Lopsided loss a learning experience in big-boy football

By Jerry Ratcliffe

CHARLOTTE — Virginia got its first taste of big-boy football on Saturday night against defending national champion Clemson in the ACC Championship game. It wasn’t pretty.

The Cavaliers learned how big a gap there is between the Tigers and the rest of the conference in a 62-17 loss, the most points given up by UVA since the 1999 Micronpc.com Bowl in a 63-21 collapse against Illinois. It was Clemson’s fifth consecutive ACC title and 28th consecutive win as the Tigers broke most of the existing ACC title game offensive records.

While it was the blowout expected (UVA was a four-touchdown underdog) and more, Cavaliers coach Bronco Mendenhall was not discouraged. It was a major step for his program to get to Charlotte, and set up the first of three consecutive games against national powerhouses for Virginia.

Mendenhall’s team is likely to face a quality SEC opponent in the Orange Bowl at the end of the month, and will open up next season against Georgia in Atlanta, all part of the plan to grow UVA’s program.

Even in the face of a lopsided defeat, Mendenhall didn’t see it as a setback for what Virginia is building.

“To qualify to get to this game is difficult and an accomplishment,” Mendenhall said. “The learnings from the game will propel us forward in a manner that wouldn’t happen if we weren’t in the game. To play against the consistent winner of our league, the national champion two of the last three years, now we know what that looks like.

“Without earning the chance to be here, measuring ourself against that, seeing where the deficiencies are and how big they might be, are hard to accelerate it even further without the reference points. I think it’s the next step, the next logical step, as well as the next bowl game that we play, knowing most likely it will be a bigger stage, a quality opponent, things all necessary for the growth of the program.”

Virginia’s defense, hobbled late in the season by injuries to the secondary, surrendered 619 yards total offense, 408 of that through the air (and four touchdowns) by the arm of Clemson’s sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who targeted junior wide receiver Tee Higgins nine times for 182 yards and three of those scores. All of those numbers, including the 62 points, were ACC Championship records.

As Mendenhall bemoaned afterward, Virginia had no answers for Clemson’s passing game, particularly the quick, long strikes to a talented corps of Tiger receivers.

Most of Clemson’s offensive success was set up by its powerful ground game. Behind a strong line, ACC Player of the Year Travis Etienne rushed for 114 yards on a mere 14 carries, opening up the passing game for Lawrence, who was 16 of 22 for 302 yards (no interceptions).

That forced Virginia to play more one-safety than the Cavaliers desired, as the Tigers’ running success set up explosive play-action passes downfield.

While the score was one-sided, there were a few bright spots for Virginia’s offense, mostly quarterback Bryce Perkins, who became the school’s record-holder for single-season passing yardage with a 27-of-43 performance for 266 yards and two touchdowns (two interceptions). Perkins also rushed 17 times for a net 58 yards.

Coming into the game, none of the dozen teams on Clemson’s schedule this season had managed to put up 300 yards of offense against the tough Tigers defense. Virginia did and then some.

Offensive coordinator Robert Anae’s gameplan was to nickel-and-dime the Tigers to death with a scheme that called for short passes, then allowed Perkins to do his thing. The Cavaliers posted 387 total yards and were 10 of 18 on third-down conversions.

“Give them credit,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “We knew this quarterback was not going to be an easy out. He’s moved the ball on everybody. They had us on our heels at times. 

“They do a nice job with their scheme. Their third-down percentage was as good as anybody against us this year — heck, the last two years. We just don’t [allow] that.”

Perkins said that picking up the tempo gave the Tigers some trouble, but UVA had to balance the speed against trying to control the clock and finding the right rhythm.

Virginia marched from its own 25 to the Clemson 12 on the opening drive of the game before Perkins was picked off in the end zone, leading to a Tiger touchdown. However, the Cavaliers scored on the ensuing possession, going 78 yards on 12 plays, capped by a 20-yard scoring strike to Hasise Dubois, who finished with 10 catches for 130 yards.

The Tigers went on to build a 31-7 halftime lead before the Cavaliers scored on the opening drive of the second half, 85 yards on 10 plays, ending in an 8-yard TD pass to Terrell Jana.

Virginia couldn’t keep pace with Clemson’s explosive offense, which owned a 32-point scoring margin over opponents this season.

Still, Mendenhall felt it was important to score early, and driving down the field on the opening possession sent a positive message to his team.

“It was great for our mindset. It showed a really nice level of preparation offensively and what we were capable of, and I think that held pretty much throughout the night,” Mendenhall said. “I think Clemson struggled to stop us consistently. We certainly stopped ourselves a couple of times.

“But we moved the ball probably better than anyone has against them this year. That doesn’t mean it’s a moral victory, but I thought our plan was good. We missed some opportunities.

Still, there was little answer for Clemson’s receivers.

“They’re the best receivers we’ve ever seen,” said UVA cornerback Nick Grant. “That’s just a fact. People just see the big plays being made, but a lot of times those players are covered.”

Safety Joey Blount concurred when asked about the challenge of covering Higgins, and what made him so good.

“DNA makeup, I guess,” Blount grinned. “Big, strong, fast, good. Their whole team is good. They’re in the College Football Playoffs for a reason. They’re definitely a great team.”

While Virginia is clearly not at the Clemson level, the Cavaliers agreed they will take some lessons from this game, go back to the drawing board and begin preparation for a high-profile bowl opponent when they will be tested again.

“Our execution didn’t hold at this level consistently enough to have a chance to win the football game, and so at this point we look forward to learning everything we possibly can from this game, playing one more, and hopefully achieving a 10th win, which would mean a lot for this program.”

Virginia has enjoyed only one 10-win season in its history, and that was in 1989.

Winning it on a bigger stage would definitely signal this team has grown from a staggering loss to Clemson.