Three-List Game Preview: Virginia Football Battles Pittsburgh For First Place In The Coastal

Chris Peace and the Virginia football defense will be challenged by a physical Pittsburgh offense on Friday night in Scott Stadium. ~ Photo by Mike Ingalls

The University of Virginia football program, No. 25 in the newly released College Football Playoff rankings, puts its 6-2 record on the line against the Pittsburgh Panthers (4-4) Friday night in Scott Stadium. The winner will assume sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division – UVA currently holds the top spot with a 4-1 conference mark, but Pitt enters the game with a 3-1 conference record.

Pittsburgh is the second of three straight home games for Virginia, which, led by quarterback Bryce Perkins, defeated North Carolina in the South’s Oldest Rivalry last Saturday in Charlottesville, 31-21. Pittsburgh is coming off a wild 54-45 win at home over the Duke Blue Devils in which the Panthers overcame a 10-point third quarter deficit to pick up its fourth win of 2018.

Pittsburgh, which features four senior starters on its offensive line (sophomore center Jimmy Morrissey is the lone non-senior starter), wants to be physical on offense and control the game with a rushing attack led by a couple of big, talented backs in senior running backs Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall. Ollison and Hall can run in between the tackles, but they also have the speed to break big plays. The Panthers will also feature jet sweeps with speedy receivers such as Maurice Ffrench and V’Lique Carter.

Quarterback Kenny Pickett, who tossed the game-winning touchdown pass versus Duke in the final minute last week, is tasked with more of a game management role. The sophomore has thrown eight touchdowns and ranks fourth in the ACC with only five interceptions. Pickett, who is completing 60.6% of his passes, has thrown for 150 yards or more in five games but has yet to reach the 200-yard mark. He can make plays with his legs, which could be something to watch.

UVA head coach Bronco Mendenhall says to watch out for the following from a Panther defense ranked no. 101 in total defense (436 yards allowed), no. 96 against the run (185.5) and no.122 in passing yards per completion (10.18).

“Defensively they certainly don’t want the opponent to run the ball an inch,” Mendenhall said. “They’re very aggressive. They’re not afraid to take chances and rely a lot on players in space and their secondary to make plays.”

Since Pitt and Virginia began facing off as ACC foes, the Panthers have won four of the last five in the series, including the first two meetings with Mendenhall as coach. Pitt defeated the Hoos, 45-31, when the two teams met in Scott Stadium in 2016. The Panthers won 31-14 last year in the Steel City.

Mendenhall has praised UVA’s complementary football play following wins over Duke and UNC. Pitt’s potentially punishing run game and potent special teams – the Panthers have three returns for touchdowns and boast a very good kicker with range – will be challenges for the Cavaliers, who look to put together another complete game Friday night.

Virginia Football Essentials

Three Big Questions

1. Will Virginia’s defense match Pitt’s physicality in the run game?

Co-Defensive Coordinator Kelly Poppinga said the coaches challenged the Virginia defenders to step up their physicality, particularly against the run, and he credits the players with doing just that against Miami, Duke and UNC. Poppinga added that Cavalier defense must reach a “whole different level” of physicality against the Panthers. Pitt rushed for 209 yards and two scores the last time these two teams met in Charlottesville in 2016. Last season in Pittsburgh, the Panthers totaled 176 yards and two scores on the ground.

2. Can Virginia prevent big plays in the return game?

Pitt returned a kickoff for a touchdown against Virginia in 2016 and a punt for a touchdown against the Hoos in 2017. Quadree Henderson, who was responsible for both of those returns, is gone, but Pitt is once again potent in the return game. Maurice Ffrench has returned two kickoffs for touchdowns this season and leads the ACC in kick return average (29.6 YPR). Wide receiver Rafael Araujo-Lopes has returned a punt for a touchdown this season as well.

3. Could the quick turnaround impact either team?

Both Virginia and Pittsburgh played last Saturday and face short weeks with the Friday night kickoff. Neither team has had a short week so far this season, so we’ll see if the circumstances factor into the outcome of this important ACC matchup. Virginia would seem to have an edge considering they are playing at home while Pitt has to travel. Additionally, could the back-and-forth shootout with Duke last week impact the Panthers?

Three Big Foes

1. Running Backs Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall

Ollison (6’2”, 225 pounds) is enjoying his best season since his freshman campaign, when he rushed for 1,121 yards and 11 touchdowns. In eight games this year, the Niagara Falls (N.Y.) native has rushed for 795 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging a career-best 6.3 yards per carry. Hall, who rushed for over 100 yards last season versus Virginia, is also having a good 2018 season with 429 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Like Ollison, Hall is averaging over six yards per carry (6.1).

2. Wide Receiver Maurice Ffrench.

The 5’11” junior is a triple threat as a receiver, kick returner and runner. Ffrench leads the Panthers with 294 yards receiving, has amassed 101 yards rushing (he had 69 last week against Duke), and has totaled seven touchdowns. He has four scores in the passing game, one as a rusher, and two on kickoff returns (91 yards vs. Albany and 99 yards vs. Notre Dame).

3. Wide Receiver/Defensive Back V’Lique Carter (or someone else new?)

The 5’9” speedster made quite the college football debut last week versus Duke, rushing seven times for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Although Pitt has four games remaining (not including a possible bowl), it seems as though Coach Narduzzi is (at least publicly) considering playing Carter only four games to preserve his redshirt. I’d be shocked if he doesn’t play versus the Cavaliers on Friday, though, and the Virginia defense will need to account for him.

Coach Narduzzi also indicated there is a possibility another true freshman sees their first action of the season against Virginia. He didn’t say which side of the ball.

Three Trends To Watch

1. UVA Stuffing The Run.

Picking up where I left off in the first of the “3 Questions” above, the Cavalier defense has been up to the task in terms of run defense this season, especially the last three games against Miami, Duke and North Carolina. Miami was able to eclipse the century mark in terms of rushing yards with 149; however, 70 of those yards came on one Travis Homer run. The Hurricanes rushed for just 79 yards on its other 28 carries. Duke rushed for 58 yards the next week before the Hoos held a very good UNC rushing attack to just 66 yards. On the year, Virginia is allowing just 113 yards on the ground per game. The Panthers rank 22nd in the country in rushing offense and just gashed Duke to the tune of 484 yards on the ground.

2. Pittsburgh Penalties

Pittsburgh averages almost seven penalties and 66.75 penalty yards per game and has had two games where they were flagged more than 10 times. In their losses, the Panthers are averaging 9.5 penalties. Meanwhile, Virginia is averaging 4.3 penalties and 38.9 penalty yards per game this season.

3. Pitt Winless On The Road.

All four of Pitt’s losses – Penn State, North Carolina, Central Florida and Notre Dame – have come on the road, where the Panthers have been up-and-down with their play. While the losses to Penn State and Central Florida were blowouts, the Panthers didn’t play badly against the Tar Heels and Fighting Irish. Pitt lost by only three (38-35) at UNC and controlled a large part of the October 13 Notre Dame game before the Irish rallied with 13 points in the final 17:09 of the game to get the win. Pitt was able to limit the Irish to just 80 yards rushing on 38 carries.

Hey, Remember When …

Virginia defeated Pittsburgh in 2014? This was the Cavaliers’ most recent win over the Panthers, and it came in Scott Stadium.