What did we learn from Virginia’s 48-7 victory over Coastal Carolina?

What did we learn from Virginia’s 48-7 victory over Coastal Carolina?

Slow start - UVA faced some adversity early in the game, from missing a field goal on the first possession, going four and out, and the offense just looked rough. The one thing that Virginia was able to fall back on was the defense. The defense did not concede any points until the second half. After going four and out in the second possession, the defense was put in an awkward position. With that being said though, the Hoos caught a break with a bad snap by the Chanticleers that James Jackson was all over. After another three and out, Virginia forced another punt deep in the Chanticleer territory that gave pretty good field position to start a drive. Once that happened, the Cavaliers started cruising down the field on offense and Chandler Morris got settled in. Virginia then blocked a punt and never looked back. Coach Elliott was happy with how the team responded to the slow start. “We did get to see a little bit of adversity and I thought the guys responded the right way, so really proud of the guys.” Virginia is able to get away with a slow start against a team like Coastal Carolina. However, I am afraid that if they do the same against NC State next Saturday, or in a bigger game, they will dig a hole they cannot dig out of.

Chandler Morris looked solid but… slide? - Morris did not look amazing early, it was a problem with the slow start we just talked about. In fact, the ball he threw on 3rd down the first series really should have been picked off by the Coastal defense. At the end of the first quarter he had only completed 3 out of 7 passes. He also took a couple of hits he should not have. Early in the first quarter Virginia ran a read option look with J’mari Taylor in the back field. From the looks of it, Taylor had a nice hole to burst through, but Morris held on and took a hit only gaining about a yard. Once he got going however, he was lights out. “That’s the first time we’ve had any game snaps with Chandler at quarterback,” Elliott explained. “It was going to be a little bit of cat and mouse early on… but I’m most pleased we didn’t turn the ball over on offense. Once he got rolling, you saw the gamesmanship he brings.” Late in the first quarter he connected with Cam Ross for 46 yards just short of the endzone. In the second quarter Morris was 13-17 with 176 passing yards. Morris finished 19-27 with 264 yards, which could have been more, but he had an early exit. After not sliding and taking a hit early in the 3rd quarter, he was out the rest of the night. Overall, I like what I saw when he got going…. Just please slide. Coach Elliott commented on the matter of him sliding and said Chandler admitted he should have slid while on the ground. “And he even said it on the ground. He's like, "Man, I should have got down." but that's the competitor that he is. He also said, "Coach, I saw the endzone. I wanted to score." So that's the kind of player that he is.” When Elliott was asked if he had an update postgame Saturday night, here is what he said. “So, it looks like his left shoulder, you know, mild, possible AC. We'll get it reevaluated in the morning. But you just wanted to be very cautious there. and he even said it on the ground. But we're encouraged that uh I'm very hopeful for next week.” Coach Elliott will have another update Tuesday morning at his weekly press conference.

That defense looked pretty dang good… especially that entirely new defensive back room - Now keep in mind Virginia fans before you get too excited, this was Coastal Carolina and was likely the second worst team UVA will face this season (behind William and Mary). With that being said, the defense looked really good. Like I mentioned earlier, the defense kept UVA in the game while the offense struggled early. Most plays Virginia brought your typical 4 pass rushers, did not blitz much. Leaving everyone else back in coverage, a lot of zone defense. The Cavaliers did not get as much pressure as Elliott would have liked. “It was awesome to see three and four D-linemen running in at a time, we didn’t get to the quarterback as much as I’d like, but I thought they affected him.” With that being said, the secondary was very good, only giving up a total of 163 passing yards. The defensive line also had their way in stopping the run, only giving up 91 yards and a touchdown. This was also without arguably the best player on the team, linebacker Kam Robinson, and strong safety Antonio Clary. Landon Danley started in place of Robinson and seemed to do a good job with seven tackles including a tackle for loss. With the loss of Clary for the week, Devin Neal started in his place, bumping up sophomore Ethan Minter to starter at Free Safety. Minter did a great job, did not give up anything big, and came away with an interception of his own that he returned to the endzone (Return was called back due to a hold). “it was good to see Minter fly around,” Coach Elliott said, “make some plays, run the alley, and come up with the big interception.” The question is, how will this defense respond to a tougher opponent like NC State next Saturday.

