Week 1 is in the books for the Hoos, and that means it is time for Fears, Cheers & Beers leading into week 2. Our Hoos head to Illinois to face an improving, physical, B1G opponent in the Fighting Illini. The game kicks at 4pm (Eastern) and Illinois is currently a 4.5 point favorite. They are coming off a last drive loss to Indiana, while the Hoos dispatched Richmond 34-17 in the first ever game as Head Coach for Tony Elliott.
As a reminder, the hope of this column is for me to offer up what I - as a fan - am most excited about leading into the next game; what I am most concerned about; and finally, a little advice on tailgating for that week based on weather and kickoff time (or to discuss the previous week’s adventures/issues during road game weeks).
Cheers
The Richmond game was our first exposure to the new team, staff and schemes. It is safe to say after attending the game and then rewatching the game, that UVA was vanilla in their play calling for most of the game on offense and defense. Given the opponent and having a fresh staff that needed to find their own footing, that game plan made sense. This week against a Power 5 opponent on the road for the first road game of the season (more on that later), I expect we will see those playbooks opened a little further.
Offensively, it was great to see Brennan Armstrong, the deep group of receivers and an improved run game. While it was not without hiccups, the offense moved the ball in a balanced manner and put points on the board – and was perfect in red zone touchdown efficiency. For me, the highlight of the day offensively was seeing Lavel Davis score his long touchdown. It was the first time most UVA fans have been able to see him play in person, and as my daughter said, how can someone that big move that fast? Hopefully, his success Saturday will give him even more confidence in his recovery.
Last year the Hoos hit Illinois early to build a cushion – before noon eastern even – and most of that was in the throw game. I am excited to see if that success can be repeated on the road. I am very interested to see if the staff plans to use the success in the run game this past Saturday to set-up early play-action shots out of the formations they ran out of against Richmond.
Taking those shots will obviously require keeping the pocket clean for 5. The offensive line had its struggles at times against Richmond but given the lack of experience they had going into the game; it was not surprising. I am looking forward to seeing what our staff does to correct the problems that did show up (especially in the second half) now that they have more game film and the players have experienced a game playing together. The Illini will present a significant upgrade in opposition, and I am interested to see if the line is up for the challenge.
Defensively, UVA did a good job of limited big pass plays on Saturday and even had a few pass break-ups. Given that they did not blitz very often and what we had seen last year from the pass defense, I will take the improvement. Against the run, the Hoos gave up some easy yards up the middle on several plays Saturday. It appeared some of that was alignment and assignment issues versus just getting beat. I am anxious to see if the pass defense can replicate and if the issues in the run defense are improved versus a team with a very good running back and a superior offensive line to Richmond’s.
Finally on the excitement side, this is a great chance for the new staff to turn-around what has kind of been the modus operandi for UVA over the past few coaching staffs: winning at home and losing on the road. UVA has a home record on par with the national elites in college football, but road performance has been almost the opposite. Against a good but not unbeatable opponent, with a veteran QB, an offense that can score, and what appears to be an improved (though not perfect) defense, UVA and Coach Elliott have a chance to have some success away from Scott Stadium.
Fears
Oh, I have plenty of fears. To be transparent, I picked UVA to lose this game in our preseason prediction podcast. If you saw my picks, that would represent 50% of the losses I predicted. The reason I went that way has been alluded to already. A young offensive line still finding their way; a defense adjusting to a new scheme; a staff that has not coached a game together on the road – much less dealt with all the extra logistics of being on the road; an upgrade in opponent talent versus week one; and UVA’s history on the road of late – heck, UVA has won the first road game of the year a grand total of 5 times in the last 20 years. Yeah, I have some concerns.
Last week, I mentioned the fear I had as a result of Bronco’s Hoos versus Richmond in his first game as coach. Let’s take a quick look at UVA coaches on the road. George Welsh lost his first five road games. Mike London lost his first five road games as well. Bronco lost his first two road games. Al Groh lost his first before winning at Clemson in his second road game. Hopefully, Coach Elliott bucks the trend, but yeah, I have some concerns.
