The Result: UVa rolled past William & Mary 52-17 on Friday night, improving to 2-0 on the young season to give the Cavaliers their best start since 2012.
The Turning Point: A Nick Grant pick-6 in the first quarter put Virginia up two scores after the Tribe had marched into Cavalier territory looking to tie the game. Quite frankly, this one was over before it even started but the Wahoos did a nice job creating some distance early in the game.
The Stat That Tells the Story: Virginia’s defensive front dominated the Tribe offensive line and made plays in their backfield throughout the night. The Cavaliers finished the game with 12 tackles for loss, including five sacks, totaling 53 negative yards.
Wahoo of the Week: It’s Joe Reed, who hauled in a 40-yard TD on Virginia’s opening drive of the game and then followed it up with a 100-yard kick return touchdown in the second quarter. Reed was explosive when he touched the ball on Friday night and he helped put the game out of reach before intermission.
Bronco’s Winning Formula:
24+ Points?: Yes (52)
+1 Turnover Margin?: No (-3)
+5 Average Starting Field Position?: Yes (+10)
Keys to Victory
1) Don’t give the Tribe hope.
UVA did a great job in this regard. The Tribe went three-and-out on their first possession and then the Cavaliers rolled down the field with a touchdown on their first drive. Grant followed that up with the pick-6 and at that point the Wahoos were in complete control. It was 21-0 after one quarter and 35-3 at the break. And that was with UVa leaving points on the table and committing a pair of turnovers, one of which led to William & Mary’s only points of the half. This was a game the Cavaliers were expected to handle quite easily and they were able to take all of the drama out of the game within the first few drives.
Grade: A
2) Stop the run and make the Tribe throw.
Mission accomplished in this regard as well. The Tribe had few long runs, with a 41-yard scamper from Funderburke in the 4th quarter the lone exception. Virginia bottled up the Tribe on early downs and put them in tough situations that they usually weren’t able to overcome. W&M didn’t really attempt to beat UVa through the air, and starting quarterback Hollis Mathis was 0-for-4 passing with a pick-6 in the game. Kilton Anderson hit a few passes in the second half but by then the damage was done. The Tribe finished the game with 63 rush yards on 35 attempts, or 1.8 yards per carry.
Grade: A
