The Virginia football team will try to end its season on a different note than the last two months. The Cavaliers have dropped 8 straight games over that time. Standing in the way of a season-ending win this week is rival Virginia Tech, who has had the upper hand in this series of late. The Wednesday Watch List takes a closer look at the contest.

Underneath Crossing Routes

The VT offense this week will feature similarities to both Virginia and Miami with a lot of the same variations discussed in the Watch List last week. One area that I think the Hokies execute well and plays to the strengths of quarterback Logan Thomas is the combination of vertical passing routes with a crossing pattern underneath. This gives Thomas the option of going deep – he throws a nice long ball to the likes of Demitri Knowles – or taking a receiver on the move across the field.

Tech uses this concept out of a lot of formations with varying players running the underneath pattern. The most dangerous options appear to be Willie Byrn, Joshua Stanford, and D.J. Coles. Some examples:

• Three receivers left run verticals with solo receiver right clearing underneath against Miami
• Two receivers right run verticals with solo left receiver clearing underneath against Marshall
• Two receivers right run verticals with solo left receiver clearing underneath against Boston College
• Two receivers left run verticals with solo right tight end/H-Back clearing underneath against Georgia Tech

Virginia has done fairly well defending these types of routes this season. Linebackers Henry Coley and Daquan Romero have handled coverage assignments in these situations without much issue. With the way VT sets these routes up, however, the responsibility for many of these patterns likely will fall to corners or safeties like DreQuan Hoskey, Tim Harris, Maurice Canady, and Brandon Phelps. With UVa’s issues tackling on screen passes and getting beat for deep passes this season, I could see a crossing pattern emerging as a critical coverage play in this contest as the Hoos try to cover up the vertical looks.

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