It took a while for 16th-ranked Miami to find Virginia's soft underbelly -- its run defense -- but once it did, Miami didn't go away from it. 268 rushing yards later, the Canes broke open a close game at the half, and won going away, 52-17, over the Cavs.
Some observations with the Hoos one loss away from bowl ineligibility:
- Tip of the cap to the Cavs' secondary. When Miami characteristically opened the game pass-happy, Virginia's secondary of Dowling, Cook, Woods, and McLeod made a very good pass offense pay. Dowling's int set up the Hoos' first score, and Heisman-hopeful Jacory Harris looked thoroughly frustrated at halftime.
- Another tip of the cap to LB Cam Johnson, the most exciting young player in Virginia's stable. The second year backer had two sacks, unfortunately the second of which changed the momentum of the game. The call may have been technically correct -- the face mask penalty does include the "helmet opening," and an official can use replay to correct an "egregious" error. I'm not sure the official's interpretation of either of those terms is correct, but even if they were, I'm not sure what Johnson is supposed to do when he comes clean, and the quarterback ducks into him, causing Johnson to grab what he could to bring an extraordinary athlete to the ground. Keep going after 'em Cam.
- While Miami was figuring out how to attack the Hoos' defense (apparently they don't review film or stats from previous games at the U untiul halftime), their talent still staked them to a first half lead. That top-flight talent was on display first with TE Leonard Hankerson's 35-yard catch and run TD, and then PR Thearon Collier's 60-yard punt return. Virignia looked like they had both plays hemmed in before that talent took over.
- Virginia couldn't kick or cover kicks in the first half, but special teams coach Ron Prince clearly saw a hole to exploit in the Canes' punt-blocking scheme. Terrence Fells-Danzer's block set up Virginia's first touchdown, and then Trey Womack's block led directly to Billy Schautz's return TD.
- Virginia needed both, as their offense went back to its conservative roots with Marc Verica running the offense. The Hoos ran the ball effectively, but were awful on third down (2-for-12 for the game) and thus unable to sustain drives.
- Verica was a brutal 11-29 for 75 yards passing. If Sewell wasn't healthy, which wasn't reported late in the week but was apparently known by the coaching staff since the Duke game, someone needs to explain to me why Vic Hall too ZERO snaps at QB, as was reported by the TV crew doing the game. They could have used some of his escapability against that speedy Miami defense.
- Finally, Al Groh produced his second quote in the last week to explain away his team's performace with a lack of talent. Earlier in the week, Groh was quoted as saying that you can't force an identity without the skills to match it. After the Miami game, explaining why Wake Forest racked up 515 yards of offense against Miami's porous D while Virginia mustered little, Groh said, "They've got Riley Skinner," referring to the Deacs' QB. Unfortunately for Groh, he's ultimately responsible for the lack of talent he now sees in Charlottesville. Fortunately for the rest of us, its inconceivable that he'll be responsible for it much longer.
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On the day Virginia honored Anthony Poindexter, one of my favorite UVA players of all-time and a guy who literally gave his left knee to the program, Virginia looked a lot like it did when #3 played for them. Good thing they decided to honor Dex this month instead of last since the October Cavaliers look like a completely different animal than the September version.
What's different?
- They Settled on a Quarterback, Not Three: A month after heading into the season opener planning to play all three quarterbacks, someone had the sense to move Vic Hall off the QB spot (it was Hall himself), and Marc Verica did play Saturday, but it was (more appropriately) in mop-up duty. As we've said before, Sewell has his flaws, but he gives this team its best chance to win games. Now at least he has a chance to win them, not 1/3 of a chance.
- They Gave Him the Damn Ball, and Now They're Winning: Before leaving the game with an injury, Mikell Simpson had touched the ball 19 times. Four of those touches ended with touchdowns. For two straight weeks, Virginia has rode its best player (#5 touched the ball 24 times at UNC) instead of treating him like a support player (13 carries in the first two games). Get well soon Mikell.
- Could It Be As Simple As Line Splits? Virginia hasn't scrapped the spread. They're still running out of the shotgun with 4 wides almost every down. But starting with a close loss at S. Miss., Al Groh closed down the wide splits usually associated with the spread. Whether it has helped protection, or simply made his o-linemen more comfortable, Virginia has been a different offense ever since.
- Better Defense, More Specifically Better Pass Rush: Indiana QB Ben Chappell looked miserable all day. Virginia, most notably LB Cam Johnson, lived in the Hoosier backfield. And it looked like a replay of what the Hoos did to TJ Yates a week before. Its nice that Virginia has been able to give opponents a taste of the medicine they were getting last month, when Sewell, et al. were often running for their lives.
- Ras-I Dowling: The Hoos' sole preseason all-ACC selection seemed a step slow early, and was toasted for long touchdowns against William & Mary and TCU. He was the best player on the field Saturday, forcing a fumble on Indiana's opening drive and picking off a pass in the second quarter. Both TOs led to Cavalier touchdowns. If Ras-I continues to play as he has the last two weeks, paired with Chris Cook and a better than expected safety corps, the Virginia secondary should be a real strength the rest of the way.
- The Schedule Eased Up, But Not for Long: When you looked the schedule coming into the season, September didn't look that bad. Well, William & Mary is still a a 1-AA school, but they are 5-1. No one's beaten TCU yet, including Clemson. And Southern Miss has lost three straight since their comeback win against the Hoos, but all of those losses were on the road (makes scheduling a game at Hattiesburg seem even less sensible, if that were possible). Since then, the Hoos have gotten well against an offensively-challenged North Carolina team that they always beat, and an Indiana team that hasn't won since completing the soft portion of their non-conference schedule (E. Kentucky, W. Michigan, and Akron) and looked like they had no interest in being in C'ville Saturday. Unfortunately, the schedule tilts up from here. Next week, the Hoos visit College Park (bring your flame retardant clothing) where its always been tough for them to win, and they may have to do it without Terp-killer Mikell Simpson. And then a ranked Georgia Tech team comes calling looking for revenge for last season's upset loss in Atlanta.
But hey, things are looking up at least for now, even if the Virginia fan base has tuned out (a new post-renovation record low of 45,371 attended the IU game, on homecoming weekend no less). The Hoos have a chance Saturday at College Park to really get their attention back.
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Surfing the interweb, picking out the best UVA stories of the week for your reading pleasure:
- As the DP notes, the defense was OK. Should have been better against a 1-AA opponent.
- Hootie also chimes in to add that TCU Head Coach Gary Patterson is saying all the right things about a possible Virginia rebound. I think he’s more interested in routing a BCS Conference school on national television, and wants to make sure he gets maximum return on such a win.
- Doug Doughty sings the praises of Steve Greer, perhaps the next stud Cavalier LB.
- Also in LB news, Mike Phillips over at the RTD notes that Cam Johnson didn’t start, but played a ton. Expect the true sophomore to continue to play more, especially on passing downs to get after the opposing QB.
- For those of you looking for a 2007-style renaissance, Norm Wood at the Daily Press reminds us that team had 19 returning starters, not 11 like the 2009 team.
- Finally, Paul Montana at the Sabre aptly notes that TCU was great last season in TO margin and time of possession. In light of UVA's performance against W&M, that doesn’t bode well for Saturday.
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