The Virginia football team finished with a 3-7 record this season. The campaign featured just one ACC win in the first year of the Tony Elliott era. As that record suggests, consistency eluded the Cavaliers as the changeover to new schemes never fully took root.

When it comes to offense in 2022, the Hoos struggled to put points on the board. They scored 34 in the season opener against Richmond, but hit the 20-point barrier just twice against Power 5 teams with 20 at Syracuse and 28 at home against North Carolina. Plenty of criticism found its way to Des Kitchings’ feet as the offensive coordinator.

The biggest question: did Virginia give up a little bit in the short term for gains in the long term? In other words, as was speculated during the season, Elliott has a specific vision for what he wants the offense to look like and he was going to stay true to his principles in support of that vision no matter what. The basics there included a running game with power spread elements that contained both inside and outside zone reads plus timing and precision on pass patterns. The nuances expanded beyond that obviously, but at the core Elliott wants an offense that can run the football consistently and then build on that ability.

Looking back at the Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades that quantify execution for the season may provide some context. Here’s a look at the game by game grades for offense this season:

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