This week, The Chronicle’s Daniel Carp spoke to The Cavalier Daily's Senior Associate Sports Editor Mike Eilbacher about this weekend’s contest between Duke and Virginia.
The Chronicle: After dropping its last three contest, it's safe to say that Virginia is struggling coming into this week's matchup against Duke. What are the sources of the Cavaliers' most recent skid?
Mike Eilbacher: At first the struggle was the offense. The offense couldn't score against Pitt—they only had about 180 yards and scored three points, it was kind of embarrassing. The offense has ticked up and since then it's kind of been the defense's fault. Forty-eight points against Ball State, a lot of big plays against Maryland, at first the offense was letting the team down but now the defense is letting the offense down.
TC: Duke is among the top scoring teams in the ACC. How is Virginia's defense looking to right the ship this weekend?
ME: They've been mixing things up on the defensive side of the ball. They had DreQuan Hoskey starting, he's been relegated to backup. Brandon Phelps was starting at safety, but now they've put Rijo Walker equal on the depth chart. They've tried to mix up the linebackers, and it's important because Brent Urban, Virginia's starting defensive tackle was injured during the Maryland game. We're not sure whether or not he's going to play, so it will be interesting to see how the defensive line looks. We might have a true freshman starting in Urban's place. Against Maryland, I think there were six plays that went for over 30 yards, so I think they're just trying to defend downfield passes and improve open-field tackling.
TC: At quarterback, David Watford has had his ups and downs this season. What have you seen from him in his transition to being a full-time starter?
ME: We really didn't see much of him his freshman year. He didn't get much playing time, and then he redshirted last year, so we didn't know what to expect. We knew he was mobile, we knew he had a pretty good arm, but he looked a little rough in those first couple of games. He looked like he was hesitant to use his mobility. They weren't running any designed runs for him, so he was just stuck in the pocket, but recently they've been working in more scrambling plays for him and I think it's been working.
TC: Anthony Boone returned to action for Duke last week after missing three weeks with a broken collarbone and played very well. Last year, Boone's first start of his career came against Virginia and he threw four touchdowns. What advantage does it give the Cavaliers that they have game tape on Boone from last season?
ME: That will be huge. Virginia recently has been quite disappointing against Duke, so the opportunity that they have to have any advance knowledge about their quarterback is big. Knowing that he's just recovering from an injury, they'll know that he's somewhat vulnerable in the passing game.
TC: Duke has beaten Virginia four out of the last five seasons, and things have started to get a bit chippy when these two teams meet. Are you expecting a similarly physical contest this weekend?
ME: I think that Virginia, at least this year, has really ramped up the physicality on the defensive side of the ball. So I'm expecting them to continue to be aggressive, because I definitely think that they're—at least mentally—ready for this game. They want to turn around what has been, so far, an incredibly disappointing stretch. So I think they see this game as a chance to really let out the frustration they've had in the last three weeks.
TC: Finally, what is your score prediction for Saturday's game?
ME: I think the defense will be better and I think Watford will continue his progress. I'm going to be a homer and go 27-20 Virginia.
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