middle Tennessee State (1-4), Jackson is averaging just two touches per game - he has five rushes for 17 yards and five receptions for 33 yards.

“No one is expecting 80-yard runs from me, but I am content getting 5 or 6 yards on a carry and catching some passes,” Jackson said.

One of those receptions, however, stands out.

During Virginia’s 44-14 rout over Pittsburgh, Jackson caught a 5-yard touchdown pass that created a melee on the Cavaliers’ sidelines. Even injured cornerback Mike Brown, a high school teammate of Jackson’s, ran out onto the field and jumped on top of the 251-pound fullback.

“I knew I was going to be one of the options on that play,” Jackson recounted. “Once I got out into my pattern, I figured the ball would be coming to me because there was no one there to defend me.”

Sewell added: “We have been working on that play a lot. He had to run through a couple of guys. As soon as I came out of my fake, I saw him there and I just gave it to him.”

Jackson, who scored 25 touchdowns as a senior at St. Peter’s Prep in New Jersey, said tallying his first collegiate score is a feeling he would like to revisit.

“I am happy that Jameel made that read to get me the ball because it felt good to get in the end zone,” Jackson said. “I haven’t been there since I was a senior in high school. It was like a ‘Home Sweet Home’ thing.”

 

Choice's grit gets Yellow Jackets going
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
October 4, 2007

Scattershooting around the ACC, while noting how much of a difference Tashard Choice’s presence makes for Georgia Tech ...

The senior tailback, plagued by a strained hamstring for the last couple of weeks, showed what happens when you cowboy up and helped the Yellow Jackets upset unbeaten Clemson last weekend, 13-3.

Choice inspired his teammates in two ways. First, it was by bringing out a sledgehammer to the sidelines, a symbol of smashing Tech’s two-game losing streak to BC and UVa.

Then he did it with his play, rushing for 145 yards and the game’s only touchdown even with his hamstring issues. He wasn’t feeling all that great until after the win, in which he accounted for two-thirds of the Ramblin’ Wreck’s offense.

“I was hurting,” said Choice, who reported afterward that he was at about 80 or 85 percent health-wise, although he had told his coaches he was 100 percent healthy.

“I lied all week,” Choice said. “It was good enough to play. Good enough to stay on the field as long as I could (32 carries worth). I could have carried as many times as needed to win the game. If I had to carry 10 more times, I think I had it in me.”

No wonder former Miami coach Larry Coker, who was a TV analyst for Tech’s loss in Charlottesville two weeks ago, talked about how much the Jackets would miss Choice’s presence, not only statistically, but from a leadership role.

Might want to duck

Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen isn’t tipping his hand as to whether he will start injured Jordan Steffy or backup Chris Turner against Georgia Tech’s blitzing defense.

Steffy, who was sacked 18 times in 4 1/2 games, suffered a concussion against Rutgers last week on a blitz from safety Joe Lefeged.

Turner came in and helped preserve our “Upset Special” of the week.

“I haven’t made a decision,” the Fridge said Wednesday. “We hope to have Jordan. He’s still questionable. If Jordan is healthy, he’ll be our starter.”

Steffy was at practice Tuesday and observed.

Friedgen said that Tech’s blitzing defense presents a “difficult undertaking, but we’re doing the best we can.”

Note to Jon Tenuta: Turner isn’t as mobile as Steffy.

Note to Turner: You might want to duck ... a lot.

Stat of the week

Virginia Tech ranks dead last in the ACC in total offense with 285.6 yards per game (112th nationally).

Quote of the week

Because the NCAA told Virginia coach Al Groh last week that he could no longer hand out game balls to his players for their efforts, Groh presented center Jordy Lipsey an “imaginary” game ball after the Cavs’ win over Pitt.

Asked where he was going to put his imaginary game ball, Lipsey thought for a second and replied: “I guess I’ll just have to keep it in my mind.”

