William & Mary @ Virginia preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 5, 2009 ) William & Mary 26, Virginia 14

THE STORY: The Virginia Cavaliers know better than to overlook a highly-ranked opponent from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision — or at least they should. On Saturday the Cavaliers will try to avoid a repeat of their 2009 season opener, which they lost 26-14 to William & Mary. The Tribe's win was their first against their in-state rival since 1986.

TV: ESPN3.com. LINE: NA

ABOUT VIRGINIA (2010: 4-8, 1-7 ACC): The Cavaliers look for marked improvement in coach Mike London's second season since he moved over from Richmond. That's no easy goal on offense, as Virginia improved from last in the ACC in total offense in 2009 to third in the conference with 404.8 yards per game a year ago. The Cavaliers must replace QB Marc Verica and RB Keith Payne. London hasn't yet named a starting quarterback, but sophomore Michael Rocco has been getting most of the first-team reps in practice. Junior Perry Jones is the heir to Payne in the backfield. He rushed for 646 yards last season. The offensive line returns four starters, and the Cavaliers have nine starters back on defense.

ABOUT WILLIAM & MARY (2010: 8-4, 6-2 Colonial): Jimmye Laycock enters his 32nd season as head coach with a 208-145-2 record. The Tribe begin the season with national title hopes, as they're ranked fourth among FCS teams after bowing out in the second round of the playoffs a year ago. William & Mary returns seven starters on each side of the ball. Senior RB Jonathan Grimes and senior QB Michael Paulus lead the offense. Grimes needs only 635 rushing yards to match the school record of 3,110 career rushing yards. Paulus completed 62 percent of his passes for 883 yards and four touchdowns last year and started wins against then-No. 1 Villanova and then-No. 2 Delaware.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Cavaliers lost three games by seven points or less last season, including a 17-14 loss at then-No. 16 Southern California.

2. Virginia leads the all-time series 26-6-1.

3. William & Mary's senior class has won 26 games the past three years, matching the best three-year span in school history. The school's four-year record for wins is 34 from 1993-96.

PREDICTION: Virginia 27, William & Mary 20 — The Cavaliers handled Richmond a year ago in a similar spot, and they'll be plenty motivated to dispatch the Tribe.