It’s pretty difficult to win the turnover battle, outgain an opponent, be more effective on third down, run more offensive plays and still lose. At Connecticut, for the first time since Oct. 12, 2013 the Hoos did just that. The grades and trends reflect on how it happened.

Back in 2013, Maryland scored late to take the lead when quarterback Caleb Rowe hit tight end Dave Stinebaugh for the go-ahead score with 5:14 left. Ironically, UVA moved to the Maryland 24-yard line in the closing seconds before Alec Vozenilek’s 42-yard field goal attempt edged wide right with 10 seconds to go and the Hoos lost 27-26.

Saturday, UConn tied the game with 7:55 remaining and took the lead on a field goal with 1:33 to go. Virginia drove all the way to the Huskies’ 2-yard line, but Alex Furbank’s attempt went left as time expired to secure a 13-10 UVA loss.

A week ago at Oregon, the offense and in particular the run game got it going, the defense got lit up, and special teams were average. This week at UConn, the offense started well but couldn’t sustain it and special teams were again average. As I will review in the trends segment, the defense made strides Saturday but Virginia is still looking for an across-the-board effort from all three operations. With a very experienced, talented, and well-coached Central Michigan team coming to Charlottesville this weekend, Saturday would be superb time for that to happen.

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