Indiana 20, Virginia 16
I just about nailed this prediction. UVa did some good things, some bad things, and ultimately came up short in the rain at Indiana on Saturday. It was a golden opportunity for the Cavaliers to get to 2-0 for the first time since 2012, but they couldn't get it done. Here are some of my observations from the game, going in reverse chronological order for the most part:
Virginia needed to have more urgency on its final drive. The game ended with a first-and-10 at Indiana's 27-yard line, with Bryce Perkins heaving a pass to the end zone that was broken up. The Cavaliers took over at their own 9 with 3:23 left. It was a good drive that I'll get into in more detail, but for a team that is supposed to be upping the tempo even in normal situations, basically running out of time with one timeout left and more than three minutes remaining is unacceptable.
Perkins made some clutch throws on the drive. On a third-and-7, he found Hasise Dubois for 8 yards. On a third-and-13, he found Olamide Zaccheaus for 9 yards, and then followed that up by locating Jordan Ellis for 7 yards and a first down. After that, on second-and-10, he rolled out to his left, nonthrowing side, and threw a nice pass to Dubois right on the sideline for 11 yards. That was a very difficult throw for a right-handed passer to make. His decision-making isn't the best sometimes (and some of that could be the playcalling), and the long throws haven't seemed to connect too much yet, but so far, his accuracy on short and intermediate throws has been very good. He's been plagued with drops, and is sitting at 25 for 48 on the year (52.1 percent). If he were at, say, 30 for 48, he'd be at 62.5 percent. Zaccheaus had at least two drops in the game I recall, and Dubois had at least one. Obviously, the conditions for passing were not optimal. Virginia should've ran the ball more.
Robert Anae needs to use Ellis more. Once again, the offensive playcalling was a bit perplexing. It
seemed like there might have been too many passes in the rain, causing some drops. Ellis is off to a great start this season at 6.5 yards per carry. He had 12 carries for 63 yards against Indiana (5.3 ypc), a team that struggled to slow FIU's run game. Ellis should've gotten closer to 24 carries. Ride your workhorse, Anae. Don't get cute. Some of this could've been Perkins keeping the ball too many times when he had the option. If that was the case, tell him to give the ball to Ellis more, or just call more straight run plays to Ellis.
Indiana's Khalil Bryant made a really good tackle on a Perkins scramble on the last drive. Perkins gained 2 yards on the run as he rolled out to his right, and Bryant made a really good open-field tackle. I don't think Perkins was going to break it to the end zone or anything, but there was definitely space out there for him to cover. It would've made the final throw to the end zone closer.
It did not look like Dubois' knee was down. Late in the third quarter, UVa faced third-and-7 at its own 13. Dubois caught a pass across the middle, and a defender wrestled him to the ground right at the 20. It was tough to tell, but originally, the ball was placed at the 20 for what would've been a first down. Upon review, the ball was moved back a half-yard, and Virginia was short of the line to gain. Dubois was short of the 20, then lunged forward at the last second with his left leg close to the ground. It was a very close call, but I could not see his leg hit the ground, clearly at least. I'm not sure why the refs thought there was clear evidence otherwise. Virginia had a long way to go on the drive, but that call did end it.
That was a very nice route and throw to make it 20-16. Junior running back Chris Sharp ran a nice wheel route, and Perkins put it pretty much right on the money for the 20-yard scoring play.
Zaccheaus' drop on third-and-20 was crushing. I've briefly mentioned Zaccheaus' drops. After Virginia scored to make it 20-16, Juan Thornhill intercepted Peyton Ramsey, and Virginia got the ball back. After a penalty, the Cavaliers faced a third-and-20 at Indiana's 47. Perkins put a ball on the money to Zaccheaus, who let the ball fall from his arms. A first down there on a big play could've had Virginia rolling toward the end zone to take the lead. That was crushing.
Two blocked kicks? Who are we? Virginia Tech? I kid, I kid. Seriously, nice job by the field goal defense unit. Thornhill blocked Indiana's second extra point and returned it for 2 points, a fantastic answer to giving the Hoosiers such great field position on the fumbled kickoff return. 13-9 is much better than 14-7. Then, Charles Snowden blocked a field goal in the third quarter. It was the first time UVa blocked two kicks since the 2008 Richmond game. Perhaps the new special teams coach, Ricky Brumfield, is helping.