Factoid of the week

Virginia’s Vic Hall has shown what he can do when he gets his hands on the ball. The former Gretna High quarterback now leads the nation in punt returns with a 23.3 average.

Tale of the Tiger

Clemson fans are baffled by how their team often appears on the verge of becoming a top-10 program, only to blow it.

Such was the case last week when the unbeaten Tigers, the leading offense in the ACC, couldn’t muster a touchdown against Georgia Tech.

After piling up 280 yards rushing on N.C. State the week before and ringing up 332 on the ground the year before against the Yellow Jackets, fabled Tiger backs James Davis and C.J. Spiller couldn’t do diddly squat against Tech last week, producing 62 rushing yards combined.

Spiller accounted for only two of those and Tiger fans have noticed his unwillingness to fire through the hole, something that used to disgust former UVa coach George Welsh, when a back wouldn’t run north-south.

Clemson is having big offensive line issues and its kicker, Mark Bucholz, who also plays for the Tigers’ soccer team, missed four of five field-goal attempts against Georgia Tech, leaving Tommy Bowden to wonder if his kicker is stretched too thin.

“We’re asking a lot of him right now,” Bowden said. “The last three or four weeks, he’s had a soccer game on Friday night, then getting up here late. I’ve got to make sure I’m doing good with his schedule and time management. It’s uncharted waters for me.”

Don’t think for a second that Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, whose Hokies play at Clemson this weekend, hasn’t noticed that opposing offenses are picking on Tigers “bandit” end Ricky Sapp. Georgia Tech’s Tashard Choice ran at Sapp all day long. Think Brandon Ore might do likewise?

Home sweet home

Duke coach Ted Roof had to pause for a second when he was introduced by ACC Associate Commissioner Mike Finn during Wednesday’s coaches teleconference.

Finn noted that Duke would be hosting Wake Forest in Durham, N.C.

“Durham? Did you say ‘Durham?’” Roof chuckled.

His Blue Devils have been on the road for a month, so the thoughts of playing at Wallace Wade must have seemed strange for Roof.

Duke has played tough the past few weeks, giving Virginia a game, beating Northwestern, coming close at both Navy and Miami. A lot of people have noticed, including Florida State coach Bobby Bowden.

“I’ll tell you who’s doing a great job, is that guy up there at Duke,” Bowden said earlier in the teleconference. Bowden, who isn’t that great with names, was right.

Roof said the biggest obstacle now is getting his team to focus on end-game situations and closing the deal. He figures the best way to do that is for the Devils to keep putting themselves in position.

Last year, Duke trailed Wake only 14-13 when the Deacs blocked a 27-yard field-goal attempt on the final play of the game. That win turned Wake’s season completely around. The two teams meet again this Saturday ... and yes, Ted, it really is in Durham.

Popular choice

When Florida State offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher made the switch to go with backup QB Xavier Lee and beat Alabama last weekend, there weren’t many protesters.

Lee, who is extremely mobile, sparked the Seminoles’ offense in the win.

“We’ve given [Lee] the reins now,” coach Bobby Bowden said Wednesday. “He’s much further along than he was a year ago and he gives us another dimension to our offense. There will not be a short leash on him.”

Bowden said the response was a good one.

“It was a very popular move,” Bowden said. “Everyone got excited about it, even Drew Weatherford (the previous starter) on the sidelines was excited.”

Well, maybe not THAT excited.

Short yardage

Note to the ACC: Don’t play Florida State in Jacksonville, Fla., where the Seminoles are 8-1. ... Wake Forest’s five non-offensive TDs in four games is as many as the Deacs have had the previous two seasons combined. ... Virginia Tech’s Brandon Ore has surpassed the 2,000-yard career-rushing mark. ... UVa’s Cedric Peerman leads the ACC in rushing and has averaged 137 yards per game and scored five TDs in the Cavs’ four-game winning streak. ... If BC beats Bowling Green, it would be the Eagles’ best start since 1942. ... Clemson, which faces No. 22 Virginia Tech this weekend, has beaten its last five straight ranked opponents, tying a school mark accomplished during the days of Danny Ford, who also once was an assistant for the Hokies under Jimmy Sharpe. ... Bobby Bowden couldn’t believe his 3-1 Seminoles were not ranked this week. ... Tom O’Brien’s banged up N.C. State team has suffered 18 turnovers in five games and is next-to-last in the nation in turnover margin.

