Area College Football Previews

Virginia at Pittsburgh

Records: Season opener for both.

When: 7 p.m.

Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh.

TV: ESPNU.

Quarterback Club: In 2003, when Virginia played Pittsburgh in the Continental Tire Bowl, Virginia Coach Al Groh chatted up Tyler Palko, then a backup behind Rod Rutherford. He enjoyed shooting the breeze with Palko, a player Virginia did not recruit heavily. Three years later, Groh might not find the experience quite as pleasant. Palko is now one of the Big East's best quarterbacks, while Groh's signal caller, Christian Olsen, has never started a college game. How Olsen performs in his first significant action of a long and circuitous career will determine how the Cavaliers start their season. The game should give an indication of just where the Cavaliers stand, playing a decent BCS conference team on the road at night. If Olsen can't deliver, Virginia won't like the answer.

Starry Night: The Panthers may not be a national powerhouse, but their defense possesses two players deserving of that spotlight. Cornerback Darrelle Revis allows Pittsburgh to employ Coach Dave Wannstedt's favored defense, in which safeties and linebackers put pressure up front and the cornerbacks play lock-down single coverage. One of those linebackers, H.B. Blades, should put quite a bit of pressure on Olsen. The son of former NFL defensive back Bennie Blades, he's one college football's hardest hitters and a possible first-round NFL pick.

All-Pro: Both coaches are former NFL head coaches, a rarity in college football. Twelve schools employ former NFL bosses and only eight games this season besides this one will feature two former NFL coaches. They are Florida Atlantic (Howard Schnellenberger) vs. South Carolina (Steve Spurrier); Hawaii (June Jones) vs. Idaho (Dennis Erickson); Hawaii vs. Oregon State (Mike Riley); South Carolina vs. Kentucky (Rich Brooks); Nebraska (Bill Callahan) vs. Southern California (Pete Carroll); Oregon State vs. Southern Cal; Oregon State vs. Idaho; Virginia vs. Georgia Tech (Chan Gailey). Army (Bobby Ross) does not play any teams coached by former NFLers.

No. 16 Virginia Tech vs. Northeastern

Records: Season opener for both.

When: 1:30 p.m.

Where: Lane Stadium, Blacksburg.

Radio: WAGE (1200 AM), WGRQ (95.9 FM).

Blown Away: Virginia Tech's largest margin of victory ever came in 1911, when the Hokies defeated Roanoke College, 94-0. So Frank Beamer just might have a little more mercy and sportsmanship than then-Hokies coach L.W. Reiss (we hear he wore a visor), but this game will resemble that one in spirit, if not in score. Northeastern is a Division I-AA team, and a bad one at that. The Huskies won two games last season, though as Beamer pointed out several times this week, they did lose several close games.

Glennon Gets Going: Redshirt sophomore Sean Glennon has thrown 11 passes his entire career, making the opener a perfect warmup, something like an NFL preseason game for a rookie. While the challenge won't be imposing, it's important that Glennon gets off to a fast start to build confidence for next week's ACC opener against North Carolina and beyond. He has a strong arm and is more athletic than most assume; now it's a matter of gaining experience.

Overmatched: The Hokies have one of the best defenses in the country, which is almost unfair. If the Huskies score any points, it'll be an upset. Northeastern's best offensive threat, senior tight end Kendrick Ballantyne, is 6 feet 4 and 240 pounds, and he'll be blanketed by Xavier Adibi, one of the best coverage linebackers in college football.

-- Adam Kilgore

Navy vs. East Carolina

Records: Season opener for both.

When: 5:30 p.m.

Where: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

TV: CSTV.

Radio: WFED (1050 AM), WNAV (1430).

Ready for Launch: Navy led the nation in rushing last season; East Carolina ranked 112th in the nation in rushing defense. But the cards aren't all in Navy's favor. East Carolina's offense could be problematic for Navy's defense. Pirates quarterback James Pinkney made vast strides in his junior year, and much of the same is expected from him. Wide receiver Aundrae Allison is the most individually threatening player to Navy -- last year he caught 83 passes (fourth-highest average per game in the nation) for 1,024 yards (fourth-highest number of passes). Allison exemplifies East Carolina's offensively balanced style. He can go deep, but he must also be contained on the short routes as his forte is catching short passes and converting them into long gains.

Warning Signs: Coach Paul Johnson isn't big on using history to predict the current, but Johnson is 3-1 in season openers at Navy, with the one loss coming last year against Maryland. In addition, Johnson is 13-5 when having more than a week's preparation. East Carolina, on the other hand, hasn't defeated a bowl team in three years. This is the first meeting between the schools.

Spin Doctors: Johnson is unwilling to concede an advantage to his team which finished 8-4 last year (East Carolina's record was 5-6). However, East Carolina Coach Skip Holtz said the programs are at different stages in their development. This is Holtz's second year with the Pirates and while there have been improvements, he feels his program is just not there.

"They're pretty much salivating at what they're about to walk into," Holtz estimated. "Really if you look at it on paper, it's a landslide. How do we stop them? I don't know. We're struggling with that right now."

-- Melanie Ho

Holy Cross at Georgetown

Records: Season opener for both.

When: 1 p.m.

Where: Multi-Sport Field.

Coaching Debut: After four years as special teams coordinator and linebackers coach at Navy, Kevin Kelly takes over a Georgetown program that lost four of its final five games last season to finish 4-7. The Hoyas have not had a winning season since 1999, the longest drought in school history. Kelly's coaching adversary today, Tom Gilmore, is no stranger -- both were assistants at Dartmouth in 1991.

Patriot Games: With only eight seniors on the two-deep depth charts and 34 freshmen, the Hoyas have been chosen by the Patriot League's coaches and sports information directors to finish last in the seven-team conference. The Crusaders, coming off a 6-5 campaign, were selected to place fourth behind Colgate, Lafayette and Lehigh. Last year Holy Cross thumped Georgetown, 48-6, in Worcester, Mass.

Of Note: Senior linebacker Dan Adams (Robinson High), one of four Holy Cross captains, was the Division I-AA leader in average solo tackles per game last season with 8.8. . . . Senior defensive end Alex Buzbee, a two-time all-league selection, is fourth on Georgetown's career sacks list with 22. . . . Hoyas sophomore quarterback Ben Hostetler (River Hill) is scheduled to make his second career start today. He was 10 of 25 for 115 yards and one touchdown in three appearances last year.

-- Steven Goff