Virginia football vs William & Mary GAME THREAD

Virginia Cavaliers vs. William and Mary Tribe

HOW TO WATCH THE ‘HOOS:

Location: Charlottesville, VA
Date: October 7th, 2023
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Channel: ACCN

Well, the ‘Hoos couldn’t get their first W of 2023 last week on the road against Boston College. But the William & Mary Tribe are in town today for kickoff at noon, and this is probably the Wahoos’ absolute best chance to win a game this season.

With that in mind, we’ve previewed the matchup with three players, two positional matchups, and one prediction to watch for when the ‘Hoos line up against Mike London’s squad.

Earlier in the week, we debated as a staff about whether or not the Cavaliers will win a game this season. Spoiler: this game played a big role in our predictions.

All of the rest of our UVA football coverage can be found here!

Kickoff is at 12:00 — leave your pre, in, and post-game thoughts here and be sure to check back in for plenty of mid and post game content later today, tomorrow, and next week!

We’ll also be active on Twitter throughout the game and all season long so follow along on their for our staff’s live reactions.

Streaking the Lawn — @STL_UVA

Zach Carey — @Zach_Carey_

Dan Siegel — @DanSiegel_

Ryan Reese — @HoosOn_First

Ben Wieland — @BenWieland

Paul Guttman — @Tiki_UVA

Paul Wiley — @PaulWileyVA

Corbin Lathrop — @CorbinLathrop

Here are a few game notes from UVA:

INSIDE SATURDAY’S MATCHUP

• William & Mary will be Virginia’s final non-ACC opponent of the 2023 season. UVA is 2-4 against non-conference foes over the past two years.

• The Tribe come into the contest ranked No. 1 in FCS in total defense (200.6 yards per game) and No. 2 in scoring defense (10.6 ppg). Three of the five W&M opponents have been held under 10 points this season.

• Separated by 125 miles, Virginia and William & Mary will go head-to-head for the 39^th time. UVA has won 31 of 39 matchups in an all-time series that dates back to 1908.

• A total of 29 of the previous 38 matchups have occurred in Charlottesville, including each of the last 16.

• Virginia has won five-straight games against William & Mary and 11 of the last 12.

• The Cavaliers blanked the Tribe, 43-0 in the 2021 season opener at Scott Stadium, UVA’s first shutout of the Tribe since 1951 (46-0).

TOP STORYLINES

• William & Mary is one of five of Virginia’s remaining seven opponents with at least four wins through the first five weeks of the season. The final seven UVA opponents have a combined record of 25-8 and include ranked foes No. 14 North Carolina (4-0), No. 17 Miami (4-0), No. 19 Duke (4-1) and No. 25 Louisville (5-0).

• UVA wideouts Malik Washington and Malachi Fields are the top receiving duo in the ACC and among the top receiving tandems in the country. Their 911 yards combined receiving yards are the fourth-most of any two teammates in FBS competition. The pair have also combined for 64 receptions, most in the league and seventh most of any FBS duo.

• Quarterback Tony Muskett returned from an injury sustained in week one against Tennessee to start against Boston College last week and was 22-for-34 with 247 yards and three touchdowns. Over the last four games with either Muskett or true freshman Anthony Colandrea under center, UVA has averaged 289.5 yards per game through the air.

• Virginia has owned double-digit leads in three of its five games this season. The Cavaliers have been on the wrong end of three games decided by three points or less this season. In the first 15 games of Tony Elliott’s tenure, the Cavaliers have been a part of seven games decided by a field goal or less and are 1-6 in those contests.

• Dre Walker and Jaden Gibson became the fourth and fifth true freshmen to earn a start for UVA this season, joining Colandrea, WR Suderian Harrison and LB Kam Robinson. A total of nine true freshmen have seen action this year and 23 Cavaliers have made their collegiate debuts.

• William & Mary head coach Mike London was the head coach at Virginia for six seasons (2010-15). His staff includes former UVA players Darryl Blackstock, Keenan Carter, Ras-I Dowling and Matt Johns as well Terry Smith who spent time at UVA as an assistant coach under London.