Bronco Mendenhall at UVa: A Retrospective

Bronco Mendenhall won’t get the chance to coach the Virginia football team one final time.

Mendenhall intended to step down following a matchup with SMU in the Fenway Bowl later this week. But that game was canceled on Sunday due to COVID-19 concerns within the UVa program, bringing Mendenhall’s six-year tenure at the school to an abrupt end.

It was a hire that caught everyone in the UVa locker room off-guard six years ago. Bronco’s time in Charlottesville began with a stark culture reset, and endured a two-win slog of a first season before a run of “unbroken growth” that culminated in a 2019 Coastal Division championship, the first in program history. But that momentum was stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Wahoos going 11-11 the past two seasons after winning 17 the previous two seasons.

Mendenhall went 34-36 the past six seasons. His tenure was unique, both on and off the field, spanning ‘Hoos Rising’ through the ‘New Standard’ to the ‘Fourth Side.’ Players had to work their way onto the practice field that first preseason. Earning jersey numbers became a yearly tradition.

There was the era-opening loss at home to Richmond. The day the Hoos rotated quarterbacks by the snap in a blowout loss in Blacksburg. A wild win in Boise, and field-storming celebration after rallying to beat Georgia Tech and become bowl eligible. The bizarre double-pass attempt against Abilene Christian. The infamous throwback to an offensive lineman against the Hokies last month.

School records were broken. So were losing streaks. After reaching the postseason just once in the eight seasons prior to Bronco’s arrival, the Hoos played in three bowls in Mendenhall’s four seasons—and were eligible for two others, before opting out last year and having to withdraw from this year’s Fenway Bowl appearance.

Shortly after Mendenhall announced his impending departure, CavsCorner took a look back at the coach’s track record as a recruiter in his six years at UVa. With Bronco’s tenure ending on Sunday, we’re revisiting a few of the most memorable moments of his tenure:

It’s arguably among the biggest victories in program history, and in retrospect, proved to be the pinnacle of Mendenhall’s six seasons in Charlottesville.

Entering that warm afternoon at Scott Stadium, UVa had lost 15 straight meetings against Tech. The Wahoos had never won a Coastal Division title. With one victory, UVa snapped the streak and clinched the division—and also reached the nine-win mark for just the eighth time in program history.

Bryce Perkins ripped off a pair of long touchdown runs before halftime. A big third quarter gave the Hokies the lead heading into the fourth. UVa’s third turnover on defense led to a go-ahead field goal drive with less than four minutes to play. The Hoos’ fourth takeaway clinched the victory, as Mandy Alonso stripped Tech QB Hendon Hooker in the end zone and lifelong Virginia fan fell on the ball for a touchdown.

Fans stormed the field. The Hoos hoisted the Commonwealth Cup, headed to the ACC Championship (and eventually the Orange Bowl). It was the only time under Mendenhall that UVa ‘Beat Tech.’ The program’s trajectory under Bronco never felt like it was pointed higher.

Don’t Forget: 28-0 win vs. South Carolina (Belk Bowl - 2018); 42-23 win at Boise State (2017); 16-13 win vs. No. 16 Miami (2018).

Tech’s next visit to Scott Stadium ultimately proved to be Mendenhall’s final game on home team sideline, and whether directly or not, seemed to set the wheels of upheaval of the past month into motion.

The loss capped a four-game losing streak to end the regular season, and allowed the Hokies—touchdown underdogs who were led by interim coach JC Price—to attain bowl eligibility. But those are but a few reasons why the loss will linger among UVa fans for a long time.

The Cavaliers’ high-powered offense managed just one field goal after halftime. The Hokies put up more 50-yard plays on the day than they had in the season’s first 11 games. The Hoos had a chance to avoid the upset with a last-minute score—until the throwback to offensive lineman Bobby Haskins. The evening’s final image was of maroon-clad Tech fans storming down the Hill and onto the field to celebrate the dramatic victory.

