Pittsburgh 14, Virginia 3
Sans 2010, Virginia has had lots of solid defenses over the last decade, even in losing seasons. The 2007 edition with Chris Long leading the way comes to mind as probably the best I have seen in my time as a Virginia fan. That is, until this year maybe. The Cavaliers defense came up with a fantastic outing at Pittsburgh last Saturday, holding the Panthers to just 199 yards, while sacking quarterback Tom Savage seven times and producing three turnovers (one fumble and a pick by Anthony Harris and an interception by Demetrious Nicholson, his first since 2011). Unfortunately, the awesome effort went to waste as the Cavaliers offense had one of its most putrid outings in recent memory and ended up being the Panthers' best offense. UVa had two turnovers -- one being a terrible muffed punt by Dominique Terrell where he made a stupid decision to touch the ball -- giving Pittsburgh two touchdown drives of less than 20 yards. From there, Virginia could do no better than a field goal and then a 14-play, 77-yard drive late in the fourth quarter that ended after a fourth down at the Pitt 3-yard line.
Even taking into account the game against Oregon, Virginia ranks 16th in the country in total defense, giving up 299.3 yards per game, 48th in scoring defense (22.3 points per game), and eighth in passing defense (152.8 yards per game). Additionally, the 'D' has forced six turnovers in four games after producing just 12 all of last season.
Despite the solid-to-great defensive play so far this season, how much success Virginia has the rest of the year seems to depend on the offense, which hasn't just remained stagnant, but seems to have gotten worse so far in 2013. Against BYU, UVa produced 223 yards (both TD drives were on short fields, however). In the blowout loss to Oregon, the 'Hoos tallied 298 yards. Against VMI, the offense struggled for a quarter but did put up 580 yards, impressive no matter the opponent. Against Pittsburgh, it managed just 188 yards. One-hundred eighty-eight yards by itself is a problem, but making it worse is the fact that a week before, Duke scored 55 points on Pitt and rolled up over 500 yards of offense. If the offense remains this bad, Virginia probably has only two real chances to win again this season -- against Ball State on Saturday and against Duke in a couple weeks. If the offense remains this bad, Mike London will be on the hot seat not only at the end of the season, but maybe in just a couple weeks. My gut tells me that Virginia would not pull a USC and fire London mid-year like USC fired Lane Kiffin last weekend, but I think it is definitely possible that offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild gets the ax.
There is still time to turn the season around. Virginia is 2-2 (a lucky 2-2; BYU could easily have been a loss) with several winnable games left -- if the offense can show some life. Otherwise, we could be nearing the end of the London era at UVa. A real shame, too, because the Virginia defense is doing its part to make this a solid season. It is just waiting for the offense to join it in the effort.
Sans 2010, Virginia has had lots of solid defenses over the last decade, even in losing seasons. The 2007 edition with Chris Long leading the way comes to mind as probably the best I have seen in my time as a Virginia fan. That is, until this year maybe. The Cavaliers defense came up with a fantastic outing at Pittsburgh last Saturday, holding the Panthers to just 199 yards, while sacking quarterback Tom Savage seven times and producing three turnovers (one fumble and a pick by Anthony Harris and an interception by Demetrious Nicholson, his first since 2011). Unfortunately, the awesome effort went to waste as the Cavaliers offense had one of its most putrid outings in recent memory and ended up being the Panthers' best offense. UVa had two turnovers -- one being a terrible muffed punt by Dominique Terrell where he made a stupid decision to touch the ball -- giving Pittsburgh two touchdown drives of less than 20 yards. From there, Virginia could do no better than a field goal and then a 14-play, 77-yard drive late in the fourth quarter that ended after a fourth down at the Pitt 3-yard line.
Even taking into account the game against Oregon, Virginia ranks 16th in the country in total defense, giving up 299.3 yards per game, 48th in scoring defense (22.3 points per game), and eighth in passing defense (152.8 yards per game). Additionally, the 'D' has forced six turnovers in four games after producing just 12 all of last season.
Despite the solid-to-great defensive play so far this season, how much success Virginia has the rest of the year seems to depend on the offense, which hasn't just remained stagnant, but seems to have gotten worse so far in 2013. Against BYU, UVa produced 223 yards (both TD drives were on short fields, however). In the blowout loss to Oregon, the 'Hoos tallied 298 yards. Against VMI, the offense struggled for a quarter but did put up 580 yards, impressive no matter the opponent. Against Pittsburgh, it managed just 188 yards. One-hundred eighty-eight yards by itself is a problem, but making it worse is the fact that a week before, Duke scored 55 points on Pitt and rolled up over 500 yards of offense. If the offense remains this bad, Virginia probably has only two real chances to win again this season -- against Ball State on Saturday and against Duke in a couple weeks. If the offense remains this bad, Mike London will be on the hot seat not only at the end of the season, but maybe in just a couple weeks. My gut tells me that Virginia would not pull a USC and fire London mid-year like USC fired Lane Kiffin last weekend, but I think it is definitely possible that offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild gets the ax.
There is still time to turn the season around. Virginia is 2-2 (a lucky 2-2; BYU could easily have been a loss) with several winnable games left -- if the offense can show some life. Otherwise, we could be nearing the end of the London era at UVa. A real shame, too, because the Virginia defense is doing its part to make this a solid season. It is just waiting for the offense to join it in the effort.
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