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Anthony Harris finished with 11 tackles. |
When Virginia brought in defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta to run an aggressive 4-3 defense this offseason, the Hoos hoped more turnovers came with him. Against BYU on Saturday, the first turnover of the Tenuta era arrived at a critical moment to help the Cavaliers capture a 19-16 victory at a soaked Scott Stadium.
And none too soon.
The Wahoos trailed 16-12 as the HooVision clock dropped below 3:00 remaining. After leading the game midway through the fourth quarter, the game had the feel of a classic Virginia letdown. But on 3rd-and-6 from BYU’s 34-yard line, the tide turned dramatically on a gripping – or lack thereof – play. Cougar quarterback Taysom Hill fired a pass out to running back Jamaal Williams on a simple out pattern near the sticks, but the ball slipped right through his hands and Anthony Harris capitalized on the fortuitous moment with an interception.
Harris returned the pick 6 yards before tossing a lateral to Henry Coley for 27 more yards. That 33-yard combo set up Kevin Parks for a 13-yard touchdown run to win the game. The Hoos that remained among the 53,310 in attendance after a long storm delay and a third quarter downpour celebrated the late turn of events and a 1-0 start to the season.
“They had two guys in the same area, and I just broke on the ball,” Harris said. “The receiver tipped it and it came to me so I just tried to catch onto it and get some yards. We didn’t have that many interceptions last year, but this year we have been trying to pressure people and working on trying to be in the right spot and today I just ended up in the right spot and the ball came to me.”
“[It was] 3rd-and-6. We talked about it on the sideline, let’s go get the first down, and if it’s not there obviously don’t force anything in,” Hill said. “They played zone behind it, Jamaal Williams ripped the flat, I liked it, threw it a little high and Virginia made a good play.”
That turnover sealed what proved to be a great day for the defense. Virginia allowed just 362 total yards despite the fact that BYU (0-1) cranked out 93 plays in its hurry-up spread offense. That’s a paltry 3.9 yards per play average. The Hoos swallowed up the read option looks and allowed 187 yards rushing on 53 carries, which is 3.5 yards per carry. The aforementioned Williams led the way with 144 yards on 33 carries. UVa forced 11 punts on the day.
Statistically, several Cavaliers stuffed the sheet with so many snaps in play. Maurice Canady (13), Daquan Romero (12), Eli Harold (11), Henry Coley (11), and Harris (11) all posted double-digit tackle totals. Harold had 3.5 tackles for loss with 2 sacks and a forced fumble. Harris, meanwhile, added 1 sack, 1 pass break-up, and 1 blocked punt to his overall line in what was a huge performance.
Like his interception, Harris’ blocked punt set up a touchdown too as he helped provide great field position on both of the offense’s TDs. The blocked punt came early in the third quarter with 13:51 on the clock after BYU committed a penalty that forced a second attempt at a kick in the sheeting rain. When Scott Arellano bobbled the snap, it gave Harris the split second he needed to smother the kick.
“The first time I came free but I didn’t think I used proper technique to complete the block,” Harris said. “Luckily we came back with that penalty and I went after it and he bobbled it so I just laid out for it.”
“Both of our touchdowns came off of big plays by Ant,” UVa receiver Darius Jennings said. “The pick was a game saver. Ant has been making plays all camp. He’s been playing well in the new defensive system. Just for him to step up and showcase his talents like that, it was great for our team.”
Jennings became the direct beneficiary of the block moments later. On 3rd-and-5 at the Cougar 11-yard line, David Watford rolled to his right and roped a spiral to Jennings running along the back line of the end zone. Jennings drug his foot through the grass at the 12:28 mark and it gave UVa a 10-7 lead after Ian Frye ‘s extra point.
Jennings, who led the Hoos with 7 catches for 62 yards, spotted Watford scrambling and just tried to find an open spot.
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Morgan Moses escorts Kevin Parks off the field after the winning touchdown. |
“It was more scramble drill,” Jennings said. “I was running my route and I saw David scrambling so I just tried to find a little seam to get open and I was fortunate enough to drag a toe in. … I really wasn’t even thinking to get a foot down, that was just kind of habit, something we work on at practice.”
Beyond Jennings’ line and the two key touchdowns, it was a rough statistical day for the offense. The Wahoos managed just 223 yards of offense with 109 rushing yards and 114 passing yards; they punted 13 times. Parks led the ground game with 65 yards on 20 carries (3.2 ypc) and the game-winning touchdown. Khalek Shepherd , who lost a fumble on a kickoff return, added 18 yards on 5 carries. Taquan Mizzell debuted with 16 yards on 7 carries.
In the passing game, Watford completed 18 of 32 passes for 114 yards. He also tossed an interception on an ill-advised attempt to squeeze a pass in to Tim Smith while being sacked.
“He can do better,” Virginia coach Mike London said. “He left some throws on the field. It started getting wet so he left the ball high a couple of times. David is our guy. We just have to make sure he does the things we require him to do. When you look at the stats, they are not indicative of what he can do, but it is something to move forward on.”
Watford, who is a bit of film rat, was ready to analyze his first start at Virginia as the team prepares to move forward after its first win.
“Yeah I am anxious to go see what happened and just how we looked,” Watford said. “I’m sure we’ll break it all down tomorrow, but I’ll try to get a crack at it tonight.”
