UVa has had a slow start to all three of its games to open this season and against NC State found itself in a 24-0 hole before halftime.

Despite playing a defense that allowed 38 points per game, the Cavaliers (1-2, 1-2 ACC) looked lost for a quarter and dug a hole for themselves with turnovers, while the Pack out-executed their defense on early 3rd downs.

In this week’s Film Room, we take a look at 15 plays that doomed Virginia’s chances before halftime and the underlying problems causing the slow starts.

NCSU 0, UVa 0

UVa ball, 3rd and 6 at its 29-yard line, 13:07 1Q

Armstrong pass incomplete, intended for Poljan

Virginia got a stop on the first possession of the game, giving its offense an opportunity to take advantage. After Wayne Taulapapa rushed for no gain on 1st first down and caught a 4-yard pass on 2nd, UVa faced a 3rd and 6 as the Cavaliers looked to avoid opening the game with a three-and-out.

Brennan Armstrong took the snap and without scanning the field threw a lob to Tony Poljan down the sideline, which was broken up by the defender.

The throw was certainly predetermined based on the pre-snap look from the defense and, although there was quite a bit of contact, the location of the ball and the tight coverage gives this play a low success rate.

And to make matters worse, Armstrong had a better option. On the right, Lavel Davis cleared out the defenders, as designed, opening the middle of the field up for Terrell Jana, who was completely uncovered.

State brought a lot of pressure up the middle and if Armstrong had gone to his second read he likely hits Jana for a big gain.

As a matter of fact, UVa did come back to this play later, ran the same routes, but this time Armstrong’s first read was Jana. The pass was complete and resulted in a gain of 26 yards on a similar down and distance.

NCSU 0, UVa o

NCSU ball, 3rd and 7 at UVa’s 35; 11:46 1Q

Leary pass complete to Thomas, gain of 18 yards

Allowing too many conversions on 3rd and long sunk UVa against Clemson and hurt early in the loss to NC State as well.

The first was a 3rd and 7 after UVa was stout on the first two plays of the series. Virginia has had trouble defending the middle of the field and here Devin Leary targets that area of weakness, hitting Thayer Thomas for an 18-yard gain. The coverage from Matt Gahm and De’Angelo Amos was not bad on this play and frankly this was a difficult and risky throw that simply worked out well for the Wolfpack.

But, notice how clean the pocket was for Leary on this throw. Virginia brought four rushers on the play and dropped Nick Jackson into shallow coverage, which also helps in case Leary takes off. But he didn’t need to, as his line picked up the rushes effectively, giving their quarterback time to stand and deliver.

This conversion didn’t ultimately harm UVa too much, as long touchdown catch was overturned on 3rd down later in the drive, and State missed it field-goal attempt.

NCSU 0, UVa 0

UVa ball, 1st and 10 at its 35, 10:02 1Q

Armstrong rush for 8 yards; PENALTY (15 yards): Illegal block below the waist (Reinkensmeyer)

On the play after State’s missed field goal, UVa had a nice gain on an Armstrong draw to start the drive. The play was overturned, however, as Dillon Reinkensmeyer was called for a block below the waist, coming just before the tackle was made (at the 40-yard line).

UVa was uncharacteristically undisciplined during its early-game swoon against State, starting with this play. Armstrong’s 8-yard gain was turned into a 7-yard loss and UVa never recovered on this drive.

The Wahoos had a lot of trouble on early downs against NC State, particularly early in the game. Mistakes like this one were costly, on a rare positive play to start a drive.

NCSU 0, UVa 0

UVa ball, 3rd and 11 at its 33; 8:45 1Q

Armstrong pass intercepted by Battle at 50

Two plays later, Armstrong threw his first interception of the game and his fifth of the season. It appears from the post-play reaction that there was a miscommunication between Armstrong and Jana, who did not run his route where his QB expected. It’s unclear whether this was an option route and Jana simply took an option that Armstrong wasn’t expecting or if it was some kind of miscommunication.

Even if Jana is in a better position, this throw was into a sea of white jerseys and could have resulted in a negative play anyway.

Here is a better look at the route combination. It appears that Davis is again being used to clear out defenders and open up space behind him for Jana, but the two are too close together, causing a traffic jam at the throw target.

NCSU 0, UVa 0

NCSU ball, 2nd and 6 at UVa’s 36; 6:55 1Q

Leary pass complete to Rooks, gain of 25 yards

Off of the turnover, State capitalized with a quick scoring drive. This 25-yard gain set the Wolfpack up for a red zone score, and like the 3rd down conversion earlier was a byproduct of a lack of pressure on the quarterback.

Leary has all day to throw here, despite five defenders rushing and another spying right around the line of scrimmage. Even though State sent just two players deep on the play, Porter Rooks was able to work open deep downfield and Leary had the time and room to make an accurate throw.

To make matters worse, the pressure finally did get to Leary after the throw, resulting in a roughing the passer penalty that moved the Wolfpack from the 11-yard line to the five.

