As horrible as Virginia’s offense was against Indiana, it was equally impressive Saturday in its win over Connecticut. How impressive? Really impressive.

For the first time since 1998, a Virginia offense averaged 8.8 yards per play. The last time a Cavalier team averaged more than 8.5 was Sept. 11, 2004 during a 56-24 win over North Carolina. For the record, that research is unofficial and it may be even longer than 1998 or even a record but 1998 is as far back as UVA’s online records go.

The Cavalier defense was solid but not great against the Huskies with 12 of UConn’s 18 points coming with less than seven minutes left in the game. Virginia was aided, however, by four plus-field stops inside the 35-yard line. The defenders were especially stifling when the visitors crossed the 50-yard line as I’ll discuss in the trends segment. Unfortunately, UVA’s special teams continue to be an inconsistent bunch at best and consistently bad, especially in coverage, at worst.

With Boise State looming, there are several trends that are worrisome. The Broncos will put a top 20 kickoff return unit on the field to face one of the worst coverage operations in the NCAA in Virginia. Even more disconcerting, as the Hoos continue to be a welcome opportunity for opposing quarterbacks to pad their rushing statistics, they face a team where the leading rusher is … say it with me … the quarterback.

...