This may not have been the Boise State team that lost five games from 2008 to 2012 and went 14-0 in 2011, but Albertsons Stadium is a tough place to play. With its 42-23 win, Virginia became the first non-conference team to win on the smurf turf in 17 years, snapping a 32-game win streak. The grades look good after a performance like that.

The Hoos handed the Broncos only their sixth loss in Albertsons Stadium since 2002 and the 19-point margin of victory was only four points fewer than the combined 23-point margin from the previous five losses. This was a huge win, no doubt.

I think it’s easy to find progress in Bronco Mendenhall’s program and I’ll address that later. If I were to say that I still have doubts that would be the truth. Virginia has another significant test against Duke and if the Cavaliers can pull off a win against the Blue Devils, my doubts will decrease.

I want to see what the running game can do against a good run defense. I think the success of the passing game really has allowed the run game to open up. As the Hoos continue to have success with the vertical passing game, it will make the running lanes a little wider and stop opposing defenses from packing the box. More importantly, the more the offensive line has success, the more confident it will become and that makes a huge difference.

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