After dropping its third-straight game for the first time in four years, UVa has a tough couple of games ahead starting with Saturday night’s matchup at No. 11 Miami (8 p.m., ACC Network).

The Wahoos got beaten pretty soundly by NC State two weeks ago and then started slow once again at Wake Forest, only to make it a game into the fourth quarter. But that’s when three key mistakes—one in each phase—doomed UVa’s chances of getting back in the win column.

Now the task ahead for Bronco Mendenhall and Co. is to not only fix what is ailing the Cavaliers but to do so potentially without several key players.

The Hurricanes, meanwhile, come into this one a very different team than the way Virginia prepared to face in 2019. With the addition of standout QB D’Eriq King, Miami is 4-1 on the year with a 3-1 mark in the league and comes in having beaten Pitt 31-19. The lone loss, a 42-17 defeat at Clemson, doesn’t slow the hype train down much for The U. With its new signal caller and new OC, there’s plenty of hope that the Canes might finally be “back.”

So, 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 on our mind, and one prediction we have for the week ahead.

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

1. UVa’s injury situation is unknown and problematic.

When Mendenhall didn’t open with an update on the growing list of injured players, that was a sign that not much information was coming. He said yesterday that he didn’t have anything new on QB Brennan Armstrong or RB Ronnie Walker, neither of whom traveled to Winston-Salem on Saturday. Over the course of the game, UVa lost safeties Joey Blount and Brenton Nelson as well as cornerback Brenton Nelson. Mendenhall did not have any updates on that trio, either. While Virginia did a great job filling Armstrong’s absence with a three-headed monster that proved far more effective than could have reasonably been expected, the concern at DB is a significant one. It’s worth noting that none of those DBs have been removed from the depth chart or had their positions altered.

“No updates to this point,” Mendenhall said. “We’re hopeful for all but I don’t know.”

So as odd as it might sound, one thing we know is that we don’t know anything for sure on any of those five players.

2. The Cavaliers could really use Walker back healthy.

An interesting part of following depth chart releases is sometimes keeping track of things that seem odd, like UVa’s offensive line being all out of wack on the one before the first game. It’s in that spirit that we would advise folks not to read too much into Walker not being listed. That doesn’t mean anything in terms of him being available or not being available for Saturday night’s game at Miami. But there’s no doubt that the Wahoos could really use the 5-foot-11, 210 pounder. Mendenhall said after the Wake game that the day the NCAA waiver came through, Walker became ill. Though he didn’t specifically say it was COVID related, the school did announce that evening that one player was being held out due to a positive test. For now, all we know is that there was no update on Walker and that him being available would help UVa’s offense a great deal, especially if the Cavaliers once again have to go out without their QB1.

3. Defending down the field is Virginia’s biggest issue right now.

One through line in Mendenhall’s comments both after the loss Saturday night and then against yesterday is that he believes UVa’s issues lie in ball security and opposing offenses gaining too much ground through the air.

The Cavalier defense returned an experienced lineup this season and one that most thought would be the strength of the team. Thus far in 2020, that hasn’t not been the case.

“Early downs, balls going over our head or deep down the field for our secondary has been an inconsistency we have to address,” Mendenhall said at first when asked what areas of concern the team had.

“Not necessarily,” he said later when asked if he was disappointed in what UVa was getting from its defense. “I really like our run front, the front seven, there’s it’s 3.6 yards per play currently. We did have a ball that went out the gate with a missed fit in the Wake Forest game that really hurt us. And you can’t ever take that away. But that would have been, man if you did or if we could, that’s 40-something attempts and about 100 yards total. So our run defense’s been stellar at this point. Our inconsistency right now is in our secondary. And that’s our topic and our focus right now. So not disappointed, but more clear on where and if opponent moves the ball where it’s happening. And right now that’s our area to target.”

Given the injury situation and the two offense they’re about to faces, it’s understandable why the Hoos might be looking to maximize their talent right now.

1. What do the Cavaliers do with their secondary?