Playing on the road for the second straight week, the Virginia football team didn’t have any better results on the opposite coast Saturday. One week after losing at Oregon, the Hoos fell 13-10 at Connecticut. The Sampler is back for the weekly look at the Hoos.

The Final Sequence

The Hoos’ final four plays have been discussed since the end of the game. UVA elected for a power run, a spike to stop the clock, a quarterback draw, and a hurry-up field goal attempt inside the UConn 10-yard line on Saturday. The kick missed when former Division III soccer player Alex Furbank pushed the kick left.

Fans have a divided opinion on the whole sequence, though most on the message boards seem to have issue with rushing a kicker playing his first game ever the most by calling a run play on third down. A lot of posts have said at least one pass attempt into the end zone – or as many as three – would have been the preferred route there, even though Kurt Benkert clearly appeared to be laboring with his left shoulder area after a fourth quarter sack.

On the other hand, clips from the broadcast and apparently the coaches’ end zone angle show a wide open lane to a touchdown for Benkert on the draw, assuming that Jackson Matteo can still finish off his block if the defender saw Benkert cutting to his left. The Cavalier coaches have commented on the play since the loss.

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