Despite the turnovers and two Hurricane defensive touchdowns, the Cavaliers actually were in a position to win this ball game. After all, 14 of Miami’s 45 points came off defensive scoring plays and 7 more came from a possession that began on the UVa 2-yard line following an interception. Even with those events, Virginia had six red zone possessions culminating with two touchdowns, two field goals and two turnovers, ultimately leaving 23 points on the field in a game it lost by 19, 45-26.

UVa’s defense surrendered three touchdowns on Miami drives of 75, 64, and 59 yards. If you subtract those points caused by the offense’s issues, the Cavalier defense gave up just 21 points, a total that’s is not only 14 points below Miami’s seasonal average but would rank the Hoos 24th in scoring defense.

So even with an improved running effort from the offense, as the numbers show, this game came down to the total inefficiency of the UVa offense in the red zone and in the passing game.

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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