Virginia 35, William & Mary 29
Nothing about this game shocked me. I picked a close, 27-24 win for Virginia. As expected, William & Mary seemed to have much more invested in the game and UVa looked sluggish coming off a close loss to Notre Dame and two straight setbacks against top-25 teams. The Cavaliers looked weary. Right away, the Tribe attacked and quickly got up 17-7. The Wahoos fought back, though, to take a 21-20 halftime lead. After the break, Virginia got a long touchdown on a screen pass to Taquan Mizzell and another one on a punt return from Maurice Canady, the first punt return TD for UVa since 2004. It looked like the Cavs were getting ready to run away. But William & Mary wouldn't give up. After Ian Frye missed a field goal twice (once after a W&M offsides), hitting first the left upright and then the right upright, it was all W&M the rest of the way. The Tribe drove down the field and couldn't get in from 1-yard line, but it pinned Virginia right on the goal line. The team couldn't move the ball at all, and W&M blocked the punt for a safety. It then got great field position after the free kick and scored a TD, the Tribe defense made Virginia go three-and-out, and then finally, the last W&M drive stalled at the Virginia 30, much to the relief of the players.
The most alarming aspect of the game was the Cavaliers couldn't dominate the line of scrimmage. The team ran for fewer yards than W&M (145 vs. 110), something that shouldn't happen to an FBS team when playing an FCS opponent. Virginia could not move the W&M line at all in the second half, especially on the possession that began at the goal line and on the possession right before W&M's final drive when the Cavs went three-and-out. This doesn't bode well for the rest of the season. The line has already struggled this year, and the fact that it did against probably the weakest team on the schedule is not good.
Virginia's defense was also pretty bad once again. I can't remember UVa ever giving up more than 20 offensive points to an FCS team. W&M scored 26 in the 2009 upset but at least one of those scores was defensive. It gave up 27 Saturday in addition to 371 total yards.
Now, none of this really changes my mind about anything regarding the season. Virginia could still very well upset Boise State on Friday. The Cavs, and other FBS teams, have forever not gotten up for FCS teams. UVa struggled in the first half last year vs. Richmond (14-3 at the half) and vs. Kent State (14-10 at the half), which although an FBS team, was very bad last season and probably worse than several FCS teams. The 2001 UVa team, Al Groh's first, went 5-7 and was not terrible but just barely beat UR in September, 17-16. The next week, that same team upset a ranked Clemson squad on the road. Meanwhile, the smaller schools treat these games like Super Bowls. I think Virginia's average level of play this season will be closer to the way the Notre Dame game played out. I still don't think this team will get to bowl eligibility. I might be thinking something differently had it held on vs. the Irish. The team is capable of going to a bowl, though, but I don't have enough faith in it yet to live up to its potential.
The offense is the best its been since probably the 2011 season. If the defense can step up a little bit, the team will have a chance in most of the remaining games. QB Matt Johns, despite two picks Saturday, has played very well thus far, completing over 66 percent of his passes for 790 yards, six TDs, and three interceptions.
As it is, though, Virginia has a game coming up Friday it looks like it is going to lose, which would drop the Cavs to 1-3. With the ACC schedule coming up, I cannot see the team going 5-3 the rest of the way to get to a bowl. If the 'Hoos can pull out a win against the Broncos, though, then we will reset from there and see what happens.
Nothing about this game shocked me. I picked a close, 27-24 win for Virginia. As expected, William & Mary seemed to have much more invested in the game and UVa looked sluggish coming off a close loss to Notre Dame and two straight setbacks against top-25 teams. The Cavaliers looked weary. Right away, the Tribe attacked and quickly got up 17-7. The Wahoos fought back, though, to take a 21-20 halftime lead. After the break, Virginia got a long touchdown on a screen pass to Taquan Mizzell and another one on a punt return from Maurice Canady, the first punt return TD for UVa since 2004. It looked like the Cavs were getting ready to run away. But William & Mary wouldn't give up. After Ian Frye missed a field goal twice (once after a W&M offsides), hitting first the left upright and then the right upright, it was all W&M the rest of the way. The Tribe drove down the field and couldn't get in from 1-yard line, but it pinned Virginia right on the goal line. The team couldn't move the ball at all, and W&M blocked the punt for a safety. It then got great field position after the free kick and scored a TD, the Tribe defense made Virginia go three-and-out, and then finally, the last W&M drive stalled at the Virginia 30, much to the relief of the players.
The most alarming aspect of the game was the Cavaliers couldn't dominate the line of scrimmage. The team ran for fewer yards than W&M (145 vs. 110), something that shouldn't happen to an FBS team when playing an FCS opponent. Virginia could not move the W&M line at all in the second half, especially on the possession that began at the goal line and on the possession right before W&M's final drive when the Cavs went three-and-out. This doesn't bode well for the rest of the season. The line has already struggled this year, and the fact that it did against probably the weakest team on the schedule is not good.
Virginia's defense was also pretty bad once again. I can't remember UVa ever giving up more than 20 offensive points to an FCS team. W&M scored 26 in the 2009 upset but at least one of those scores was defensive. It gave up 27 Saturday in addition to 371 total yards.
Now, none of this really changes my mind about anything regarding the season. Virginia could still very well upset Boise State on Friday. The Cavs, and other FBS teams, have forever not gotten up for FCS teams. UVa struggled in the first half last year vs. Richmond (14-3 at the half) and vs. Kent State (14-10 at the half), which although an FBS team, was very bad last season and probably worse than several FCS teams. The 2001 UVa team, Al Groh's first, went 5-7 and was not terrible but just barely beat UR in September, 17-16. The next week, that same team upset a ranked Clemson squad on the road. Meanwhile, the smaller schools treat these games like Super Bowls. I think Virginia's average level of play this season will be closer to the way the Notre Dame game played out. I still don't think this team will get to bowl eligibility. I might be thinking something differently had it held on vs. the Irish. The team is capable of going to a bowl, though, but I don't have enough faith in it yet to live up to its potential.
The offense is the best its been since probably the 2011 season. If the defense can step up a little bit, the team will have a chance in most of the remaining games. QB Matt Johns, despite two picks Saturday, has played very well thus far, completing over 66 percent of his passes for 790 yards, six TDs, and three interceptions.
As it is, though, Virginia has a game coming up Friday it looks like it is going to lose, which would drop the Cavs to 1-3. With the ACC schedule coming up, I cannot see the team going 5-3 the rest of the way to get to a bowl. If the 'Hoos can pull out a win against the Broncos, though, then we will reset from there and see what happens.
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