PFF Grades: Looking at UVa's win over the Yellow Jackets

Overall: 67.7

Offense: 57.7

Defense: 78.5

Special Teams: 53.8

Passing Game: 52.8

Virginia’s passing game looked better at times in Thursday’s win, but the two turnovers certainly weigh down the grade here. Brennan Armstrong completed 55.9 percent of his passes, throwing for 256 yards, 7.5 yards per attempt. Armstrong was awarded two “big time throws” in PFF College’s review of the game, and had an adjusted completion percentage of 63.6 percent. The average depth of target for UVa’s receivers was 8.8 yards, which is basically in line with other games this season.

Armstrong’s two interceptions varied dramatically in impact. The first was a ball through the hands of Keytaon Thompson and fell perfectly to allow the Jackets to return it for a touchdown. The second INT wasn’t nearly as critical to the outcome, with the interception coming deep down the sideline, basically the equivalent of a punt. One positive note from the passing game on Thursday: no penalties for the Hoos.

Pass Blocking: 55.9; Run Blocking: 51.2

We’ll lump the pass and run blocking grades together here to look at the offensive line’s overall performance. UVa had some mixed pass blocking grades, with Noah Josey and Jonathan Leech putting up grades above 80, while Ty Furnish, Derek Devine, Jestus Johnson and Sackett Wood all had marks in the 30s or below. Still, the line didn’t allow a sack and Armstrong got hit just one time in the game on a passing play.

Virginia’s run blocking grades weren’t as good, which matched the ground games relatively mediocre performance. In fact, the two best run blocking grades on the team belong to running backs Xavier Brown and Perris Jones, likely for blocks on Armstrong’s runs.

Virginia’s offensive line did account for five penalties on Thursday, which isn’t terrible but could certainly be improved upon.

Receiving: 64.7

The receivers again had an up-and-down evening in Atlanta. The Cavaliers finished the game with a 64.7 grade, which was their best mark of the season. That’s certainly encouraging, but the offense still needs more big plays from this group, and more consistency, too. The good news is that the Hoos had just two drops in the game; the bad news is that one of them was a sure touchdown dropped by Lavel Davis. He and Dontayvion Wicks were credited with one drop each in the win, which doesn’t account for the ball that went through Thompson’s hands for an interception, though that was a tougher catch to make.

Still, there were signs of life in the passing game in Thursday’s win, something that will need to carry over into the four-game home stand.

Running Game: 54.6

The ground game was pretty average on Thursday night, with 33 attempts for 151 yards and a touchdown. Armstrong was the most productive ball carrier, and found the end zone in the first quarter. Jones had a critical fumble on UVa’s first drive of the game, and finished the contest with just nine carries for 16 yards according to the PFF data. Brown received a heavier workload than we’ve seen, and had a few decent runs and a bunch for little to no gain. Credit the Jackets for stopping the run at the line of scrimmage, and while this was a better rushing performance than UVa had against Louisville, there’s still room for improvement here as well.

Keytaon Thompson (72.5)

Thompson continued to be Armstrong’s top target, catching seven passes on 10 targets for 89 yards in the win. Through seven games, he leads the team in targets, receptions, and receiving yards.

Dontayvion Wicks (69.0)

For the second straight game, Wicks found the end zone on a big play. Wicks made his best play of the season to score in Atlanta, and Virginia is hoping that was a sign that vintage Wicks is on his way back.

Jonathan Leech (68.7)

Leech was UVa’s most steady lineman on Thursday, posting an 80.9 pass block grade and a 62 run block grade on 59 total snaps. For the third straight game, he wasn’t called for a penalty.

Brennan Armstrong (64.0)

Armstrong wasn’t perfect but he did look a bit more like his old self. He made a number of big plays through the air and on the ground, and accounted for both touchdowns. He’s still missing some throws here and there and needs to cut down on the interceptions, but he looked better overall on Thursday than what we’ve seen for most of the season.

Xavier Brown (61.8)

Xavier Brown feels like a player who is continuing to rise, and he had a bigger role against Georgia Tech with Perris Jones fumbling and Mike Hollins already out. With UVa’s struggles to take care of the football, Brown could become the primary back if he can simply churn out some yards and avoid fumbles.

Run Defense: 80.2

UVa was stout against the run in Thursday’s win, which proved critical once Tech’s starting quarterback got hurt. Virginia’s defense didn’t allow Georgia Tech to get its ground game going, and that helped all other areas of the defense. Virginia held the Jackets to just 56 rushing yards on 37 carries, or 1.5 yards per rush. Lead back Hassan Hall was held to 42 yards on 12 rushes, and didn’t really do much damage.

If UVa can be this good against the run in the weeks to come, it allows the pass rush to be more active on more obvious passing downs. And as we saw on Thursday, the pass rush is certainly capable of causing some trouble.

Tackling: 79.7

For the fifth straight week, UVa’s tackle grade is in the “green” according to PFF. Virginia was credited with just seven missed tackles in the game, and just two against the run. The tackling grade is UVa’s third-best mark of the season at 79.7, and the Cavaliers posted just two grades better than 79.7 all of last season.

Pass Rush: 69.7

Not all PFF grades are created equal, and a 69.7 pass rush grade seems low for the productivity we saw on Thursday night, but that grade was actually Virginia’s second-best of the season, and best against an FBS opponent. UVa recorded eight sacks, with Nick Jackson, Chico Bennett and Paul Akere accounting for two each. UVa created a staggering 25 hurries on 37 drop backs.

As we mentioned in the run defense section, if the Hoos can get quarterbacks into more obvious passing downs, it’s clear they can pin their ears back and get after the QB. The key will be holding opposing offenses down on 1st and 2nd down so that disruption can come on passing downs.

Coverage: 76.4

Virginia also posted its second-best coverage grade of the season, and best against an FBS team. The Wahoos allowed just 16 receptions on 34 targets, for 9.1 yards per catch. They had just two penalties in pass coverage, and recorded five pass break-ups and Coen King hauled in a critical interception in the end zone, keeping Georgia Tech off the scoreboard.

Obviously the passing game was influenced by the injury to Jeff Sims, but credit UVa for not allowing the backup to get going. Solid coverage downfield certainly helped out with the sack numbers as well, and even on the last play of the game, the coverage was so good that Zach Gibson opted to simply run out of bounds rather than try to make a play.

Jonas Sanker (84.1)

It would be fair to say that Sanker has been UVa’s biggest breakout performer on the defense, though a few others could make a case, too. He finished with a team-high grade of 84.1, with exceptional tackling and coverage numbers.

Michael Diatta (75.7)

Here’s one that would’ve been difficult to predict. Although he played just seven snaps, Diatta flashed. He recorded a couple of tackles, a QB hurry and contributed to a sack. PFF also gave him the defense’s highest win rate against pass protection in the victory. Could Diatta be working his way into the rotation?

Chico Bennett (74.6)

Bennett had a big day against his former team, recording 13 pressures and contributing to four different sacks. Simply put, Bennett, after missing last season with an injury, has emerged as the defense’s top pass rusher this season.

Aaron Faumui (73.9)

It was good to see Faumui have another productive effort at defensive tackle after an up-and-down first half of the season. He had four pressures, four QB hurries and a few tackles on 55 snaps at tackle.

Fentrell Cypress (72.8)

Along with Sanker and Bennett, Cypress has been another breakout performer. He finished with a 72.8 coverage grade, and allowed no receptions on three targets, with a pair of pass break-ups.