2 p.m., ESPN+

Head Coach: Tim Beck (RECORD)

Last Meeting: None

It was a tale of two halves last Saturday night as UVa started strong against Maryland, but never seemed to do just enough to seal the deal in the first half. After a late touchdown scramble by Anthony Colandrea, the Wahoos took a 13-7 lead in the locker room, but Maryland came out and dominated the second stanza with 20 unanswered points in the second stanza, pulling away for a 27-13 victory. The Cavaliers struggled along the offensive and defensive lines in the second half, and Colandrea labored through the game, riddled with inconsistency and turnovers. The Terps adjusted and simplified their game plan after halftime and took over the game in front of an inspired UVa home crowd.

This Saturday presents another opportunity for UVa to take a step in the right direction. The Wahoos travel south to the beach to take on Coastal Carolina; a program that is accustomed to winning and one of the premier G5 teams in the country. Second-year head coach Tim Beck brings the Chanticleers into Saturday’s game with a 3-0 record. The "Chants" have secured victories over Jacksonville State (55-27), William & Mary (41-20), and Temple (28-20). In those games, they have shown the ability to score points in bunches, and in a variety of ways.

Coastal Carolina's offense has averaged better than 40 points per game this season, and should be another difficult task for the Cavalier defense. Redshirt Quarterback Ethan Vasko (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) stirs the drink for Coastal. Originally from Chesapeake (Oscar Smith) Vasko transferred in from Kansas and has taken the reins of this offense. Vasko is a true dual-threat signal caller from Coastal’s “power spread” offense. They will use a lot of motions, a lot of H-Back formations (11 & 12 personnel), and some RPO’s to keep the defense off schedule. Though a capable thrower, Vasko hasn't been forced to throw a ton, with a modest 512 yards through three contests at a 56% completion rate.

The Chants are averaging over 250 rushing yards per game this season. Although they have experienced some injuries in the running back room, they are paced by Christian Washington. The 5-foot-10, 200-pound tailback leads Coastal with 206 yards rushing this season and four touchdowns. Vasko is close behind with 190 yards rushing and a score. Projected starter Braydon Bennett (6-foot-2, 215 pounds) put up some good numbers in their season opener against Jacksonville State but was sidelined with an injury against William & Mary. Look for Simeon Price (6-foot, 215 pounds) to spell Washington in the run game.

Coastal Carolina has a run-heavy offense, but likes to get vertical in the pass game. They have five pass catchers that average over 12 yards per catch and two receivers that average over 20 yards per reception. Tray Taylor (5-foot-8, 160 pounds) leads the team with 132 yards receiving on just six catches from the slot. Jameson Tucker (6-foot-2, 190 pounds) is another starter for the Chanticleers. On the other side of the formation, look for Cameron Wright (6-foot-4, 210 pounds) to be a big body target for Vasko. Coastal returns a lot of experience on the offensive line led by Donovan Manson (6-foot-3, 300 pounds). All five projected starters played in several games last season and have gelled nicely as a unit.

Defensive Coordinator Craig Naivar is a Broyles Award nominee and has done a great job with the Coastal defense in his two years in Conway. Last season, the Chanticleers ranked 15th nationally in defensive touchdowns, 19th in interceptions, 20th in turnovers forced, and 24th in red zone defense. They also forced a turnover in 11 of 13 games played in 2023. This season, the Chants are holding teams to 330 yards of total offense and have forced six turnovers. Coastal will line up like Maryland with a three down lineman front with a “bandit,” who will double as an edge rusher and drop into coverage. This unit has already collected nine sacks this season, led by middle backer Trey Brown (6-foot-1, 235 pounds) with his 2.5 sacks. Flanking Brown will be Shane Bruce (6-feet, 235 pounds) who leads the team with 20 stops this year. Braylon Ryan starts at Bandit, and has started 22 games at Coastal. Will Whitson, Sawyer Goram-Welch, and Emmauel Johnson are the other starters up front for the Chants.

In the secondary, Matthew McDoom leads a deep and experienced DB corps. There are a lot of Power 4 transfers littered throughout the secondary at Coastal. McDoom (5-foot-11, 170 pounds) was an All-Sun Belt selection at defensive back and returner. ECU transfer Juan Powell (5-foot-11, 190 pounds) starts at the nickel position, while Wake transfer AJ Williams (6-feet, 195 pounds) also starts for Coastal as a safety.

1. Better performance on the biggest plays

UVa started fast last week against Maryland, but after halftime, the Terps shut the Wahoo’s water off and Virginia limped to the finish line with a disappointing performance. The offense was simply not sharp against Maryland, even in the first half, when the Hoos seemingly moved the ball up and down the field. Third downs and red zone woes have been bugaboos for the Cavaliers this season so far. UVa will need to be efficient when it matters most on Saturday.

2. A bounce-back game from UVa's QB

The Anthony Colandrea experience has been a wild ride for Wahoo fans thus far. Colandrea is a dynamic athlete at the quarterback position, but he got the team into some trouble last week with some turnovers and bad plays. Simply put, he must play better to give UVa a chance to compete this season. The good thing is, he seems like quite the competitor and is chomping at the bit to right the wrongs from last week.

3. Quality secondary play against Coastal's receivers

Defensively, UVa solid against Maryland, but this is a unit that needs to force turnovers and create adverse situations for the opposing teams. This week, look for UVa to load the box and force Vasko and his receivers to beat Virginia in the passing game. While Vasko is a dynamic runner, Coastal’s passing attack allows for some plays to be made by our secondary. Jam Jackson and Kempton Shine should be able to contain their receivers, which will allow Antonio Clary or Jonas Sanker to be solely in the box to counter the Chanticleer’s rushing attack.

UVa is walking into a packed house on Saturday afternoon and playing a team that is not accustomed to losing. It would not surprise us if Coastal jumps out early on the Hoos and we are forced to battle back. The hope for UVa is that they can limit Coastal’s offense and make them a one-dimensional unit. Colandrea and the offense has shown flashes of brilliance this season, but the consistency has been lacking. This game has the making of a back-and-forth slugfest, where UVa lands one more punch and escapes Conway with a much-needed win heading into the first bye week of the season.