In this four-part series, we’re taking a look at four things that new Virginia football coach Bronco Mendenhall must fix if UVA is going to be successful again on the gridiron.

The Trends

• Losing the field position fight
• Offensive inefficiency – lack of explosiveness and the quarterback carousel
• Defensive adaptation – inability to defend the emergence of college spread offenses
• Establishing a defined program culture

Defensive adaptation – inability to defend the emergence of college spread offenses

Since the 2011 Peach Bowl game against Auburn (a 43-24 loss), the Cavaliers have played 23 games against teams I would classify as spread offenses. What has been clear in those 23 outings is that the Hoos have difficulty defending those teams. This time frame spans two different defensive coordinators, one playing primarily read-and-react principles and one playing a pressure-based scheme. The results have been the same.

In 2012, the Wahoos went 0-4 against Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) spread teams and were outscored 150-75. They gave up 415.7 yards per game (YPG) compared to 332 vs. eight non-spread opponents. The Hoos faced seven spread offenses in 2013 and allowed 417.8 yards compared to 391.3 against the rest. They again failed to win any of those contests. In 2014, Virginia seemed to play much better against five spread opponents but still failed to win a game going 0-5. That year’s team did limit its spread opponents to 361.4 YPG but still more than the 334.8 surrendered to UVA’s other six FBS opponents.

...