Everything You Need To Know: Pittsburgh

By: Kris Wright |
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The Hoos hope to start 2-0 in the ACC when PItt visits town. ~ Mike Ingalls

The Virginia football team is 3-1 at home this season and it hopes to pick up another win this weekend when Pittsburgh comes to Scott Stadium. The Panthers won at Boston College earlier this season and are 1-0 in the ACC, while the Hoos topped Louisville to get to 1-0 in league play as well. The prime time showdown will feature new helmets for the Cavaliers, who are also wearing all white uniforms for the contest.

Here’s everything you need to know for the contest.

Essentials

Game Nuggets

  • Virginia and Pittsburgh meet up in Scott Stadium as ACC foes for the first time. The Panthers own the series lead 4-2, but they lost 44-14 in their last trip to Charlottesville in 2007.
  • UVa is hosting a night kickoff for the first time since a Thursday night game with UNC in 2012. The Hoos are 54-40-1 all-time in night kickoffs, including 6-4 under coach Mike London.
  • The Cavaliers are looking for their 250th win at Scott Stadium, which opened in 1931.
  • Pittsburgh enters this game off of back-to-back losses. The Panthers have never dropped three straight games under coach Paul Chryst, who took over the program in 2012.
  • Virginia will wear all-white uniforms at home and players are encouraging fans to do the same. The Hoos are also wearing new helmets that feature the V-Sabre logo over a graphite-and-black pattern the manufacturer, Schutt Sports, calls “carbon fiber weave.”
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Maurice Canady intercepted a pass and returned it 69 yards to score last week. ~ Mike Ingalls

Spotlight On Maurice Canady

Opponents have avoided Maurice Canady this season and he showed why against Kent State. The first time the Golden Flashes tested him, Canady undercut the route and took the interception 69 yards for a touchdown. For the season, Canady has four pass break-ups and two interceptions despite the fact that teams aren’t throwing his way often. He’s added 15 tackles as well.

Teammate Canaan Severin said this week that he isn’t surprised that teams haven’t gone at Canady often.

“No quarterback wants to have interceptions on them. It’s no coincidence people aren’t throwing his way,” Severin said. “He’s long, rangy, he can guard you [man-to-man], he can play zone. He’s physical. He’s a good football player. Real talented dude.”

In his time at Virginia, Canady has played cornerback, inside nickel back, and safety. That followed a high school career where Varina put him just about everywhere on the field. His versatility and play-making ability are a “big asset” to the defense linebacker Henry Coley said. UVa coach Mike London said Canady continues to improve as well.

“Maurice obviously is a very skilled athlete. He’s a good corner. He plays a lot of positions. He played safety at one point last year, as well, and he’s a physical guy. He has the requisite size, tools and strength to play bump coverage, to play off, to play kind of that – in the nickel position, kind of play outside linebacker that can be involved in the running game. So he’s improved. He’s improved tremendously,” London said. ”And that play that he took – he intercepted and took it to the house – was, again, just based on awareness and based on quarterback’s delivery. I mean, there are so many different things that happen in the spur of the moment, and he’s at the point of his career development now that he’s making those quick decisions like that.”

Match-Ups To Watch

Pitt running back James Conner vs. Virginia linebacker Henry Coley and the UVa run defense. Conner leads the ACC and is second nationally in total rushing yards (791) and rushing touchdowns (nine). Conner’s 791 rushing yards are the most in the first five games of a season in Pitt history. On the flipside, Virginia’s defense ranks 10th nationally (second in the ACC) against the run by allowing 86.6 yards per game. A key part of that run-stopping defense is Coley, who has 36 tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss this season. During the season’s first five games, Conner has had a lot of success gaining yards after contact, but that’s also something that Coley excels at preventing. When the 250-pound Conner meets the 245-pound Coley in the hole Saturday, fans in the stands might feel it.

Virginia’s big receivers vs. Pitt’s cornerbacks. Miles Gooch, Canaan Severin, Andre Levrone, and Keeon Johnson are all at least 6’2” with at least five catches on the season. The Panthers’ two-deep corners are Lafayette Pitts (5’11”), Avonte Maddox (5’9”), Reggie Mitchell (6’0”), and Ryan Lewis (6’0”). That means UVa will be able to create some match-ups where the receivers have the height advantage. Plus, Pitt has shown some vulnerability to sideline fades, back-shoulder throws, and posts over the middle. Gooch and Severin really took advantage of a size mismatch against Louisville with eight combined catches and that duo could be in line for another productive game this week.

