Middle Tennessee welcomes the Virginia Cavaliers to Floyd Stadium this Saturday night in the first of several home games against major college programs over the next couple of years. The Cavaliers currently sit atop the ACC with an undefeated conference record and an overall mark of 4-1.
Virginia had an embarrassing start to the season by falling to Wyoming by 20 points. However, since that loss, the Cavaliers have rattled off four straight victories to gain an early lead in the ACC. Competition, or lack there of, may be a factor in the Cavaliers record as the teams they defeated in this winning streak (Duke, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, and Pittsburgh) have a combined record of 7-13 on the year.
The Cavaliers have the ACC’s leading rusher in Cedric Peerman. Peerman rushed for only 18 yards in the opener but has since put up a total of 548 rushing yards during his team’s four-game win streak.
Virginia has seemed to resolve its quarterback controversy by settling on sophomore Jameel Sewell. Sewell’s poor performance against Wyoming prompted the coaching staff to give freshman Peter Lalich some playing time in the following three games. However, Sewell was able to bounce back and take every snap of the Cavaliers most recent game, a 44-14 blowout victory over Pittsburgh.
On defense, the Cavaliers return all-American defensive end Chris Long. Long is a 6-4 279-pound senior who is tied for second on the team with 31 tackles this season. He also leads the Cavaliers with six sacks on the year.
One way the Blue Raiders can pull the upset is by having success through the air. The Cavaliers pass defense ranks eighth in the ACC giving up an average of 230 yards per game. However, in order to attack Virginia’s weakness, the Blue Raider offensive line must keep quarterback Dwight Dasher upright as the Cavaliers are fourth in the conference with 16 sacks.
A key to success for the Blue Raider defense is to keep Virginia out of the red zone. Virginia leads the ACC in red zone offense by converting on 17 of 18 tries inside the 20 including 11 touchdowns.
The Blue Raiders (1-4) are coming into this contest fresh off a 47-6 destruction of Florida International. Dasher led several Blue Raider scoring drives throughout the first half to build a 47-0 halftime advantage. He finished the game passing for 240 yards with three touchdowns passing and two more scores rushing.