Jay Ballard 
Virginia Touchdown
Each week in the 1,2,3 Ding Ding Ding, we’ll look at the opponent and compare it to a WWE match to give you a perspective on what to expect. This week Virginia travels to Winston-Salem North Carolina to take on the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest. The WWE match comparison this week is The Miz versus Sami Zayn. Now, if you aren’t a WWE fan, scroll on down to the 1,2,3 for actual game notes and the ding ding ding for a final score prediction, but for those that are, here we go!
You see on the surface, The Miz versus Sami Zayn seems like a match either could win. The Miz is a legend in the business, whereas Sami has a more of a cult following. While the Miz is only three years older, his time has passed. His comedic tag team with R-Truth won the Tag Titles, but everyone knew they were just transitional champions. Sami is just coming off of an Intercontinental Championship run that ended against Bron Breaker. They did protect Sami though, allowing him to pin up and coming star Breaker twice before ultimately losing the feud in a 2 out of 3 falls match.
In this matchup, UVa is Sami Zayn. Sami is on quite the run the last several years after playing an integral part of The Bloodline storyline. Sami, at this point, has surpassed The Miz in the pecking order. If the two were to square off in a singles match, The Miz may appear dangerous, he may even hit a Skull Crushing Finale, but it would not be enough to keep Sami down. The Miz just doesn’t have the firepower he used to and ultimately, he would succumb to the Helluva Kick! Just like Wake Forest is going to succumb to the Good Ol Song Boys from Charlottesville. Now, on to the football.
The 1: The one guy to watch in this game has to be Anthony Colandrea. After throwing for 297 and rushing for 49 yards against Richmond, all eyes will look to see if he can repeat the performance. He has plenty of weapons to do so. Malachi Fields and Trell Harris both had big games receiving Saturday, while Kobe Pace went for almost 100 on the ground. As Colandrea said after the game, he just has to be the point guard. As all ACC fans know, it’s harder on the road. There probably isn’t a much better place to play your first road game than Wake Forest, it won’t be confused for Doak Campbell Stadium anytime soon.
The 2: The area that had the most fans concerned after Saturday was the defensive line. While most of the game, UVa only sent four defenders, there wasn’t a ton of pressure on the UR Quarterback. I believe some of this was by design, as it appeared UVa was more concerned about keeping Wickersham in the pocket. They did a great job with that. Holding him to 37 yards on 12 carries with a long run of 9 yards. Against Wake, I think Virginia will send a little more pressure as Hank Bachmeier is more of a traditional pocket passer.
The 3: Where Virginia will win this game is on the ground. North Carolina A&T, yes, North Carolina A&T had 185 yards rushing against Wake. This was led by 121 yards on 16 carries by Kenji Christian. You may think, well, he probably had a big 75 yard run and that skewed the average. You’d be wrong, as his long was only 22 yards. The Aggies kept this game close for a half by being successful with the run. I expect Virginia to pound the rock against Wake Forest, just as Tony Elliott has said he loves to do. Kobe Pace should find plenty of running room behind the experienced O-line, led by center Brian Stevens. Once the run is established, Colandrea will find room over the top. I expect Virginia to have little trouble scoring in this one, they should be able to eclipse the 30 point mark once again.
The Ding, Ding, Ding: When the final whistle blows in Winston-Salem Saturday evening, the Hoos should be 2-0. Wake will present more of a challenge than Richmond, but I expect improvement from the defensive front, along with a punishing run game to lead Virginia to a relatively easy win. Final Score Prediction: Virginia 31 Wake Forest 20. GO HOOS!
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