Big matchup for UVA-Tech is Cavaliers’ passing game vs. Hokies’ top-10 secondary

By Jerry Ratcliffe

One of the key matchups in Saturday’s rivalry game between Virginia and visiting Virginia Tech (Scott Stadium, 3:30 p.m., ACC Network) will be the Cavaliers’ passing game against the Hokies’ secondary.

Tech leads the ACC and is ranked No. 7 nationally in pass defense, giving up 166.5 yards per game through the air. Finding open receivers is only half the problem that UVA freshman quarterback Anthony Colandrea will be faced with in the season finale for the Cavaliers.

Colandrea will have to contend with Tech’s pass rush as well. The Hokies are No. 11 nationally in sacking the QB (32 sacks, 2.9 per game). Colandrea has grown accustomed to the pressure behind an offensive line that has surrendered 37 sacks (3.36 per game) this season. While it has taken some time and patience from the coaching staff as the freshman has experienced some growing pains, Colandrea said after last Saturday’s upset win over Duke that the game has slowed down for him.

He is making smarter decisions with the ball in terms of when to throw it away or take a sack rather than force the ball into coverage, and so his choices under pressure on Saturday will certainly figure into how UVA’s passing attack goes.

“[Tech] does a good job of playing man coverage,” said Virginia offensive coordinator Des Kitchings. “Their defensive backs are really good fundamentally in press coverage, so they take away a lot of free-access throws.

“We’ve faced man coverage before, so we know we have to win the line of scrimmage and then obviously, win down the field.”

Tech’s secondary plays tight coverage — in your face, bump-and-run with some zone variations. Beating the corners in man coverage is going to be the challenge of UVA receivers Malik Washington, Malachi Fields and Suderian Harrison.

Washington is the ACC’s top receiver and ranks No. 2 in the nation in several receiving categories. His nine, 100-yard games this season is the most for any Power 5 conference player in the past decade.

Tech coach Brent Pry is well aware of the threat Washington presents.

“We have to know where he is,” Pry said this week. “That offense really runs through that guy.”

Fields has helped divert some of the pressure off Washington in recent weeks with some strong performances, and the Cavaliers may have found that third receiver they’ve been looking for all season in Harrison. The 5-foot-9 freshman made two huge catches in Virginia’s final scoring drive against Duke last week, one for 12 yards, another for 23, both first downs.

Both Elliott and Kitchings have had Harrison following Washington’s every move in practices and meeting rooms, absorbing everything possible from the grad transfer from Northwestern in hopes of accelerating his growth.

However, even if the wide receivers do their job, and even if Colandrea stays poised, the offensive line needs to keep the pass rush under control to give the young quarterback time to find those open windows.

“Biggest thing is they also get some pressure on the quarterback,” Elliott said. “They’ve got some guys, edge guys that can rush the quarterback. If [Tech] wants to play cover-1, they can play across the board and be able to still have six in the box to play the run.

“It’s a combination of good pass rush, variations of coverages and the athletes at corner that can play you in man.”