Virginia 28, South Carolina 0
In 2002, an upstart 8-5 Cavaliers team that had just lost to Virginia Tech in a hard-fought game in Blacksburg arrived in Charlotte to play in the Continental Tire Bowl -- the modern-day Belk Bowl -- and faced a 9-3 West Virginia team that was favored and talking trash. UVa won by 26 points, 48-22, and headed into 2003 with high hopes and a returning quarterback in Matt Schaub who was on his way to setting school records.
Fast forward 16 years, and a young 7-5 UVa team that just lost in heartbreaking fashion at Virginia Tech arrived in Charlotte to play in the Belk Bowl and faced a 7-5 South Carolina squad from the mighty SEC that was favored and talking trash. Before the game, tight end Kiel Pollard referred to Virginia as a "smaller opponent." The result was similar to the one from 16 years ago, with Virginia winning by a similar margin, 28-0. UVa goes into next season with high hopes and a returning QB in Bryce Perkins who is setting records. But more on the year that was and that is to come in another post. For now, I want to focus on the Wahoos' shutout victory against the Gamecocks.
Jordan Ellis goes out on a high note. Ellis' success Saturday wasn't necessarily the No. 1 reason Virginia won, but in general, when he's getting a lot of carries, it usually means UVa is on its way to
victory. It might be because offensive coordinator Robert Anae actually calls more run plays when the team is ahead, but nevertheless, more Ellis usually means more team success. And my choice in putting Ellis here has more to do with his selflessness. His teammates chose him to have the No. 1 choice in jersey number in each of coach Bronco Mendenhall's first three seasons because of his work ethic in practice. So I'm putting him No. 1 here. Ellis finished his career on a high note, recording 106 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries for a 4.1 yards-per-carry average. He added one catch for a yard. Ellis has been one of the workhorses in the early part of Mendenhall's tenure, and for him to go out with such a good game has to feel good for the coaches. Ellis finished with 1,997 career rushing yards, 18th in school history, and 19 rushing TDs, tied for 10th.
Another immensely important player in not only the game but in Mendenhall's three seasons has of course been H-back Olamide Zaccheaus, who was named the Belk Bowl's most outstanding player. Zaccheaus finished with 12 catches for 100 yards and a trio of scores. He also added a run for 10 yards. I know South Carolina didn't have the best defense this season, and it had some players who didn't play in this game, but I'm not sure if there was a solid plan drawn up for Zaccheaus, as he was mostly able to roam free in space and do what he does well. It was rather odd. But several times, he broke off his route to help Bryce Perkins find him open, especially on the last TD. It was a masterful way for Zaccheaus to go out as a Wahoo. Zaccheaus finished his career with
251 catches, No. 1 at UVa, 41 receptions better than No. 2 Billy McMullen, and No. 6 in ACC history. His 93 catches this season broke his own single-season record of 85 from 2017. Zaccheaus piled up 2,768 receiving yards, No. 2 in school history, and 22 receiving TDs, No. 4.
I loved the attitude of the team coming into the game. The possibility existed that the Cavaliers would feel flat and defeated after suffering not only another heartbreaking loss to Virginia Tech, but also a second straight OT loss to end the regular season. Yet, the team buckled up and focused on its second main goal of the season: winning a bowl game. Mendenhall described in great detail in the postgame news conference how hard the players worked from the moment the Tech game ended -- and really, since the embarrassing loss to Navy in last year's Military Bowl -- to change the narrative of the season and end it with a win. He said he told the guys that they would practice on Christmas, and the players simply nodded and looked straight ahead, ready for the grind. From the game's first few moments, you could sense the energy on the Virginia sideline. The 'Hoos were there to win the game. You weren't going to be able to tell them that it was a meaningless bowl exhibition.
The biggest reason I was worried Virginia was going to lose this game was because of South Carolina's potent offense. It came into the contest averaging more than 30 points, and it was a unit that had just scored 35 on Clemson, the most the Tigers have given up this season as they enter the national championship. Against Clemson, Gamecocks quarterback Jake Bentley went 32 of 50 for 510 yards and five touchdowns, so I think some trepidation on how the UVa defense would play was warranted, even though it had performed pretty well all year. Saturday, the Cavaliers put on a clinic. South Carolina picked up some yardage, but on pretty much every big play, Virginia came out on top, especially in the red zone. And on the first drive of the game, the line stood tall on a huge third-down
run play that put the Gamecocks in fourth-and-1, which they failed to pick up when defenders got in Bentley's face, forcing him to throw an errant pass that was awkward for the receiver to catch. All game, the Cavaliers got some pressure on Bentley, and the secondary always seemed to be in the passing lanes. Bentley looked confused and frustrated. In a season with quite a few nice defensive performances from Mendenhall's crew (and he keeps giving credit to defensive coordinators Shane Howell and Kelly Poppinga), this was the crown jewel.
