By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com
CHARLOTTESVILLE –– Back-to-back 20-point losses have put the University of Virginia football team in an unenviable position: 0-2 in ACC play.
A week after giving up 59 points and 699 yards to No. 21 North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., UVA took on unbeaten Wake Forest in much friendlier surroundings.
The change of locale did not produce the desired result for head coach Bronco Mendenhall’s team. In a nationally televised game Friday night, Virginia fell behind early and never recovered in a 37-17 loss. The defeat was only the Cavaliers’ third in their past 22 games at Scott Stadium.
By the fourth quarter, only a smattering of fans remained in the stands, but the student section and the hill were packed early in the game.
“I was so thankful for the crowd and the energy,” Mendenhall said, “and we were trying to give them every chance to stay with us and into the game. But the reality is I didn’t have our team executing well enough to maintain the home-field advantage. That’s just something we’ve taken such great pride in and made so much progress [in], and that probably hurts maybe more than anything.”
Before taking questions at his postgame press conference, Mendenhall made a point of taking responsibility for his team’s performance. The Wahoos (2-2, 0-2) allowed six sacks, gave up 473 yards and were penalized 11 times (for 83 yards), with several of those flags coming at crucial junctures.
“We have lots and lots of work to do in terms of execution, in terms of discipline, in terms of making the right plays at the right times, and having that sustained consistently from beginning to end,” said Mendenhall, who’s in his sixth season at UVA. “Again, that’s a direct reflection of my leadership, and the [assistant] coaches are now an extension of that, and how the players play reflects preparation. I’ve always believed teams play as they’re prepared.”
The Demon Deacons (4-0, 2-0) took the opening kickoff and needed only nine plays to cover 75 yards, the final 39 coming on Sam Hartman’s touchdown pass to a wide-open Taylor Morin.
Trailing 7-0, the Hoos responded with an impressive drive. They had first-and-goal at the 4-yard line after a pass interference penalty against Wake, which struggled all night to contain wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks.
Two straight runs netted only a single yard, however, and quarterback Brennan Armstrong threw an incompletion on third down. Virginia’s offense stayed on the field, and the Deacons broke up Armstrong’s fourth-down pass.
Wake followed that defensive stand with a long, methodical drive that ended with the first of Nick Sciba’s three field goals, and the Cavaliers, who had trailed 14-0 against UNC, found themselves down 10-0.
“They’re a really talented football team,” Wake head coach Dave Clawson said, “but that was a huge stop. Early in the game, how much does it mean, I don’t know, but you certainly like to play with a lead.”
In Chapel Hill, Virginia never forced the Tar Heels to punt, and it was more of the same for three-plus quarters Friday night. Early in the fourth quarter, on third-and-18 from its 48, Wake completed a 29-yard pass to receiver Ke’Shawn Williams, wide open in the secondary.
By the time the Deacons’ punt team ran onto the field for the first time, with 8:36 remaining, it was 37-17. Still, Mendenhall said, he saw progress from his defense on a night when the Deacons averaged 6.4 yards per play.
“I actually thought we played better tonight defensively than against UNC, and I would say significantly better, [though] not anywhere close to where we need to be,” Mendenhall said.
“What I didn’t see coming was our inability to protect Brennan. I didn’t expect six sacks. I didn’t expect only 17 points. I expected more big plays, and so the picture of our team is continuing to become clear. Right now, tonight was kind a reflection on the other side, where we’ve been moving the ball at will and scoring lots and lots of points and protecting our quarterback, and we didn’t do either of those this evening.”
On defense, Mendenhall said, “I thought we were more consistent [than against UNC], and I thought we were more execution-sound, and I thought we had more positive plays when I was looking out there, from beginning to end. But still, [there were] mistakes at critical times … There’s key third downs, key fourth downs, things like that, where you have to make those plays to get enough opportunities for your offense to score.”
Safety Joey Blount and middle linebacker Nick Jackson recorded 11 tackles each for the Cavaliers, who did not have a takeaway. Outside linebacker Noah Taylor added eight stops.
“I don’t think effort’s the problem,” Taylor said when asked about the defense’s woes. “I just think we need to lock into our assignments more … There’s a lot to fix, a lot to get better at.”