For the second straight season, the Virginia football team has lost six straight games. As a result, the Hoos will finish with a losing record for the sixth time in eight years.
No. 8 Clemson became the latest 2013 club to deal a defeat in a lopsided affair on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers, making their only trip to Scott Stadium this decade, destroyed the Hoos to the tune of 59-10. It was just the latest sour note for the struggling Cavaliers.
“Obviously, Clemson is an excellent football team. Tajh Boyd is as advertised, and Sammy Watkins as well. They took advantage of a lot of things that we couldn’t capitalize on,” UVa coach Mike London said. “Their defense is fast and athletic. They played well. We didn’t play well enough or coach well enough. We’ve played a lot of good teams, and that’s one of the better ones we’ve played.”
“That hurts. I take it very personally,” Wahoo quarterback David Watford said. “We’ve got to play better. That’s the most important thing, we’ve got to play better.”
The latest loss followed a familiar script of issues.
Offensively, the Cavaliers claimed the time of possession category but had no meaningful statistics to show for it. They recorded 85 plays – just 3 less than the Tigers’ 88 – but posted only 277 yards. That’s a meager 3.3 yards per play.
Running back Kevin Parks finished with 16 carries and 82 yards (5.1 yards per carry), while Watford scored the team’s only touchdown on a 6-yard run. Watford completed 16 of 35 passes for 130 yards with 1 interception. Freshman Keeon Johnson led the receiving category with 5 catches for 77 yards.
Overall, 9 drives ended in a three-and-out and 2 more ended in 5 plays or less. The Hoos had just 2 plays of more than 20 yards despite the fact that Clemson had given up 38 plays of that variety entering the contest, the second worse mark in the ACC. Virginia punted 12 times as Alec Vozenilek finished with a program record 522 punting yards (Ryan Weigand, 464 vs. Wyoming in 2007).
Add in two turnovers that led to 14 points for the visitors and it was another lackluster day for the Wahoos on offense.
The Cavaliers rank in the bottom 25 nationally in scoring average (17.75) against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents.
“We’ve got to make more plays. I’ve got to keep my team on the field no matter what. We can’t have three-and-outs or turnovers – we have to protect the ball,” Watford said. “We’ve just got to make plays. If we keep making plays and keep the chains moving, we’ll put more points on the board either field goals or touchdowns but we’ve got to stay on the field.”
“I felt like we came on fire and everything was clicking when we were tied 7-7, but we had a lot of three-and-outs and they forced the issue there. We had the defense on the field a little too long,” Parks said. “We always want to play defense with our offense, but we had too many three-and-outs and I think that was the difference.”
The Virginia defensive story was a familiar one as well. The Hoos put together some solid plays – 2 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and an Anthony Harris interception (his third straight game with a pick) – and 5 three-and-outs, but those shared field time with some costly breakdowns. The Wahoos entered the game with 47 plays allowed of 20-plus yards, the worst number in the ACC, and that trend continued as Clemson rolled off 9 plays of that variety.
Several of those added to the scoreboard damage. The Cavaliers allowed four touchdown plays of 20 yards or more, which brought the season total to 15. Tiger receiver Sammy Watkins opened the scoring with a 33-yard touchdown catch and added a 96-yarder in the second half (the third longest play ever by a Virginia opponent). Roderick McDowell tallied a 25-yard touchdown run late in the first half and back-up quarterback Chad Kelly ripped off a 38-yard run in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers ended the game with 610 yards, the seventh most allowed by UVa in a single game in program history.
“We just lost momentum, combined with guys not executing their responsibilities,” said linebacker Henry Coley, who led the team with 11 tackles. “They didn’t surprise with anything we haven’t already seen.”
“The thing they have is an accomplished vetera quarterback. They have vertical threats in their passing game with Watkins and other guys. They threaten you with the read outside and the speed sweep plays,” London said. “They do a lot of things that affect the way you play. You can’t miss a tackle and you can’t be a step too late or too slow because they exploit that.”
UVa heads back to the road next week with a trip to North Carolina. Kickoff with the Tar Heels is set for 12:30 p.m.
Another train wreck, with plenty of talk, talk, talk, but very little to show for the season…