Ohio will travel to Nashville, Tennessee, for a neutral-site game against Virginia on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. EDT.
The game was originally scheduled to be played in Charlottesville, Virginia, but the uncertainty surrounding the path of Hurricane Florence caused both sides to move the game to Vanderbilt University's Vanderbilt Stadium.
The Post caught up with Mike Barber, who covers Virginia for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, to learn more about the Cavaliers.
How will the game moving to a neutral site affect the game?
I don’t think it’ll have an advantage to one side or the other. Both teams are having to relocate and do things a little differently. If you’re Ohio, it’s kind of nice you don’t have to play a true road game. If you’re UVA, it’s not a great situation — you gave up a home game. Virginia's emphasis was to make sure this game gets played. They moved it. I’m not sure it ended up being necessary, but it’s probably better to get out in front of it.
In the end, I don’t think it’s going to be a determining factor in the matchup. For both teams, you’re going into a new setting. It’s going to be a little bit different. I have no idea what the crowd’s going to be. I can’t imagine it’ll be very large.
Virginia played one game, then played in a monsoon, so we don’t know much about Virginia’s offense. Can you talk about it?
It’s completely different than if you study film from last year. They’ve gone to a true dual-threat option-based offense. It’s kind of the system that (head coach) Bronco Mendenhall and (offensive coordinator) Robert Anae ran when they were at BYU, especially with Taysom Hill at BYU. (Quarterback) Bryce Perkins is a transfer. He was in junior college, he started at Arizona State and he’s a big, strong kid. He ran (the ball) 25 times last week. This is an offense that’s all about the quarterback running it, and if you overpursue or overcommit to the quarterback, they can run up the middle with Jordan Ellis at you. They can throw it downfield a little bit, but really, everything is off of the quarterback’s running ability right now.
One of the strengths for Ohio is the offensive line. What’s the scouting report on the Virginia defensive front?
They’re good, they’re schematically good, but they’re just so thin. The defensive line is very young. One guy’s a converted tight end. They have a transfer from Ohio State (Dylan Thompson) who hasn’t played yet because he arrived late transferring. They played a true freshman at nose tackle. They’re good players, and they have a good scheme for stopping the run with an odd front, but they were just terrible a week ago, and it was the defensive line lost their gaps. The linebackers, then, were adjusting off the wrong gaps. The safeties were adjusting, and the entire defense was just a lane over. They were in the wrong gaps all day long, and Indiana just pounded them because of it.
What’s Virginia’s special teams outlook?
They haven’t been very good this year, but they should be. It’s supposed to be one of the strengths of the team. Joe Reed led the (Atlantic Coast Conference) in kick returns last year. He returned two for touchdowns. That was tied for the most in the league. He averaged just under 30 yards per kick return.
Virginia’s special teams have a history of having a huge impact on games, either positive or negative. So I think that they will be huge in this game, I just can’t tell you if it’s going to be Joe Reed breaking a long return or going to be a bad snap that goes over the punter’s head and turns the game that way. You’d be smart to keep an eye on special teams. I just don’t know who it favors.
Ohio has a bye week and is trying to knock off a Power Five team. Do you think Virginia classifies as a Power Five team?
Yes, I think they’re there. Bronco (Mendenhall) had that interesting comment that they only have, like, 28 ACC caliber players. That was back in the spring. That number is probably up in the 40s now, but they’re a team that won six games and went to a bowl game last year. If Ohio wins this game, I think that is a nice feather in the cap for Ohio. I think that’s something good. It’s a big win for Ohio.
I don’t think Ohio is a massive underdog. Certainly, there’s a little more talent in an ACC program right now than a MAC program, but Ohio is the MAC favorite. So to me, I don’t see UVA as a big favorite in this. I think it’s a toss up game, especially because it’s a neutral site game.
Did you get the feeling from the Virginia camp that they really didn’t want to move this game?
Virginia wanted to make sure this game got played. Not that they think it’s a guaranteed win, but they only have so many chances to win games. Virginia decided even if it means going to Ohio, which I was told today that it was an option. Had nothing come available, they were willing to go play this game as a road game. They did not want to give up a chance at six wins this year. I give them credit for that. They were committed to playing the game.
Who wins and why?
I do think Virginia will win this in a close game. I think it’s going to be very competitive. I think Bryce Perkins is going to have a big game. His ability to run the football will be the difference. I’ve probably got it somewhere like, maybe Virginia wins, 31-27. Somewhere in there. But if a special teams mistake goes another way, that score could easily flip.
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