WILLIAMSBURG, VA - W&M will travel to Lexington, VA for a battle with longtime rival VMI this Saturday at 1 p.m. The following is a sampling of the Tribe football notes for this week's game. For a complete look at the notes in .pdf format, click here.

Lang Leading the Way: In his first career start, junior QB Lang Campbell (Winchester, VA) had a very successful outing versus Western Michigan, completing 18 of 31 passes, including three touchdowns.

Seeing the whole field, Campbell spread the ball to seven different receivers, taking what the hard-charging WMU defense would give him. In the first quarter, he gave a glimpse of what the future could hold for the youthful Tribe attack as he pieced together two impressive scoring drives, on consecutive possessions, and gave the team a 14-7 lead after the first stanza. On those two drives, Campbell sliced through the WMU defense with an array of short and medium range strikes, completing a combined seven passes in eight attempts for 104 yards and two scores. A defining moment came on his first scoring strike of the evening, as he stood tall under pressure in the pocket and waited for tailback Steven Hargrove (Alexandria, VA) to clear the linebacker down the right sideline and feathered a perfect spiral, in-stride, for a 26-yard TD connection.

Campbell also proved to be a boon to the ground game was well, as he ran the Tribe's version of the option attack effectively. He consistently helped the Tribe backs to the edge of the Western Michigan defense with solid decisions and precise pitches.

For his efforts, Campbell earned the team's Offensive Player of the Week honors from the coaching staff.

Streaks: W&M has won 17 straight games over VMI, tied for the seventh-longest win streak over an opponent in an uninterrupted series in I-AA. It's also the third-longest such streak that is currently active in I-AA. The series between W&M and VMI will be played for the 60th consecutive season, tying it for the ninth-longest uninterrupted series currently being played among all I-AA rivalries. The last time W&M lost to the Keydets was a 39-38 defeat in Lexington in 1985. Since 1993, the Tribe has defeated the Keydets by an average margin of 32 points. Last season, W&M recorded a 62-31 win. The 31 points that VMI scored last year was the seventh-most that the Keydets have ever put up against the Tribe, while W&M's 62 were an all-time high in the series.

Fresh Faces: While the Tribe's starting front five took the lion's share of the team's offensive snaps, true freshman Cody Morris also saw significant snaps at left guard (24 plays). His playing marked the first time since the 1982 season that a true freshman lineman has seen game action for the College. Curiously enough, the last player to step into the offensive trenches for the Tribe in his first season on campus is Morris' position coach, Bob Solderitch. Solderitch saw action in his first game, against Miami (OH) in 1982 and went onto become one of the best lineman in the program's history.

The only other true freshman to see playing time was defensive tackle Brian Williamson. Williamson is the third true freshman to see playing time on the D-line in the past two seasons, as fellow linemates Larry Pendleton and Jonas Watson made it onto the field in 2002.

Sophomore Standouts: A pair of sophomore defenders had solid outings in the game against Western Michigan. Sophomore linebacker Travis McLaurin (Wilmington, DE) led the squad with 14 tackles, including a TFL. Another sophomore linebacker, Chris Outlaw (Wrightsville, GA) snagged his first career interception and set the Tribe up on the WMU eight-yard line with a 68-yard return.McLaurin was named Defensive Player of the Week by the coaching staff for his efforts.

Laycock and McCombs: Tribe head coach Jimmye Laycock and VMI's Cal McCombs will be leading their teams into battle on Saturday, but in 1973-74, they were on the same sideline as coaches at The Citadel. McCombs was the team's wide receivers coach, while Laycock coached the offensive backfield at the time. The 1973 team finished 3-8 under future NFL coach Bobby Ross, while the 1974 squad went 4-7. Coincidentally, both seasons featured a loss to William and Mary and a loss to VMI.

Big Day: W&M's athletic 6-foot-1, 250-pound tailback Steven Hargrove turned in one of the best performances of his young career against Western Michigan, by powering to 206 all-purpose yards and a pair of touchdowns on the evening. Hargrove, who was hampered by various injuries all through the 2002 season, displayed incredible versatility, running for a team-high 58 yards on just 10 attempts, catching three passes for 41 yards (and two scores) and returning six kickoffs for 107 yards. His 206.0 all-purpose yards per game currently leads the Atlantic 10.

With his unique blend of sure hands, speed and agility, the sophomore from Alexandria, VA has all the tools to be an impact player in the Atlantic 10 for years to come. The coaching staff recognized his efforts against WMU by naming him as the team's Special Teams Player of the Week.

Hargrove has a good history with the College's next opponent, VMI, as he turned in his first career 100-yard rushing afternoon vs. the Keydets last season, running for 110 yards and a score on 11 carries.

Just For Kicks: Sophomore placekicker Greg Kuehn began the 2003 season by picking up right where he left off at the end of last year. A third-team all-conference pick in his redshirt freshman year, Kuehn connected on a field goal of 33 yards, as well as all three of his PAT attempts, in the season-opener at Western Michigan. Kuehn finished last season as the top scoring placekicker in the Atlantic 10.

Southern Comfort: An opponent from the Southern Conference had become commonplace on the W&M football schedule. But with VMI's move to the Big South Conference this year, it marks the first year since 1928 that the Tribe has not scheduled at least one school from the Southern Conference.