The picks

Last week: 6-2. To date: 34-12. This week: Boston College 27, Bowling Green 20; Wake Forest 23, Duke 20; Florida State 40, N.C. State 13; Miami 24, UNC 20; Georgia Tech 23, Maryland 21; Clemson 26, Virginia Tech 20; Virginia 36, Middle Tennessee 17.

 

Sammis' waiver aids UVa
When Cavs left tackle Eugene Monroe was injured, Virginia decided to start the senior reserve.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The good news came on Good Friday.

For more than four months, Gordie Sammis had lifted weights and prepared as if he would be a member of Virginia's 2007 football team, never knowing if that would be the case.

"We had basically summed it up," Sammis' father, Gordon, said. "If it had gone that long, it wasn't going to happen."

Sammis, an offensive lineman from Flemington, N.J., always had intended to return for a fifth year of eligibility. Never mind that he had run on the field for the final three plays in Virginia's 51-0 victory over Akron in 2004.

"I'm a player," Sammis said. "I didn't know what was in the NCAA handbook. I just figured I'd redshirt or at least have the option."

There is a provision in the NCAA handbook for players who suffer incapacitating injuries in the first half of a season. If an athlete has participated in fewer than 25 percent of his team's games, he or she is eligible for a hardship waiver.

There was a slight technicality with Sammis' appeal. He was never injured.

If he hadn't been injured in practice, when would he have had the opportunity? Although Sammis played in every game in 2006, virtually all of his activity came as a blocker on field goals and extra points.

"Other than being in on a couple of field goals, Gordie hasn't been in on 10 plays over the course of his career," head coach Al Groh said.

Even when Virginia filed a petition for Sammis in November, there were no assurance that he would receive significant playing time in 2007. All five starters on UVa's offensive line would be returning.

That's why an April 6 NCAA ruling in Sammis' favor was a mere footnote to UVa's spring practice.

The penalty for playing at the end of the 2004 Akron game was two games. Sammis' final season of eligibility started with UVa's trip to North Carolina in Week 3.

"I've always tried to think that the NCAA had the athletes' best interests at heart," Gordon Sammis said.

"The fact that he was out there for three plays, [losing a year's eligibility] didn't make a lot of sense to me. It was not like he was a big superstar."

Even bigger news arrived 10 days ago. Two days after Virginia's 28-23 victory over Georgia Tech, it was discovered Eugene Monroe, who starts at left tackle for the Cavaliers, suffered a knee injury in that game.

The prevailing wisdom was that junior Zak Stair would take Monroe's place against Pittsburgh, if needed. After all, Stair had started seven games at left tackle in 2006.

Instead, the coaches elected to move left guard Branden Albert to left tackle and insert Sammis at left guard.

"We looked at the matchups and the style of defense we were going against," Groh said. "Probably the most dangerous [Pittsburgh] players were the edge rushers. That was the criteria."

Sammis learned of his starting assignment on Monday night but did not let his parents know till Thursday.

"I wanted to be 100 percent sure before I told them," he said Tuesday. "They always come, no matter what. That was part of it. But, I didn't want to psyche myself out."

Gordon Sammis said he and his wife, Maureen, will make the trip to Middle Tennessee this weekend. Monroe will start Saturday if he is physically ready.

"He's an only child; we've always been very supportive of him," Gordon Sammis' said.

"Any time he's been down, we've tried to help him up. He'd had high hopes in previous years and things didn't work out.

