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FACTS & STATS: Scott Stadium (61,500) -- Charlottesville, Virginia. Television: NESN, RSN. Home Record: Southern Miss 2-0, Virginia 1-0. Away Record: Southern Miss 0-1, Virginia 1-1. Neutral Record: Southern Miss 0-0, Virginia 0-0. Conference Record: Southern Miss 0-1, Virginia 0-1. Series Record: Southern Miss leads, 1-0.

GAME NOTES: The Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles visit Charlottesville this weekend for a non-conference clash with the Virginia Cavaliers, who opened ACC play last weekend with a loss at North Carolina.

Southern Miss got back on the winning track last weekend by walloping Southeastern Louisiana, 52-6. It's hard to believe that one of the C-USA favorites is already 0-1 in conference play, but the Golden Eagles are exactly that after blowing a lead two weeks ago and losing 26-20 to Marshall on the road. Now Southern Miss will try to navigate an interesting three-game stretch, that includes this weekend's trip to Charlottesville, followed by a home league game with Rice and a non-conference road trip to Navy on October 8th.

Virginia started the season hot, winning expectedly against William & Mary in the opener and taking down Indiana on the road. But it struggled to get a grasp on last weekend's ACC opener against North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where the Tar Heels came away with a 28-17 win. Now the Cavaliers have two non-conference games ahead of them in Southern Miss and Idaho the next two weeks, and only hope that they can be 4-1 heading into a bye on October 8th, followed by Georgia Tech to kick off the rest of the ACC slate.

Southern Miss leads the all-time series 1-0, with the only meeting coming in 2009.

The Golden Eagles had 478 yards of total offense against Southeastern Louisiana, and were much cleaner (one fumble) with the ball a week after several mistakes doomed the team from winning at Marshall. Kedrick Hardy rushed 18 times for 155 yards and a score; he is averaging 73.7 yards per game (six yards per carry) and Jamal Woodyard has complemented him well with 51 yards per game and a 5.9 average. Establishing the run will be important for quarterback Austin Davis to execute as the opponents get tougher by the week. Davis has thrown for 678 yards through three games and has passed for four touchdowns, but there is a sense that he is capable of much more. Davis has thrown four interceptions already this season, and the offense is averaging a modest 226 passing yards a game.

The defense meanwhile, has held three opponents to 49 points heading into this weekend. The effort against the run has stood out, as Southern Miss is only allowing 74 yards of rushing a game at a rate of 2.2 yards per carry. The unit has also done a good job of getting more possessions for its offense by cutting into third down conversions, where teams are just 15-of-53 so far this season.

Three turnovers hurt Virginia against North Carolina, which included two interceptions by quarterback Michael Rocco on the final two series of the game. Rocco threw for 287 yards and a touchdown, which was one of his best games to date for Virginia. Rocco has completed 58-of-95 passes with four interceptions and just the one score, and Virginia has leaned heavily on the running attack. Kevin Parks is averaging 83 yards per game, and is hitting 6.1 yards per carry with five touchdowns. While Parks is the most valuable offensive skill player for Virginia, Perry Jones has also run well through three games, averaging 57.7 yards per contest. Virginia is averaging 441.3 yards of total offense per game.

The Cavaliers' defense is allowing just 296.3 yards per game, and did more than hold its own against a talented Tar Heels' offense last week, which was limited to just 401 yards of total offense (including 179 yards passing) and converted just 3-of-12 on third down. North Carolina quarterback Bryn Renner still had a solid day, but he was contained unlike in previous weeks. The unit is allowing 4.1 yards per carry, but has also played really well in coverage, giving up just 157 yards passing per game and generating four interceptions in three games. The unit has also posted 22 tackles for loss to start the season.

After beating an inferior opponent last weekend, it's hard to gauge where Southern Miss is at two weeks after its loss to Marshall. The Golden Eagles barely won their opener against Louisiana Tech, and have yet to put together a full four quarters of consistent play. Virginia was right there last weekend against North Carolina, and if it cleans up the turnovers and establishes the run with Parks and Jones, it should cut up Southern Miss. Davis will put up numbers, but Virginia's secondary is promising and should rise to the occasion as it did with Renner a week ago.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Virginia 21, Southern Mississippi 16