Illinois is a good opponent. I said earlier that UVA jumped out early last year with big pass plays. That is true. However, I feel like many forget that Illinois cut the lead back to 7 points two times after UVA scored 14 quick points, the last of which was early 3rd quarter when Chase Brown scored a 21-yard rushing TD to cut it to 21-14. And while it ended up being a comfortable win, Illinois showed grit in that game and as their season went on, finishing 4-5 in the B1G, with wins at Penn State and Minnesota. They are improved and have a bad taste in their mouth, not to mention they are favored. Yeah, I have some concerns.
Beers
As a reminder, this section is where I will just give some fun advice on tailgating for our home games. I was not quite sure what to do with it when the Hoos are on the road versus an opponent that most UVA fans are unlikely to attend. Although I am still not sure what to do on the remainder of those weeks, this week’s section wrote itself when I ran up to get my daughter and I drinks at the end of the first quarter Saturday. Wow, what in the world was that?
Look, tailgating was awesome as usual – noon games only offer so much in that regard – but we were set-up at 8AM as one should be. I was excited to see the improved game day experience and even the improved beer buying process that were discussed in the emails UVA sent out leading up to gameday. I must have missed the part of the email where UVA said they were going to make you wait 30 minutes plus to get a water or food.
I know UVA and the ACC do not have that B1G or SEC money. I know UVA has struggled to fill the stadium like many teams over the past decade plus. But, for the love of all that matters, I should not have to wait in a line 50 deep to get a water (which costs $4) when it is 90 plus degrees and the stadium is not near capacity. It is inexcusable. It is embarrassing. It is a slap in the face to every fan who bought tickets to come support the team.
Whether the reason is Aramark or UVA – I do not care. This must be fixed and fixed now. I am a diehard fan, and I am mad. I will be back. Sadly, I am afraid there are many who dealt with the heat and the embarrassing lack of competently provided concessions and will not be back. “Uncompromised Excellence” should carry over to something as simple as providing fans food and beverages in a timely manner. UVA should offer a formal apology to the fans for what happened Saturday. Admit the errors. And do not promise to fix it – fix it.
As a reminder, the hope of this column is for me to offer up what I - as a fan - am most excited about leading into the next game; what I am most concerned about; and finally, a little advice on tailgating for that week based on weather and kickoff time (or to discuss the previous week’s adventures/issues during road game weeks).
Cheers
The Richmond game was our first exposure to the new team, staff and schemes. It is safe to say after attending the game and then rewatching the game, that UVA was vanilla in their play calling for most of the game on offense and defense. Given the opponent and having a fresh staff that needed to find their own footing, that game plan made sense. This week against a Power 5 opponent on the road for the first road game of the season (more on that later), I expect we will see those playbooks opened a little further.
Offensively, it was great to see Brennan Armstrong, the deep group of receivers and an improved run game. While it was not without hiccups, the offense moved the ball in a balanced manner and put points on the board – and was perfect in red zone touchdown efficiency. For me, the highlight of the day offensively was seeing Lavel Davis score his long touchdown. It was the first time most UVA fans have been able to see him play in person, and as my daughter said, how can someone that big move that fast? Hopefully, his success Saturday will give him even more confidence in his recovery.
Last year the Hoos hit Illinois early to build a cushion – before noon eastern even – and most of that was in the throw game. I am excited to see if that success can be repeated on the road. I am very interested to see if the staff plans to use the success in the run game this past Saturday to set-up early play-action shots out of the formations they ran out of against Richmond.
Taking those shots will obviously require keeping the pocket clean for 5. The offensive line had its struggles at times against Richmond but given the lack of experience they had going into the game; it was not surprising. I am looking forward to seeing what our staff does to correct the problems that did show up (especially in the second half) now that they have more game film and the players have experienced a game playing together. The Illini will present a significant upgrade in opposition, and I am interested to see if the line is up for the challenge.
