Overall: 76.6

Offense: 71.5

Pass: 66.7

Run: 60.6

Receiving: 63.4

Pass Block: 73.2

Run Block: 78.6

Note: As the season goes on, we’ll be able to better put these grades in context, comparing one game to another or even one team to another, and so on. Virginia’s offensive line graded out well in the win, which makes sense given the success the Hoos had protecting the quarterback and running the ball, against an FCS opponent.

For some context, the offense grade of 71.5 would have been UVa’s sixth-best grade last season. The pass blocking grade of 73.2 is better than any game last year. The run blocking grade is way above any game last season, with the best mark a 68.6 grade in the win against UNC.

DEFENSE: 75.1

Run Defense: 74.3

Coverage: 73.7

Pass Rush: 63.8

Tackling: 82.8

Note: The defense handled the game on Saturday, as you’d expect them to against an FCS opponent. The most encouraging sign here is the tackling grade, which was quite strong. UVa’s best tackling grade last year was 82.1 against North Carolina. Virginia’s secondary wasn’t tested a ton against the Spiders, and saw a good coverage grade as a result. And as we discussed in Sunday’s ‘Take Two,’ the lack of pass-rush production is still concerning. UVa never had a pass rush grade higher than 66.0 last year, and the 63.8 mark against an FCS opponent is not a great early indicator of improvement.

Offense Grades (10+ Snaps):

1. Anthony Colandrea, QB: 88.4

2. Blake Steen, RT: 79.8

3. Malachi Fields, WR: 76.1

4. Jack Witmer, LT: 73.7

5. Sackett Wood, TE: 72.7

6. Ty Furnish, RG: 72.5

7. Suderian Harrison, WR: 69.8

8. Noah Josey, LG: 68.7

9. Dak Twitty, TE: 68.4

10. Tyler Neville, TE: 66.9

11. Kobe Pace, RB: 66.0

12. Ethan Sipe, C: 65.3

13. Trell Harris, WR: 64.9

⠀-------------------------------------------------

1. Xavier Brown, RB: 62.5

2. Brian Stevens, C: 62.4

3. Eli Wood, WR: 57.7

4. Jimmy Christ, RT: 56.8

5. Andre Greene Jr, WR: 56.5

6. Sage Ennis, TE: 54.8

7. Ugonna Nnanna, LG: 54.0

8. Jack Griese, RB: 52.1

⠀-------------------------------------------------

1. Chris Tyree, WR: 33.5

Notes: Anthony Colandrea having the top grade is not surprising, and his 88.4 mark is the second-best of his career, after scoring 90.9 in last year’s win over Duke. It’s also encouraging to see both Blake Steen and Jack Witmer in the top four; Witmer starting at left tackle came as a bit of a surprise, but he didn’t seem to have many issues. Conversely, Chris Tyree’s low grade underscores his disappointing Cavalier debut. Tyree accounted for all three of UVa’s drops on Saturday, and the former Notre Dame player failed to record any statistics in the win. Perhaps he’ll bounce back this weekend at Wake.

DEFENSE GRADES (10+ Snaps):

1. Kam Butler, OLB: 84.3

2. Antonio Clary, SS: 76.6

3. Corey Thomas Jr, CB: 75.6

4. Kempton Shine, CB: 75.0

5. Caleb Hardy, CB: 74.2

6. Ethan Minter, FS: 71.7

7. Dorian Jones, LB: 70.9

8. Jahmeer Carter, DT: 69.9

⠀-----------------------------------------------------

1. Chico Bennett Jr., OLB: 67.7

2. Ben Smiley, DE: 66.8

3. Dre Walker, CB: 66.5

4. Malcolm Greene, CB: 65.5

5. Kam Robinson, LB: 64.3

⠀----------------------------------------------------

1. Anthony Britton, DT: 61.2

2. Jam Jackson, CB: 60.5

3. Kendren Smith, CB: 59.8

4. Trey McDonald, LB: 59.0

5. Jonas Sanker, FS: 58.8

6. Michael Diatta, DT: 58.6

7. Jason Hammond, DT: 57.6

8. James Jackson, LB: 57.2

⠀--------------------------------------------------

1. Terrell Jones, DE: 44.1

Notes: Virginia’s defensive grades underscore why PFF data is good for discussion, but should usually be taken with a grain of salt. I watched Saturday’s game, and I cannot explain a 58.8 grade for Jonas Sanker, who led the team in tackles and solo tackles, and had a very solid game.

Regardless, the secondary shined on Saturday in their play, and their grades seem to back that up. Five of UVa’s top six grades came from defensive backs. Kam Butler had the top defensive grade, showing that despite a lack of pass rush, he still had an impact, including a deflection that killed off a third-down conversion attempt.

Anthony Colandrea: 17-23, 297 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT

Drop Backs: 26

Completion Rate: 73.9%

Drops: 3; Drop Rate: 15%

Adjusted Completion Rate: 87.0%

Average Depth of Target: 6.7 yards

Sacks: 2

Pressure-to-Sack Ratio: 28.6%

Under Pressure: 26.9% of Drop Backs

Clean Pocket: 14-19, 192 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT

Under Pressure: 3-4, 105 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT

Against Blitz: 2-2, 60 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT

“Big Time Throws”: 0

Throws under 10 yards: 11-16, 127 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT

Throws 10-20 yards: 4-4, 94 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT

Throws 20+ yards: 2-3, 76 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT

Notes: Colandrea was very efficient on Saturday, even more so when you account for half of his incompletions being Tyree drops. Colandrea has a gunslinger reputation, but his choices on Saturday were far more measured. The sophomore QB threw 16 of his 23 passes within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage, with just three deep balls. Those deep throws resulted in big plays though, with Trell Harris’ TD and Malachi Fields’ diving catch accounting for 76 yards and a touchdown. Colandrea faced some pressure but not a ton, and one of the two sacks was his fault as he tried to do too much on a red zone play. When he was pressured, Colandrea made the defense pay, going 3-for-4 under pressure and 2-for-2 against the blitz. A very solid opener for UVa’s new starting QB.

Offense:

60+: Brian Stevens, Noah Josey

50-59: Anthony Colandrea

40-49: Ty Furnish, Jack Witmer, Malachi Fields, Blake Steen, Tyler Neville

30-39: Kobe Pace

20-29: Trell Harris, Ugonna Nnanna, Chris Tyree, Sage Ennis, Jimmy Christ, Eli Wood

10-19: Sackett Wood, Andre Greene, Jack Griese, Suderian Harrison, Dak Twitty

0-9: Tony Muskett, Jaden Gibson, Kameron Courtney, Grady Brosterhaus

Defense:

40+: Jonas Sanker, James Jackson, Antonio Clary

30-39: Kam Robinson, Corey Thomas, Kempton Shine, Jam Jackson, Chico Bennett, Kam Butler, Anthony Britton, Terrell Jones

20-29: Jason Hammond, Jahmeer Carter, Michael Diatta, Kendren Smith, Dre Walker, Trey McDonald, Malcolm Greene

10-19: Ethan Minter, Caleb Hardy, Dorian Jones, Ben Smiley

0-9: Billy Koudelka, Bryce Purnell

1 Game Played: Ethan Minter, Billy Koudelka