Don’t Forget: 52-10 loss at Virginia Tech (2016); 49-7 loss vs. Navy (Military Bowl - 2017); 59-39 loss at UNC (2021); 66-49 loss at BYU (2021); 33-15 loss at Virginia Tech (2020); 37-20 loss vs. Richmond (2016).

It wasn’t just the most impactful win of the Mendenhall era, but also the most entertaining from start to finish.

Perkins capped the day’s opening drive with a 39-yard touchdown run. Late in the first quarter he ripped off an even more impressive 67-yard score, giving the Hoos a 10-point lead after one. But in the stands, some familiar angst set in as the Hokies found the end zone on three of their four third-quarter possessions, taking a seven-point lead into the fourth.

In that fourth quarter, the Wahoos again took control, ending all three of their offensive possessions by putting points on the board. The defense, as mentioned earlier, set up the go-ahead score with Noah Taylor’s second interception of the day, then sealed the win with Hanback’s memorable fumble recovery following Alonso’s strip sack.

The Hoos made game-altering plays on both sides of the ball down the stretch. It was a division title that was earned, not given.

Don’t Forget: 44-41 vs. UNC (2020); 31-24 vs. FSU (2019); 16-13 vs. No. 16 Miami (2018); 38-31 at UNC (2019); 34-20 at Duke (2016); 40-36 vs. Georgia Tech (2017); 49-35 vs. Central Michigan (2016).

Bronco’s final UVa season will always be haunted by a ‘What if?’ regarding the Hoos’ defense. Led by Armstrong and featuring a stable of big-play receivers and a veteran offensive line, Virginia’s offense spent the year rewriting the school’s passing record book. Yet the Wahoos couldn’t fully capitalize, winning just six games and ending the year on a four-game losing skid.

So what if the Wahoos were even just mediocre on defense? Armstrong threw for a school-record 554 yards and four scores in Chapel Hill in mid-September—and UVa lost by 20. The offense scored 49 points at BYU in late October—and it proved to be a school record for most points in a loss, as the Cougars rolled to 66 points and 734 total yards, including 285 on the ground. With another Coastal Division title hanging in the balance at Pitt last month, the Panthers put up 48 points and 509 total yards.

Whether by stats or PFF College grades, the UVa defense proved to be one of the worst in the country this year. A preseason switch to a 3-3-5 scheme didn’t pan out. The Hoos failed to pressure opposing quarterbacks, struggled at times with tackling and gave up too many big plays. It ultimately cost them an opportunity at what could have been a special season.

Don’t Forget: The overall struggles of the 2016 season; failing to complete upset win at No. 2 Miami in 2017; overtime loss at Virginia Tech in 2018.

The UVa staff essentially declared Perkins the starting quarterback from the moment he arrived in January 2018 from an Arizona junior college. Perkins proved to be the prototypical dual-threat “Thorterback” for the UVa offense, needing just two seasons to break the program’s carer record for total offense while setting a new single-season passing record (since broken by Brennan Armstrong this fall) as a senior in 2019. A constant threat to outrun (or leap over) defenders, Perkins is the program leader in rushing yards for a QB, and fourth all-time at Virginia in touchdown passes.

Perkins also won 17 games (tied with Matt Schaub for No. 2 all-time for a UVa quarterback) in those two seasons. In 2018, Perkins led the Hoos to the program’s first eight-win season in seven years, capped by its first bowl victory since 2005. In 2019, the Wahoos won nine games and the program’s first-ever Coastal Division title, clinching both with the aforementioned streak-snapping win against Tech in which Perkins threw for 311 and a touchdown, and ran for 164 yards and two more scores.

Don’t Forget: Brennan Armstrong, Bryce Hall, Quin Blanding, Micah Kiser, Joe Reed.

JOIN CAVSCORNER TODAY!

If you are not already a member of CavsCorner, come join us and see what all of the buzz is about.

Click HERE to subscribe and get all of the latest news and join hundreds of other UVa fans in talking about Cavalier football, basketball, and recruiting. You won't be disappointed!