Coming off a tough loss last week to West Liberty, the University of Charleston football team has spent the majority of this week focusing on itself. The Golden Eagles will try to bounce back in a 7 p.m. Thursday showcase against Fairmont State.
"Right now, they're wanting to fight for another win," UC coach Pat Kirkland said. "It's going to be nice to get a chance to play a good football team on a Thursday night, but our focus is on getting back in that win column. We don't care what we have to do to get it, these guys just want to get out there and fight for it."
The Falcons are one of two undefeated teams in the Mountain East Conference, sitting at 6-0 after last week's win over West Virginia Wesleyan.
They've been able to do so with a group of experienced playmakers who have been in the program for a long time. That's something Kirkland said is evident when watching and breaking down the film of his team's next opponent.
And the results attest to that. The Falcons sit at or near the top of several key statistical categories this season.
Offensively, led by third-year starter Cooper Hibbs, the Falcons are third in the MEC in passing, scoring and total offense.
Yet perhaps the biggest test will be how effective the Golden Eagles can be on the ground against Fairmont State.
UC (2-4) is leading the MEC in rushing, averaging 211.5 yards per game. Fairmont State is the league's top run defense, allowing just 86 yards on the ground per contest.
The Golden Eagles will once again be without Tevion Cappe, but have Marvin Elam, who ran for 106 yards and two touchdowns in last year's win over the Falcons.
"They're a good football team and you can tell that this is a group with a lot of kids who have been in that system for a long time," Kirkland said. "Their quarterback does a lot of great things and can manage them well before the snap if he sees things.
"Then, defensively, they have good corners and that allows them to put more guys up in the box and focus on slowing down the run game. It'll be a great test for us."
It will be Charleston's third Thursday night game of the season, something that Kirkland typically likes as it provides more exposure for the program.
"We like to play on Thursday, but it's a little tougher this time," Kirkland said. "With the number of guys we have banged up and injured, you would like to have some more prep time to help some younger guys get ready, but the team is embracing getting to play on Thursday night and they're going to be ready to go."
Kirkland is eager to see how his team shows up to play Thursday. The Golden Eagles saw so many chances to change the outcome of the West Liberty game but fell short.
After losing their fourth game of the season, the Golden Eagles can show they're ready to move on and try to knock off the undefeated Falcons.
"You can learn a lot in times like this," Kirkland said. "When we looked at last week's film, it was about as frustrating as anything just because we saw how many missed opportunities we had to change the outcome in that game, but we just couldn't get over the top.
"Our execution has to be better and, as coaches, we have to do a better job of putting them in situations to make those plays."
Contact Michael Carvelli at 304-348-4810 or michael.carvelli@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @carvelli3.