Even a shutout win won't keep me from criticizing Anae a little bit. For the most part, he called a very good game, but there were a couple of play calls that could have been better. The first came on Virginia's first scoring drive on third-and-15, before the fourth-and-2 TD call. Maybe Virginia was counting on going for it on fourth down all along, but I did not get the QB draw play on third down. Perkins is of course an insanely talented runner, but it seemed like a pass play was warranted on third-and-15. Perhaps the idea was for Perkins to pick up what he could and then go for it if the yardage was short enough, but I still question a run play on third-and-long in the red zone.
The other odd play came on third-and-14 from the South Carolina 46 when Virginia was up 7-0. Again, Anae called a Perkins draw. So, it looks like Virginia was playing to punt, which is fine in that situation. But if you're not going to call a 15-yard pass play to try and pick up the first down, why not call a long pass play downfield to try to either connect on a big play or draw a pass-interference penalty? An interception would work the same as a punt. Or if you want to just run the ball, why not give the ball to Ellis? Perkins was banged up a lot this season, and this call exposes him to more hits.
Perkins had one of his best games of the season and put on a national showcase as to why UVa fans are optimistic headed into 2019. The junior college transfer completed 22 of 31 passes for 208 yards, the three TDs to Zaccheaus, and 81 rushing yards. His escaping ability was of course a huge
part of Virginia's success this year, and as I rewatched the game, two scrambles, on third-and-7 and third-and-6, kept the drive alive that ended with UVa going up 21-0 in the third quarter on Zaccheaus' second score. It goes without saying how important Perkins is to the offense. I do wish at times he would take fewer hits. He is a tough kid, though, who played banged up for part of the season but said he was the healthiest he had been in a while going into Saturday's contest.
In addition to playing great, Virginia's defense was helped out by some questionable play calling from South Carolina. The Gamecocks got inside the 10-yard line one time. They did so by passing the ball and had the Cavaliers reeling after a long play in the third quarter with UVa up, 21-0. But on first-and-goal at the 8, they ran the ball for a loss of three yards. UVa stuffed any semblance of a rushing attack all game, so that play made no sense to me. South Carolina had UVa off balance with the passing game, so why not look right to the end zone? The result on second down was almost worse. Good coverage forced Bentley to throw a pass to the flat, and he could barely see safety Joey Blount, who broke on the pass and almost had himself a pick-6. A poor pass from Bentley on third down and then a miscommunication on the fourth-down pass preserved the shutout for the 'Hoos.
No good trick play goes unpunished. I know there were others this season, but two trick plays this year worked but ended with negative results. One happened in the Belk Bowl. Up 21-0 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, freshman quarterback Brennan Armstrong entered the game with Perkins split out wide. Perkins took the handoff, then threw to Hasise Dubois across the middle of the field. Dubois had room to run and gained 19 yards, but wasn't protecting the ball and fumbled. The trick play worked, but carelessness turned it into a bad play. The other trick play from this season that sticks out that worked but then didn't came against Louisville when Perkins went out as a receiver, caught a pass, but hurt his finger when he got tackled.
After that fumble, South Carolina had a chance, but then seniors Tim Harris and Juan Thornhill had their moments. After one completion, Bentley looked deep down the sideline into the
end zone. Harris did an awesome job of getting his head turned and tipping the pass away from receiver Josh Vann. A touchdown there, and the game is all of a sudden 21-7 with plenty of time left and two huge plays in a row for the Gamecocks. It was an excellent moment for Harris, a player who has endured lots of injuries in his career but definitely improved in his final season. After that deflection, it was Thornhill's turn. Bentley looked to complete an intermediate throw and was picked off by the senior safety on the sideline. Thornhill read his eyes perfectly. Thornhill's 54-yard return should've put the game out of reach, but Brian Delaney missed a 33-yard field goal, and UVa's lead remained 21-0.
