16-103. 5-121. 9-123. 18-88. These numbers aren’t some sort of combination code. It’s simply the difference in national rankings between Air Force and Virginia last season on defense. The Falcons owned the first number in scoring defense, total defense, run defense, and pass defense, while the Hoos owned the second.

Simply put, UVA fans want to know how to get a more of column B back in Charlottesville.

Enter new defensive coordinator John Rudzinski. He’s the mind behind Air Force’s steady defense the last three seasons. The Falcons mostly ranked inside of the top 20 in all of those major categories the last three years with Rudzinski in charge. Tony Elliott pulled him away from a long career at Air Force (he spent all but three years since 2002 there in some capacity) to try to build an effective defense at Virginia.

The key there, of course, will be whether he can translate what worked at the Academy to the ACC. The Falcons feasted mostly on their Mountain West opponents in those three years. They did defeat Louisville last season 31-28 in the First Responder Bowl, but that’s the only ACC opponent and one of only three Power 5 opponents to be found in the three-year run. AFA did go 3-0 in those games, but there’s still a learning curve that comes from facing new opposition.

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