WISE - - UVa-Wise enters Saturday's contest with Concord University in need of a win. The Cavaliers have started the season 0-2 for the first time since 2015 despite having the Mountain East Conference's top-ranked defense through the early part of the season.

Turnovers and an inability to create turnovers have plagued the team in the first two games. Entering Saturday, UVa-Wise is -7 in turnover margin which ranks at the bottom of the conference.

Concord enters the game 1-1 after dropping its home opener 42-21 to Charleston last week. The Mountain Lions used a furious fourth quarter rally and a field goal at the horn off the foot of Luke Walls to knock off West Virginia Wesleyan 34-31 in the opener.

Quarterback Kyle Akin has led a balanced Concord offense through the first two games. The signal caller has passed for 397 yards and five touchdowns while completing 57.4 percent of pass attempts. On the ground, Kris Copeland has carried the load as he has produced 5.1 yards a carry on 34 attempts to post 172 rushing yards and a touchdown.

The Mountain Lions' issues have come on the defensive side of the ball where opponents are averaging 284 passing yards and 174 rushing yards per game. In the loss to Charleston, the Golden Eagles tallied 249 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground on 53 attempts. In the season opener, the Concord defense surrendered 380 passing yards. Thus far, opponents are averaging 458 yards per game against the Mountain Lions.

For UVa-Wise, consistency behind center is needed. Dane Damron's squad has seen four different players attempt a pass through the first two weeks and the group is completing just 47.1 percent of its attempts. A big play threat has been senior Kaian Duverger who already has a pair of touchdown receptions of 55 yards or greater. Last week, sophomore Jamorya Cousin was a boost in the running game as he galloped for a career-high 127 yards on 20 carries against West Virginia State.

The Cavs defense has been best at stopping the opposition's passing attack. Thus far, teams are throwing for just 94 yards per game and have completed just 11 passes per contest against UVa-Wise. Redshirt sophomore Marcus Tarrer has been strong in pass defense and in assisting in stopping the run. The Richmond product has collected 30 tackles in the first two games to tie for the league lead in the category.

Overall, defensive coordinator Shap Boyd's group has posted 19 tackles for loss and five sacks over the first two games. Against West Virginia State, junior Buster Henderson made 2.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage, including a sack, to go with his eight tackle day.

Following Saturday's game, UVa-Wise will play in back-to-back homecoming contests. Next week, the Cavs visit West Liberty before returning home to play Fairmont State for their own homecoming game.