After opening with a solid three-score victory over Duke at home on Saturday, UVa now hits the road for the first time this season when the Wahoos travel to No. 1-ranked Clemson on Saturday (8 p.m., ACC Network).

It was a steady, resilient win for Virginia and one that made Bronco Mendenhall happy on a number of fronts, especially given the uncertainty of even being able to play the game at all.

After not playing the Tigers (2-0, 1-0 ACC) since 2013, the Cavaliers (1-0, 1-0 ACC) will get a matchup with the ACC champs for the second time in nine months.

If the Hoos pull off the upset, it would be only the ninth time in 49 games in this series that UVa will have come out on top. This will be Virginia’s first trip to Death Valley in more than a decade.

As we do each week during the season, we’ve looked at the depth chart and Mendenhall’s comments in order to break down some things we know, some questions we have, and one prediction we have for the week ahead.

Here’s our latest installment of the 3-2-1:

1. The staff was happy with Brennan Armstrong in his first start.

One of the main takeaways from the weekend was the play of Armstrong, who finished 24 for 45 for 269 yards with a pair of touchdowns as well as two picks. It was a bit of an uneven performance for the first-time starter but he finished the game strong. That’s something that really stood out to Mendenhall.

“It’s too early to say on all accounts really, other than I had confidence in Brennan going into this year, increased confidence now after seeing what I saw in Game 1,” Mendenhall said. “And man, we’re just on the very, very beginning of this journey but I sure like the potential and I like so much of what I’ve seen. But there will be growing pains, this will be a step-by-step process. It won’t be just all of a sudden, you know, he’s announced on the scene. This is going to be more gradual than that and so I’m just being brutally honest and transparent and realistic with myself and Brennan. We’ll design the system and schemes and everything to do so accordingly based on the feedback each week. That’s the best thing I could do to help him.”

In addition to his passing, Armstrong also did a good job on the ground. In fact, it was his running that seemed to ignite his more settled play. He finished with 10 carries for 47 yards and his first career rushing TD.

“There are quarterbacks that like to run and elude, there are quarterbacks that like to run and are dynamic and make players miss,” he said. “Then there’s players that just kind of run for the sake of running, and they do it unabashedly and aren’t afraid to run into or over or through. Brennan is a little is more wired a little bit more like that. So [I was] happy to see him slide the other day and that’s going to have to become part of his repertoire. But Brennan’s tough and he has a bright career in front of him.

“Our team loves him,” Mendenhall added, “and are eager to follow him and support him and when they see him bounce off someone or reach out for the goal line kind of going through a player, that’s positive. There is risk, right? And so part of teaching young quarterbacks is when to slide and when to run over. Clemson has a quarterback that is skilled at both as well. I’ve seen him run over plenty of defenders and I’ve seen him run around plenty of defenders and so that’s an uncertainty for a defensive player when you’re not quite sure if it’s going to be an elusive move or, then if you are on your heels a little bit and you get run over, right, it’s tough. So I think Brennan is somewhere in between in terms of his development in that part.”

2. The offensive line found its groove, especially late.

Of course, the Cavaliers don’t get back into the game and eventually take home the win if Armstrong, Wayne Taulapapa, and Shane Simpson aren’t able to rack up 178 yards between them.

There was a lot of conversation about the line going into the season, including where the various guys would be slotted, but the group that took the field played well. Per PFF, Ryan Nelson, Chris Glaser, Dillon Reinkensmeyer, and Olu Oluwatimi were four of the team’s 10 best performers on Saturday and UVa’s run blocking grade was among the five best in the league.

Going into the opener, Mendenhall said that Taulapapa would be the starter but that others would get time depending on things shook out. If Saturday is any indication, Virginia could have a nice 1-2 combo at that spot.

The fact that UVa could go to the run in the second half and wear the Blue Devils down was also a good sign.

“We did a really nice job down the stretch with Wayne and Shane running the football,”Mendenhall said. “And also, Brennan helped himself with his legs here and there as those runs were mixed in. And so it just added more balance. It tired Duke. It took a different physical toll as the run game is different than the pass game and just allowed us to find more rhythm.”

3. The expectation is that Joey Blount is good to go.

The one negative of any decisive win is when players get hurt and Blount going down late was a rough situation. The senior safety had up to that point had a great game: He finished with seven tackles, 1 TFL, and one interception.

The injury to his left knee didn’t seem like one where he got bent up or rolled over but rather one where he knocked his knee either on the ground or against someone else.

Blount walked away from Scott Stadium with a wrap on that knee but didn’t have any noticeable limp or crutches, and Mendenhall said Monday that he expected the veteran DB to be back on the field this week.

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