Two plays later, NCSU grabbed the lead on an easy TD pass from Leary to Trent Pennix. On top of that, UVa’s Jaylon Baker roughed the kicker on the extra point, allowing State to kick off from the 50-yard line.

NCSU 7, UVa 0

UVa ball, 3rd and 10 at its 25; 5:19 1Q

Play negated, offsetting penalties

Armstrong rush, loss of two yards

Virginia’s next drive did not go well to say the least. On 1st down, Armstrong completed a pass to Poljan for a whopping 1-yard gain. On the next play, UVa had not one but two offensive linemen called for holding, but the play still resulted in a 2-yard loss (Taulapapa rushed), so the penalties were declined.

Then, with a chance to take advantage of a State mental error when a lineman jumped offside, UVa couldn’t take advantage of the gift. Armstrong wisely takes a shot downfield but Jana is well covered and called for grabbing the facemask of his defender.

Although we don’t have a good angle of the play, it’s likely he did get some of the facemask, as this penalty is very rarely called or even looked for by referees.

As a result, the penalties offset and instead of getting a 3rd and manageable, it’s 3rd and 10 again.

On the re-do, Virginia tried to throw a screen to Taulapapa, a rare play call in Robert Anae’s offense. It didn’t catch State’s defense off guard, however, as the Pack swarm to Taulapapa and blow up the screen. Armstrong has no choice but to eat the ball and live to fight another day.

At this point in the game, UVa has gone three-and-out, thrown an interception, and gone three-and-out again.

NCSU 7, UVa 0

NCSU ball, 3rd and 14 at its 48; 2:46 1Q

Leary pass complete to Emezie, gain of 17 yards

On the next State drive, Leary keeps the chains moving on 3rd and 15. Virginia brings more pressure this time, with six defenders going after the quarterback. But the Cavaliers don’t quite get home quick enough and Leary throws a strike into the empty middle of the field for a 17-yard gain.

The Wahoos simply cannot afford conversions like this one. Their ability to create havoc has fallen off a bit this year, as they didn’t have a single sack against State.

If a defense is going to bring six players, and nobody gets to the quarterback on a 3rd and long, it spells trouble.

NCSU 7, UVa 0

NCSU ball, 2nd and 7 at the UVa 32; 1:40 1Q

Leary pass complete to Angeline for 32-yard TD; NC State 13, UVa 0

Earlier in the game, NC State ran a play of little consequence but it paid off later in the quarter. The Pack ran a quick sweep left and UVa’s defense swallowed it up, swarming to the ball.

Just a couple of plays after the 3rd and 15 conversion to Emezie, State plays on Virginia’s aggressiveness. A trick play that looks similar to the play shown above goes for a 32-yard score.

And just like that, for the third straight game, UVa found itself in a two-score deficit in the first quarter.

NCSU 14, UVa 0

UVa ball, 3rd and Goal at the NCSU 1; 12:00 2Q

Armstrong rush for no gain

As they did in the win over Duke, the Cavaliers finally got going late in the first quarter on Saturday. The 26-yard play to Jana shown above was followed by a 14-yard play to Davis, a 4th and 2 conversion on a play designed to draw State offsides, and a 9-yard pass to Poljan. UVa found itself with this 3rd and goal at the 1 after Taulapapa’s previously-called touchdown was ruled short.

UVa ran a quarterback power play, a reasonable call, and State held Armstrong short of the goal line.

NCSU 14, UVa 0

UVa ball, 4th & Goal at the 1; 11:29 2Q

Armstrong rush for no gain; Turnover on Downs

The ensuing play is categorized as a 4th and 1 to gain but really it was more like 4th and 2. Virginia’s play here would have made a lot more sense if the Hoos were on the edge of the goal line but from the 2 this play lacks creativity and against a State line anchored by an elite nose tackle, who later scored on a pick-six, the quarterback sneak simply doesn’t make any sense. Taulapapa was a touchdown vulture around the goal line last year and didn’t get a touch on 3rd or 4th downs despite a 3-yard gain on 2nd and Goal.

NCSU 14, UVa 0

NCSU ball, 3rd and 8 at its 3; 10:00 2Q

Leary rush for 23 yards

While Virginia’s goal-line misstep was costly, it did put the Wolfpack in a tough spot, nd could have allowed the Cavaliers to flip the field with a quick stop and punt. But they weren’t able to get that stop against the goal line, as Leary executed a read-option play perfectly and gained 23 yards to give his offense some breathing room.

Again, NC State takes advantage of UVa’s aggression. Watch as Jackson and Amos overpursue, anticipating a quick handoff, and allow Leary plenty of green space to run into.

If UVa got a quick three-and-out and scored on a short field, it would have helped the Hoos overcome the botched goal-line situation. Instead this play was catastrophic, even though State ultimately punted the ball back to the Hoos.

NCSU 14, UVa 0

UVa ball, 1st and 10 at its 40; 8:17 2Q

Armstrong sacked by Battle, loss of 10 yards

UVa’s next drive got off to a rough start with a sack and a loss of 10 yards on 1st down. State did a good job closing down Armstrong’s run lanes and forcing him to escape out of the pocket rather than running up the middle.