"He didn't want us to get all wound up. When he called us Thursday, we were ecstatic."

The feeling didn't go away Saturday night, when Virginia scored touchdowns on its first four possessions and defeated Pittsburgh 44-14.

"If you just came in and put the game up on the screen and never heard of Eugene Monroe, you would have thought, 'That's the normal Virginia offensive line.'"Groh said.

When Sammis was entering his senior year of high school, it was his father who urged him to accept Virginia's offer.

"Gordie and his mother very easily could have picked Rutgers," Gordon Sammis said. "I told my wife, it seems very strange that I want to send my son away -- he's my best friend -- but he has to learn what I can't teach him.

"It's a Rudy-like story. We always told him, 'You always have to be ready because you may only get one shot.'"

Sammis' performance came one week after Virginia stopped awarding game balls at the advice of its compliance department.

If not, Sammis would have been a worthy choice.

"We're going to give out an imaginary game ball to Gordie, which is the art of visualization practiced to the highest degree," Groh said Sunday.

It will have a place in his mind forever.
 

Vic Hall presents UVa with a pleasant dilemma
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 3, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The punt hung up for what seemed like forever and Vic Hall could sense the Pittsburgh gunner closing in, but he couldn't resist the opportunity to get his hands on the ball.
The occasion comes, what, maybe two, three, four times a game if he's lucky? It's a strange departure from his days at Gretna High, where he was the quarterback who broke the Virginia High School League record for total yardage. Now a cornerback at Virginia, he relishes the chance to get a handle on the ball and shuck defenders, just like old times.

On this particular punt, the Panthers defender actually grazed Hall before the ball got there. He still caught it, still made the first defender miss, as he did with the second and third ones. By the time he got dragged down from behind, he had gone 45 yards.

"Being on defense, you don't get a chance to touch the ball a lot," Hall said. "So when you do get a chance, you've got to have the mentality to score."

Hall, a sophomore, appears to be a legitimate threat to do so whenever he touches the ball. Though he's had some adventures at returning punts (so far this season, he's fumbled one and muffed another), the benefits of having him back there have far outweighed the risks.

He had a 67-yard return against Duke and, prior to his 45-yarder, went 22 yards on his first return against Pittsburgh, setting up a touchdown.

"Those weren't easy runs he made the other day," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "He really had to do something to get started. ? We had some real good blocking on them, but a lot of that was just on Vic."

He's not just a threat on punt returns. In the fourth quarter against the Panthers, Hall scored his first touchdown, darting in on a 4-yard run after running the fake as the holder on the field goal unit. He earned ACC specialist of the week honors for his efforts.

"We just know whenever he touches the ball, it could be something special," UVa defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald said.

It begs the question: Why doesn't Virginia, which is desperate for offensive playmakers, try to get the ball in Hall's hands more often?

"I'm not a very presumptuous person - I'm a coach myself - so I understand the (idea of), 'Hey, we've got a plan and this is what we're doing,'" said Rob Senseney, Hall's coach at Gretna and now the head coach at William Fleming. "Would I like to see him touch the ball more? Yeah. I think he's a kid that can help you. He's an impact player. ?

"Having the ball in his hands is his experience. ? He's got an understanding of the ball and field and space and everything."

Historically, it's been a touchy subject with Groh.

"One, I think we've got a couple of pretty good quarterbacks on the team," he said Tuesday, referring to sophomore Jameel Sewell and freshman Peter Lalich.

Two, Groh has always been first and foremost a defensive-minded coach and feels the 5-foot-9, 181-pound Hall fits best at cornerback.

"One of the reasons that we're able to play pretty good defense is that we've got a couple of developing, competent corners," Groh added. "That's how you play good defense. You're able to take good players like that and play them on defense. You might pay a price for it over on the other side, but the return for it is pretty significant. Otherwise you end up being one of those teams who are having to score 42 points every week to win."

