Virginia Passes Physical Test In Crucial Opener At Pitt

By Jerry Ratcliffe

PITTSBURGH — Everything, it seemed, was on the line for Virginia at Heinz Field on Saturday night.

Reigning Coastal Division champion Pitt had taken it to the Cavaliers in sledgehammer fashion the past four years with physical, smash-mouth football. Virginia didn’t really answer the bell and suffered the consequences.

This time around, Bronco Mendenhall’s team arrived in the Steel City as the favorites to win the ACC’s Coastal by a landslide media vote. Pitt was picked fourth.

It was time for Virginia to fish or cut bait. Lose again to Pitt and there was a risk of dampening any fan-base enthusiasm and momentum built from last December’s Belk Bowl victory over SEC opponent South Carolina.

If the Cavaliers were going to contend for the Coastal, this was a game they could not lose.

At halftime, that outcome was in doubt after the host Panthers had stormed back from a 10-0 deficit to take a 14-13 lead into the locker room.

As Mendenhall would say later, to trail on the road is not an easy thing to overcome. However, the Cavaliers did it by beating Pitt at its own game: physicality.

They came out and took the opening drive of the second half and scored on the second of three Brian Delaney field goals and regained the lead. More importantly, the Cavaliers established a beach head right then and there.

Three plays after the score, outside linebacker Matt Gahm made his first career interception at Pitt’s 29, swinging the momentum early on. After a Wayne Taulapapa run and three more rushing plays by Bryce Perkins, the UVA quarterback connected with wide receiver Hasise Dubois on a 13-yard scoring strike and the Cavaliers were in command, 23-14.

With some halftime adjustments to Pitt’s hurry-up offense, Virginia’s defense stiffened. Pitt never scored the second half, only crossed midfield twice, and quarterback Kenny Pickett was intercepted twice and sacked four times.

In fact, Pickett was running for his life most of the second half and took some brutal shots from Virginia’s pass rush.

“There were a few times I didn’t think he was going to get up,” said UVA free safety Joey Blount, who had two sacks and a key interception. “Kudos to him.”

The Cavalier defense, coming off a Top-20 ranking in total-D in 2018, used its experience and some well-designed masking by its pass coverage to keep Pickett confused while under total duress. The Panthers had a mere 86 yards of total offense in the second half and only 23 yards on the ground.

That’s a far cry from last season when Pitt beat up UVA’s defense, dominated the line of scrimmage and had 221 yards on the ground by its chief running back.

Not Saturday night.

“Really, really proud of my team to overcome a deficit at halftime, and to earn a victory at a very difficult place to play, against an opponent we hadn’t beaten yet in conference play,” Mendenhall said. “There are a lot of things that make this game important, and it was an earned victory.

“There wasn’t anything easy about it, and we made enough plays and at critical times, I think, comprehensively enough throughout our team to win the game.”

Mendenhall said he saw a resolve and “a little uncertainty” as his team came in at halftime. Getting off to such a strong start in the third quarter was crucial in UVA’s comeback in a 30-14, season-opening win.

After the win was in the books, what did he learn from his team’s effort?

“Just more seasoned, the program just looks more seasoned,” Mendenhall said. “There weren’t the wild ups and the wild downs and crazy miscues. It just looks like we are maturing, and a more seasoned program. That’s what I learned.”

Extra Yardage

Linebacker Jordan Mack was sidelined with a concussion and missed a portion of the game.

Tavares Kelly and Billy Kemp did not make the trip due to a violation of team rules, but are now in good standing for this week’s home opener against William & Mary.

Coming Sunday at JerryRatcliffe.com: Virginia’s defense fueled the Cavaliers comeback and showed it is ready to take the next step in becoming a dominant defense.