Ten things we learned about Virginia football after Clemson

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Ten things we learned about Virginia football after the Cavaliers’ loss at Clemson:

#1 Bronco Mendenhall is a bit of a riverboat gambler. We already knew this throughout his time at UVA, but he reminded us last Saturday night about willing to take a risk and throw the dice. Bronco went for it on fourth down five times against the Tigers and his offense converted four of those. When you’re playing No. 1, there’s no reason not to take chances and Wahoo Nation had to like his aggressive attitude throughout the game, including an onside kick at the end of the contest, even though the Cavaliers didn’t recover.

#2 The Cavaliers are well disciplined. Not only have they shown us that aspect in their Covid protocol, but in avoiding needless penalties on the field. Against No. 1 Clemson, UVA had only one penalty for 15 yards. Against Duke, the Wahoos had five penalties for a total of 35 yards. Virginia is tied for second nationally in fewest penalties per game and fifth in fewest penalty yards per game.

#3 Wahoos’ good idea is swiped by Florida State. So, holy cow, FSU finally gets a win over mighty Jacksonville State (did you even know that Jacksonville State plays football?) and what do we see on Twitter but a video of one of the Seminoles “breaking the rock” after the game. Duh. As our pal Brian Leung, who also happens to be an attorney wrote tongue-in-cheek: “this is a formal cease and desist tweet,” asking FSU to back off. Another Twitter fam said, “Don’t worry, this is probably the last time they’ll have any reason to break the rock. Touche’

#4 Virginia really needs to get better at converting third downs. Which probably means the Cavaliers really need to do better on first and second downs, so that there’s not so much pressure on them when third down comes up. Third-and-short is a lot better than third-and-long. The Cavaliers are 57th in the nation in third down conversions. They were 6 of 16 at Clemson.

#5 Meanwhile, quarterback Brennan Armstrong needs to get off to better starts. Against Duke, he was 5 of 12 passing early in the game as the Cavaliers fell behind 10-0. Against Clemson, Armstrong was 1 for 9 early as UVA once again fell behind 10-0. Mendenhall said the offensive staff is trying to get him in rhythm early by calling pass plays that he’s comfortable with, and Armstrong and quarterbacks coach Jason Beck are communicating on how to avoid slow starts, which could be a key in facing NC State this weekend.

#6 Virginia has a really good punter. Nash Griffin has been solid through the first two games and held Clemson to only one return for nine yards for the dangerous Amari Rodgers. Griffin also averaged 46.5 per punt in that game, placed one of his four punts inside the Tigers 20 and one in the end zone for a touchback. Griffin ranks No. 14 nationally in punting (44.8 per) and fourth in the ACC.

#7 Virginia has a really good kicker, too. Brian Delaney broke the UVA consecutive field goals made record at Clemson with his lone attempt, a 27-yarder. It was his 15th straight field goal without a miss, breaking the record of Jake mcInerney in 1989. Delaney’s streak is currently the third-longest in the nation, behind USTA’s Hunter Duplessis (18) and Virginia Tech’s Brian Johnson (16). NC State’s Christopher Dunn has made 14 in a row.

#8 We all need a “Spurdle.” If you watched the Virginia-Clemson game on the ACC Network, needless to say you became much more familiar with the Spurdle than you ever imagined. The Spurdle is a new kitchen utensil and I really remember that it spreads peanut butter better than any of its rivals, and if you order now, you can get like a two-for-one deal. The Spurdle commercial overload left our friend Andrew Freiden (NBC12 Richmond meteorologist) to tweet: “UVA went through [Clemson’s] defense like a hot Spurdle through porridge!!”

#9 Virginia’s running game is no fluke. That’s why a 45-point differential between the Cavaliers and Tigers was reduced to an 18-point spread in Death Valley. That was Clemson’s closest contested ACC game since a 21-20 “Escape at Chapel Hill,” in 2019. Credit a strong offensive line performance against a really tough Clemson front, and some solid running by UVA backs Wayne Taulapapa, Shane Simpson and quarterback Armstrong. Some observers believe UVA’s O-Line may be the second- or third-best in the ACC behind Clemson and Notre Dame.

Last year, Virginia’s rushing attack finished No. 117 in the nation (121.2 yards per game). The Cavaliers are presently ranked No. 34 nationally in rushing with 167.5 yards per game.

#10 Solid up the middle. The key to having a great base 3-4 defense is to have a terrific nose tackle and that’s what Mendenhall has in sophomore Jowon Briggs. Weighing in at 6-1, 310 pounds of muscle, Briggs is perfect for Nick Howell’s scheme. Wanna know why Clemson’s Travis Etienne wasn’t getting his normal 4 to 5 yards on the Tigers’ inside running game?

It was big, bad Briggs who controlled the ‘A’ gap. UVA posted five tackles for loss, one by Briggs, who was double-teamed most of the night.

We asked Bronco about his impressions of the big man.

“I think Jowon is playing at a higher level than he did a year ago,” the coach said. “I think the technical and fundamental emphasis that Coach (Clint) Sintim is bringing has really helped Jowon in terms of consistency. I think his conditioning has improved and I think his experience over last year has translated.

“At that position you don’t necessarily see breakout games and you don’t see highlights as much from the nose tackle position, but the ball is difficult to run between the guards and that’s mostly because of Jowon. And I think having Jahmeer Carter here as well, who can spell [Briggs] on occasion and compete with him, those two things are allowing increased effectiveness at that position but also, possibly, personally for both of them.”