Translation: Hall is a cornerback and will continue to be a cornerback. Not that you'll ever hear him complain about it.

"If I could help the team by being on offense, I would, but right now, it's defense," Hall said. "It's whatever to help the team."

He is still adjusting to playing defense, where, Senseney estimated, he played a maximum of 10 snaps in high school. Now almost two years into his training at cornerback, Hall's had his ups and downs in this, his first season as a starter.

Wyoming frequently targeted Hall in the opener and though North Carolina's T.J. Yates torched everyone in the UVa secondary for 339 passing yards, the most indelible image is wideout Hakeem Nicks scoring a 53-yard touchdown, dragging a helpless Hall 15 yards into the end zone as the cornerback futilely tried to drag him down.

Hall has since had two positive games on defense.

Brandon Turner, Hall's favorite receiving target at Gretna and now a senior wideout at Liberty University, never doubted that his best friend would bounce back.

Turner got an up-close look at Hall's work in progress in the spring of 2006. The two work out together in Gretna and participated with the high school team's 7-on-7 drills, lining up against each other for the first time.

"He's got a lot of potential," Turner said. "Some people don't realize how young he is and how many more years he's got left. As far as breaking on the ball, I see an aggressive cornerback. He has all the tools. He's going to be good."

That seems to be the case at whatever Hall does, be it as a cornerback, as a gunner on punt coverage, returning punts or holding for field goals.

It makes you wonder if his plate is too full.

"Naw," Hall said, clearly eager to be on the football field in any capacity. "It's never too much."


 

Nix helping mold young offensive line
Senior enjoying his time as a Blue Raider
MT Media Relations

Brandon Nix has built quite an impressive resumé during his four-year career at Middle Tennessee. He has been a quality student, a reliable teammate, a dedicated football player, and he's even developed a reputation as a coach.
That's right, a coach.

The Talladega, Ala., native isn't under contract as an assistant coach at Middle Tennessee. He is a senior offensive guard, but given the situation with the Blue Raiders' offensive line this season he has taken on the role of a coach at least in a teaching capacity.

"Brandon has been a very coachable young man that works hard and gives great effort at everything he does since I've been here," said second-year Middle Tennessee coach Rick Stockstill. "This year he has done a good job with the young offensive linemen as far as coaching them along. He's been a real leader. Brandon is a first-class young man whom I respect a great deal."

With two freshmen, a sophomore and a junior starting on the offensive line, Nix has not only been the elder statesmen but he has been the player others turn to for advice.

"I would want to be remembered as a player who tried to help everyone while I was here when my playing career is complete," Nix said. "When the incoming freshmen linemen came in this year I sat down with them and tried to help them out and make sure they knew their assignments and so forth before we got started. I think that's important. You need people who have done it and know what is expected helping the younger players along."

Evidently, Nix is a good teacher.

In just the second game of the season Middle Tennessee's young offensive line put up 42 points and more than 500 yards total offense at No. 8 Louisville. This was with two freshmen making their first collegiate start.

Then again, it should come as no surprise that Nix would be able to successfully bring along others. He was presented the Dr. Sidney McPhee Senior Academic Award following spring practice, and he is respected as a team player who gives of himself and never expects anything in return.

"Brandon has played just about every position on that offensive line and he has always been willing to do whatever we have asked of him," Stockstill said. "He represents himself and his team very well."

Nix has played in 37 straight games entering this weekend's game against Virginia. His reliability has never been a question and his durability was rewarded last season when Middle Tennessee earned a share of the Sun Belt Conference championship and received a berth in the Motor City Bowl. It was Middle Tennessee's first bowl appearance in I-A era and particularly special for Nix.

"Playing at Middle Tennessee has been a blast for me," Nix said. "Last year when we won the championship it was the first time I had won a championship at any level, high school, junior high, anything. That's something that is going to stick with me for the rest of my life and I'm appreciative to have had the opportunity to be part of it."

