Ohio (1-0) heads on the road Saturday, not for a true road game, but for a neutral-site game in Nashville, Tennessee, to take on Virginia (1-1). The matchup will take place at Vanderbilt Stadium on the campus of Vanderbilt University.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. CDT (local time in Nashville) and 4:30 p.m. EDT, and it can be watched on ESPN2.
The game was originally scheduled for a 3 p.m. EDT kickoff Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia, which is roughly 177 miles from Virginia Beach. Hurricane Florence is expected to make landfall Thursday night into Friday morning and pound the east coast, potentially including Virginia.
Here’s what to know about Virginia headed into this week’s matchup:
All-time series: Virginia leads 1-0.
Last time they played: The Cavaliers, ranked No. 21 in the country at the time, defeated Ohio, 41-7, on Oct. 2, 1993, in Charlottesville.
The Cavaliers passed for 313 yards on the day, finishing with 466 yards and 19 first downs. Ohio just picked up 198 yards, led by Bubba Lichtenberg, who passed for 60 yards and completed nine passes.
The Virginia report: Now in his third season at Virginia, coach Bronco Mendenhall has the Cavaliers out to a 1-1 start, with a win over Richmond and a loss at Indiana. Many know Mendenhall for his work at BYU, where he coached for 10 years and led the Cougars to three 11-2 finishes.
After losing in last year’s Military Bowl, Mendenhall revamped the offense to an option, dual-centric one. He added Bryce Perkins to his roster at quarterback, who is a big runner with the strength to break a few tackles.
The front seven is thin in numbers, and allowed 237 rushing yards last week. But in just two games, the Cavaliers secondary has intercepted opponents three times and forced a fumble.
How Ohio beats Virginia: The Bobcats need to take care of the ball against Virginia, as the Cavaliers offense is capable of taking advantage of more offensive opportunities. The defense will have its hands full in trying to shut down a Virginia offensive attack that’s rushed for 489 yards. Ohio also needs consistency from the quarterback position this week. It will start Nathan Rourke at quarterback, and he suits the Bobcats best in trying to knock off a Power Five team.
Number to know: 5. In the Frank Solich era, Ohio has knocked off five Power Five opponents.
Player to watch: Bryce Perkins, quarterback, No. 3
The biggest weapon for the Cavaliers, Perkins is a dual-threat quarterback who has reenergized their offense. In Week 1 against Richmond, Perkins had two rushing touchdowns, which was the first time a Virginia quarterback had multiple rushing touchdowns in a game since 2009.
Ohio struggled to stop Howard dual-threat quarterback Caylin Newton in the Bobcats' 38-32 win in Week 1. Perkins is better and is physically stronger, someone who could run down a linebacker. If the Bobcats win, it’ll be because they shut down the threat of Perkins.
