William & Mary @ Virginia preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 19, 2015 ) William & Mary 29, Virginia 35

Winning just two games in 2016 and losing to FCS in-state foe Richmond wasn’t the debut season Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall envisioned. Opening the 2017 campaign against another in-state FCS foe, the Cavaliers will try and snap a long losing streak Saturday when they host William & Mary.

Virginia recorded its lone ACC win at Duke on Oct. 1, then finished the season with seven consecutive defeats - five by double figures. Making a turnaround more difficult this season is the graduation of Taquan Mizzell, the team’s leading rusher and receiver and the only player in ACC history to record 1,500 career rushing and receiving yards. Perhaps the key to the Cavaliers' rebuild is senior quarterback Kurt Benkert, who threw for 2,552 yards and 21 touchdowns last season but was erratic throughout the season. The former East Carolina transfer threw for eight TDs in wins over Duke and Central Michigan but had just 13 scores against nine interceptions in the nine losses he started.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network. LINE: NL.

ABOUT WILLIAM & MARY (2016: 5-6): Picked to finish seventh in the Colonial Athletic Association, the Tribe will have to replace three-year starting quarterback Steve Cluley (2,015 yards, 12 TD in 2016) and two-time All-CAA running back Kendell Anderson (1,077 yards, nine TDs), whose backup Albert Funderburke (294 yards, 7.5 yards per carry) is recovering from a knee injury. Senior wide receiver DeVonte Dedmon, a two-time all-conference selection and 2015 special teams player of the year, has 110 catches for 1,421 yards and 14 TDs during his career and ranks ninth all-time in career all-purpose yards (3,093). Defensive tackle Isaiah Stephens and safety Corey Parker (71 tackles, three interceptions) lead a defense that needs to replace six starters from a group that surrendered 23.5 points and 361.5 yards per game last year.

ABOUT VIRGINIA (2016: 2-10): Daniel Hamm (three carries last season) and Jordan Ellis (14 carries) will battle for the workload in the backfield in the absence of Mizzell (940 yards rushing, 52 receptions). Virginia is deep at wide receiver with junior Olamide Zaccheaus (51 catches, 584 yards) and senior Doni Dowling (50 catches, 626 yards), but a suspect offensive line needs to replace three starters, certain to be a tough task considering eight of the 11 scholarship offensive linemen were new to campus this summer. Virginia does return nine starters on defense, but the unit needs a lot of improvement after yielding 446.6 yards and 33.8 points per game a season ago.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Virginia leads the all-time series 28-6-1, including a 35-29 win in 2015.

2. Cavaliers LB Micah Kiser led the ACC and finished third in FBS in tackles (133), while S Quin Blanding had 118 tackles and two interceptions. The duo has finished inside the top five in ACC tackles the past two seasons, while Blanding has done so in each of the last three years.

3. Only Rutgers (nine) enters 2017 with more consecutive losses among Power-5 schools than Virginia.

PREDICTION: Virginia 27, William & Mary 10