Pitt receiver/returner Tyler Boyd vs. Virginia’s coverage units. Boyd leads Pittsburgh in receiving with 27 catches for 365 yards and four touchdowns so the UVa secondary will be busy on Saturday. Boyd, however, is also dangerous in the return game. He has eight punt returns for 73 yards (9.1 per return) with a long return of 35 yards this season, but he’s a threat in those situations. He had a 54-yard touchdown return against Bowling Green in 2013. Interestingly, Boyd doesn’t have a kick return yet in 2014 after averaging 22.4 yards per return last fall. Teams have been avoiding return coverage against him so far. Considering that Virginia has allowed a kickoff return for touchdown (BYU) and a near miss thanks to a penalty on a punt return touchdown (UCLA), this is a big key in what could be a close contest.

Kris’ Keys

1. Prevent sustained drives. Pittsburgh likes to control the clock and use its ground game to set up everything else. It enters this game ranked seventh nationally in time of possession (34 minutes per game). Things don’t change much on scoring drives where the Panthers need to put together a string of plays to score – on average, they’ve used eight plays per drive to score this season. That’s where the Hoos can gain an advantage. With its disruptive defense (national ranks: fourth in tackles for loss and tied for sixth in sacks), UVa can knock Pitt off schedule and force that offense to make big plays to win. If the Cavaliers can accomplish that and prevent sustain drives, they’ll win.

2. Red zone calculus. Pitt’s first 12 red zone trips this season resulted in touchdowns, but the numbers have been cut in half since then. The offense has scored six touchdowns in its last 12 red zone possessions. In those three games, the Panthers are 1-2. The UVa defense has allowed eight touchdowns in 15 red zone trips this season (53.3%), which is tied for 46th nationally. Ideally, the team wants to keep Pittsburgh away from the red zone altogether but if the visitors get there, it’s going to be important to force field goals because Pitt will have trouble posting a big scoring number otherwise.

On the other side of the coin, Virginia’s red zone offense has received a bit of scrutiny in recent weeks (especially in the loss to BYU). The Hoos enter the game with 13 TDs in 24 red zone trips, a touchdown percentage of 54.17% that ranks 90th nationally. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has not been good in the red zone on defense. The Panthers have allowed nine touchdowns in 10 red zone possessions (that’s last in the FBS by touchdown percentage). Settling for field goals this week in the red zone could lead to the same result as BYU.

3. Turnover margin. Pittsburgh is tied for 74th nationally with eight lost turnovers, while Virginia is second nationally with 18 take-aways. Four of Pitt’s turnovers have come on the road. There’s potential here to swing the game in their favor if the Cavaliers can capture the always important turnover category.

The Pick

Other than the last-minute, indecisive flip-flop with the BYU game, I’ve been on the right track. This is a week where statistics are deceiving. Pitt and Virginia each have some impressive defensive numbers, but only UVa has faced a significant offensive challenge at this point in the season. I think that previous competition level is going to be a big factor this week.

Virginia can win if … it makes Chad Voytik try to win the game passing. That, of course, means the Hoos will have to slow down the run and James Conner. If UVa manages to do that, however, Voytik has a tendency to hold the ball against pressure and that can lead to sacks, mistakes, and turnovers. For the season, Voytik has completed 68 of 113 passes for 754 yards, six touchdowns, and four interceptions. In back-to-back losses, however, opponents slowed down the run and forced Voytik to make more plays. He went 39-of-63 passing with one touchdown and two interceptions while being sacked four times. Make Pitt play from behind and make Voytik the one-dimensional option and UVa will win.

Virginia can lose if … it gives up the two YACs – yards after contact (James Conner) and yards after the catch (Tyler Boyd). Conner is very good at playing through arm tackles and extending plays, which extends drives and leads to points. Boyd, meanwhile, makes a lot of plays in the air, on the ground, and in the return game. Virginia can be vulnerable to big plays in the air, however, where missed coverage leads to big gains. If Boyd gets loose too often, that could lead to a loss.

And the winner is … Virginia in a physical, hard-fought Coastal Division battle. I see a similar battle as last year only with a lot more offense from the Hoos. Virginia 30, Pitt 20. Prediction record to date: 4-1.