The last day of July has arrived and that means that Virginia football practice is merely three days away. The Cavaliers open preseason camp on Friday morning as they prepare for the 2018 season. They kick off the season on Sept. 1 at 6 p.m. against Richmond at Scott Stadium.
As the opening game creeps closer and optimism of a new season sneaks in for many fans, nostalgia sometimes follows. There’s a string on the football message board right now recalling the day Bob Hope showed up as a surprise. Another wishing Anthony Poindexter Happy Birthday from a few days ago recalls the night UVA upset FSU.
While we’re on the memory train, the “99 Virginia Football Thoughts Before Kickoff” series looks back.
No. 35 – The Last Time
One of the often overlooked pages in the weekly game notes that the media relations department puts together is a page that outlines “The Last Time” various things happened in Virginia games. For example, the last time a Virginia player had four touchdowns rushing was when Keith Payne got into the end zone four times against Richmond in 2010. Or, on the other side, the last time an opponent had three receiving touchdowns in a game against UVA was when Dez White grabbed three in 1998.
When I stumbled across that page when researching varying topics for this series, I skimmed through the entries. There are a few that I thought would be interesting ones to highlight in an article during the “99 Thoughts” series. So here you go.
The Last Time a Virginia quarterback had two rushing touchdowns … Jameel Sewell in 2009 at Southern Miss. Considering that UVA has named dual threat quarterback Bryce Perkins its starter entering the preseason and the fact that offense is shifting schemes to include more run-pass options and more designed running plays for the QB, this might be one that falls sooner rather than later. It’s not hard to imagine a scenario where Perkins scores on a keeper on goal-to-go and also scrambles from a broken pocket inside the 20 for two scores in a single game. The last time a QB rushed for three touchdowns? Shawn Moore in 1990 vs. Georgia Tech.
The Last Time a Virginia player had 150 yards receiving … Canaan Severin with 153 vs. Notre Dame in 2015. That’s not too long ago. Olamide Zaccheaus broke a record last year with the most receptions in a season when he finished with 85. Zaccheaus has shown big play ability throughout his career as the only player with two career receptions of 80 yards or more for example. Can he put together a big yardage game as a senior after he focused in the offseason on adding more yards after the catch? The last player to crack 200 yards receiving, by the way, was Dontrelle Inman with 239 against Duke in 2010.
The Last Time a Virginia offensive lineman caught a pass … Elton Brown vs. Florida State in 2004. Draw something up Robert Anae?
The Last Time a Virginia player had four sacks … Jamie Sharper vs. North Carolina in 1996. Some talented pass rushers have played since then. Patrick Kerney, Chris Long, and Eli Harold to name a few. Chris Peace returns as the ACC’s top sack artist at the linebacker position after logging 7.5 of them last season. This one is going to be a hard record to touch, which makes sense since Sharper accomplished it 22 years ago.
The Last Time Virginia blocked a field goal attempt … Daquan Romero vs. Miami in 2014. UVA hired a special teams coordinator in Ricky Brumfield this offseason to focus exclusively on those units. Can he create some disruption with the defensive units on special teams? The Hoos have added some rangy linemen in recent classes so maybe someone bats down a kick this season.
The Last Time Virginia scored 60 points … 62-14 vs. NC State in 1997. The Last Time Virginia scored 50 points … 51-3 vs. Temple in 2005. It’s been more than a decade since UVA’s offense exploded in a really big way and 20 years since the Hoos reached the 60-point barrier. I’m not advocating running up the score, but I’d like to see the offense score more points consistently.
The Last Time Virginia defeated a ranked team … 23-21 vs. then No. 21 Louisville in 2014. This is just an indicator of how far UVA still has to go after making it back to a bowl game last season. Three plus seasons have passed since the program toppled a top 25 team. To climb the Coastal Division standings or more, that’s going to have to change eventually.
The Last Time Virginia recorded an ACC shutout … 31-0 vs. Maryland in 2008. This isn’t easy to do with the high-powered offenses and the spread tactics out there, but it would be fun to watch a D get it done.
