By Jimmy Robertson
BLACKSBURG – Saturday's main mission for the Virginia Tech football team can be summed up in three simple words.
Avoid a letdown.
The Hokies are coming off a gritty display a week ago when they jumped out to a 28 point lead against Miami, saw the 'Canes rally to the game, but then scored late and held off Miami in the final seconds. The victory, one of extra-large proportions, came one week after Tech's fell by five touchdowns to Duke at home and pushed the Hokies to 3-2 on the season, 1-2 in ACC play.
Tech now gets ready to play its second FCS team of the season – the Hokies beat Furman 24-17 in a somewhat uninspiring performance in early September. Rhode Island comes in with a 1-4 record, but that is misleading. The Rams have lost games by three and four points and lost another game in triple overtime.
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Rhode Island also features a veteran lineup. The Rams start seven seniors on defense and six seniors on offense.
"They're scoring points," Tech head coach Justin Fuente said. "Senior-laden defense that continues to get better each and every week. We've got a challenge for ourselves, our staff, [and] our players to go get ready to try and play well, to try and win this game."
The Hokies need to do more than show up to win this game. They need to perform well and get some momentum going into the North Carolina game, another test looming large on the horizon.
What will it take to beat the Rams? Here are a few things to watch:
Hooker taking care of the ball – In his first collegiate start, quarterback Hendon Hooker put up nice numbers against the 'Canes, throwing for 184 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 76 yards and a score. More importantly, he took care of the football – no turnovers.
He needs to be careful against a Rhode Island secondary that features four seniors. Safety Momodou Mbye ranks second nationally among FCS teams in interceptions per game with four overall on the season. He has eight in his career and also six fumble recoveries, so he knows how to get around the ball.
The Rams have forced 10 turnovers this season, including eight interceptions. The Hokies have been prone to turnovers – they rank tied for 101st nationally in turnover margin.
So again, Hooker needs to be careful.
Win the first quarter – Believe it or not, Tech has not trailed at the end of the first quarter all season, and in fact, led after the first 15 minutes of play in four of its five games. That trend needs to continue.
Hopefully, it can, as the Rams have gotten off to slow starts in practically every game. They've been outscored 28-10 in the first quarter this season and trailed after 15 minutes in three of their five games. They've only led after one quarter of play in just one game.
As the Hokies know, letting FCS teams hang around creates all sorts of issues. Tech trailed Furman at halftime and needed 21 second half points to secure a victory.
Getting off to a good start usually leads to success for the Hokies. Tech is 20-4 under Fuente when leading after the first quarter.
Getting to the URI quarterback – Tech finished with a season high seven sacks against Miami primarily because it jumped out to a big lead and forced the 'Canes to pass the ball. That trend could continue Saturday because Rhode Island has allowed 12 sacks this season.
Tech needs to get after Rhode Island quarterback Vito Priore because he knows how to throw it around the yard. He's completing 65 percent of his passes for 1,717 yards, with 12 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He ranks fourth among FCS quarterbacks with 343.4 yards passing per game.
Some of that stems, of course, from Rhode Island being behind in some games and being forced to throw. But with two senior receivers and another junior wideout, Priore has weapons and knows how to get them the ball.
In closing – The Tech-Rhode Island game is slated to kick off at 4 p.m. and can be seen on the ACC Network. For more information on how to get the ACC Network, please click here.