UCONN AT VIRGINIA FOOTBALL GAMEDAY CAPSULE

• When: Saturday, noon • Where: Scott Stadium, Charlottesville, VA • Records: UConn 1-0; Virginia 1-1 • TV: ESPN2 • Internet: ESPN3 • Radio: WTIC-1080, WAVZ-1300, WILI-1400, WGCH-1490 FIVE THINGS TO WATCH

• Man in the middle: When senior linebacker Junior Joseph left UConn’s season opener with a shoulder injury, the fear was that the Huskies would be without their most reliable and durable player. However, Joseph is set to start for the 30th straight time, joining former teammate Jhavon Williams as well as Dwayne Gratz, Yawin Smallwood, Rhema Fuller, Dahna Deleston and Lawrence Wilson as the only defensive players to make 30 straight starts since the Huskies began playing as an FBS team. UConn will also have the services of senior linebacker Vontae Diggs, who missed the season opener as a result of a knee injury suffered during preseason camp. • Hitter friendly showdown: The game features three of the top active tacklers at the FBS level. Virginia safety Quin Blanding has 382 career tackles, the most of any active player. Teammate Micah Kiser ranks fifth with 287 stops. The aforementioned Joseph is tied for 36th with 219 tackles in his career. • Youth will be served: Virginia played 10 true freshman in its season opener against William & Mary, which ranked eighth among FBS teams. UConn wasn’t far behind as nine true freshman appeared on the participation chart in the Huskies’ win over Holy Cross. Virginia had 16 true or redshirt freshmen play in its season opener. UConn called upon 17 freshmen in its opening game. • Traveling woes: It would be kind to say the UConn has struggled to win on the road in recent years. The reality is struggle is not a strong enough term. A season ago the Huskies were 0-5 on the road and were outscored 68-183. Since Randy Edsall left to take over at Maryland in 2011, the Huskies are 6-26 on the road with one of the victories coming at the expense of Edsall’s Terrapins. UConn failed to score an offensive touchdown in nine of those games and 17 times had only one offensive TD. In the six road wins, UConn had a plus-8 in turnover margin. In the losses, the Huskies were a minus-28. • Been there, done that: Virginia’s defense features five players who have started at least 10 consecutive games, led by Blanding’s run of 38 starts in a row. On the other side of the ball, no Virginia player has started more than three consecutive games. The Cavaliers depth chart lists 13 offensive positions on its depth chart and the players on the top line have 85 starts between them while the 11 defensive regulars have combined for start 131 games.