After defeating a Maryland team that was 4-1 before last Saturday, the Cavalier football team is poised to take on non-conference foe East Carolina at home this weekend. The matchup could offer a better picture of just how much Virginia has developed as a team; while Maryland is a team characterized by sudden collapses, East Carolina is a talented squad in the midst of a midseason slide, having lost its last two games. Both Virginia (2-3, 1-1 ACC) and East Carolina (3-2, 1-1 Conference USA) have something to prove in Scott Stadium Saturday.
The season began with stark differences in the two teams’ play. Southern California wiped the floor with Virginia, and East Carolina shocked more than a few people by upsetting Virginia Tech. East Carolina went on to another impressive win with a defeat of West Virginia while the Cavaliers scraped by in a win against Richmond in the next week of the season. After week two, both teams had some trouble; ECU, No. 14 at the time, barely beat unranked Tulane and then lost to unranked N.C. State and Houston, while Virginia broke Duke’s 25-game ACC losing streak. The Cavaliers finally found some life last week against Maryland, but what can Virginia expect from the Pirates this week?
Virginia Tech and West Virginia “are the teams [East Carolina] beat and played their very best against, so we take our reading off of their performance against those two best teams as to what East Carolina is capable of,” Virginia coach Al Groh said. “We can see what the benchmark is as to their performance, and we have to aim at and above that benchmark to be competitive in the game.”
Two areas in which Virginia saw a vast improvement last week were the offensive line and quarterback play. Sophomore quarterback Marc Verica was able to succeed with the help of the time provided by his offensive line, including junior tackle Will Barker.
“It’s not just some of the younger players we’ve been waiting to come on,” Groh said. “It’s some of the veteran players we’ve [been] waiting to come on. [Barker] was one of them, and hopefully, that’s a sign there.”
Against Maryland, Verica atoned for his poor performance against Duke a week earlier. Verica threw four interceptions in the Duke contest, but against the Terps, he was more efficient, completing 25 of 34 passes for 226 yards for two touchdowns and no interceptions. Maryland’s pass defense, however, is currently ranked 98th in the country. And though East Carolina’s is not much better at 74th. the Cavaliers will have to contend with the speed of the Pirates’ defense.
“They’re definitely very fast, very athletic,” Verica said, “probably one of the more athletic defenses we’ve played along with USC, so it’s going to be a challenge.”
The young defense, led by veteran stalwarts such as senior linebackers Clint Sintim and Jon Copper, also has its work cut out for it, with speed being a major part of East Carolina’s offensive arsenal as well.
“It’s been really apparent when the young guys are out there, senior safety Byron Glaspy said. “First of all, in practice, there’s a lot more coaching that needs to be done, just to make sure they understand the fundamentals and all that stuff.
“I think it’s just translated so well for us, that just seeing them out there you can see the type of athleticism and speed that we have. There’s a lot of young talent on this team.”
Virginia proved last weekend that it have the ability and the personnel to get the job done and hopes to demonstrate that ability again this weekend.
“In our buildup for ECU, we’ll keep in mind that we can make big plays, we can get first downs, we can put up points,” Verica said.
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