West Virginia State's football team will be taking a break from Mountain East Conference play this week with a non-conference matchup against UNC-Pembroke.
After winning just two games in 2014, the Braves have been on a rapid upward trajectory the last two seasons - a rise that has resulted in the team sitting at 7-1 and ranked No. 18 nationally in NCAA Division II.
"When we scheduled them they were coming off a 2-8 season and last year when I watched them I thought they were well coached and a complete team, and I see that again this year," West Virginia State coach Jon Anderson said. "They've really improved and have a lot of talent, they have a lot of guys who are back from last year and have been around that program for a while now."
West Virginia State lost its non-conference game a year ago to UNC-Pembroke, but the Yellow Jackets (1-7) are excited to take on a bit of an unfamiliar foe.
The game will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lakin Field.
"It's always exciting to play someone from outside the conference, because you get used to seeing the same teams week in and week out and you know the players and play callers," Anderson said. "It's an opportunity for us to get to go try something a little different and represent the MEC in a good way against a really tough team."
UNC-Pembroke comes into the game with a balanced offensive attack scoring 36 points per game. That group is led by quarterback Patrick O'Brien, who has thrown for 2,107 yards and 18 touchdowns against eight interceptions. The Braves also have four receivers with at least 20 receptions this season, including B.J. Bunn, who leads the group with 48 catches for 787 yards and nine touchdowns.
Defensively, they run a four-down front and have been exceptional this season at limiting teams in the short passing game - something at which West Virginia State's offense has excelled this season.
"They're able to use their guys up front to get at the quarterback and they have great awareness of space to limit what you do throwing underneath, so our offense has to be aware of that," Anderson said. "That quarterback is able to operate the offense as well as anyone and he identifies coverages and distributes to his receivers really well. It'll be a great test."
UC at Wesleyan: The University of Charleston will be hitting the road trying to return to the win column against an MEC foe when it heads to Buckhannon to face West Virginia Wesleyan. The teams will kick off at 1 p.m., with the Golden Eagles hungry to get back on track after dropping their third straight game, a heartbreaker to Urbana last week.
It's an intriguing matchup between two of the MEC's best running teams. Charleston (2-6) tops the league in yards per game, while Wesleyan (2-6) sits at No. 3.
But while UC does its damage with a stable of backs like Marvin Elam and Vernard Roberts, much of the Bobcats' offense revolves around Michael Anderson.
The league's leading rusher and the only MEC running back with more than 1,000 yards on the season, Anderson also leads the team in receptions.
"He's a great player, he makes them better," said UC coach Pat Kirkland. "Sometimes, even if you have him accounted for and cover him well, he's just going to make plays because that's what a great player does. We have to do a great job of containing him if we want to win this one."
Like Charleston, Wesleyan has just two wins this season. But the team has looked energized under first-year coach Del Smith.
"There are no moral victories ever, but they look a lot closer than they were last year," Kirkland said. "They've got some different personnel this year and they've been better."
Contact Michael Carvelli at 304-348-4810 or michael.carvelli@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @carvelli3.