On Virginia's final TD drive, WR Ben Hogg had a great moment. The senior receiver from Lynchburg had two catches to his name in his career but came away with an 18-yard reception on the Cavaliers' game-sealing drive. Hogg's teammates swarmed and congratulated him. The commentators said he really wants to be a coach. His determination and perseverance would be welcomed, I bet, as a graduate assistant at UVa by Mendenhall.
It was about as dominating a performance as Virginia fans could have asked for in the season finale. A 28-point shutout over an SEC team in a bowl game speaks volumes, no matter who is or isn't playing for the opponent. The Gamecocks were still the favorite. For the first time since the 2005
Music City Bowl win over Minnesota, the Wahoos go into the next season with some momentum. UVa made two bowl games in a row for the first time since 2004-05 and won eight games for the first time since 2011. The difference is that year, the team was blown out in the Chick-fil-A Bowl by Auburn. This was definitely the program's best season since at least the nine-victory season of 2007.
In 2002, an upstart 8-5 Cavaliers team that had just lost to Virginia Tech in a hard-fought game in Blacksburg arrived in Charlotte to play in the Continental Tire Bowl -- the modern-day Belk Bowl -- and faced a 9-3 West Virginia team that was favored and talking trash. UVa won by 26 points, 48-22, and headed into 2003 with high hopes and a returning quarterback in Matt Schaub who was on his way to setting school records.
Fast forward 16 years, and a young 7-5 UVa team that just lost in heartbreaking fashion at Virginia Tech arrived in Charlotte to play in the Belk Bowl and faced a 7-5 South Carolina squad from the mighty SEC that was favored and talking trash. Before the game, tight end Kiel Pollard referred to Virginia as a "smaller opponent." The result was similar to the one from 16 years ago, with Virginia winning by a similar margin, 28-0. UVa goes into next season with high hopes and a returning QB in Bryce Perkins who is setting records. But more on the year that was and that is to come in another post. For now, I want to focus on the Wahoos' shutout victory against the Gamecocks.
Jordan Ellis goes out on a high note. Ellis' success Saturday wasn't necessarily the No. 1 reason Virginia won, but in general, when he's getting a lot of carries, it usually means UVa is on its way to
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| Jordan Ellis (1) is congratulated by WR Joe Reed. Ellis totaled 106 rushing yards and a touchdown in UVa's 28-0 victory. |
Another immensely important player in not only the game but in Mendenhall's three seasons has of course been H-back Olamide Zaccheaus, who was named the Belk Bowl's most outstanding player. Zaccheaus finished with 12 catches for 100 yards and a trio of scores. He also added a run for 10 yards. I know South Carolina didn't have the best defense this season, and it had some players who didn't play in this game, but I'm not sure if there was a solid plan drawn up for Zaccheaus, as he was mostly able to roam free in space and do what he does well. It was rather odd. But several times, he broke off his route to help Bryce Perkins find him open, especially on the last TD. It was a masterful way for Zaccheaus to go out as a Wahoo. Zaccheaus finished his career with
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| Olamide Zaccheaus gets a lift from R.J. Proctor after one of his three TDs. He finished with 12 catches for 100 yards and goes down as one of the most prolific pass-catchers in UVa history. |
I loved the attitude of the team coming into the game. The possibility existed that the Cavaliers would feel flat and defeated after suffering not only another heartbreaking loss to Virginia Tech, but also a second straight OT loss to end the regular season. Yet, the team buckled up and focused on its second main goal of the season: winning a bowl game. Mendenhall described in great detail in the postgame news conference how hard the players worked from the moment the Tech game ended -- and really, since the embarrassing loss to Navy in last year's Military Bowl -- to change the narrative of the season and end it with a win. He said he told the guys that they would practice on Christmas, and the players simply nodded and looked straight ahead, ready for the grind. From the game's first few moments, you could sense the energy on the Virginia sideline. The 'Hoos were there to win the game. You weren't going to be able to tell them that it was a meaningless bowl exhibition.