The Last Time Virginia did not punt … vs. Duke in 1989. Sorry, Lester Coleman, but that’s a really long time. Maybe the Hoos put together a great offensive game this season?
The Last Time Virginia’s opponent had fewer than five first downs … VMI with four in 1979. Richmond had just one in 1945 and Maryland had zero in 1944.
The Last Time Virginia’s opponent went scoreless in the second half … Virginia Tech in 2013. It’s been four full seasons since the defense pitched a second-half shutout! No. 68 in this “99 Thoughts” series looked at stops to start the second half as well, something that contributed to the wins early last season. If the defense can get more stingy after halftime, that would bode well for this year’s quest for a repeat bowl bid.
The “99 Virginia Football Thoughts Before Kickoff” series has discussed much more. The previous articles are below. Click away.
- No. 99 – The Importance Of A Fast Start
- No. 98 – The Impact Of Early-Ending Careers
- No. 97 – Jordan Mack’s Role
- No. 96 – Welcome Back
- No. 95 – Han Solo Says
- No. 94 – Smart Addition
- No. 93 – The Center Spot
- No. 92 – Finding A Punt Returner
- No. 91 – Facing Running Quarterbacks
- No. 90 – Interceptions
- No. 89 – Kickoff Times
- No. 88 – QB Optimism Not Enough To Tilt Early Predictions Too Far
- No. 87 – It Starts With Jordan Ellis
- No. 86 – Virginia’s Most Dangerous Game
- No. 85 – The Tight End Swan Song?
- No. 84 – Teach A Man To Fish
- No. 83 – No Ordinary Joe
- No. 82 – Now Or Then
- No. 81 – How To Treat The Kickoff Rule Change
- No. 80 – Play, But Still Redshirt
- No. 79 – Which Red Zone Offense Is The Real One?
- No. 78 – Schedule For Success
- No. 77 – Who’s The Worst?
- No. 76 – ACC Coach Rankings
- No. 75 – Keep That Cold Weather Gear
- No. 74 – 1,000 Target For OZ
- No. 73 – Cross Out Cross-Training For Cross
- No. 72 – Punting Plans
- No. 71 – Redshirted … Ready?
- No. 70 – A June Jolt
- No. 69 – Who?
- No. 68 – Stops To Start Second Half
- No. 67 – Root, Root, Root For …
- No. 66 – Wildcard Extras
- No. 65 – Defense Showed Red Zone Improvement
- No. 64 – Welcome Back, Mr. Robinson
- No. 63 – The Florida Footprint
- No. 62 – True Freshmen Will Play, But Who Will Make The Most Impact?
- No. 61 – Four Fireworks-Worthy Moments In The Bronco Mendenhall Era
- No. 60 – Juan Thornhill Primed For An All-ACC Caliber Season
- No. 59 – Rebuilding The Offensive Line Is On Schedule
- No. 58 – Bouncing Back On The Defensive Line
- No. 57 – Underrated Hoos
- No. 56 – Lordy, Lordy, How ‘Bout 40?
- No. 55 – Peace Talk
- No. 54 – Hoos’ Handle On Social Media Bodes Well For Future Recruiting
- No. 53 – Filling The Void At Wide Receiver
- No. 52 – The Sixth-Year Seniors
- No. 51 – Borrowing A Burning Question
- No. 50 – Beat Tech!
- No. 49 – A Resolute Leader
- No. 48 – The Perkins Theorem
- No. 47 – Beat Pitt!
- No. 46 – A Look At Virginia Football’s 2018 Walk-On Class
- No. 45 – I Sense A Trend
- No. 44 – The Need For (More) Speed
- No. 43 – Progress With Penalties
- No. 42 – Preseason All-ACC Musings
- No. 41 – Designing Sacks
- No. 40 – Go Long
- No. 39 – Please Stay Healthy!
- No. 38 – Sorting Out The Secondary
- No. 37 – Preseason Injury Report Concerns
- No. 36 – The Third Down Swap