There was no chop block. In the second quarter, Jamari Peacock was called for a chop block penalty, but it was just a low block, which is legal. A chop block is when the defender is already being engaged and a second blocker goes lower. But Peacock just went low with no one else already engaging the defender.
A Joey Blount pass interference negated a Darrius Bratton pick. Late in the second quarter, Indiana was in its own territory, and Bratton intercepted a pass, but right before he did, Blount crashed into the Indiana wideout and knocked him out of the way. The Hoosiers ended up scoring to make it 20-9. Big penalty.
Here's another example of questionable playcalling. Indiana had just taken its 13-9 lead. Virginia faced second-and-9 at its own 49. Ellis got the ball and rumbled for 6 yards. On third-and-3, though, Zaccheaus caught a pass behind the line and lost a yard. With Ellis looking good and the ball just past midfield, why not give the ball to Ellis to see if he can get the 3 yards? And then maybe on fourth down, run him again if it is like fourth-and-inches?
It goes without saying the Joe Reed fumble was huge. But I just said it. Virginia looked great on its first offensive possession, Indiana had just tied it at 7-7, and Reed fumbled the kickoff return, setting up Indiana at UVa's 21, where the Hoosiers immediately capitalized with their second touchdown. From then on, UVa played from behind. That fumble changed the complexion of the game.
Before Indiana tied it up, Chris Peace missed what could've been a huge sack. UVa had Indiana in a third-and-8 at its own 27 on the Hoosiers' first drive. Peace closed in for a sack of Ramsey but missed, and the QB ran for 9 yards and the first down. Had UVa forced Indiana to punt already leading 7-0, who knows what could've happened. UVa could've made it 14-0, and then maybe Indiana would've been forced to pass more instead of opening up its running game.
Perkins' legs will probably win a game this year. His running ability makes a difference. Just look at Virginia's first scoring drive. On second-and-16 at UVa's 36, he ran for 47 yards. Without his scramble, that drive likely would've ended with a punt. Instead, UVa scored a TD. Perkins isn't the passer Kurt Benkert was, but his running skill makes up for that gap. Benkert, of course, would've had to pick up that first down with his arm.
So while this was a disappointing outing and loss, the relative length of this post shows you some of Virginia's missed opportunities. The win was there for the taking. Change any 1-2 of these negative plays into positive ones, and we could be talking about a 2-0 ball club. While that isn't the best thought, it does mean that there is room for improvement. If the Cavaliers clean up their act a little, they can win a few games, maybe more than a few. But they have to tighten things up.
I just about nailed this prediction. UVa did some good things, some bad things, and ultimately came up short in the rain at Indiana on Saturday. It was a golden opportunity for the Cavaliers to get to 2-0 for the first time since 2012, but they couldn't get it done. Here are some of my observations from the game, going in reverse chronological order for the most part:
Virginia needed to have more urgency on its final drive. The game ended with a first-and-10 at Indiana's 27-yard line, with Bryce Perkins heaving a pass to the end zone that was broken up. The Cavaliers took over at their own 9 with 3:23 left. It was a good drive that I'll get into in more detail, but for a team that is supposed to be upping the tempo even in normal situations, basically running out of time with one timeout left and more than three minutes remaining is unacceptable.
Perkins made some clutch throws on the drive. On a third-and-7, he found Hasise Dubois for 8 yards. On a third-and-13, he found Olamide Zaccheaus for 9 yards, and then followed that up by locating Jordan Ellis for 7 yards and a first down. After that, on second-and-10, he rolled out to his left, nonthrowing side, and threw a nice pass to Dubois right on the sideline for 11 yards. That was a very difficult throw for a right-handed passer to make. His decision-making isn't the best sometimes (and some of that could be the playcalling), and the long throws haven't seemed to connect too much yet, but so far, his accuracy on short and intermediate throws has been very good. He's been plagued with drops, and is sitting at 25 for 48 on the year (52.1 percent). If he were at, say, 30 for 48, he'd be at 62.5 percent. Zaccheaus had at least two drops in the game I recall, and Dubois had at least one. Obviously, the conditions for passing were not optimal. Virginia should've ran the ball more.
Robert Anae needs to use Ellis more. Once again, the offensive playcalling was a bit perplexing. It
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| Senior WR Olamide Zaccheaus didn't have his best game, dropping a couple passes. |
Indiana's Khalil Bryant made a really good tackle on a Perkins scramble on the last drive. Perkins gained 2 yards on the run as he rolled out to his right, and Bryant made a really good open-field tackle. I don't think Perkins was going to break it to the end zone or anything, but there was definitely space out there for him to cover. It would've made the final throw to the end zone closer.
