Virginia cruised to a big win over William & Mary on Saturday and I was lucky enough to be there. Sure, it was a win over an FCS opponent, but every win is a precious one for the Cavs, especially when attending a game in person. My 2009 and 2010 combined record of watching games in-person is a hideous 2-10. And the win was sweeter because it was against William & Mary, which beat the Hoos in 2009 in Scott Stadium.
Before I went into the stadium Saturday, I was in the AFC in line to go to the bathroom and this guy wearing some Tribe colors said, "I hate to bring this up, but remember what happened two years ago?" I said, "Yeah, it was my senior year here." He said, "Well, we're going to do it again. And my Groh turned down my brother." I asked him what position and he told me his brother was BW Webb, who is the William & Mary cornerback that had three interceptions in that 2009 game. Well, not only was he wrong about the Tribe winning, but his brother got posterized in the third quarter when Cavs receiver Tim Smith made a 40-yard grab on top of Webb's helmet. Play of the game.
Here are my grades for the different parts of the team:
Passing offense: B+
It was great to see an accurate quarterback back in the pocket again. It's been too long. Virginia has struggled since 2005 to find an accurate passer. Jameel Sewell and Marc Verica both had their moments, but were inconsistent. Virginia's new starter, sophomore Michael Rocco, finished 21 of 29 for 174 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. David Watford came in as well at various points of the game and completed three of five passes for 46 yards. Rocco was steady and never was too off target. He failed to lead Kris Burd one time and Burd was consequently rocked in mid-air, and if Webb had turned around, he might've had a picked on the 40-yard Smith reception, but mostly a great showing from Rocco, especially in his first start. Virginia's offense was so conservative at the beginning of the game it looked like offensive coordinator Bill Lazor didn't want Rocco to pass. I was afraid he wasn't a good passer. But Rocco ended up completing his first 11 passes. Lazor had a great game plan of working Rocco into the game, first with easy handoffs followed by short dump offs and then he finally allowed him to throw downfield.
The receivers were great, too. Smith, who was injured most of last season, reminded fans of his talents with the play of the game, which I already mentioned. Darius Jennings, a true freshman, was probably the second-most impressive receiver, as he had four catches for 61 yards.
Rushing offense: A
240 yards? Yes, please. Four touchdowns? Yes again. The ground game was really impressive and was led by redshirt freshman Kevin Parks who showed a terrific combo of speed, power, and agility. He led the Cavs rushing attack with 114 yards and three TDs. True freshman Clifton Richardson added 57 yards and a score and junior Perry Jones had 56 yards. It was truly a treat to watch the rushing game as Virginia mostly manhandled the line of scrimmage. And how impressive was Parks? Wow. You had to be there to appreciate him. My only concern is the lack of a true bruiser. Keith Payne could get the tough yards last year but I don't know if we have someone like that this season. The three main running backs I mentioned are all pretty small, although Richardson is 6-foot, 215.
Overall grade for the offense: A-
Hey, 40 points is 40 points no matter who it is against. Always impressive. And Virginia got all of those points on offense -- no help from the defense. It was a methodical 40 points, too. Not a ton of big plays. Mostly just grind-it-out, hard-nosed football. Great balance, too -- 240 rushing yards, 256 passing yards. My major qualm from Saturday's game is scoring TDs. Virginia had four field goals and four TDs. Obviously, it is going to be important for Virginia to turn more of those FGs into TDs as the season wears on and tougher opponents come up on the schedule. But for the first game, the Cavs did plenty to earn high marks on the offensive side of the ball.
Pass defense: A-
This is hard to grade. I couldn't quite tell if Virginia was doing really well or if W&M QB Mike Paulus was playing awful, so I'll settle with an A-. Paulus was just 5 for 22 for 35 yards. There were a couple of times where receivers were pretty open and a solid ACC QB would have had the receiver running for six with the ball. Fortunately, Paulus missed these chances and his receivers dropped some passes, too. Virginia was still not creating too much pressure on Paulus, just like last year when sacks were hard to come by. The Hoos got one sack, but you would think an FBS team dominating an FCS team would have more like four or five. The Cavs did come away with an interception by true freshman Demetrious Nicholson and almost a second by Chase Minnifield, who was called for pass interference on an interception that he ran back for a touchdown.
Rush defense: A
This one is not as hard to figure out. The only reason I'm not giving an A+ is because UVa played an FCS opponent. However, William & Mary was ranked No. 3 in the FCS during the preseason and RB Jonathan Grimes was a preseason all-American. The Hoos held him to 20 yards and the whole team to 48 yards. The Cavs really looked like they were flying to the ball. There were a couple times where it looked like a RB could've broken it -- like we saw so many times last year, including in the season-opening win against Richmond -- but those plays were few and far between. Usually, W&M's running plays were stoned at the line of scrimmage or for a gain of three yards or less.
Overall grade for the defense: A
William & Mary failed to cross the 50-yard line until the fourth quarter and probably would have been shut out if Virginia had kept its starters in. Now, do this against an FBS squad, and Virginia would have an A+.
Special teams: A
Kick returns were not great. In fact, Jennings opened the game by dropping the kickoff then only returning it to about the 15-yard line. However, he also had a 27-yard punt return. Virginia's coverage on kickoffs and punts was solid. And placekicker Robert Randolph was spectacular, making 4 of 4 field goals including a 48-yarder.
Overall team grade: A-
It's tough not to be impressed with how Virginia won Saturday. Sure, it was only 3-0 after the first quarter and 13-0 at the half, but W&M never really threatened or looked like a team with any chance to pull another upset. And the way UVa methodically did it was clinic-like.
