The Result: In a game that went pretty much exactly as expected, No. 12 Tennessee rolled over UVa in the season opener, winning 49-13 in front of a record crowd at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. The loss dropped UVa to 0-1 to begin the season, with the Hoos losing their season opener for the first time since 2016.

The Turning Point: There really wasn’t one moment that flipped the game or anything like that, but it felt like it started to get out of hand when the Vols went 90 yards on 13 plays in the second quarter to extend their lead to 14-0. That touchdown drive included a 1st and 25 for Tennessee that was converted with a 41-yard pass play. UT also converted a 4th and short on the way to the end zone. Coming after UVa forced three straight punts, it was the first of four straight touchdown drives and six touchdowns in seven drives.

The Stat That Tells the Story: Tennessee went 7-for-7 in the red zone with touchdowns on all of those attempts. UVa attempted to play bend-but-don’t-break D against the Volunteers but ended up bending and breaking against a very talented offense.

Wahoo of the Week: We’ll go with Perris Jones, who rushed seven times for 39 yards, dead even with Kobe Pace in both stats, but also scored UVa’s only touchdown of the day in the third quarter.

Offense: As expected, it was a long day for the Virginia offense, which is desperately looking to improve after struggling mightily last season. The Hoos struggled to get drives going or sustain them, and were out-gained 499 to 201 on the day. They finished with 106 passing yards and 95 yards on the ground and did find some success in the latter once Tennessee had the game in hand in the second half.

Looking at the entire offense, there were some areas that offered encouragement and those that might renew skepticism.

Starting with the positive, the players played a clean game and seemed to be lined up and in the right places. It’s easy to take these things for granted, but after struggling with the execution part of the offense last year, it was good to see the group look like they know what they’re doing. The offense finished with just one penalty, a costly false start on 3rd and 4. They also played turnover-free football for the second time in the Tony Elliott era (Miami last year). Tony Muskett seemed to have command of the offense (more on him in a bit), and there weren’t any significant issues with getting plays called on time, and so on.

Now, for the areas of concern. The biggest problem on Saturday for UVa’s offense was the protection and blocking. The offensive line looked out of its depth against Tennessee and in fairness, the players probably won’t see a front that imposing for the remainder of the season. Still, UVa allowed 11 TFLs and four sacks, which either killed drives or kept the Cavaliers in 3rd and long for most of the afternoon. A lot of the pressure came from the right side of the line, and they found some success running off the left side in the second half. Ty Furnish struggled at center, too, with a bunch of low snaps and some trouble holding up blocks against a big Vols front. We’ll have a better idea what this line is capable of in the next few games, where they’ll play solid teams but shouldn’t be so overmatched.

UVa didn’t capitalize on a few gifts from Tennessee, and wasn’t efficient enough in the red zone to keep the score respectable. The Wahoos scored on two of their three red zone trips, but only one ended in a touchdown (Will Bettridge made one of his two FG tries). UVa also went 5-for-18 on 3rd downs, (27.8 percent), and many of those conversions came late in the game. The Cavaliers started 1-for-10 on 3rd down and went 0-for-7 on 3rd downs of nine yards or more.

In Muskett’s debut, the Monmouth transfer looked mature and confident in what he was doing, given the circumstances. He spent way too much of his time under duress to have a truly successful game, but the ball came out quick and he was often accurate with his throws. Obviously, we now wait to see how significant his injury is following his departure in the fourth quarter. That could end up being a very bad development for the offense, after Muskett looked at least competent against a very good defense. Anthony Colandrea made his collegiate debut when Muskett went down, and while he didn’t do anything disastrous, it did feel like there was a drop-off in quality after Colandrea reportedly pushed Muskett in camp.

On the ground, UVa didn’t get much going early on, but did have some success later in the game. Both Jones and Pace got to 39 yards and had a few solid gains. Mike Hollins didn’t have any real success but most of that can be credited to blocking mistakes or Tennessee simply winning matchups. It will be interesting to see how UVa rotates it’s backs in the weeks to come, as Pace showed some flashes late in the game that he could be the top guy.

It feels like we didn’t really get to see the offense in totality on Saturday. Of all the receivers and tight ends, only Malachi Fields and Malik Washington caught passes from Muskett (freshman Suderian Harrison had an 11-yard catch late in the game against backups), and JR Wilson was the only other pass catcher that was even targeted.

Overall, it’s difficult to know what to make of the offense from this game. There were signs that it might struggle again and indicators that maybe there will be some improvement. If the offensive line blocks like it did on Saturday, UVa is going to be terrible. But it’s realistic that they can do a better job against non-SEC competition, and if they need to they could shuffle a few players around and find their best combination of five players. Furnish will need to do a better job snapping the ball too, or the staff will need to find someone else who can get it done. But if the Hoos can play turnover and penalty free and operate efficiently, and block better against more even competition, then they could make some strides.

For now, all eyes are on Muskett’s health heading into JMU, and if he can’t go, we’re about to find out if Colandrea can run the offense.

Grade: D

Defense: Like the offense, the defense gets a bit of an “incomplete” for the season opener, given the opponent and circumstances. UVa ultimately allowed 49 points on seven scoring drives, and after a solid start appeared worn down through the middle and end of the game. The Hoos gave up 499 total yards, 9.2 yards per pass attempt and 5.5 yards per rush.

