Virginia Hits Barometer Bump At Notre Dame

Virginia faces Miami next.
Virginia is 4-1 heading into a bye week. ~ Photo courtesy Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Media Relations

Over the past three years, the Virginia football team has improved and methodically clicked off checkpoints of progress. To name a few: Bowl game, defeat a ranked team, winning record, bowl win, 4-0 start for the first time since 2004, and win as a ranked team.

Those steps led to Saturday’s game in South Bend where No. 18 UVA faced No. 10 Notre Dame. It marked the Cavaliers’ first game where both teams were ranked since 2011 and an opportunity for the first win under that scenario since 1998. In other words, it was a marquee game billed as a barometer for Virginia. How would the Hoos fare in a nationally televised game against a team from the 2018 College Football Playoff?

The result, a 35-20 loss that left the program winless in its history against top 10 teams on the road, could be simultaneously encouraging and discouraging. The Hoos led 17-14 at halftime thanks to a late second quarter touchdown drive, but then saw their chances unravel with turnovers and 21 unanswered Irish points.

As far as being a barometer of overall progress, the game provided feedback there too. The basic takeaway: Virginia has come a long way, is capable of playing with and defeating top teams, but has a long way to go. That’s something that Cavalier coach Bronco Mendenhall has continued to say even through the season’s hot start.

Ultimately, much of what was shown was already known. Here are a few:

– Offensively, there are positives in play from big play potential to receiving touchdowns both by design and from scrambling, but there isn’t enough consistency in too many areas. That’s been the story of offensive coordinator Robert Anae’s tenure. The Cavaliers have scored more points than they have in years and can look great for stretches, but things often disolve away for periods too. The first and second half split in South Bend had plenty of that on display.

Some opponents can still overwhelm the offensive line and blocking schemes in use. That leads to protection issues and inconsistency in the running game. Notre Dame certainly did that Saturday with 8 sacks and 4 rushing yards allowed. The Irish accomplished much of that with just the front four on the defensive line. Overall, opponents that have the most success against Virginia’s offense are those that can shut down the run, eliminate escape lanes for the quarterback, and force the Hoos to mostly beat them through short and intermediate passes all game long.

– Red zone offense continues to leave points on the board. UVA left the red zone twice with just field goals in this game, a continuation of a three-year trend for red zone touchdown percentage.

– The defense can wear down over the course of a game and is still vulnerable to teams that can run with power schemes. Notre Dame went to two tight ends later in the game and ended up with 178 rushing yards and 4 rushing touchdowns on 5.1 yards per carry.

– The defense can control the game for long stretches and is a menace with havoc plays. The Hoos had 2 more sacks Saturday and made Notre Dame uncomfortable for much of the night. A direct defensive touchdown and field position for another boosted the Irish’s point total – otherwise, this was a game in the 20’s (or better) just like the coaches try to design toward.

– Turnover margin can be the biggest differentiator against quality teams. Notre Dame dominated there with a +4 margin and 28 points off turnovers. The Cavaliers have improved that category since Mendenhall arrived, but it’s still not something they can rely on from either side of the ball. If you total up the 43 games, the Wahoos are still -14. The 2018 team ended up at +2, while the 2016 and 2017 teams were in the negative. The 2019 team is starting at a -6 hole through six games.

– Special teams have made the most strides over the course of Mendenhall’s tenure. The kicking game is better. Punting has been consistent. There’s the threat of big returns in both the kicking and punting teams. The units can flip field position. The Hoos have been looking for overall consistency with the special teams and that continues to improve.

What does that tell us for the rest of 2019? The Cavaliers have a good football team and can play with really talented teams. They can win games. They should be comfortably in the bowl picture and a Coastal Division contender. The margin for error remains fairly small, though, and things like turnovers and missed opportunities on offense can be costly.

That means the Hoos must make strides with rushing offense, turnovers on both sides of the ball, and more as the season moves along if they want a breakthrough and a shot at more marquee games like the Notre Dame test this weekend. A bye week is up next to get that work started.

8 Responses You are logged in as Test

    1. I disagree………..I thought they competed well the hole game……………..what your looking at is the difference in recruiting at ND’s level and at your level………VT has had the same problem forever even in our heyday, good but not good enough to compete with the teams in the upper echelons for 4 quarters………….you’ve come a long way and should be happy; legitimate chance to win the division, play in ACC Championship game, bowl game for sure, and the losing streak ends with VT.

      Come on over to my side and you will know the real feeling of embarrassment!

  1. Nice write up.

    Our offensive line simply isn’t good enough right now. ND dominated us up front. Hope coaches can come up with ideas to help paper over this deficiency.

  2. Really impressive first half. We looked legit. Opposite in the second half. This year it pretty much comes down to the offensive line.

  3. Anae would pile all the blame for the O-line, and hang the loss on not having the best players. Well, if we had all the best players, my grandmother could coach them to a win. The mark of a good coach is to be able to take what he has in terms of personnel and maximize it to its utmost potential. Anae has * never done that *.

    1. It’s not like Notre Dame doesn’t coach their guys too. The Virginia offensive line is not at the talent level it needs to be for a P5 team. Roster management and coaching should provide better results in years to come. I’ve been impressed with how quickly Mendenhall and staff (including Anae) have rebuilt the team.

        1. I posted on a FB page that I blamed Anae for the third quarter and was railed on by many. While Perkins needs to have better pocket awareness to get rid of the ball, if the calls were to drop back and wait for things to open up, that’s all on the coaching and lack of halftime adjustments. Five step drops into a rapidly collapsing pocket weren’t the right call and the right tackle was continually abused (candidly, by a front four that will have guys in the NFL). But those kind of plays were called repeatedly in the third quarter.

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