After suffering a 44-10 thrashing by North Carolina last week, the Virginia football team will attempt to defend Scott Stadium from conquest by a second consecutive opponent.
Tomorrow, Virginia (2-4, 0-3 ACC) will play Eastern Michigan (1-6, 1-3 MAC), a team that has had its own share of struggles this season. The Eagles' 41-38 overtime victory last Saturday against Ball State marked their first win in nearly two years after going winless in 2009.
Much of the talk about the Cavaliers this week has revolved around the status of the starting quarterback. Senior quarterback Marc Verica was benched during the second half against North Carolina after throwing his third interception of the game, but neither of his backups, redshirt freshman Ross Metheny and true freshman Michael Rocco, fared any better as both followed suit with one interception each. As it stands now, coach Mike London will continue to entrust Verica with the keys to Cavalier offense for at least one more week.
"There is no quarterback controversy," London said. "Marc Verica is our quarterback. He gives us the best opportunity to win any games right now until he proves otherwise. Right now he's the guy that's taken the most reps [and] that's won games. If he stays within himself and plays within himself, it gives us an opportunity."
Playing "within himself" will be key for Verica, who has developed a poor habit of forcing passes into coverage. For the quarterback to gain confidence in his throws, the offensive line will need to provide more time for Verica in the pocket to make his decisions. Although the Cavaliers have allowed an average of 2.8 sacks per game this season, Eastern Michigan's defense averages only 1.3 per contest. Fortunately for Verica, his rocky performances of late have not shaken his teammates' faith in him.
"Marc's a true competitor and him not having his best game last weekend, it's not Marc's style," sophomore tight end Colter Phillips said. "I know he's getting a lot of criticism and all that, but all the guys on the team have a lot of confidence in Marc."
When Eastern Michigan has the ball, the attention will remain on quarterback play. How the Virginia defense handles sophomore quarterback Alex Gillett will go a long way toward deciding the outcome of this game. Gillett has thrown for 1,082 yards and 10 touchdowns, completing 55 percent of his passes. He also leads the team in rushing with 376 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
"[Gillett]'s very talented, very athletic, and he's one of the guys that we will definitely have to hone in on because of what he does," London said. "He can throw it, and also I think he ran like 35 times last week, which is a lot of carries for a quarterback. Obviously, he's become a significant part of their offense."
The Cavaliers will need to both pressure Gillett with the pass rush and shore up their coverage. The Virginia secondary, which was burned for 339 yards through the air against the Tar Heels, must keep a close eye on leading receiver Kinsman Thomas, who has 20 receptions for 406 yards and four touchdowns on the season. Last week, Gillett's favorite target was senior tight end Ben Thayer, who hauled in three receptions for 65 yards and a pair of touchdowns and was named the National Tight End of the Week for his efforts.
"If we take care of communicating with the coverages and do our assignments ... we could minimize those long throws," London said.
Perhaps more than anything else, the Cavaliers are simply looking forward to the opportunity to prove they are better than what their conference record suggests.
"[The North Carolina game] was just a reality check for everyone," sophomore linebacker LaRoy Reynolds said. "It really hit me hard because I know how hard we work each and every day in practice, so just going out there and the outcome not being what we expected, it really hurt."
Perhaps a win would help heal the Cavaliers' wounded pride. Their chance will come when the game kicks off at 6 p.m. tomorrow at home.
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