Nix wasn't just part of it. He was a big reason for it. The unassuming and well-rounded lineman doesn't seek the spotlight, and that's a good thing because offensive linemen generally receive no glory or recognition for their contributions. At the same time, the glare of publicity has a way of finding those who do not look for it and anyone who has had the privilege of knowing of playing alongside Nix realizes the value and importance he has brought to the Blue Raider program during his time on the gridiron.


 

Virginia (4-1) at Middle Tennessee (1-4)
By Sports Network
The Sports Network
FACTS & STATS: Site: Floyd Stadium (30,788) -- Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Television: None. Home Record: Virginia 3-0, Middle Tennessee 1-1. Away Record: Virginia 1-1, Middle Tennessee 0-3. Neutral Record: Virginia 0-0, Middle Tennessee 0-0. Conference Record: Virginia 3-0, Middle Tennessee 1-1. Series Record: First-ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: The Virginia Cavaliers invade Floyd Stadium for a non-conference clash with the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee, in what will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Middle Tennessee could not have picked a worse time to face the Cavaliers, who are coming off a convincing 44-14 win over Pittsburgh. Virginia enters the game on the cusp of a four-game win streak, the program's longest win streak in three years. The Cavs are off to a perfect 3-0 start in ACC play. Last season's Sun Belt Conference Champions, the Blue Raiders finally notched their first win of the year last weekend in a 47-6 dismantling of Florida International. The 47 points were the most scored under second-year coach Rick Stockstill. It was the kind of offensive performance Stockstill has been looking for from his offense, which boasts a talented quarterback-running back tandem in Dwight Dasher and DeMarco McNair.

Quarterback Jameel Sewell is more of a game manager than a game breaker for Virginia. Case in point: the Cavs rank 103rd in the nation in passing offense (169.8 ypg), but during the team's four-game win streak, Sewell has thrown five touchdowns and no interceptions. Credit is due to the offensive linemen, who have not allowed a sack of Sewell in the last two games. The offense filters through running back Cedric Peerman, who lead's the ACC in rushing with 113 ypg. He has been a big part of the win streak, averaging 137 rushing yards in each of the last four games.

The Cavaliers' special teams cannot be overlooked. Vic Hall leads the nation in punt returns, averaging 23.3 yards per try, while punter Ryan Weigand leads the nation with a punting average of 48.1 yards. Statistically, the Cavaliers rank near the middle of the ACC in most defensive categories. The team has been rather solid against the run, allowing only 114.2 yards per game. Jon Copper leads the unit with 37 tackles and two sacks. The Virginia defense gets plenty of production from defensive ends Chris Long (six sacks) and Jeffrey Fitzgerald (three sacks).

Blue Raiders quarterback Dasher leads the SBC in passing efficiency, and he is coming off a big game last week. In the win over FIU, he threw three touchdown passes and ran for another two. The team uses the tandem of Phillip Tanner and DeMarco McNair in the backfield. Tanner is the big-play threat, averaging 6.2 ypc, while McNair leads the team with four rushing touchdowns. Despite their efforts, and the added legs of Dasher (40 rushing yards per game), the Blue Raiders rank 96th in the nation in rushing offense. The unit is putting up 311 yards of total offense per game, which ranks 102nd in the nation.

The Middle Tennessee defense has not held up its end of the bargain. The Blue Raiders are letting up an average of 31 ppg, a figure that somehow leads the SBC at the moment. The defense has been gashed against the run, allowing 209.6 ypg on the ground. However, the Blue Raiders turned a corner last week by holding FIU to eight first downs and 145 yards of total offense for the game. Holding the Cavs to such numbers is highly unlikely, nevertheless the Middle Tennessee defense is brimming with confidence.

The good vibes from their first win likely won't last very long for the Blue Raiders, who are facing a hot Virginia squad. They can expect a heavy dose of Peerman this week and a lopsided loss as a result.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Virginia 45, Middle Tennessee 17