After taking a week off to rest up and prepare for the long run ahead, No. 20 UVa is back on the gridiron tonight when the Cavaliers travels to South Florida to face Coastal Division foe Miami (8 p.m., ESPN).

Last year’s win over the Canes was the signature win to that point for Bronco Mendenhall and his staff but getting a victory tonight in Hard Rock Stadium could serve a similar function. Last fall, beating Miami announced to some that UVa was for real. Beat the Canes tonight and the Wahoos move to 3-0 in league play with three of the remaining five ACC games all coming in the friendly confines of Scott Stadium.

Of course, after watching The U struggle early last weekend and then have the comeback bid fall short, there’s no doubt that fans want to see the Cavaliers come out and start fast tonight.

Miami Hurricanes (2-3, 0-2 ACC)

Head coach: Manny Diaz, first year (2-3)

Series: Miami leads the all-time series 9-7.

Last Meeting: The Cavaliers beat the Canes 16-13 last year.

-- Miami, in the first season under the direction of coordinator Dan Enos, is still finding its way through five games. The Hurricanes will have a change at quarterback this week, with sophomore N’Kosi Perry stepping in for starter Jarren Williams. Willams had the first rough outing of his career last Saturday at Virginia Tech, throwing three interceptions on his first seven passes of the game, after having no picks in his first four starts. He also picked up an injury to his shoulder,and was replaced by Perry, who will start tonight against the Wahoos. Perry had the best passing performance of his career against the Hokies, throwing for 422 yards and four touchdowns in Miami’s comeback attempt. Perry took the starting job a few weeks into the 2018 season and did a decent job leading the Hurricanes offense until they came to Charlottesville, where he was benched after throwing two interceptions on his first six attempts. Perry finished throwing for 1,097 yards and 13 touchdowns last year, and while he didn’t win the job in camp he does bring a decent amount of game experience to the offense in this game.

-- Perry lit it up through the air last Saturday against Virginia Tech and was helped out a great deal by his team’s dynamic group of skill players. The Hurricanes have a group of talented wide receivers, led by Jeff Thomas and K.J. Osborn. Thomas is second on the team in receiving with 21 catches and 256 yards but was held in check by the UVa defense in last year’s meeting. Osborn came to Miami as a transfer from Buffalo and has made an immediate impact. The senior has hauled in 19 passes for 225 yards and three scores and is a big part of the Miami gameplan. One of Miami’s most dynamic weapons is tight end Brevin Jordan, who leads the team in receptions with 23 and receiving yards with 369. He had the best game of his career against the Hokies, catching seven passes for 136 yards and a score. The Hurricanes have a talented running back as well in Deejay Dallas. In his first season as the Canes every-down back, Dallas has averaged 7.2 yards per carry, rushing for 409 yards on 57 attempts with six touchdowns on the ground. He rushed for 215 yards (107.5 per game) total in Miami’s two wins and just 194 yards (65 per game) in the team’s three losses.

-- If Miami has one major weakness on offense it’s up front on the offensive line, which was a big question mark coming into the season. Thus far, it has remained a key concern for Enos and Co. Through five games, the Hurricanes have allowed the most total sacks (25) even though they have already had a bye week that many teams haven’t. Having allowed five sacks per game is also dead last nationally, and on Saturday, the unit gave up seven to a Virginia Tech defense that didn’t record a single sack the previous week against Duke. Miami is young up front, starting true freshman Zion Nelson (left tackle) and Jakai Clark (right guard). The Canes have several other underclassmen factoring in and only left guard Navaughn Donaldson had significant game experience coming into this season. UVa, of course, ranks second nationally in sacks per game (4.8, behind only Penn State) and could create a lot of havoc tonight if Miami’s offensive line struggles again.

-- As expected coming into the season, Miami’s defense has been the strongest and most reliable of the three phases. The Canes have allowed 21.2 points per contest and just 2.5 yards per rushing attempt. They are also only allowing opponents just 78 yards per game on the ground, which is top-ten nationally. The Hurricanes have forced nine total turnovers on the year, with five fumble recoveries and four interceptions. Tech’s 42 points on Saturday were by far the most allowed by Miami this season, but when looking a little closer at how those points were scored, the offense deserves a lion’s share of the blame. The Hokies scored 21 points in the first quarter, on drives of 48, 23, and 20 yards. Tech did have some successful long drives later in the game but the damage was done early when the Hurricanes put their defense in bad spots routinely.

-- Just as the matchup between UVa’s D and Miami’s offensive line could determine the game, the same can be said for Miami’s talented front seven against UVa’s struggling offensive line. The Canes don’t have the eye-popping sack and tackle for loss numbers that UVa has (13 sacks and 38 tackles for loss in five games for Miami) but the defensive line and linebacker group is one of the most talented the Cavaliers will face all year. Veteran end Jonathan Garvin anchors the 4-3 scheme and finished last season with 5.5 sacks. The defensive line is deep this year, with four talented starters and a couple more players that can create havoc in pass rushing downs. Redshirt freshman Gregory Rousseau has made a big impact in his first healthy season with the Canes, leading the team in tackles for loss with 5.5 and sacks with four. And Virginia Tech transfer Trevon Hill should be a familiar name to Cavalier fans. While Hill doesn’t start, he still sees plenty of action as a pass rusher. At linebacker, the Hurricanes are led by their top defensive player in Shaq Quarterman. Patrolling the middle of the defense, Quarterman has 44 starts under his belt and has been an All-ACC performer in each of his first three seasons in Coral Gables.

-- The secondary kept Virginia’s passing game in check last year and will look to do so again tonight. In that meeting, Bryce Perkins completed just 12 passes for 92 yards with no touchdowns. He did throw three interceptions, two of which were picked off by Hurricanes cornerback Trajan Bandy. Named to the preseason Thorpe Award Watch List for the award going to the nation’s top defensive back, Bandy is the only returning starter in the Canes secondary. He hasn’t recorded an interception yet this season after having three last fall but defensive backs Amari Carter and Al Blades have one each. The Hurricane secondary has allowed just over 200 yards per game through the air, giving up seven touchdowns and taking away three interceptions.