Shortly after Saturday’s football game ended at Wake Forest with a third straight loss for Virginia, I had Tony Bennett and UVA basketball on my mind. Probably not for why you think, though.

Bennett many times during his tenure at Virginia has shared a simple coaching philosophy: first, you have to eliminate losing. On the basketball floor for the Hoos, this generally means playing great defense and eliminating easy baskets while getting quality possessions on offense. Simple, but effective.

Football, of course, features more players and many moving parts, but I keep going back to that simple Bennett philosophy at the root of the basketball program’s success. First, you have to eliminate losing. The football team these last three games – and it’s a trend in most of the losses in the Bronco Mendenhall era – has not eliminated the things that cause you to lose games on the field.

The game recap from Saturday touched on the specifics from the loss to the Demon Deacons. The Hoos committed two turnovers in their own territory and that led to 10 Wake points. Mendenhall mentioned Monday one key stat: 12 turnovers have led to 47 points for the opponents. That’s an average of nearly 12 points per game off of turnovers.

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