Southern Miss @ Virginia preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 19, 2009 ) Virginia 34, Southern Mississippi 37

THE STORY: Picked near the bottom of the ACC, Virginia is hoping to take advantage of a schedule that puts them at home for the next month. The green Cavaliers didn’t win a game on the road last year but have been a different team in Charlottesville, Va. Southern Mississippi got its high-powered offense in gear last week, scoring 52 points in a win against overmatched Southeast Louisiana. Things will certainly be tougher for the Golden Eagles in this non-conference game.

TV: FSS, NESN. LINE: Virginia -3

ABOUT SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI (2-1, 0-1 C-USA): Larry Fedora hopes his spread offense can work as well as it did the last time his squad faced Virginia. Southern Miss won the only previous matchup 37-34 in 2009. Virginia was a 13.5 favorite in the game but the Golden Eagles rallied from 17 points down for the win. Fedora said the Cavs will have a distinct size advantage on Saturday but hopes his team’s speed will make the difference. The Golden Eagles lost at Marshall 26-20 last week.

ABOUT VIRGINIA (2-1, 0-1 ACC): The Cavs opened the season with wins over William & Mary and at Indiana before losing at North Carolina last week. Sophomore QB Michael Rocco passed for 287 passing yards, completing 22-of-37 attempts in the loss at UNC, his third collegiate start. As part of a new backfield, Rocco is teaming with freshman tailback Kevin Parks to carry the Cavs’ offense. Parks leads the ACC with five rushing touchdowns. Rocco has thrown for one touchdown against four interceptions.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Cavs are 12 for 12 in the red zone this season with seven touchdowns. Last season UVA ranked 80th in red zone efficiency, scoring only 79 percent of the time.

2. Fedora’s teams have yet to beat a BCS conference team on the road in five tries.

3. Virginia ranks 18th in the nation in pass defense while So. Miss. is 73rd. Otherwise, the two teams are very close in many categories.

PREDICTION: Virginia 27, So. Mississippi 23 -- Home-field advantage makes the difference for the young Cavaliers.