Elliott won’t like what he sees under the hood of his offense

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Tony Elliott said he will evaluate the entire Virginia football program after Wednesday’s National Signing Day, when the Cavaliers are hoping to sign 17 high school commitments and possibly players out of the FCS transfer portal.

“Once we get through signing day, we’ll have time to evaluate everything in the program from A to Z,” Elliott said after UVA was thumped in its season finale at Virginia Tech.

Should Elliott begin his evaluation on the offensive side of the ball, he may not like what he sees. Of the 14 major offensive statistical categories in FBS competition, which includes 133 schools, Virginia finished between No. 101 and 132 in the nation in half of those, in the 90s in two others and in the 80s in an additional two.

The numbers are so embarrassing that Elliott would be justified if he decided to make some staff changes. A portion of the UVA fan base have strongly recommended a switch at offensive coordinator, where Des Kitchings has been under fire for all three seasons he has held the job.

Here is a breakdown of the 14 categories, the numbers and Virginia’s rank nationally:

• Third-Down Conversion: National rank (NR) 117. 62 of 181 (.343)
• Pass Completion Pct: NR 68. 246 of 401 (.613)
• First Downs: NR 87. 99 rushing, 116 passing, 19 penalty. Total 234 (third-fewest by a UVA team since 2012
• Fumbles lost: NR tied 33. 5 fumbles lost
• Passes intercepted: NR tied 118. 14 passes intercepted
• Passing offense: NR 65. 246 of 401. 2,748 yards. 16 TDs (second-fewest by a UVA team since 2014), 229.0 yards per game (third-fewest by a UVA team since 2013)
• Red Zone offense: NR tied for 103. Red Zone attempts, 44; Red Zone rush TDs 14; Red Zone Passing TDs 5; Red Zone Field Goals 16 (third-most in FBS); Red Zone scores 35 (.795)
• Rushing offense: NR 93. 432 attempts, 1,583 yards, 3.66 ypc, 14 TDs, 131.9 yards rushing per game
• Sacks Allowed: NR 132. 47 sacks allowed (Only Florida State was worse in the entire FBS) UVA allowed 3.92 QB sacks per game
• Scoring Offense: NR 106. 31 touchdowns (second-fewest by a UVA team since 2013); 18 FG; 272 points (second-fewest by a UVA team since 2016; 22.7 points per game (second-fewest by a UVA team since 2017)
• Tackles for Loss Allowed: NR 115. 6.75 per game
• Team Passing Efficiency: NR 101. 246 of 401, 14 interceptions, 2,748 yards; 16 TDs; 125.10
• Total offense; NR 94. 360.9 ypg (second-fewest by a UVA team since 2017
• Turnovers Lost: (tied No. 84); 5 fumbles, 14 interceptions, 19 total.

Asked by media how Elliott felt his offensive coordinator called the Tech game, the coach said he wasn’t going to make any rash judgments until after he viewed the game tape.

“I know it’s different circumstances, but just how I answer that won’t be until after I actually review the tape to see exactly like I did last week,” Elliott said. “I looked at it and felt like the biggest thing for me is, do we have numbers? Do we have angles right? I felt like it was a good plan.

“I felt like there was some ways to move the pocket, like there was some alternate protections, in case we were having absolute issues protecting the quarterback. In the heat of the moment, you see one thing and then you go watch the tape, you see other things.”

Elliott said he evaluates the game tape every week, based on his decade of experience as a play caller on some of Clemson’s best teams.

“What I’m looking for is: in that situation, do I deem that a bad call? And then also, are you putting the players in position to have angles and to have numbers? I felt like last week (vs. SMU), when you look at the tape, we had numbers, we had angles. We just didn’t have great execution. But to give an analysis right now, right after the game, without having seen all the different coaching angles, I don’t believe it’s fair.”

Several schools have fired offensive coordinators since the regular season ended last weekend, including Utah, Oklahoma, Coastal Carolina, Florida State, Wisconsin and Nebraska.

Three schools have fired their defensive coordinators: West Virginia, Florida State and Central Florida.

Georgia Tech fired associate head coach for special teams Ricky Brumfield, former special teams coach for Bronco Mendenhall at Virginia.