The Result: As expected, UVa dropped a 41-23 decision at No, 1 Clemson on Saturday night. The setback drops the Cavaliers to 1-1 both on the season and in conference play as they prepare to host NC State next weekend.

The Turning Point: It was Brennan Armstrong’s first interception, snagged by Clemson’s Nolan Turner, in the second quarter. This pick came with the Wahoos down 17-3 with just under four minutes remaining in the first half, and it led to a quick Clemson touchdown that pushed the lead to three touchdowns. UVa would answer with a TD late in the half but the damage was pretty much done by this point.

The Stat That Tells the Story: Virginia lost the turnover battle 2-0 with a pair of picks. Those two giveaways led directly to 10 points for the Tigers and the second INT likely took points off the board for the Cavaliers, who had 1st and 10 at the Clemson 19-yard line at the time.

Wahoo of the Week: It’s Armstrong, who showed a lot of toughness and poise in defeat. Yes, he did throw those two interceptions, which were no doubt costly, but he also threw for 270 yards and three touchdowns while also leading the team in rushing with 89 yards on 22 carries.

Bronco’s Winning Formula:

24+ Points?: No (23)

+1 Turnover Margin?: No (-2)

+5 Average Starting Field Position?: No (-9)

1) Avoid allowing explosive plays.

UVa did much better in this regard than the last time these two met. Clemson hit the depleted secondary with bomb after bomb in that game but on Saturday the Hoos forced the Tigers to be a bit more methodical. The Virginia defense gave up way too many yards after contact, particularly on a few 3rd down plays. That ended up being a much bigger problem for the defense than giving up long gains on throws and runs to open players. On throws longer than 10 yards, Trevor Lawrence was 3-for-12 with 74 yards and a touchdown (27 yards to Amari Rodgers). On those same throws in last year’s title game, Lawrence was 8-for-12 passing with 193 yards and three touchdowns. So even though the result wasn’t what the Cavaliers hoped, and there were certainly some big plays allowed, there’s clearly some improvement here.

Grade: B-

2) Turn short throws into longer gains.

UVa wasn’t really able to turn short throws up field for big gains against Clemson but the passing game was a bit more potent than it was against Duke. The Cavalier receivers averaged 11.3 yards per catch, and slightly improved their YAC average to 4.6 yards from 4.2 last week. They still hit a few chunk plays here and there despite the lack of YAC, which is encouraging. Lavel Davis had a 31-yard reception, Terrell Jana’s long for the day was 23 yards, and Billy Kemp had a 22-yard catch. There’s still work to do in creating medium-to-big gains from shorter throws but UVa was “explosive” enough for a respectable showing on Saturday.

Grade: B-