Defensively, UVA did a good job of limited big pass plays on Saturday and even had a few pass break-ups. Given that they did not blitz very often and what we had seen last year from the pass defense, I will take the improvement. Against the run, the Hoos gave up some easy yards up the middle on several plays Saturday. It appeared some of that was alignment and assignment issues versus just getting beat. I am anxious to see if the pass defense can replicate and if the issues in the run defense are improved versus a team with a very good running back and a superior offensive line to Richmond’s.
Finally on the excitement side, this is a great chance for the new staff to turn-around what has kind of been the modus operandi for UVA over the past few coaching staffs: winning at home and losing on the road. UVA has a home record on par with the national elites in college football, but road performance has been almost the opposite. Against a good but not unbeatable opponent, with a veteran QB, an offense that can score, and what appears to be an improved (though not perfect) defense, UVA and Coach Elliott have a chance to have some success away from Scott Stadium.
Fears
Oh, I have plenty of fears. To be transparent, I picked UVA to lose this game in our preseason prediction podcast. If you saw my picks, that would represent 50% of the losses I predicted. The reason I went that way has been alluded to already. A young offensive line still finding their way; a defense adjusting to a new scheme; a staff that has not coached a game together on the road – much less dealt with all the extra logistics of being on the road; an upgrade in opponent talent versus week one; and UVA’s history on the road of late – heck, UVA has won the first road game of the year a grand total of 5 times in the last 20 years. Yeah, I have some concerns.
Last week, I mentioned the fear I had as a result of Bronco’s Hoos versus Richmond in his first game as coach. Let’s take a quick look at UVA coaches on the road. George Welsh lost his first five road games. Mike London lost his first five road games as well. Bronco lost his first two road games. Al Groh lost his first before winning at Clemson in his second road game. Hopefully, Coach Elliott bucks the trend, but yeah, I have some concerns.
Illinois is a good opponent. I said earlier that UVA jumped out early last year with big pass plays. That is true. However, I feel like many forget that Illinois cut the lead back to 7 points two times after UVA scored 14 quick points, the last of which was early 3rd quarter when Chase Brown scored a 21-yard rushing TD to cut it to 21-14. And while it ended up being a comfortable win, Illinois showed grit in that game and as their season went on, finishing 4-5 in the B1G, with wins at Penn State and Minnesota. They are improved and have a bad taste in their mouth, not to mention they are favored. Yeah, I have some concerns.
Beers
As a reminder, this section is where I will just give some fun advice on tailgating for our home games. I was not quite sure what to do with it when the Hoos are on the road versus an opponent that most UVA fans are unlikely to attend. Although I am still not sure what to do on the remainder of those weeks, this week’s section wrote itself when I ran up to get my daughter and I drinks at the end of the first quarter Saturday. Wow, what in the world was that?
Look, tailgating was awesome as usual – noon games only offer so much in that regard – but we were set-up at 8AM as one should be. I was excited to see the improved game day experience and even the improved beer buying process that were discussed in the emails UVA sent out leading up to gameday. I must have missed the part of the email where UVA said they were going to make you wait 30 minutes plus to get a water or food.
I know UVA and the ACC do not have that B1G or SEC money. I know UVA has struggled to fill the stadium like many teams over the past decade plus. But, for the love of all that matters, I should not have to wait in a line 50 deep to get a water (which costs $4) when it is 90 plus degrees and the stadium is not near capacity. It is inexcusable. It is embarrassing. It is a slap in the face to every fan who bought tickets to come support the team.
Whether the reason is Aramark or UVA – I do not care. This must be fixed and fixed now. I am a diehard fan, and I am mad. I will be back. Sadly, I am afraid there are many who dealt with the heat and the embarrassing lack of competently provided concessions and will not be back. “Uncompromised Excellence” should carry over to something as simple as providing fans food and beverages in a timely manner. UVA should offer a formal apology to the fans for what happened Saturday. Admit the errors. And do not promise to fix it – fix it.
