I went up to Richmond this weekend to hang out with some of my g/f's old friends and family. We planned it for the UVA game weekend to try and make the game. We didn't really plan on the weather being godawful so we decided it would behoove of us to save our money and instead of scalping tickets we would go and taste the local ales of Virginia. We tailgated for a few hours and ended up at Charlottesville's hunter-themed bar. We ate and drank our overpriced Charlottesville beer/food and left after GT finished the dismantling of UVA on the television.
Everything was fine until the ride home from Charlottesville. I was half-passed out after a few too many drafts. Then, all of a sudden our car came to a complete stop. The driver opened his door on the shoulder of I-64, got out of the car, and hurled his keys into the trees on the side of the road...Apparently, drama was ensuing during my drunken stupor.
Our driver started walking down the road. Motion sickness and general "WTF" feelings were going through my mind at this point. The driver's wife found the keys and we went into hot pursuit mode. We picked up the driver and after 30 minutes of awkward silence on I-64, we got back to my g/f's car. Don't really know the whole story but I figure it had to have something to do with this.
THE GAME
GT was pretty sound in the game. In college football, no one argues with Time of Possession. College offenses (even Florida's) aren't potent enough to win when there is a 2.5 to 1 T.O.P. disadvantage. Now, couple in UVA's offensive ineptitude and you've got yourself a beatdown.
I wanna review topics I discussed before the game postmortem: 1) Kick coverage 2) Run defense 3) Pass defense and opposing QB play and 4) Fumbles.
Our kick coverage was GREAT. We kicked off 6 times and only allowed 14.5 yards per return. We lowered their return average and beat our own coverage average by about 10 yards. This could've been the terrible rain slowing down skill players but either way both teams had to play in it. It appeared we opted to kick high, short kicks rather than long, low ones all game.
Our run defense played great. We held their running back to 4 yards on 6 carries. This, to me, is a surprising stat for UVA. They came into the game with 24+ running back carries per game yet only called 6 actual runs for the primary RB. In rain, you'd expect more rushing attempts not shots downfield. Someone needs a punch in the face in UVA's offensive play calling department.
The pass defense was pretty good. Our defensive line was getting a push on the huge UVA OL. Two sacks were both great to see. The passes that got off were contained well under 10 yards per catch. Sewell was a relative non-factor and that makes me happy because he's probably the worst QB we've faced all season. If we struggled against him, then my head would've exploded.
We average little over a fumble lost per game so losing only one football in the pouring rain of Virginia is a victory in itself. All in all, I was very proud of the way we ended the UVA Drought. We dominated an inferior team AND Miami lost that night. Can't ask for a better weekend. Now, on to a reeling Vandy team.
Thoughts are welcome, particularly about the offense since I didn't really reflect on it. Here are reflections From Old Virginia.
Everything was fine until the ride home from Charlottesville. I was half-passed out after a few too many drafts. Then, all of a sudden our car came to a complete stop. The driver opened his door on the shoulder of I-64, got out of the car, and hurled his keys into the trees on the side of the road...Apparently, drama was ensuing during my drunken stupor.
Our driver started walking down the road. Motion sickness and general "WTF" feelings were going through my mind at this point. The driver's wife found the keys and we went into hot pursuit mode. We picked up the driver and after 30 minutes of awkward silence on I-64, we got back to my g/f's car. Don't really know the whole story but I figure it had to have something to do with this.
THE GAME
GT was pretty sound in the game. In college football, no one argues with Time of Possession. College offenses (even Florida's) aren't potent enough to win when there is a 2.5 to 1 T.O.P. disadvantage. Now, couple in UVA's offensive ineptitude and you've got yourself a beatdown.
I wanna review topics I discussed before the game postmortem: 1) Kick coverage 2) Run defense 3) Pass defense and opposing QB play and 4) Fumbles.
Our kick coverage was GREAT. We kicked off 6 times and only allowed 14.5 yards per return. We lowered their return average and beat our own coverage average by about 10 yards. This could've been the terrible rain slowing down skill players but either way both teams had to play in it. It appeared we opted to kick high, short kicks rather than long, low ones all game.
Our run defense played great. We held their running back to 4 yards on 6 carries. This, to me, is a surprising stat for UVA. They came into the game with 24+ running back carries per game yet only called 6 actual runs for the primary RB. In rain, you'd expect more rushing attempts not shots downfield. Someone needs a punch in the face in UVA's offensive play calling department.
The pass defense was pretty good. Our defensive line was getting a push on the huge UVA OL. Two sacks were both great to see. The passes that got off were contained well under 10 yards per catch. Sewell was a relative non-factor and that makes me happy because he's probably the worst QB we've faced all season. If we struggled against him, then my head would've exploded.
We average little over a fumble lost per game so losing only one football in the pouring rain of Virginia is a victory in itself. All in all, I was very proud of the way we ended the UVA Drought. We dominated an inferior team AND Miami lost that night. Can't ask for a better weekend. Now, on to a reeling Vandy team.
Thoughts are welcome, particularly about the offense since I didn't really reflect on it. Here are reflections From Old Virginia.