The Virginia football team will try to obtain its first win of the season Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in front of its home crowd against William & Mary.
Virginia (0-2) is looking to rebound after narrowly falling 34-27 to then-No. 9 Notre Dame in front of the Cavalier faithful. Although the Irish’s starting quarterback, junior Malik Zaire, left the game with a season-ending ankle injury in the third quarter, his backup, sophomore DeShone Kizer, clinched the game via a 39-yard touchdown pass with 12 seconds left in the fourth.
This week marks the first and only game in September in which the Cavaliers will face a team ranked outside of the preseason AP Top 25 as they take on William & Mary (1-0). However, with the Tribe dismantling the Lafayette Leopards 34-7 to open the season, Virginia will have its hands full yet again come Saturday.
Virginia coach Mike London has first-hand experience with the Tribe’s football organization. As an assistant on its staff from 1991-1994 (his first full-time coaching job), London learned from head coach Jimmye Laycock, who is now entering his 36th season with William & Mary.
“[William & Mary] will be well coached, excited about this opportunity,” London said. “They won't be intimidated coming up and playing in Charlottesville.”
For Virginia’s defense, which gave up 34 each to the UCLA Bruins and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, attempting to neutralize a balanced offense will be a challenge.
Against Lafayette, Tribe junior quarterback Steve Cluley went 20-30 with 289 yards and two touchdowns. Additionally, Tribe senior running back Mikal Abdul-Saboor, who had over 1,000 rushing yards last season, started off this season with 106 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.
On the other side of the ball, Virginia hopes to sustain the rhythm it found against Notre Dame. Scoring 27 points against a game Fighting Irish defense, the Cavalier offense rolled on all cylinders last week.
“If we can play like how we played last game offensively for the rest of the season, I think we’ll be a very good offense,” senior offensive lineman Jay Whitmire said.
Junior quarterback Matt Johns — who went 26-38 with 289 yards, two touchdowns and an additional rushing touchdown — arguably had the best game of his career as he kept Virginia in contention.
“As long as we protect [Johns] and give him time, he’s going to make plays,” senior offensive lineman Ross Burbank said.
Along with an offensive line that only gave up one sack, Johns also had help from senior wide receiver Canaan Severin, who was named ACC Receiver of the Week. Against Notre Dame, he had 11 receptions for 153 yards.
“Since [Johns and Severin] got here, it’s been the Severin-Johns connection,” Whitmire said. “He’s always throwing him the rock.”
While Virginia’s offense clicked later on in the game, it was shut down in the first quarter. If the Cavaliers want to set the pace for the game and avoid playing catchup against the Tribe, they need to get on the scoreboard early.
Additionally, the Cavaliers cannot be shaken by the result of their last game. If focused, they should not be as challenged by William & Mary as they have been by prior opponents. However, for sophomore free safety Quin Blanding, that does not seem to be an issue.
“That’s it for us losing,” Blanding said. “It’s our goal to start our streak, and that’s what we’re going to do this week.”
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