On this play, he tries to get out to his left and simply holds the ball too long, taking the sack instead of throwing the ball away.

It’s not an easy play to make but Armstrong did have Hayden Mitchell wide open downfield for a big gain after he decided to run.

In the image below, Armstrong has his head down, seemingly committed to running left after failing to escape the pocket up the middle. He can take the blame for getting sacked and it’s tough to say he should have seen Mitchell here with the pocket starting to break down, but it does represent a missed opportunity nonetheless.

NCSU 14, UVa 0

UVa ball, 2nd and 20 at its 30; 7:27 2Q

Armstrong intercepted by Riley at UVa 41, returned to UVa 20

Things go from bad to worse on the next play, as Armstrong is intercepted again. UVa had ground to make up on 2nd and 20 and State was all over this play.

In the view below, you can see what Armstrong sees, not a lot of open targets and a lot of white jerseys. He finds Billy Kemp late and the ball is tipped at the line of scrimmage, sails, and is intercepted and returned into Cavalier territory. Armstrong was looking right pretty much the entire way here, and notice how State’s defensive lineman who gets the tip shuffles into the throwing lane to make the play rather than engaging with the blocker and trying to get after the quarterback.

This technique would pay off later on a similar play that resulted in a Lindell Stone INT returned for a touchdown.

NCSU 17, UVa 0

UVa ball 3rd and 4 at its 23; 4:27 2Q

PENALTY (5 yards): Illegal Downfield on Pass (Mitchell); 5 yard penalty

State kicked a field goal to go up 17-0 after the interception, and on the first play of the next drive is when Armstrong was injured. UVa didn’t get any yards from the targeting penalty as Kemp held on the play, and Stone took over with a fresh set of downs.

On 3rd and 4, Stone hits Jana for a 1st down, a great start for the backup quarterback. But again a penalty undoes the progress, with Mitchell covered up in the slot, and running a route.

For clarity, the widest player on one side of the ball at the line of scrimmage, on this play Keytaon Thompson, is eligible. Every player “inside” of them is not, which is why slot receivers are usually a step behind the line. Mitchell never adjusts after Thompson lines up, resulting in a penalty.

UVa was not able to convert on the subsequent 3rd and 9 and punted the ball back to State.

NCSU 17, UVa 0

NCSU ball 2nd and 10 at the UVa 35; 2:10 2Q

Knight rush for 35 yard touchdown; NCSU 23, UVa 0

And finally, State drops the hammer and puts the Cavaliers out of reach. Some solid blocking and patience from running back Bam Knight allows him to sneak through the hole on a stretch play, and off to the races he went for a 35-yard score.

With UVa’s starting quarterback done for the day, this touchdown all but ended its hopes for a comeback.

These 15 plays show how UVa never got off the ground and then collapsed in the second quarter. But there are several other issues that weren’t even covered in this review. Those include how bad UVa was on special teams, that the Wahoos got lucky that State’s second drive didn’t result in points, that Virginia shot itself in the foot often by committing numerous penalties, and that the Cavaliers really missed a huge opportunity at the goal line on that 1st and Goal from the 5-yard line.

While Virginia’s problems early on against State were wide ranging, the biggest red flag was lack of discipline. UVa usually doesn’t have major issues with penalties, but they proved costly time and again in Saturday’s first half. Virginia’s defense also had trouble staying sound in their scheme, which resulted in a few busted plays. They also didn’t get home on the blitz, a staple of Bronco Mendenhall’s defense. On offense, Armstrong was shaky out of the gate in his third straight game. And to make matters worse, his rush lanes were closed down, and he had receivers that ran the wrong route, lined up incorrectly, held and even got called for a facemask penalty.

Going forward on defense the coaching staff needs to unlock the havoc portion of their scheme, whatever that requires. UVa cannot win many games with creating pressure and getting sacks, especially against teams like the Wolfpack that can spread a defense out and attack. The middle of the field also needs to be manned better in the passing game, as it has been a constant problem in all three games. Joey Blount missed this and his return should provide a boost. On offense, the shaky starts are lingering to nearly halftime and UVa doesn’t have enough explosion to overcome a sleepy half or multi-score deficits. The Hoos never really established the running game, with just 15 yards at halftime and nine carries for Taulapapa before Armstrong’s injury. And the goal-line sequence proved quite costly. UVa did a better job there in the second half and haven’t really had problems in that area in other games.

One disappointing element of this is that UVa may well have gotten back into the game, despite all of this, if a few plays went differently. After giving up three 3rd-down conversions on the first five tries, State didn’t convert another in eight tries during the remainder of the game. The NC State offense didn’t score again until late in the game and had just one score after halftime.

Virginia has a lot to clean up on both sides of the ball and needs to be sound early in games if the Hoos are going to improve going forward. The margin of error is too narrow for this team to have a sluggish first half and then work their way back in, and it’s safe to say that they learned a lesson on Saturday after a slow start didn’t burn them against Duke and didn’t really matter against Clemson.

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!