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FACTS & STATS: Site: Memorial Stadium (52,929) -- Bloomington, Indiana. Television: BigTenNetwork. Home Record: Virginia 1-0, Indiana 0-0. Away Record: Virginia 0-0, Indiana 0-0. Neutral Record: Virginia 0-0, Indiana 0-1. Conference Record: Virginia 0-0, Indiana 0-0. Series Record: Virginia leads, 1-0.

GAME NOTES: Playing on the road was a problem for Virginia in 2010, but the Cavaliers hope a new season will bring new results. They will get their first chance this weekend when they battle the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.

Last year the Cavs recorded just four wins, and none of those came on the road. Dating back to 2009 Virginia has now lost seven straight road games, and since the start of the 2008 campaign the Cavs are just 3-12 in road matchups. Fortunately for first-year head coach Mike London, his team was in Charlottesville for its season-opener, as the Cavaliers crushed William & Mary, 40-3.

Indiana's first-year head coach did not enjoy a similar debut, as the Hoosiers were downed 27-20 in a season-opening loss to Ball State. It was not the ideal start for coach Kevin Wilson, but now his Hoosiers will play at Memorial Stadium where they have won nine consecutive home-openers. It will be interesting to see if Indiana is capable of rebounding, especially since the team will be clashing with an ACC school. Against schools from the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Hoosiers ate just 5-11 all-time and one of those set backs came against the Cavs.

This will be the second-ever showdown between the two schools on the football field. The only other meeting took place in 2009 and it wasn't much of a contest, as the Cavs destroyed Indiana, 47-7.

In his first game as Virginia's starting quarterback Michael Rocco got off to a scorching start, completing his first 11 passes. The signal caller finished 21-of-29 for 174 yards and while he did not toss a touchdown, Rocco certainly managed the game well.

Coach London should be proud of his quarterback, but what made coach London really smile was probably the play of the rushing attack, which was relentless from start to finish against William & Mary.

As a whole, the Cavs racked up 240 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, led by Kevin Parks, who amassed 114 yards and three scores on just 16 carries.

Look for coach London to rely heavily on the rushing attack once again, while Rocco continues to blossom under center.

When coach London took over in Charlottesville there was clearly a weakness on the defensive side of the football that had to be fixed for this year's start. Virginia's problem in 2010 was its inability to stop the run, allowing over 200 yards per matchup.

Now clearly William & Mary is not a powerhouse football program, but just like anything else, this defense needed to take baby steps and in its first test of the year. Virginia held the Tribe to just 48 yards on 20 carries (2.4 ypc) and also did a tremendous job defending the pass.

Virginia allowed William & Mary's quarterback to complete just 11 of his 34 passes for only 121 yards and also grabbed one interception in the win. The Cavs only recorded one sack, but it didn't matter because the unit still managed to hold the Tribe to just 10 first downs and just 2-of-14 on third down attempts.

Coach Wilson wasn't the only person making his debut for Indiana. Sophomore quarterback Edward Wright-Baker took over as the team's starting quarterback, and even though the Hoosiers were defeated by Ball State the young signal caller had a strong first start. Baker overcame four sacks to finish the game with 272 yards and one score on 20-of-32 passing.

The one touchdown pass went to Damarlo Belcher, who finished with 101 yards on four catches. Belcher now has 168 catches at Indiana and with three more he will be second in school history in that department.

Not everything went according to plan for the offense, as the rushing attack was simply overmatched by Ball State's defense. The Hoosiers totaled just 103 yards on 3.2 yards per attempt. Matt Perez started and finished with 41 yards and one score, while Stephen Houston led the way with 43 yards on nine totes.

Perez will start again this week, but just like in the opener look for Houston to see plenty of carries as well.

Coach Wilson could have a large problem on his hands for the 2011 campaign. It was only one game, but the defensive front for Indiana was punished by Ball State's rushing attack. The Cardinals racked up 210 yards on 4.6 yards per attempt in the contest, and that does not bode well for the Hoosiers.

Ball State is not exactly a dominating force in the Mid-American Conference, and considering Indiana plays in the Big Ten, which is riddled with teams that can pound the football, the Hoosiers will have to improve quickly up front or else it could be a long year.

Chris Adkins and Jeff Thomas both finished with 11 tackles, but Indiana as a whole did not supply much pressure. Through four quarters the Hoosiers tallied just two TFLs and did not get to the quarterback once.

Until Indiana is able to fix its rushing defense, coach Wilson will have a tough time leading this squad to victories.

It is not secret that the Cavs are a different team on the road. Virginia won't be as overpowering as they were against William & Mary, but the Hoosiers were so bad defensively against Ball State, there is a strong chance for Virginia to snap out of its road funk. Look for the Cavaliers to run early and often en route to the victory.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Virginia 24, Indiana 21