In last week’s trend report I discussed Virginia’s struggle to execute elements of the game that take no talent. Things like knowing when to field or not field a punt, penalties that occur either before or after the play, or inability to execute basic functions. Highlighting that trend was not intended to be a premonition but an observation of mistakes that have occurred with too much frequency this season. Unfortunately, that observation became the story of the game.

The UVa team improved overall with the offense finally showing ability to produced yardage and points while the special teams operation had its best showing of the season against BCS competition. But for what had been the mainstay for the Hoos, the defense, it was a dismal afternoon by the standard the unit had set thus far in 2013.

Improvement notwithstanding, the Hoos still made too many mistakes for a team with too little margin for error. This was a winnable game that was lost, not because the opponent was superior, but because Virginia continues to be a team that does not play with the discipline needed to be successful on a consistent basis.

Greg’s Grades

Let’s take a quick glance at the grades. As a reminder, all 12 opponents have been assigned a rating. In response to many reader requests, I instituted an Opponent Strength Rating (OSR) number in the weekly grades. All 12 opponents have been assigned an OSR number based on where they rank among the 120 FBS schools. So the breakdown looks like this: Teams 1-15, Tier 5; Teams 16-35, Tier 4; Teams 36-85, Tier 3; Teams 86-105, Tier 2; Teams 106-124, Tier 1.

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