Reaction to Cavaliers' victory over the Spiders

Virginia 45, Richmond 13

On Saturday, Virginia beat a team for the first time since Sept. 21, 2013. Yes, it was an FCS opponent, but a win nevertheless, something we should not scoff at as UVa fans these days. So what can we glean from this game that seemed like a blowout, especially in the second half?

What I liked

LB Max Valles

Turnovers! Turnovers! Turnovers! Virginia got seven of them, most since that same number vs. South Carolina on Sept. 7, 2002. Virginia has nine through the first two games of the season. The Cavs had 21 all of last year and they led to 13 points. The nine so far this season have already led to 31 points. One of them vs. the Spiders, a sack and forced fumble by linebacker Max Valles and scoop up and run into the end zone by defensive end Eli Harold, led directly to a TD -- no offense needed. The two vs. UCLA came on fourth downs, so they did not matter as much, as Virginia would have gotten the ball back anyway. The turnovers forced vs. Richmond were very valuable, though. In the first half, Richmond was driving and in UVa territory when true freshman safety Quin Blanding intercepted the first pass of his college career. That drive could have instead ended in a Richmond field goal or touchdown. The biggest turnover probably came at the end of the first half. UVa was up 14-3, and Richmond was on the goal line, trying to score a touchdown. T.J. Moon took the carry and was hit in the backfield by linebacker Henry Coley, who caused a fumble that cornerback Brandon Phelps recovered. Take away that turnover, make it 14-10 UVa at the half instead of 14-3, and you might have a different ballgame. Former UVa QB Michael Rocco's TD in the third quarter then would have made it 31-20 (not to mention what could have happened on the Blanding interception drive), and Richmond would have life. So those two turnovers especially were big in preventing Richmond scores. In addition to what I've mentioned, linebacker Daquan

LB Daquan Romero

Romero and cornerback Tim Harris had interceptions, Harold caused a fumble in addition to his recovery, and the ball just slipped out of Rocco's hand one time and linebacker Trent Corney fell on it for the Spiders' final turnover of the game. The defense was not always at its best giving up lots of yards Saturday, but the turnovers made up for it and are going to be key if Virginia is to spring a few upsets this year.

We actually had some good punt and kick returns and I can't recall the last time there was more than one explosive return in the same game. Khalek Shepherd had a 20-yard punt return where he fumbled at the end. There was also a flag for a block in the back but it was declined by Richmond since it recovered the fumble. So, it wasn't a true 20-yard return, but I'll will take anything after this team has been abysmal on punt returns for so long. Now, for the legit returns. Taquan Mizzell had two kickoff returns for 70 yards and Darius Jennings -- who has a surprisingly awesome start to the season -- recorded two kickoff returns for 130 yards and a long of 86 that he took inside the Richmond red zone. Had he chose a slightly different line for the final part of the return, he probably would have scored a touchdown. If our offense is only so-so for most of the season, quality kick returns that get the team started on its own 35-yard line and beyond can be huge boosts. Hopefully, the 'Hoos can pull off some nice kick returns against FBS competition as well.

WR/KR Darius Jennings

I liked the quarterbacks. Again, not necessarily the rotation, but both played very well. Greyson Lambert started and played most of the first and fourth quarters while Matt Johns got the middle of the game. The sophomores combined to go 17 of 22 for 167 yards, two TDs, and one pick. Lambert was very accurate, 13 of 15, but Johns again had more yards per completion. Lambert seems to like to play it safe and be accurate in the short game while Johns has more mobility (though Lambert did have a nice run for 10 yards and a first down, too), moves around a bit more, and seems to go deeper more often. Lambert did show off his arm strength, though, on a 29-yard touchdown pass to Canaan Severin. Johns threw the interception, when a Richmond defender out jumped Andre Levrone for a deep ball. And though I still don't like the idea of a rotation in general because of what it does to offensive momentum and flow of the game, it appears that this one can at least exist without "controversy" per se, because Lambert and Johns are apparently really good friends. If their hearts and heads are truly in the right place, that means a

WR Canaan Severin

rotation might not divide the locker room and each is truly just happy for the success of the other. Now, that still does not mean that rotations are easy to successfully pull off and they don't mess with offensive chemistry or that I am all in on a rotation this season. But I will say that this might be the best one of the three we have witnessed during Mike London's tenure.

What I didn't like

The offense for Richmond piled up 422 yards, a disturbing stat. If Virginia continues to offset the yards that it gives up with the turnovers it creates, it won't matter. It is unrealistic, however, to expect more than one turnover every game. Now, some fans after the game said the game plan was to let Richmond dink and dunk and make it beat the 'D' with big plays, which Richmond mostly failed to do. That could be true and if so, I applaud the defensive coaches for creating a plan that worked. The defense normally stiffened when it needed to, but you still want that yardage number lowered. Four-hundred twenty-two yards will often lead to more points for the other team.

RB/PR Khalek Shepherd

The Virginia offense was not great. The Wahoos scored 45 points, but seven were from Harold's scoop and score and also, on the long kickoff return by Jennings, UVa went three-and-out inside the Richmond red zone and had to settle for a field goal. You must score TDs off of opportunities like that, especially vs. FCS competition. Now, the turnovers and solid kick returns helped the offense a lot. That meant that the offense didn't have to be picking up tons of yards itself (it ended with 330). Still, like the defense needing to give up less yards, you would hope that the offense can put up more than 330 yards against a squad like Richmond. The running game was once again uninspiring, going for just 157 yards a week after going for 120. Daniel Hamm and Shepherd both averaged around five yards per carry, though, a pretty good stat. We continue to pound Mizzell, but it is obvious that that is not where he is best. He averaged just 2.3 yards per carry. I would be ok with London and offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild running Shepherd and Hamm more and Mizzell less and instead focusing on getting Mizzell the ball in other ways like having him line up at receiver or pitching the ball to him or running sweeps or end arounds with him. I still like Mizzell, but I think you can tell he is not your prototypical between the tackles running back.

The playcalling still needs to get braver. I saw some very interesting stats this afternoon on Twitter by ESPN college football writer David Hale. I believe all of these stats are taking into account both the UCLA and Richmond games combined. They really struck me. I did not verify these myself as it would take hours of film study, but here goes: 

-69 percent of Virginia's passes have traveled five or less yards in the air (second-most by automatic qualifying (AQ; ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, Pac-12) schools) but only 38 percent of UVa's yards come from those passes (32nd most).

-UVa has the sixth-highest percentage of first-down runs and eighth-lowest yards per carry average on those first-down runs.

-Only Washington State has thrown more on third down than Virginia (86 percent), meaning that the offense is usually behind schedule because of runs that yield little yardage on second and third downs.

-Lambert and Johns are a combined 12 of 18 for 266 yards, three TDs, and one pick on throws of 10 or more yards and just 31 of 46 for 159 yards, one TD, and two INTs on throws of five yards or less.