This is clearly the best depth Coach Elliott has ever had - We knew going into this season that Virginia would have a lot of depth with how they hit the portal. But man, seeing it actually in action was impressive. Virginia mixed around multiple different offensive linemen throughout the game, utilized four different running backs, and had a lot of mixed combinations at defensive line. “We want to play guys up front because we’re going to need that depth down the stretch,” Elliott said. “It was the same thing on the defensive line. It was really good to see that.” When Virginia enters ACC play and the heat of the schedule, this could not be more true. It is inevitable that players will go down or will be extremely fatigued. Having reliable backups to turn to in big situations is a luxury that Virginia has not had in a long time.

Cam Ross is ELECTRIC - The James Madison transfer had an unbelievable debut with the Cavaliers. Between speed, athleticism, and special teams, you could not have asked for a better showing. Ross showed multiple times throughout the game his explosiveness when he gets in the open field. He really provided a spark to the struggling offense early by reeling in a 46 yard pass from Chandler Morris going down at the one. He finished with 7 receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown. Not to mention, a 100 yard kick return touchdown in the 3rd quarter. Coach Elliott made a great comparison to a former UVA receiver. “He’s just a workman,” Elliott said. “He reminds me a lot of Malik [Washington]… very quiet, just shows up every single day and goes to work. He’s going to be a big part of what we do.” Expect to see him get the ball more and line up in that slot position throughout this season.

Special teams make special plays - The average football fan sometimes will say Special Teams are not that important. After watching that game Saturday night, it is evident how they can change the course of a game with the snap of a finger. Caleb Hardy started the party by blocking a Chanticleer punt early in the second quarter. Caleb commented: "The punt before I should have got it, but I didn't, I didn't do my job, but the second play, Ethan (Minter) told me they are not blocking you, then I got it." Then as we mentioned before, Cam Ross took the Coastal Carolina kickoff in the 3rd quarter 100 yards to the house. The punt block was big early in the game when things were not looking amazing, it gave the Hoos a spark plug and great field position. The kickoff return came right after the sole touchdown from the Chanticleers, meaning all the work their offense just did was basically for nothing. Coach Elliott said, “You look at what special teams did today, man, it impacted the game,” he said. “It’s huge when your best players buy in. That’s the maturation of this program—guys understanding special teams isn’t just a box to check, it’s a way to change the game.” Funny enough though, the last time Virginia blocked a punt was by Noah Taylor against Pitt in 2019. The last time Virginia returned a kick to the endzone was by Joe Reed against Duke in 2019. That 2019 season has been the best of the 2000s yet, going 8-4, beating Virginia Tech, winning the Coastal, and playing in the orange bowl. Coincidence? I think not.

Quick note, Redzone efficiency - Virginia was very good in the red zone against Coastal Carolina Saturday night. Something Coach Elliott wanted to improve on throughout the offseason was finishing drives. The Hoos were 5-6 scoring while in the red zone. One of those were a field goal, the rest were all touchdowns. Elliott said, “Last year we could get to the red zone, we just couldn’t come away with touchdowns,” Elliott said. “You’ve got to score 67–68% of the time. Tonight, we were able to do that.”

Overall - After the slow start, did Virginia do its job? 100%. Virginia did exactly what it was supposed to do against Coastal Carolina, blowing them out. Once the offense got going it did not stop and kept lighting up the scoreboard. The defense was outstanding and did its job across the board. With a mix of special teams, small fundamental stuff, and no turnovers, it was all a big recipe for success against Coastal Carolina. The question is can it repeat against NC State?