The biggest reason I was worried Virginia was going to lose this game was because of South Carolina's potent offense. It came into the contest averaging more than 30 points, and it was a unit that had just scored 35 on Clemson, the most the Tigers have given up this season as they enter the national championship. Against Clemson, Gamecocks quarterback Jake Bentley went 32 of 50 for 510 yards and five touchdowns, so I think some trepidation on how the UVa defense would play was warranted, even though it had performed pretty well all year. Saturday, the Cavaliers put on a clinic. South Carolina picked up some yardage, but on pretty much every big play, Virginia came out on top, especially in the red zone. And on the first drive of the game, the line stood tall on a huge third-down
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| Jordan Mack sacked Jake Bentley on what ended up being a rough day for the Gamecocks QB. |
Even a shutout win won't keep me from criticizing Anae a little bit. For the most part, he called a very good game, but there were a couple of play calls that could have been better. The first came on Virginia's first scoring drive on third-and-15, before the fourth-and-2 TD call. Maybe Virginia was counting on going for it on fourth down all along, but I did not get the QB draw play on third down. Perkins is of course an insanely talented runner, but it seemed like a pass play was warranted on third-and-15. Perhaps the idea was for Perkins to pick up what he could and then go for it if the yardage was short enough, but I still question a run play on third-and-long in the red zone.
The other odd play came on third-and-14 from the South Carolina 46 when Virginia was up 7-0. Again, Anae called a Perkins draw. So, it looks like Virginia was playing to punt, which is fine in that situation. But if you're not going to call a 15-yard pass play to try and pick up the first down, why not call a long pass play downfield to try to either connect on a big play or draw a pass-interference penalty? An interception would work the same as a punt. Or if you want to just run the ball, why not give the ball to Ellis? Perkins was banged up a lot this season, and this call exposes him to more hits.
Perkins had one of his best games of the season and put on a national showcase as to why UVa fans are optimistic headed into 2019. The junior college transfer completed 22 of 31 passes for 208 yards, the three TDs to Zaccheaus, and 81 rushing yards. His escaping ability was of course a huge
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| Bryce Perkins showed off his passing and running ability in the win. |
In addition to playing great, Virginia's defense was helped out by some questionable play calling from South Carolina. The Gamecocks got inside the 10-yard line one time. They did so by passing the ball and had the Cavaliers reeling after a long play in the third quarter with UVa up, 21-0. But on first-and-goal at the 8, they ran the ball for a loss of three yards. UVa stuffed any semblance of a rushing attack all game, so that play made no sense to me. South Carolina had UVa off balance with the passing game, so why not look right to the end zone? The result on second down was almost worse. Good coverage forced Bentley to throw a pass to the flat, and he could barely see safety Joey Blount, who broke on the pass and almost had himself a pick-6. A poor pass from Bentley on third down and then a miscommunication on the fourth-down pass preserved the shutout for the 'Hoos.
No good trick play goes unpunished. I know there were others this season, but two trick plays this year worked but ended with negative results. One happened in the Belk Bowl. Up 21-0 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, freshman quarterback Brennan Armstrong entered the game with Perkins split out wide. Perkins took the handoff, then threw to Hasise Dubois across the middle of the field. Dubois had room to run and gained 19 yards, but wasn't protecting the ball and fumbled. The trick play worked, but carelessness turned it into a bad play. The other trick play from this season that sticks out that worked but then didn't came against Louisville when Perkins went out as a receiver, caught a pass, but hurt his finger when he got tackled.
After that fumble, South Carolina had a chance, but then seniors Tim Harris and Juan Thornhill had their moments. After one completion, Bentley looked deep down the sideline into the
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| When South Carolina passed Juan Thornhill's way Saturday, it usually didn't end well for the Gamecocks. |
On Virginia's final TD drive, WR Ben Hogg had a great moment. The senior receiver from Lynchburg had two catches to his name in his career but came away with an 18-yard reception on the Cavaliers' game-sealing drive. Hogg's teammates swarmed and congratulated him. The commentators said he really wants to be a coach. His determination and perseverance would be welcomed, I bet, as a graduate assistant at UVa by Mendenhall.
It was about as dominating a performance as Virginia fans could have asked for in the season finale. A 28-point shutout over an SEC team in a bowl game speaks volumes, no matter who is or isn't playing for the opponent. The Gamecocks were still the favorite. For the first time since the 2005
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| Virginia won a bowl game for the first time since 2005 and eight games for the first time since 2011. |
Excellent summation. You hit all the relevant high points from the game. I kinda wondered if the win was more the result of us doing well or SC doing badly, but you showed that it really was an excellent effort by a team that straight up wanted this game. For the first time in a long time, I can't wait for next season as a UVA football fan.
ReplyDeleteYeah I think it was a little bit of both. Ryan Pronk said it looked like the Gamecocks had some quit in them. But that shouldn't take away from the effort and planning the 'Hoos clearly put in.
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