1. Wake Forest is a mature team with a good scheme and will require a quality performance from the Hoos.

When asked during his press conference Tuesday to describe the Demon Deacons and how they play, Tony Elliott heaped on the praise. He is more familiar with the Wake program and their schemes than most UVa fans probably are, given the fact that he faced them annually when he was at Clemson. Elliott described this Wake Forest team as experienced and disciplined, and in the process sounded like a coach that knows UVa will have to be sound in all three phases to win.

The big whistle called this a “program game,” or an opportunity to see how UVa’s rebuild stacks up against a Wake Forest program that might not have the highest expectations for this season but has been consistently relevant since Dave Clawson arrived.

There was a lot of talk in yesterday’s press conference about Wake’s schemes, and in particular how the delayed mesh RPO plays can put pressure on a defense. Virginia will need to win the line of scrimmage, Elliott said, and maintain discipline to assignments as the Hoos try to turn Wake’s quarterbacks into the primary runners.

2. The staff has the team focused on winning the fourth quarter.

Elliott was asked about focus areas around starting strong and finishing strong, and said that the focus right now is in winning the fourth quarter. He noted that the fourth quarter of a game often comes with adversity; both teams are tired after playing for more than two hours, and the crowds can often be lulled into being less energetic after being in the stadium for so long. UVa has struggled to finish games of late, so focusing on strong finishes makes sense.

Last year, UVa blew a two-score lead late against JMU, got outscored 21-0 in the fourth at Maryland in what was otherwise a close game, lost to NC State on the final play after tying the game late, lost in OT at Miami, and lost a late touchdown lead at Louisville in a close loss. The Wahoos are going to be in similar games this season. How they finish them could determine how much growth the program has from one season to the next.

3. McKale Boley is day-to-day after missing the opener.

Virginia got out of Saturday’s opener relatively healthy, or so it seems, heading into the ACC opener. For that reason, Elliott didn’t have a lot of health updates to share on Tuesday, which can only be described as a good thing.

He did mention that starting left tackle McKale Boley is still day-to-day after missing Saturday’s opener. Boley had ankle surgery in the offseason but rolled that ankle in fall camp and has been working back since. Not to be a body language expert, but Elliott didn’t seem terribly optimistic that Boley would play, and the fact that he’s not yet practicing doesn’t seem like a particularly positive development.

It’s a long season, so what UVa does has to be in both the best interest of the player’s long-term health and the team’s. If Boley is missing at Wake, it seems like Jack Witmer would be the replacement left tackle after earning his first career start last weekend against Richmond.

1. Were Chris Tyree’s drops a one-off?

Virginia had a lot of players making their Cavalier debuts last weekend, and most of those performances were solid. One player that got off on the wrong foot was receiver Chris Tyree, who had three drops and didn’t record a catch. It was clear that Des Kitchings wanted to get Tyree involved with a few quick hitters but the former Notre Dame playmaker wasn’t able to haul any of them in.

When asked, Elliott didn’t seem too worried about Tyree’s struggles in Week 1 and seemed to categorize them as something to learn from but not necessarily something to panic about.

Tyree played a lot of football at Notre Dame and there’s plenty of film out there demonstrating his skills. Hopefully for the offense, Tyree was just a little juiced up and had some mental lapses that will look like an outlier as the season progresses.

2. How much rotation will there be across the roster going forward?

UVa played a lot of players on Saturday against Richmond and was able to limit the snap counts for many of its starters on both sides of the ball. Elliott was asked on Tuesday about rotations at different positions and keeping players ready.

It’s a coaching adage to say that everyone needs to be ready at all times, but the question is, how often will those depth options play going forward? Is UVa going to try and prioritize rest for that aforementioned important fourth quarter? Or was Saturday’s usage more an outlier, driven by the opponent and the lopsided nature of the game itself? We’ll soon see.

Special teams will play a bigger role in Saturday’s game at Wake than in the opener.

In his press conference Elliott was asked a couple of special teams questions. But for a change, they weren’t necessarily about areas that needed improvement or mistakes that proved costly.

Elliott spoke to the punt return game and how they trusted Antonio Clary in the wet conditions to handle the ball, and he also complimented punter Daniel Sparks on his double duty, as he now also works as the kickoff specialist.

Special teams was on the radar all offseason after some real struggles a year ago, but against the Spiders there weren’t many issues outside of a missed field goal. It’s possible that the Hoos have improved considerably here, and it’s also possible that UVa’s opponent didn’t push them much last weekend. Against Wake Forest, expect there to be at least one critical special teams play, and it will be important for UVa to be on the right side of the result.