99 Virginia Football Thoughts Before Kickoff

By: Kris Wright |
Virginia kicks off the season next weekend.
Olamide Zaccheaus hopes to have another big year. ~ Mike Ingalls

The long wait for Virginia football fans through the summer months is almost over. The Cavaliers finished preseason camp on Wednesday and now shift into game preparation mode for the season opener next weekend. They host Richmond on Saturday, Sept. 1 at 6 p.m. to start the 2018 campaign.

With kickoff now just days away, I thought it would be fun to throw out a few things UVA fans may wish for this season. The “99 Virginia Football Thoughts Before Kickoff” series.

No. 10 – Countdown Wishes

10. 2,000 rushing yards. This offseason, Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall pushed the team to better its rushing attack on offense. Last season, UVA posted 1,216 rushing yards in 13 games, which computes to just 93.5 per game. That ranked 128th nationally out of 130 FBS teams. (Mendenhall’s first season in 2016 wasn’t much better with 1,363 rushing yards and a 121st national ranking.)

Looking back at some of UVA’s best years under legendary coach George Welsh, many of them featured strong rushing attacks. The 1984 team that won the program’s first bowl game posted 2,542 rushing yards. From 1989-1999, the Hoos put up 2,000+ rushing yards in every season but one. In other words, during the program’s best days, the offense could run the football. It may not be realistic to make that big of a leap (+800 yards) in one offseason, but improving the run game should be a priority. Jordan Ellis rushed for 836 yards last season so maybe he makes a run at the 1,000-yard plateau to help the effort.

9. Keep the interception train going. Last fall, the Virginia defense posted 15 interceptions against opposing quarterbacks. That matched the best effort of the last decade and tied for the third-best season since 1998 behind only 2001 (18) and 1998 (16). The Cavaliers have a deep and talented secondary that some observers say will be among the ACC’s best. That type of group has the ability to be ballhawks and create takeaways to set up scoring opportunities. Juan Thornhill and Brenton Nelson may be the starting safeties for the Hoos and they each posted four picks a year ago to tie for the team lead.

8. Positive turnover margin. Of course, grabbing more interceptions helps the team in the turnover margin category. Simply put, winning the turnover category over the course of the season enhances your chances of winning. Over Mendenhall’s first two seasons, the Hoos have landed on the wrong side of the turnover scales. They were -9 in 2016 and -1 in 2017. That extends an ongoing trend across coaches in recent UVA history. After posting seven straight seasons with a positive turnover margin from 2001 to 2007, Virginia has just one since (+5 in 2014; the team broke even at 0 in 2009). That’s as big a reason as any that the Cavaliers have just one winning record from 2008-2018.

7. Special teams excitement. Joe Reed provided many exciting moments on kick returns in 2017, including two returns for touchdowns in the Georgia Tech and Navy games. With Mendenhall hiring Ricky Brumfield to focus solely on a job as special teams coordinator this offseason, it would be great to see other units bring some similar fun to the field. Maybe that’s Charles Snowden blocking a punt or Tavares Kelly returning a punt for a touchdown. Maybe it’s just making a field goal of 40+ yards. Regardless, there’s room for improvement and for some exciting plays to happen on special teams.

6. Bryce Perkins helps spark enthusiasm. Fair or not, the hype surrounding transfer quarterback Bryce Perkins grew throughout the offseason months. He’s got speed, elusiveness, and the ability to make big throws. He’s got a certain electric quality to his movement. If he comes through with some eye-popping plays in 2018, then that could energize some Virginia fans still in ‘show me’ mode when it comes to the football program turning the corner back to consistent success.

5. Score more points! I’m sure you noticed the two E’s in those last two items: excitement and enthusiasm. It’s obvious that Virginia hasn’t won as many games during the “Lost Decade” and that’s frustration. Struggles on offense have not only contributed to those losses, but have made watching the games boring at times on top of that.

Did you know the Hoos haven’t averaged more than 26 points per game since 2005? Scoring 26 points per game isn’t even good in this age of college football mind you. That would have ranked 83rd nationally last season. The top half of the nation’s 130 teams averaged 28 points or more, while the top 32 teams averaged 33 points or more. UVA came in at a meager 22.5 points per game and that fell 107th in the national pecking order.

This has been a major contributing factor to losing too. From 1989 to 2005, the Cavaliers checked in below 26 points per game just three times (25.2 in 1997, 20.7 in 2000, and 20.8 in 2001) and participated in bowls with winning records regularly. From 2006 to 2018, they’ve averaged 23.2 or lower eight times (15.1 in 2006, 16.1 in 2008, 19.3 in 2009, 23.2 in 2011, 22.8 in 2012, 19.8 in 2013, 22.5 in 2016, 22.5 in 2017) and have made bowl appearances just three times. So yeah, score more points!

4. Peace party. UVA linebacker Chris Peace led the team and all ACC linebackers with 7.5 sacks last season, which was good enough for fifth overall in the league. With this marking his final season with the Hoos, it would be fun to see him put up a big number in the sacks category again. If he can best last season’s number by just 1.5 sacks to get to nine this year, that would tie for ninth on the program’s all-time single-season list. Anything in double digits would put him in some good company with the likes of Chris Slade (15), Patrick Kerney (15), Chris Long (14), Clint Sintim (13), Mike Frederick (11), and Darryl Blackstock (11).

3. Wonderful OZ. Receiver Olamide Zaccheaus set a single-season program record with 85 catches in 2017. He wants to be even more productive with his catches in 2018 with a focus on improving yards after the catch. It would be fun to see him join an exclusive club at UVA with 1,000 receiving yards in his final season. Only two players have made it to four-digit territory in program history: Herman Moore (1,190 in 1990) and Billy McMullen (1,060 in 2001).

2. Back-to-back bowls … AND WIN. Virginia snapped a six-year drought by earning a spot in the Military Bowl last season. However, it’s been more than a decade since the program went bowling in back-to-back seasons. The last time the Cavaliers did that came in 2004 and 2005. That’s also the last time the Hoos won a bowl game. Quarterback Marques Hagans, now the UVA receivers coach, helped lead the team past Minnesota in the Music City Bowl, 34-31.

1. Beat Tech! Virginia hasn’t taken down in-state rival Virginia Tech since 2003. The 14-year streak is beyond old for Hoo fans. The Cavaliers have embraced the mantra with signage aroun

d the program’s facilities and they’ve openly stated that toppling the Hokies is one of the biggest goals each year. To end the streak, UVA will have to win in Blacksburg the week after playing Georgia Tech (the Hoos haven’t won the game following GT since Paul Johnson took over in Atlanta) so it won’t be easy. It has to top the wish list though!

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The “99 Virginia Football Thoughts Before Kickoff” series has discussed much more. The previous articles are below. Click away.