Against Georgia Tech on Saturday night, UVa overcame a slow start and survived a shaky finish, with a pretty dominant performance in the middle. The Wahoos trailed by 13 before going on a 48-14 run to nearly put the game out of reach, before the Yellow Jackets closed the way they started, with 13 straight points.
Virginia’s offense was once again dominant, racking up over 600 yards and 48 points for the second straight week. There was improvement shown on defense at times, but still plenty to work on as the Hoos gave up 40 points for the second time this year.
In today’s film room, we take a look at one thing we liked and one that we didn’t like from Saturday night’s 48-40 win.
What We Liked: Keytaon Thompson's versatility
Virginia’s “Football Player” was again dynamic and productive in Saturday’s win over Georgia Tech. Keytaon Thompson was effective as a receiver and as a runner, combining for 154 yards on 16 touches. Thompson caught nine passes for 89 yards, matching a career high for receptions in a game. On the ground, Thompson was tough to bring down, rushing for nearly 10 yards per carry, with 65 yards on seven rushes. And once again, Robert Anae was creative in how he deployed the former quarterback.
So today, we’ll take a look at some of Thompson’s usage on Saturday night, and how he created problems for the Jackets.
On this first play, Thompson is used a bit like he was last year, lined up behind center. There aren’t a lot of frills on this play by UVa’s standards. No players in motion, just a quick snap to Thompson and a power run left. Thompson breaks the first tackle two yards beyond the line of scrimmage, and ends up cutting back for a 13 yard gain. This is simply what Keytaon does with the football. He runs defenders over, or he makes them miss, or he runs by them.