The Virginia Cavaliers were pummeled by the SMU Mustangs on Saturday afternoon in Charlottesville, losing 33-7 and falling to 5-6 this season.
Ahead of the Wahoos’ season finale in Blacksburg next weekend, we have five takeaways for what this deflating defeat means for the ‘Hoos.
UVA does not play like a well coached team
SMU is a better team than Virginia is. Yet there were a lot of mistakes that the Cavaliers made which made this game impossible to win.
Here’s a list off situational decisions, mental errors, and simple mistakes which indicate larger issues for the Wahoos:
- The decision to not go for it on 4th-and-one at UVA’s 41-yard line on the offense’s first drive of the game.
- Anthony Colandrea taking a sack on 4th-and-six which lost the ‘Hoos nine yards of field positioning.
- A 12-men in the huddle penalty out of a timeout on a critical 4th-and-one in the redzone.
- Chris Tyree and Kam Courtney running into each other and muffing the second half kickoff.
- Colandrea taking another sack on 4th down – this time on 4th-and-eight in the redzone – which cost the Cavaliers another eight yards of field positioning. Once again, Colandrea had no hot route available when facing pressure.
- UVA not having enough players on offense before a third quarter play, meaning Suderian Harrison had to run in from the sideline.
- Colandrea missing a wide open Noah Vaughn in the endzone and fumbling the ball in the redzone late in the fourth quarter.
Alone, one or two of these mistakes would be an excusable example of the chaos of football. Strung together like they were today and have for much of the last two thirds of this season and it becomes hard to establish an argument that Virginia is a well-coached team – particularly on offense.
Injuries have piled up for the Wahoo defense
The Wahoo defense entered this game starting two backups at linebacker, two backups on the defensive line, one backup at safety, and one backup rotating in at nickel corner to spell the banged up Corey Thomas.
Quarterback Kevin Jennings and the SMU passing attack got theirs through the air. John Rudzinski’s group did respectably well against the run, however, limiting the Mustangs to just 3.2 yards per carry on 35 attempts.
Virginia’s defense was hardly the leading problem in this game – heck UVA won the turnover battle 2-0. Yet the Cavaliers’ chances of doing something spectacular in Blacksburg next weekend look bleaker and bleaker with the missing pieces on this Wahoo defense.
UVA’s offensive line is still a limiting factor
The Mustangs sacked Colandrea nine times on Saturday afternoon. Even when the ‘Hoos went into max protect looks, SMU dominated one-on-one matchups and got home. Virginia’s offensive line consistently either lost in pass protection or completely missed assignments. The pressure that SMU generated on the interior was especially hindering. Very often, all Colandrea could do was turn his back and try to escape the pressure which came right in his face.
There was a stretch this season when the offensive line strung some encouraging performances together and allowed the Cavalier offense to win on the ground. That’s not the case anymore, though, as the competition ramping up has corresponded with a logical struggle to win in the trenches.
The Virginia coaching staff’s commitment to Colandrea is odd
The Virginia coaching staff’s nearly unwavering commitment to Colandrea at quarterback has become outright odd.
Colandrea has simply not been getting it done. Across his last 24 drives as UVA’s quarterbacks, the Cavaliers have scored once – when Colandrea connected with Malachi Fields on a heroic scramble and throw in the waning minutes of the SMU loss.
Beyond that touchdown, Colandrea was entirely unspectacular against the Mustangs. He finished with 108 yards passing while his longest completion went for a mere 15 yards. The sophomore consistently turned down throws to open receivers down the field and was entirely overwhelmed by the pressure the Mustangs threw at him.
Now, UVA’s offensive line did him zero favors. And the play-calling didn’t provide him with many – if any – hot routes when SMU blitzed. Plus, the ‘Hoos lost both Xavier Brown and Kobe Pace to injury during the game which limited their ground attack.
That doesn’t excuse how Colandrea has played. He has become a check down quarterback whose only true value comes from his ability to occasionally escape pressure and scramble for positive yards.
Tony Muskett replacing Colandrea in the second half against Notre Dame and leading the offense to a pair of touchdowns suggested that he could be the guy to start on Saturday. Elliott and staff stuck with Colandrea as the starter, though, and then remained committed to him for the entirety of the 173-yard offensive performance.
Colandrea is far from the only issue on this Virginia offense. But, after all, the definition of insanity is continuing to do the same things while expecting different results. UVA needs to make a change to give the team a shot at clinching bowl eligibility next Saturday.
Virginia’s 2024 season will come down to winning at Virginia Tech
Well, the scenario which seemed destined to play out has become reality for the Cavaliers. Their season finale against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg will determine whether or not this 2024 campaign is a success. Should Virginia Tech lose to Duke on Saturday night, both the Hokies and the ‘Hoos will enter next week’s Commonwealth Clash a win away from bowl eligibility.
A win for Virginia would be a major moment for the program’s future. Beating VT in Blacksburg for the first time since 1998, clinching a bowl appearance for the first time under Elliott in the process, and closing the regular season out with a win would mean UVA has tangible momentum heading into the offseason. With only one year left on Elliott’s contract at the moment, victory against Tech would surely earn him an extension and would set the ‘Hoos up to maintain continuity on its staff heading into year four.
A loss would stamp the 2024 season as a missed opportunity following a promising 4-1 start. It would firmly have Elliott on the hot seat entering 2025, and would likely mean significant changes to his staff.
Considering that UVA has only beaten Virginia Tech once in the last two decades and hasn’t been successful in Blacksburg this century, having confidence in this Cavaliers team to go into Lane Stadium and stage an upset would be naive. Never say never, though.