Now, the competition gets tougher. Virginia goes on the road to play Indiana on Saturday. The Hoosiers lost to Ball State 27-20 in Week 1, but they are an FBS squad and Virginia has had historically a tough time on the road. The Cavs are 2-8 in their last 10 road openers, including five straight losses by 17 points per game.
Before I went into the stadium Saturday, I was in the AFC in line to go to the bathroom and this guy wearing some Tribe colors said, "I hate to bring this up, but remember what happened two years ago?" I said, "Yeah, it was my senior year here." He said, "Well, we're going to do it again. And my Groh turned down my brother." I asked him what position and he told me his brother was BW Webb, who is the William & Mary cornerback that had three interceptions in that 2009 game. Well, not only was he wrong about the Tribe winning, but his brother got posterized in the third quarter when Cavs receiver Tim Smith made a 40-yard grab on top of Webb's helmet. Play of the game.
Here are my grades for the different parts of the team:
Passing offense: B+
It was great to see an accurate quarterback back in the pocket again. It's been too long. Virginia has struggled since 2005 to find an accurate passer. Jameel Sewell and Marc Verica both had their moments, but were inconsistent. Virginia's new starter, sophomore Michael Rocco, finished 21 of 29 for 174 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. David Watford came in as well at various points of the game and completed three of five passes for 46 yards. Rocco was steady and never was too off target. He failed to lead Kris Burd one time and Burd was consequently rocked in mid-air, and if Webb had turned around, he might've had a picked on the 40-yard Smith reception, but mostly a great showing from Rocco, especially in his first start. Virginia's offense was so conservative at the beginning of the game it looked like offensive coordinator Bill Lazor didn't want Rocco to pass. I was afraid he wasn't a good passer. But Rocco ended up completing his first 11 passes. Lazor had a great game plan of working Rocco into the game, first with easy handoffs followed by short dump offs and then he finally allowed him to throw downfield.
The receivers were great, too. Smith, who was injured most of last season, reminded fans of his talents with the play of the game, which I already mentioned. Darius Jennings, a true freshman, was probably the second-most impressive receiver, as he had four catches for 61 yards.
Rushing offense: A
240 yards? Yes, please. Four touchdowns? Yes again. The ground game was really impressive and was led by redshirt freshman Kevin Parks who showed a terrific combo of speed, power, and agility. He led the Cavs rushing attack with 114 yards and three TDs. True freshman Clifton Richardson added 57 yards and a score and junior Perry Jones had 56 yards. It was truly a treat to watch the rushing game as Virginia mostly manhandled the line of scrimmage. And how impressive was Parks? Wow. You had to be there to appreciate him. My only concern is the lack of a true bruiser. Keith Payne could get the tough yards last year but I don't know if we have someone like that this season. The three main running backs I mentioned are all pretty small, although Richardson is 6-foot, 215.
Overall grade for the offense: A-
Hey, 40 points is 40 points no matter who it is against. Always impressive. And Virginia got all of those points on offense -- no help from the defense. It was a methodical 40 points, too. Not a ton of big plays. Mostly just grind-it-out, hard-nosed football. Great balance, too -- 240 rushing yards, 256 passing yards. My major qualm from Saturday's game is scoring TDs. Virginia had four field goals and four TDs. Obviously, it is going to be important for Virginia to turn more of those FGs into TDs as the season wears on and tougher opponents come up on the schedule. But for the first game, the Cavs did plenty to earn high marks on the offensive side of the ball.
Pass defense: A-
This is hard to grade. I couldn't quite tell if Virginia was doing really well or if W&M QB Mike Paulus was playing awful, so I'll settle with an A-. Paulus was just 5 for 22 for 35 yards. There were a couple of times where receivers were pretty open and a solid ACC QB would have had the receiver running for six with the ball. Fortunately, Paulus missed these chances and his receivers dropped some passes, too. Virginia was still not creating too much pressure on Paulus, just like last year when sacks were hard to come by. The Hoos got one sack, but you would think an FBS team dominating an FCS team would have more like four or five. The Cavs did come away with an interception by true freshman Demetrious Nicholson and almost a second by Chase Minnifield, who was called for pass interference on an interception that he ran back for a touchdown.
Rush defense: A
This one is not as hard to figure out. The only reason I'm not giving an A+ is because UVa played an FCS opponent. However, William & Mary was ranked No. 3 in the FCS during the preseason and RB Jonathan Grimes was a preseason all-American. The Hoos held him to 20 yards and the whole team to 48 yards. The Cavs really looked like they were flying to the ball. There were a couple times where it looked like a RB could've broken it -- like we saw so many times last year, including in the season-opening win against Richmond -- but those plays were few and far between. Usually, W&M's running plays were stoned at the line of scrimmage or for a gain of three yards or less.
Overall grade for the defense: A
William & Mary failed to cross the 50-yard line until the fourth quarter and probably would have been shut out if Virginia had kept its starters in. Now, do this against an FBS squad, and Virginia would have an A+.
Special teams: A
Kick returns were not great. In fact, Jennings opened the game by dropping the kickoff then only returning it to about the 15-yard line. However, he also had a 27-yard punt return. Virginia's coverage on kickoffs and punts was solid. And placekicker Robert Randolph was spectacular, making 4 of 4 field goals including a 48-yarder.
Overall team grade: A-
It's tough not to be impressed with how Virginia won Saturday. Sure, it was only 3-0 after the first quarter and 13-0 at the half, but W&M never really threatened or looked like a team with any chance to pull another upset. And the way UVa methodically did it was clinic-like.
Now, the competition gets tougher. Virginia goes on the road to play Indiana on Saturday. The Hoosiers lost to Ball State 27-20 in Week 1, but they are an FBS squad and Virginia has had historically a tough time on the road. The Cavs are 2-8 in their last 10 road openers, including five straight losses by 17 points per game.
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