Bronco: Virginia Not Happy Just Being There

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Ever since Virginia received its invitation to the Belk Bowl, Bronco Mendenhall has been adamant that the Cavaliers are going to Charlotte to win, not to just show up.

Attribute that recurring statement to lessons learned last year in Annapolis when UVA was annihilated by host Navy in the Military Bowl. The game was seemingly a postgame oasis — albeit a frigid one — for a football program that hadn’t been bowling in years.

The Wahoos were just happy to be there until they actually got there.

Not this time. Mendenhall continues to stress that this trip is about more than collecting bowl gifts, souvenirs, and riding in a race car around Charlotte Motor Speedway.

While his program spent eight days practicing with the travel backups, along with first- and second-year players that haven’t played much, Virginia got down to business on Wednesday with its first day of preparation for Belk Bowl opponent South Carolina.

On the first day, Bronco sent a message.

To a man, every UVA player we talked to said that first bowl practice was physical. Very physical.

“Last year’s bowl preparation was kind of physical, but today was definitely a hard practice,” said senior linebacker Chris Peace. “We had to take a long breath after we finished. Definitely, stopping the run game was a point of emphasis.”

If you think Bronco was attempting to get his team’s attention, step to the front of the class.

“I was trying to set the tone,” Mendenhall said. “We have work to do. While we’ve talked a lot about progress, I’m very clear also about the amount and the gaps still from where we are now to where we want to be.

“And the clock is ticking,” the coach said. “Not only for the program, but I want our team to have success. And yes, we did not ease into it. We charged into it. We made a statement as to this is what it’s going to require.”

Mendenhall said the challenge of physical practices is the lack of roster depth at certain positions and how far he can push it only two weeks out from the game. He will continue to conduct demanding, physical practices at least through Saturday of this week and then perhaps taper off a bit as the game draws nearer.

“One other point to that, one of the reasons and motives is simply this team made it really clear that it wasn’t just okay to go to the game … they want to win the game,” Mendenhall said. “I’m trying to help every way possible to facilitate that.”

While the Cavaliers will focus on stopping the Gamecocks’ running attack, they haven’t forgotten that Carolina’s offense is largely pass happy. Quarterback Jake Bentley is a solid passer with good receivers. He threw for more than 500 yards against No. 2 Clemson and left the Tigers coaches cursing under their breath in frustration.

Mendenhall and his players have all compared South Carolina to N.C. State as the opponent that has closest resembled the Gamecocks, and that Bentley is reminiscent of Wolfpack QB Ryan Finley, who had success against UVA’s touted secondary.

Last week, Mendenhall told us that South Carolina does some unique things with its passing game. So, is it the most sophisticated passing attack the Cavaliers have faced?

“To me the highest level of sophistication is presented through simplicity, where [Carolina takes] all these concepts that are so difficult and it’s packaged down to where these compliments so that when you do this, you’re vulnerable here, and do that you’re vulnerable there,” the coach said. “Don’t need all the passes, only a couple. It’s not the complexity. But it is, I would say, the ingenuity and it’s really well thought out. Everything you adjust to, there’s a weakness presented and there’s a player then that’s at the weakest point of attack.”

Mendenhall has been impressed with the passing game combined with the fast tempo that has gone into the scheme.

Speaking of tempo, the Gamecocks play fast.

Virginia is not a stranger to the racehorse mentality. In fact, the Cavaliers prevailed over all three fast-paced opponents they faced this season, North Carolina, Duke, and Liberty.

When Mendenhall described South Carolina’s offensive style as “fast and furious,” during last week’s Belk Bowl press conference in Charlotte, he wasn’t kidding or exaggerating.

“The familiarity does help,” he said after Wednesday’s practice at the McCue Center fields. “And years and years of research on how to practice against it certainly has helped. It doesn’t guarantee us success, but we do have a familiarity with it.

“When you’ve got really skilled players added to the tempo, that usually leads to more points and [South Carolina] is a little more dynamic than sometimes a team of lesser talent that plays at the same speed.”

During his study of Gamecocks game film he has noticed on several occasions that defenders will be running to get aligned and multiple players looking at the sideline for directions as the ball is snapped, sometimes leading to big plays.

Certainly that will be a point of emphasis in the bowl prep.

“That pressure is applied in a really unique way,” Mendenhall said. “It’s physical but probably more mental than anything else of that constant need to make a play and get lined up again. We feel comfortable and confident that we will be able to get lined up and play.”