Despite all of the yards and points allowed, they did have more positives on defense than on offense. John Rudzinski’s group forced a big 4th-and-short stop that gave the Cavalier offense the ball at the Vols’ 29. UVa gave up a touchdown on the opening drive, with Tennessee converting a 4th down, but forced stops on the next four Vols drives. UT eventually got it going, but the Cavaliers hung tough longer than most expected, and got off the field on 3rd downs. The defense did a pretty good job keeping Tennessee in front of them, and while they gave up chunks of yards on the ground, Tennessee had just three passing plays of 15+ yards, and two of those went for just 16 yards.

There are several areas to be improved as well. UVa had one sack on the day, from Su Agunloye, who was unfortunately injured shortly thereafter. That was UVa’s only TFL on the game, and while it seemed that the defense was okay with playing bend-but-don’t-break and didn’t get too aggressive against the pass, but ultimately Joe Milton had time to read the field and make throws. UVa also didn’t have any stops for a loss against the run, but just as the offense had a tough time in the trenches, the defense did too, and it feels likely that they’ll have more luck in the weeks to come.

As mentioned before, they also didn’t force any red zone stops, with Tennessee going 7-for-7 inside the UVa 20, all touchdowns. The Cavalier defense did struggle to stop the run as the game wore on, and it felt like the defense was simply on the field too long and the fatigue added up. Still, UVa’s front will need to be better against the ground game going forward.

There weren’t a lot of “big plays” made by the defense, but they did the routine pretty well for most of the first half. Linebacker Stevie Bracey led the team in tackles with 10, while Lex Long and Kam Butler finished with 10. UVa was able to rotate in some younger players throughout the game, with freshmen Kam Robinson, Anthony Britton and Jason Hammond all recording tackles.

Like the offense, we didn’t get a great sense of where this defense is exactly through one game. But they played a penalty free game and didn’t get beat deep much at all by an offense certainly capable of doing just that. The hope is that if they play the same way near the line of scrimmage as they did against Tennesese for most of the first half, they’ll be able to bend, but ultimately not break, against lesser opponents. We’ll learn more about exactly how good this defense is across the board, on Saturday.

Grade: C-

Special Teams: It was a mixed bag for special teams once again. UVa had no margin for error on Saturday, and while special teams made a few nice plays, they also cost the team some field position and points.

Starting with the positive, punter Daniel Sparks had another nice day, averaging 42.7 yards per punt, with a long of 62. Sparks was so good, in fact, that he might have outkicked his coverage a few times. Demick Starling had UVa’s lone return effort on the day, returning a kick 21 yards. That’s not a huge positive, but hopefully the speedy receiver can break one in the games to come. Agunloye also recovered a fumble, the game’s only turnover, on a Vols punt return. Long snapper Aidan Livingston was credited with the forced fumble.

Now, for the not-so-good. Matt Ganyard left the game’s opening kickoff too short, and as a result, Tennessee started its opening drive at the Vols’ 38-yard line after a long return. It wasn’t the last long return UVa gave up on the day, either. UVa allowed UT’s Dee Williams to return three punts for 90 yards in the loss, which didn’t change the result but was still costly field position to surrender. Kicker Will Bettridge also missed a chip-shot 28-yard attempt in the first quarter, which would have pulled the game to 7-3 after a big Tennessee turnover on downs. Ultimately the offense needs to do a better job getting the ball in the end zone, but when they fall short, those kicks from the red zone need to be makes.

The punting was good, as it was all of last season, and kudos to the punt coverage unit for the fumble recovery, but there is still plenty of work to do here heading into the second game of the season. Perhaps the punt returns allowed are just a byproduct of facing a very good Tennessee team with a dangerous returner, but the coverage groups need to tighten things up going forward.

Grade: D

Coaching Staff: To be honest, I don’t really feel comfortable giving a grade here for Saturday’s effort. Clearly, the staff would have wanted the game to stay closer and be more competitive. But it also seems obvious from how the game was played, and from Elliott’s postgame comments, that they knew, like the rest of the outside world knew, what they were up against on Saturday.

I’ll give the staff credit for a few things. First, the team played hard and played a clean game. It would be even more discouraging if UVa got blown out while making mistakes all over the place, with penalties, turnovers, and procedural errors. Instead, they simply got beat by a better team that has more talent and depth and does a great job from a scheme perspective. It’s hard to draw up a worse matchup for a team in the first game, as Tennessee's offensive scheme is such a one-off, and they’re just a much better team right now.

There also appears to be plenty of work to do in all three phases. The offense needs to do a better job in several key areas. They need to block better, and even if they can’t, they need to find a way to get the ball in space quickly so they can negate that weakness. They’ll also need to stretch the field more, something that was difficult against Tennessee given the pressure on Muskett, but they need to find ways to keep the defense honest, which will help the short passing game and the ground game. Des Kitchings also has to find a way to cash in on 3rd and short and red zone situations that gave the team trouble last year, and did again on Saturday. They may also need to get a true freshman quarterback ready for a first career start on Saturday against a good JMU team.

On defense, Rudzinski’s group seemed pretty well prepared for Saturday’s game, and he gets the benefit of the doubt to some degree given his group’s success last year. Still, it would be great to see more TFLs and pressure on quarterbacks, and if the team could force a turnover here or there, that’s a big boost, too. Perhaps Chico Bennett’s return will be a boost that fuels a better pass rush.

And on special teams, improvement is needed in coverage units and the kickers need to make their short-range attempts. That second ask is out of the coach’s hands to some degree, but regardless, the team needs all the points they can get, and can’t leave any on the table.

The overall operation and sideline energy seemed improved for UVa, but the result was obviously not a good one. In fairness to all involved, the staff will truly be judged on what happens this weekend and beyond.

Grade: Incomplete