Cougars Thwart Cavaliers’ Upset Bid

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Ian Frye made four field goals in the Virginia loss at BYU. ~ Mike Ingalls

The Virginia football team fought hard in its first road game of the season, but key breakdowns at critical times and missed opportunities ultimately unraveled any upset hopes at No. 21 BYU. When the Provo dust settled, the Cavaliers claimed several statistical categories but the Cougars captured the 41-33 victory.

“We’re encouraged by a lot of things that happened statistically, but the end result is we didn’t win the football game,” Virginia coach Mike London said. “You play to win games and our execution wasn’t good enough to win.”

The Hoos delivered the first blow in the game with a touchdown on the first drive. Starting quarterback Greyson Lambert capitalized on good field position created by Darius Jennings on a kickoff return and pass interference flag. Lambert’s 37-yard run set up his one-yard touchdown carry that gave UVa the 7-0 lead just 1:06 into the game.

That was part of a first half where the Cavaliers controlled a see-saw battle. Every time the Cougars drew close or drew even, Virginia had an answer. That led to a 16-13 halftime lead. That half helped the Wahoos win several categories including rushing yards, passing yards, total yards, time of possession, first downs, and third down conversions. UVa finished with 519 total yards and 35 first downs en route to 33 points, the highest total against FBS competition under offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild.

Lambert posted 188 yards on 21-of-35 passing with one interception and added 49 yards and one touchdown rushing. After Lambert exited with an apparent ankle injury, Matt Johns went 14-of-23 passing for 139 yards and one touchdown. He had 22 rushing yards. Miles Gooch was the top Cav receiver on the day with six catches for 65 yards.

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Mike London’s team fell to 2-2 on the season. ~ Mike Ingalls

With just 5.1 yards per play over 102 plays and three touchdowns in five red zone trips, however, the Cavaliers rued missed opportunities. That included two field goals in the first half when the visitors had the ball inside BYU’s 10-yard line. Virginia lined up to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line to start the second quarter, but a false start penalty led to a field goal try instead. At the end of the half, the Hoos ran the ball up the middle on third-and-five from the six-yard line and gained only one yard. That led to a field goal try too.

For the day, four trips into BYU territory ended with three field goals and a lost fumble on a fourth down quarterback sneak by Lambert.

“The offense put up a good amount of numbers. We showed today that we can move the ball. I think moving forward, we have to focus on executing and getting the ball in the end zone,” said UVa receiver Canaan Severin, who had four catches for 58 yards. “We have the running backs to do that, the skill players to do that, the linemen to do that. We just need to execute.”

Even with those missed opportunities, the Wahoos hung in there before several critical breakdowns allowed the Cougars to take the lead and eventually pull out the win. In the third quarter, a misplayed punt by Khalek Shepherd pinned UVa at its own five-yard line and BYU fully flipped the field with Devon Blackmon’s 25-yard return on the ensuing punt. That led to a drive capped by Taysom Hill’s 15-yard touchdown run, which featured two missed tackles by the Hoos.

After the BYU lead reached 27-19, another breakdown pushed Virginia into a deep deficit. On third-and-five at midfield, tackle David Dean appeared to have Hill lined up for a sack, but he escaped the pocket. On a scramble to his right, Hill found Mitch Juergens uncovered and he sprinted to the end zone for the 50-yard touchdown and a 34-19 advantage.

“We called a play, a shallow route for me and Terenn Houk. When I was open to get the ball, I looked over at Taysom and he was rolling out, and we practiced scrambling so many times, and I was shallow, and when you’re shallow, you’re told to go deep and when Taysom saw me, I caught it and turned around and saw daylight,” Juergens said. “It was a dream come true. It’s the first one in my career, and I definitely won’t forget it.”

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Virginia’s defense didn’t get as much pressure to the quarterback against BYU. ~ Mike Ingalls

The Wahoos chipped away again with Shepherd’s nine-yard touchdown that made it 34-26 with 8:06 to play; that was part of a team-best 73 rushing yards for Shepherd. On the next kickoff, however, Adam Hine burst threw a giant gap in the middle and raced 99 yards for the touchdown. The Cavaliers scored again late to make the score 41-33, but they couldn’t recover the onsides kick for one last gasp.

The key defensive and special teams breakdowns along with two turnovers helped create the eventual outcome. BYU, which entered the game with seven turnovers, did not give the ball away. The Cougars also allowed just two sacks. Against a Virginia team that led the nation in take-aways with 13 and ranked eighth nationally in sacks before the game, those are two major pieces in the win.

“Taysom played the second half as well as our early down defense did in the second and third quarter and that combination allowed us to move away. That and the turnover battle, we were plus two, in a close game,” BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. “Each time we took [the lead] from eight to 15, to their credit they responded. We needed the players to respond as well. Between Taysom and Adam Hine and what was happening there with that combination, at least offensively, kind of kept us separated.”

UVa fell to 2-2 with Kent State headed to Charlottesville next Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.

“I like this football team. I’ve said that time and time again. We’re not afraid to play good teams and travel to do so,” London said. “We’ll get back Charlottesville and get ready to go again.”

Final Stats

5 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. Love this team. They are fun to watch. Coaches are doing a great job with play sets and players are adjusting… the hard work is evident.

    We have a great opportunity to win 4-5-6 more games.

    Fans will need to show up this year to make it happen at home.

    1. Couldn’t agree more with those sentiments. I know it’s still early in the season, but the program has a much more solid feel to it. I’m not always a glass-half-full type of guy, but my cup is definitely getting heavier!

      Go ‘Hoos!

  2. What team in the Cavs’ ACC division looks better than them? No-one, with the possible exception of Duke, who hasn’t played anybody yet. UVa’s shot to get to the title game looks as good as anybody’s.

    1. Pitt after the Kent State tune-up, a week off to prepare for Duke. If UVa is 3-0 in league at that point, who knows …

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