Three bold predictions for No. 25 Virginia vs West Virginia

Gameday has arrived. at 7:30 p.m, Virginia battles West Virginia to preserve an undefeated record and keep pace in the race to the postseason. Returning to Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., the Cavaliers hope to start a winning streak in the Tar Heel State.

Ahead of the duel with the Mountaineers, here are three bold predictions.

Virginia holds the Mountaineers to 10 points

On the surface, it would be easy to look at NC State’s eight points and Norfolk State’s three, and then claim that West Virginia is destined for a similar result against Virginia's defense.

Although it would be a crude eyeball assessment, it is not all that ridiculous. The Wolfpack’s offensive core of quarterback CJ Bailey, Victor Snow, Josh Trader and Duke Scott is objectively far superior compared to the Mountaineers’ main characters.

West Virginia has lived through the run game, but if the Cavaliers get their opponent into third-and-long, a quick three-and-out is likely. Quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. is talented but has not proven whatsoever that he is capable of digging his team out of difficult situations. On the other hand, Virginia has a deep and experienced unit that ranks fifth nationally in scoring defense.

Jekail Middlebrook has his first 100-yard game as a Cavalier

Out of the strong contingent of Cavalier backs, Middlebrook won the starting job. However, he has yet to make a major impact in a game. Meanwhile, Xavier Brown, Xay Davis and Noah Vaughn have all had a game with 80-plus total yards.

It seems like a matter of time before Middlebrook shows the world why he won the starting role. Against any defense, he presents a difficult challenge as a dual-threat running back. The Mountaineers defense was far below average in its only FBS game this year.

The Cavaliers keep West Virginia under 100 total rushing yards

NC State ran for just 76 yards. Norfolk State ran for 55. Two potent rushing attacks were essentially non-factors against Virginia. Part of that is due to the Cavaliers’ strong front seven, but an even larger part is that they jumped out to a huge lead and opponents had to catch up.

If Virginia takes a multi-touchdown lead, the Mountaineers will have to prioritize their passing game. Time-wise, they might not be able to afford to run the ball as often as they would like. In addition, the Cavaliers are likely to key in on the run game anyway — which could lead to a subpar outing by West Virginia.

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