Western Michigan was excited about beating Mid-American Conference rival Toledo, 31-10, a week ago to open the conference and home season but the Broncos will need to put that behind them as they travel to Virginia on Saturday (3:30 p.m.). 

The game marks the first of two ACC opponents on the schedule this season and also marks the first of three times WMU will be the opponent of a team celebrating homecoming when the Brown & Gold come to town.  The Cavaliers, Ball State and Florida State all welcome WMU into their respective stadiums on homecoming in 2006.

Western Michigan is winless against the Cavaliers in two previous meetings but had its best showing in Charlottesville, Va., a year ago.  The Broncos trailed 24-19 in the third quarter but a stalled WMU drive was answered by a UVa score to decide the game in favor of the home team.

THE GAME ? Western Michigan opened the 2005 season at Virginia. The Broncos return to Scott Stadium but this time with two games under their belt and coming off a 31-10 victory over MAC West rival Toledo. Virginia is also coming off a victory in overtime to Wyoming, 13-12, in its home opener.

TELEVISION ? This game will be shown live on ESPN360, a subscription-based video surface offered on www.espn.com and click the ESPN360 link from the drop down ESPN menu found at the left end of the the menu bar on the home page of the site. Ryan Rose (play-by-play) and Sonny Randle (analysis) will have the call when the game kicks off at 3:30 p.m.

RADIO ? This and all Western Michigan football games will be broadcast live on the Bronco Radio Network, which includes its flagship station, WFAT - 96.5 FM, as well as WZUU - 92.3 FM in the Kalamazoo market. Robin Hook (play-by-play) and Monty Porter (analysis) will have the call as they have together for the past eight seasons.

WEB SITE ? All home WMU football games can be seen and heard live via the official athletics web site (www.wmubroncos.com) by subscribing to Bronco Insider, which can be found on the home page of the site. Live Stats are available for FREE for all Bronco home games by clicking the link atop the home football page. GameTracker is available for this game via www.virginiasports.com.

SERIES IN BRIEF ? This is young series as the two teams have met only twice and both meetings occurred within the last three seasons. Virginia took both meetings, including the last, 31-19, in 2005 at Scott Stadium.

THE COACHES ? Bill Cubit (Delaware, 1975) begins his second season as the head coach of Western Michigan. The Sharon Hill, Pa., native led the Broncos to the biggest turnaround in Mid-American Conference history with five conference wins. Cubit served as offensive coordinator for WMU from 1997-99.
Al Groh (Virginia, 1967) led the Virginia football program to a 37-26 record, including four bowl appearances, since he arrived on grounds in 2001. Groh's overall record in 11 seasons as a collegiate head coach, including six seasons at Wake Forest (1981-1986), is 63-66. In addition, he compiled a 9-7 record in his one season as head coach of the New York Jets.

UP NEXT ? Western Michigan welcomes 2007 MAC football member Temple to Kalamazoo for the second of two games under the lights at Waldo Stadium this season. WMU outlasted the Owls, 19-16, in last season's meeting at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadellphia.