Bronco Mendenhall Finally Gets Signature Win He’s Been Waiting For

Bronco Mendenhall is admittedly not a very emotional guy. Once he rumbled into the interview room after Virginia’s 16-13 upset over 16th-ranked Miami late Saturday night, he couldn’t disguise his joy.

Mendenhall was soaked from the locker room celebration, hair in disarray, wearing a wide smile, but soaked from head to toe.

“It was a hurricane,” someone appropriately cracked.

A hurricane reduced to a tropical storm, something of a common occurrence at Scott Stadium since Miami joined the ACC. This was UVa’s fifth win in eight games against the storied Hurricanes in Charlottesville, and the Cavaliers’ fourth win in the last five meetings against the ‘U’ at Scott.

In light of that fact, this Virginia was may have been the most unlikely considering these circumstances:

• • Quarterback Bryce Perkins threw three interceptions.
  • Slot receiver Olamide Zaccheaus, arguably UVa’s biggest playmaker, only touched the ball three times all night long and was held to 15 yards.

• The Cavaliers trotted out a brand new kicker in the sixth game of the season, their strong-legged kickoff guy Brian Delaney, who booted three field goals of 26, 46, and 32 yards. He actually would have had a fourth (from 30 yards out) with 30 seconds to play, but Mendenhall took those points off the board and accepted a roughing the kicker penalty on the ‘Canes that iced the upset.

Even the most optimistic Wahoo fan would have been skeptical had they saw those factoids without knowing the final score.

The win, though, in as many unlikely forms as it came, improved Virginia to 4-2 on the season and 2-1 in the ACC, putting the Cavaliers in the thick of the Coastal Division race midway through the season.

It was the signature win that Mendenhall had been waiting for, praying for, desperate for. It was the kind of win that can accelerate the progress of his program, an eye-catcher that had to leave an impression on perhaps the highest-profiled group of high school recruits in attendance along with the largest crowd of the season (42,393) for homecoming.

That fact was not lost on Mendenhall, who made a point of winning in front of blue-chippers, in his postgame chat with state media.

“Well, the shear number and quality of recruits that came to this game exceeded that of any game we’ve had in my time here,” Mendenhall said. “And when you play well and you show and they can see what it is, yeah, I think you gain significant momentum.

“We don’t have to send them an edit, we don’t have to write them a note, they can see and experience and feel what Virginia football is in an authentic view,” the coach added. “It absolutely helps, especially when it’s earned and it’s not an accident and it’s not a fluke. We won the game and that has to be acknowledged.”

The upset win was certainly acknowledged by Miami coach Mark Richt, whose team narrowly escaped an upset bid by rival Florida State last week.

“I’ve got to give credit to Virginia,” Richt said. “Mendenhall did a great job getting his team ready to play ball. It’s a disappointing loss for sure.

“It’s going to be a tough pill to swallow,” Richt continued. “It’s going to be a long flight home. It’s going to be a long time before we get to play another game, so we have some things we have to get straightened out.”

The ‘Canes have a bye week coming up before traveling to Boston College in two weeks.

Miami tried a little of everything in an attempt to squelch Virginia’s upset. Richt changed quarterbacks, pulling redshirt freshman N’Kosi Perry (3-for-6, 20 yards, two interceptions) in favor of veteran Malik Rosier, who started the season and was the starter all of last season.

Rosier played better (12-23, 170 yards and an interception) but not well enough.

Virginia’s defense played some hair-chested ball, allowing Miami only a field goal off the three Perkins turnovers. The Cavaliers’ D also stepped up big time with nine minutes remaining in the third quarter when UVa led only 13-6.

That’s when the Hurricanes’ offense was showing life on their opening possession of the second half. The ‘Canes drove from their own 25 to Virginia’s 25-yard line where they gained only a yard on a third-and-two, and were stonewalled for absolutely on fourth-and-one, giving the Cavaliers the ball back.

Virginia won despite the three turnovers and compiling less than 250 yards, the first time in more than three years that any FBS team won under those statistical conditions.

Still, UVa’s offensive line took its game to a much-needed higher level, and Perkins shook off the interceptions and hurt Miami with his ability to scramble for yardage.

The Cavaliers also had 117 yards in interception returns by Juan Thornhill and Joey Blount, and a 30-yard return of an onside kick by Evan Butts.

Hall of Famer George Welsh used to call that “hidden yardage,” the kind of yardage that can turn games.

“Overall, just a great night for Virginia football _ for the players, the fans, and for the coaches,” Mendenhall said. “I sensed maybe a beginning of what this really can be and more and more folks catching on and maybe believing this is for real and that this is going to happen.”

Mendenhall said it was gratifying to see the energy of the homecoming crowd, the best since he’s been here in his opinion.

“I’m not talking about the numbers, I’m just talking about ow engaged they were,” Mendenhall said. “That atmosphere made a difference. It makes a difference.”

For Virginia, this was a giant step forward, a step that could extend all the way to Durham next Saturday when the Cavaliers hit the road to play Duke.