The Result: UVa fell 40-23 on the road at Wake on Saturday. The loss was the third straight for the Cavaliers and their fourth straight to Wake Forest. With the setback, Virginia is now 1-3 on the season and in ACC play.
The Turning Point: A pretty obvious one, the game shifted for good when Kenneth Walker busted a 75-yard touchdown on the first play of Wake’s drive after UVa tied the game at 23-23 and then Perris Jones fumbled the ensuing kickoff, recovered by the Deacs. Wake scored 14 points in less than two minutes, virtually ending the game.
The Stat That Tells the Story: Wake Forest averaged 11.4 yards per attempt through the air and 19 yards per competition (309 yards on 16 completions).
Wahoo of the Week: It’s Keytaon Thompson, who led Virginia in rushing with 71 yards on 10 carries.
Bronco’s Winning Formula:
24+ Points?: No (23)
+1 Turnover Margin?: No (-3)
+5 Average Starting Field Position?: No (-1)
Keys to Victory
1) Create havoc
UVa got three sacks and another QB hurry on Saturday but it wasn’t enough. Jowon Briggs had a breakout performance with a pair of sacks, but Wake’s Sam Hartman still had plenty of time to find receivers down the field and the Wahoos weren’t able to throw him off or force an interception on the afternoon.
Grade: D
2) Play the first quarter
Virginia was down 14-0 in the blink of an eye, giving up back-to-back touchdowns with a three-and-out on offense in between. Kudos to the Cavaliers for shaking off the rough start and playing better the rest of the quarter, but UVa still trailed 14-3 going into the second quarter before scoring early to make it 14-10. So while they eventually tied the game, the early deficit was another hurdle for the Hoos to overcome.
Grade: D
