The Sampler article after the VMI game dialed in starting quarterback David Watford just three games into his starting career. The general analysis at that point: an inexperienced Watford had started to show improvement, but he was struggling with a turnover problem.

Now through 10 games on the schedule, where does Watford stand? He continued to improve after the VMI game into October when he had 4 touchdown passes and 3 interceptions. The past two weeks, however, have shown major regression with 0 TDs and 3 INTs. After completing 43 of 61 passes (70.5%) against Georgia Tech, he connected on 30 of 65 attempts (46.2%) the next two games.

For the season, Watford has completed 221 of 379 passes for 1,974 yards. That’s a completion percentage of 58.3%. He has thrown 7 touchdowns vs. 12 interceptions. He has an efficiency rating of 101.83. In terms of the ACC (excluding Georgia Tech since there pass attempts per game don’t qualify for the 15.0 per game cutoff), Watford is last in efficiency rating, tied for last in interceptions, and tied for 12th in touchdown passes (every QB behind is either in a time share situation or has played less games). He leads the ACC in completions, attempts, and attempts per game; he ranks sixth in yards.

The entire picture, and especially the accuracy and interception problems, casts doubt on his long-term viability as a starting quarterback. At this point in the season, Watford’s 12 interceptions rank behind only Marc Verica (14 in 2010 and 16 in 2008) since 1998; Michael Rocco (2011) and Marques Hagans (2005) also finished with 12 in a season. The touchdown-interception ratio is much more concerning, though. With a 7-12 ratio, Watford has the worst ratio for a starting UVa quarterback since 2008. In fact, among multi-game starters only Watford, Verica (8-16 in 2008), and Jameel Sewell (5-6 in 2006) came up on the negative side of the coin.

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