Virginia’s win over Boston College on Saturday felt like one of the strangest Cavalier wins in some time. With the Eagles up 14-0 early in the second quarter and UVa’s offense yielding only punts to that point, it looked like it would be a long afternoon at Scott Stadium, coming off a bye week. By halftime, there were signs of life. Early in the fourth quarter, UVa was within striking distance. And a few minutes later, the Hoos were up two scores, seemingly out of nowhere.
The reason Saturday’s win felt a bit strange and unexpected is because UVa was the winning team. Cavalier fans have been on the other side of games like this plenty of times, and have seen early leads evaporate as the team wilted down the stretch. Look no further than UVa’s 27-24 loss at BC, when the Hoos went up 14-0 early and led 21-7 at the half before the Eagles stormed back to win the game.
Virginia lost four games last year where they led the game by double digits. This season, UVa has two double-digit comeback wins, both against ACC competition. Getting down two scores and then rallying for a win isn’t exactly something any coach is going to draw up. But the fact that UVa has found a way to do it twice tells us something about this team and their mindset. Last year the team fought hard but came up a play or two short in a bunch of games, or couldn’t quite make the play they needed, or had a concentration issue here or there that cost them. This year, they’ve found ways to make those plays. The margins are still relatively small, but the progress is evident.
Coaches talk a lot about the need to be dominant in all three phases, and play complimentary football. But complimentary football isn’t just playing well in all three phases. It also happens when one side of the ball needs a lift, the other side gives them a hand. In September’s close win at Wake Forest, it was the offense that picked up a defense that gave up 500+ yards and 400+ through the air; and eventually the defense made the plays they needed once the offense set them up to close the game out. On Saturday, it was the other way around.
UVa’s offense needed the lift, in part, because of injuries. The Hoos were down two starting receivers and another backup that plays quite a bit. Against a formidable BC defense that was likely the best group UVa has played yet and one of the best they’ll play all year, Virginia’s offense eventually started moving the ball, but couldn’t close out drives. All the while, the defense kept the Hoos viable, and kept the game within reach. And then, they went even further, creating a turnover to set up what was ultimately the winning score, and going the extra mile with a score of their own to all but put the game away. That’s complimentary football. A team is not always going to be clicking in every aspect of play, but if one unit can simply hold down the fort for a while, eventually things can start to turn.
So where does that leave us? UVa sits at 4-1 and 2-0 in ACC play, and nobody would argue that this isn’t a great start for the Hoos. Tony Elliott has won more games this year already than he did in either of his first two, and Virginia is guaranteed to at least sniff around the postseason deep into November. But they’re probably capable of more than sniffing around a bowl game at this point. UVa will be underdogs in their next two games, but even if they lose both, they have a suddenly winnable game against struggling UNC on the horizon, and then four more opportunities after their second bye week. It’s not going to be easy, but perhaps beating Virginia won’t be as easy as opponents hoped it would be, either.
UVa is going to need to get healthy and stay healthy, particularly on offense, going forward. A one-touchdown performance from that group isn’t going to get it done going forward, and they’ll need to get back the big-play potential we saw early in the season. The defense had their best game of the season last weekend, and the challenges will continue to ratchet up from here with some great offenses on the horizon.
That first big challenge comes this weekend with the 3-2 Louisville Cardinals coming to town. Louisville has lost two in a row, but both setbacks came against currently ranked opponents, Notre Dame and SMU. Cards coach Jeff Brohm always seems to have good offenses, and he has reloaded the Cardinals with speedy playmakers on the edge, a pair of quality running backs, and a talented quarterback with a lot of experience. Virginia is a touchdown underdog, which makes sense given what Louisville has to work with, and the fact that UVa is going to have to continue to prove themselves despite a hot start.
A few weeks ago, Saturday’s contest against Louisville seemed like a long shot. And UVa is still the underdog for a reason, but given what we saw last week against BC, it’s probably not wise to write the Hoos off.
