1. UVa came back home 0-1 and banged up after the opener.

Most rational Cavalier fans knew what faced them in Nashville last Saturday. The game played out pretty much as expected, with UVa hanging tough for a while but eventually losing a lopsided 49-13 opener against a good Tennessee team. When facing a daunting task like UVa faced on Saturday, the hope is to play the best game possible, build some momentum for the next week, and come out healthy.

Unfortunately for Virginia, that last goal didn’t quite come to fruition. The injury everyone is watching this week was to starting QB Tony Muskett, who left the game in the fourth quarter with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder. Tony Elliott said yesterday that Muskett was “day to day” and that the coaching staff would have a plan for both him and backup Anthony Colandrea for this weekend.

Muskett wasn’t the only notable injury, though. Defensive lineman Su Agunloye suffered a significant injury coming off the field after a fumble recovery and tore the patella tendons in both knees. A tough blow for perhaps UVa’s player of the first half, Agunloye had surgery and will miss the rest of the season. Elliott also mentioned that tight end Sackett Wood, safety Lex Long, and linebacker Josh Ahern were banged up in Saturday’s game and called them probable for Saturday’s home opener against JMU. Losing any or all of those players would be significant, as all three have starting roles.

On the positive side, it seems that some of the players UVa was without on Saturday are closer to returning. Elliott said that edge rusher Chico Bennett was back at practice and was full go in limited reps. Like Muskett, Elliott described Bennett as day-to-day, and he wasn’t on the depth chart. Safety Antonio Clary is closer to a return, too, and Elliott said he’d be a game-time decision. Transfer tackle Jimmy Christ is available if needed this weekend, after battling an injury throughout fall camp and missing the season opener.

2. The Hoos lost too many 1-on-1 matchups against the Vols they’ll need to win against the Dukes.

When asked about what he thought of the season opener after watching the film, Elliott said that the team made some small mistakes that ended up costing them dearly. Tennessee dominated the line of scrimmage in the win, running the ball efficiently on offense and making plays in the backfield when on defense.

The offensive line in particular had a rough outing, and it showed up on film review. Elliott mentioned issues Ty Furnish had snapping the ball, and attributed those errors to him wanting to get a head start on blocking his man, and trying to make a play. On defense, Elliott mentioned that there were a few missed tackles at the point of attack, and Tennessee made them pay.

UT is the most talented and deep team UVa will face all year, and the hope is that those 1-on-1 losses were far more frequent, on both sides of the ball, than they will be in the weeks to come. Elliott praised the team’s effort, but also said that they needed to trust their fundamentals when the games begin. It was a tough environment and opponent for the Wahoos last weekend, and perhaps we’ll get a better idea of what UVa can do at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball on Saturday.

3. Virginia needs to play cleaner on special teams.

UVa’s offense and defense were put to the task on Saturday, and they certainly didn’t need any special-teams mistakes to make life any more difficult than it already was. It’s worth noting that special teams created the only turnover in the game on the aforementioned fumbled punt return, but there are still plenty of things to clean up heading into game No. 2.

UVa allowed 105 punt return yards on three attempts (35 yards per return) and a 34-yard kick return to begin the game. Elliott contributed those long returns to missed tackles at the catch point, or earlier in the return, and again, the Vols made UVa pay for the errors. He joked that you don’t want a kicker or punter having to make tackles, as both Matt Ganyard and Daniel Sparks did on Saturday.

The margin for error for this UVa team is small, and special teams can either put them over the top, or sink their chances to win many games on their schedule. UVa needs to be as clean as possible in their own returns as well as in coverage, and that starts with better tackling.

1. How will JMU manage the QB position on Saturday?

JMU named transfer Jordan McCloud as the starting quarterback for Saturday’s contest in Charlottesville after he came off the bench in the Dukes’ season-opener against Bucknell. McCloud, who started his career at USF before transferring to Arizona and then to JMU, backed up freshman QB Alonza Barnett last weekend. Barnett struggled to throw the ball against their FCS opponent, going 3-for-11 for 15 yards and an interception in the first half. Those struggles opened the door for McCloud, who went 7-for-11 for 144 yards and a pair of touchdowns in relief.

McCloud is an experienced quarterback who has played in 25 career games for some bad teams at USF and Arizona. Now, he has a chance to win the job for a good JMU team, and was given the start against UVa in part because of his experience.

JMU could go to Barnett if it needs a spark, too. Barnett struggled to throw the ball, but did rush five times for 29 yards and a touchdown last weekend. Needless to say, UVa’s defense will need to have a plan to defend both guys this weekend.

2. What will Saturday’s environment for the home opener be like?

Saturday’s home opener will of course mark UVa’s first game at Scott Stadium since November’s tragic shooting. The University has plans for a pregame ceremony honoring the lives of Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry, beginning 30 minutes prior to kickoff. UVa is asking fans to show up and be in their seats early for the pregame presentation, ready to support the players at kickoff.

There will certainly be plenty of emotion in the air in Charlottesville this weekend, and now it’s the job of the staff and players to channel it and also focus on the football game, which figures to be a challenge. Elliott mentioned the importance of time management this week to both honor their fallen teammates but also get his players ready to play a good JMU team.

Saturday’s game will probably be unlike most that Cavalier fans have seen at Scott Stadium, and the players and coaches on the UVa sideline will have to manage what is sure to be an emotional day.

Anthony Colandrea gets his first career start and touchdown pass on Saturday.

During the course of Tuesday’s press conference, Elliott did not rule Muskett out for this weekend but based on how he described the situation, it feels like UVa’s starting quarterback might not be ready to suit up despite how much he might want to. If he’s able to play, it could be a huge boost for the Hoos after Muskett showed promise in a tough game last weekend.

Our guess is that he doesn’t quite get healthy enough to play this weekend, and UVa goes with the freshman at quarterback. Colandrea got some valuable snaps under his belt late in Saturday’s loss after Muskett went down. He has played more football in spring practice and camp than the typical true freshman would have, getting nearly the entire Spring Game and then plenty of reps in camp as Muskett’s primary backup.

UVa will need Colandrea to execute the offense and, as Elliott said on Tuesday, make the routine play and not try to go for a home run on every snap. If he can do that, and perhaps create a few big plays down the field as he did in the spring game, UVa will have a chance to win on Saturday.

Our guess is that Colandrea gets the nod until Muskett is ready to return and leads the Cavaliers on some successful drives this weekend.