Coming off of a crushing loss in Raleigh, the Virginia Cavaliers travel back home looking to get things right against FCS William & Mary before actual conference play begins.
The Tribe have matched up with a pair of FCS opponents thus far, ending with scores separated by a total margin of just three points. They opened the season with a 23-21 loss to Furman, followed by a bounce back win over Maine, 28-27. William & Mary is considered a top half team in the CAA, one of the top FCS conferences, but
they are firmly outside of the national top 25. By all accounts, this should be a game that Tony Elliott and company will win comfortably.
Of note, former UVA head coach Mike London, now in his seventh season leading the Tribe, will be on the opposite sidelines again. In case you forget this storyline, the ACC Network broadcast will certainly have you covered – on both his coaching and law enforcement career.
Virginia and William & Mary are scheduled for a noon ET kickoff on Saturday, September 13th. Here is what you need to know:
Three Players to Watch
QB Tyler Hughes
Calling the plays for the Tribe will be Winston October, who the ‘Hoos actually saw last season when he was the offensive coordinator at Richmond. Throughout October’s career, he has been known to have deep receiving rooms, filled with playmakers who can make things happen in the YAC department.
Hughes has been called upon to facilitate this effort in his first year as the full-time starting quarterback. He’s been rather check down happy in his first two starts, where he compiled a combined 337 yards on 32-of-50 passing (64.0%, 6.7 YPA) with three touchdowns and one interception. Hughes is also the team’s leading rusher with 130 yards and a house call on the ground.
LB Luke Banbury
The 6-foot-2, 230 pound grad transfer has been a point of excitement for the Tribe this offseason, coming off of a quality four year tenure in the Ivy League, totaling 141 tackles, 3.5 sacks, seven passes defended, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles in 30 games for Cornell.
Banbury was recently named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week in a monster 16-tackle effort against Maine, which included a tipped pass that led to the game-sealing interception. Expect to see him around the ball quite a bit on Saturday.
CB Jalen Jones
Jones is a walk-on success story that has maintained his loyalty to the program that believed in him, coming back to William & Mary for his fifth season. Among other things, the 2024 Buck Buchanan Award finalist (top defensive player in the FCS) could use this game against a Power Four opponent to produce some more meaningful film and get on the radar of NFL scouts.
Two Keys to Win
Tackling, tackling, tackling
In week two, NC State had numerous explosive plays against the Cavaliers defense, who was constantly taking poor angles of pursuit in the open field and losing from a physicality standpoint. While Kam Robinson’s looming return looks promising for the linebacking corps, the effort from the Virginia secondary over those 60 minutes was awfully concerning.
Against William & Mary, the ‘Hoos should have an athlete advantage at every position, similar to the Coastal Carolina game. In that sense, this upcoming contest would raise my eyebrows for further concern much more quickly than it would have me feeling like the problem is fixed. However, a bounce back night in the tackling department would still be encouraging going into the bulk of the season.
Get Danny Kaelin some positive reps
Elliott and the offensive staff have been talking up backup quarterback Danny Kaelin ever since he arrived on Grounds. In relief of Chandler Morris against Coastal, however, his timing and accuracy was a bit shaky.
If all goes as planned, the Nebraska transfer should get at least a few more drives on Saturday and I’m sure Des Kitchings will treat it like a competitive situation. Every college quarterback room needs two competent options and the Wahoo faithful should feel reassured about Kaelin if he can move the chains if/when he gets called upon.
One Prediction
This one does not particularly worry me. At the very least, Elliott has proven that he can take care of business against lower tier opponents at this stage of his tenure. Give me ‘Hoos 41, Tribe 10.