It did not look like Dubois' knee was down. Late in the third quarter, UVa faced third-and-7 at its own 13. Dubois caught a pass across the middle, and a defender wrestled him to the ground right at the 20. It was tough to tell, but originally, the ball was placed at the 20 for what would've been a first down. Upon review, the ball was moved back a half-yard, and Virginia was short of the line to gain. Dubois was short of the 20, then lunged forward at the last second with his left leg close to the ground. It was a very close call, but I could not see his leg hit the ground, clearly at least. I'm not sure why the refs thought there was clear evidence otherwise. Virginia had a long way to go on the drive, but that call did end it.
That was a very nice route and throw to make it 20-16. Junior running back Chris Sharp ran a nice wheel route, and Perkins put it pretty much right on the money for the 20-yard scoring play.
Zaccheaus' drop on third-and-20 was crushing. I've briefly mentioned Zaccheaus' drops. After Virginia scored to make it 20-16, Juan Thornhill intercepted Peyton Ramsey, and Virginia got the ball back. After a penalty, the Cavaliers faced a third-and-20 at Indiana's 47. Perkins put a ball on the money to Zaccheaus, who let the ball fall from his arms. A first down there on a big play could've had Virginia rolling toward the end zone to take the lead. That was crushing.
Two blocked kicks? Who are we? Virginia Tech? I kid, I kid. Seriously, nice job by the field goal defense unit. Thornhill blocked Indiana's second extra point and returned it for 2 points, a fantastic answer to giving the Hoosiers such great field position on the fumbled kickoff return. 13-9 is much better than 14-7. Then, Charles Snowden blocked a field goal in the third quarter. It was the first time UVa blocked two kicks since the 2008 Richmond game. Perhaps the new special teams coach, Ricky Brumfield, is helping.
There was no chop block. In the second quarter, Jamari Peacock was called for a chop block penalty, but it was just a low block, which is legal. A chop block is when the defender is already being engaged and a second blocker goes lower. But Peacock just went low with no one else already engaging the defender.
A Joey Blount pass interference negated a Darrius Bratton pick. Late in the second quarter, Indiana was in its own territory, and Bratton intercepted a pass, but right before he did, Blount crashed into the Indiana wideout and knocked him out of the way. The Hoosiers ended up scoring to make it 20-9. Big penalty.
Here's another example of questionable playcalling. Indiana had just taken its 13-9 lead. Virginia faced second-and-9 at its own 49. Ellis got the ball and rumbled for 6 yards. On third-and-3, though, Zaccheaus caught a pass behind the line and lost a yard. With Ellis looking good and the ball just past midfield, why not give the ball to Ellis to see if he can get the 3 yards? And then maybe on fourth down, run him again if it is like fourth-and-inches?
It goes without saying the Joe Reed fumble was huge. But I just said it. Virginia looked great on its first offensive possession, Indiana had just tied it at 7-7, and Reed fumbled the kickoff return, setting up Indiana at UVa's 21, where the Hoosiers immediately capitalized with their second touchdown. From then on, UVa played from behind. That fumble changed the complexion of the game.
Before Indiana tied it up, Chris Peace missed what could've been a huge sack. UVa had Indiana in a third-and-8 at its own 27 on the Hoosiers' first drive. Peace closed in for a sack of Ramsey but missed, and the QB ran for 9 yards and the first down. Had UVa forced Indiana to punt already leading 7-0, who knows what could've happened. UVa could've made it 14-0, and then maybe Indiana would've been forced to pass more instead of opening up its running game.
Perkins' legs will probably win a game this year. His running ability makes a difference. Just look at Virginia's first scoring drive. On second-and-16 at UVa's 36, he ran for 47 yards. Without his scramble, that drive likely would've ended with a punt. Instead, UVa scored a TD. Perkins isn't the passer Kurt Benkert was, but his running skill makes up for that gap. Benkert, of course, would've had to pick up that first down with his arm.
So while this was a disappointing outing and loss, the relative length of this post shows you some of Virginia's missed opportunities. The win was there for the taking. Change any 1-2 of these negative plays into positive ones, and we could be talking about a 2-0 ball club. While that isn't the best thought, it does mean that there is room for improvement. If the Cavaliers clean up their act a little, they can win a few games, maybe more than a few. But they have to tighten things up.
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