Defense Provides A Spark In The Second Half To Propel Wahoos

In the first half of Virginia’s ACC opener against Louisville Saturday, the offense managed just six points on a pair of first-year kicker Hunter Pearson field goals, after starter A.J. Mejia misfired wide right from 32 yards out on the opening possession.

The Cavaliers needed a lift after failing to convert otherwise over the opening 30 minutes of play, and it was the UVa defense that provided the spark as the ‘Hoos (3-1, 1-0 ACC) outscored the Cardinals 21-3 in the second half en route to the 27-3 victory.

On the afternoon, Virginia’s defense held the Cardinals (2-2, 0-1) to just 214 total yards (only 66 on the ground), 3 for 11 on third downs, and kept its second opponent of the season out of the end zone. It was the first time the Cavaliers held a conference foe without an offensive touchdown since October of 2009 against Maryland.

“Defense carried the beginning of the game,” said Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall, “creating scoring opportunities which then eventually we leveraged into touchdowns — not in the first half.”

Things didn’t get off to such a great start in the second half either.

As Bryce Perkins, who got banged up briefly on his throwing hand late in the first half, threw just his second interception of the season on the opening possession of the third quarter — a ball that bounced off the hands of Olamide Zaccheaus and into the hands of Louisville sophomore cornerback Rodjay Burns — it looked as if the Cardinals might steal some crucial momentum, taking over 1st-and-goal at the Virginia 3-yard line.

But it was the Cavalier D — which posted seven tackles for loss on the day — that swung it back over to the home sideline, coming up with huge stops on three straight Louisville carries.

Jeremy Smith got the call on first down and gained a yard before Jordan Mack came through with the stop. On second down, UL quarterback Jawon Pass handed off again to Smith, who was stood up for no gain by sophomore Zane Zandier.

On the crucial 3rd-and-goal from the 2, Zandier bottled up Trey Smith for a 1-yard loss, and many of the 34,446 in attendance roared with excitement.

“Being able to get that stop and stop the momentum and give the ball back to the offense without [Louisville] scoring a touchdown was huge for us,” said Zandier, who finished with seven tackles and continues to fill in admirably for injured senior Malcolm Cook. “Having that opportunity is so much fun — to have a big play and be a big part of the game.”

Added second-year outside linebacker Charles Snowden, who finished with a career-high eight tackles to lead the team: “I think [the stand] really defined our defense. Last week versus Ohio, any time we had turnovers, we gave up big plays. We really emphasized that this week. So to have a sudden change like that versus Louisville really showed our growth as a team. I can still vividly see Zane smacking that dude on third down. It is ingrained in my memory. It really meant a lot to the coaches and the whole team.”

The defensive stand kept the Cardinals out of the end zone, but did lead to the visitors’ only points of the afternoon, as Blanton Creque knocked home a 20-yarder through the uprights to make it 6-3 with 9:45 left in the third quarter.

It turned out to be just the thing to ignite Perkins and the Wahoo offense, as the “Thorterback” explained in his postgame comments.

“Man, that was huge,” said Perkins. “The defense did a great job of dialing up the energy off of an interception, that was on me. We definitely fed off that and we talked about it on the sideline together. We were like, ‘The defense is doing their job, now it’s time for us to kind of open it up and get it going for them.”

Four plays into the next Cavalier drive, after converting on a third-down pass to tight end Evan Butts, Perkins eluded pressure and took off, hurdling a Cardinal defender during an explosive 36-yard scramble that you’ll likely see on all the highlight shows this weekend.

All of that led to the first touchdown of the game shortly thereafter, a Perkins 3-yard rollout toss to a wide-open Chris Sharp for his second TD catch of the season.

On the next Louisville trip, Pass had the Cardinals on the move until junior corner Bryce Hall picked off a pass that he read perfectly to again shift the game back into the hands of Perkins and the offense.

“I was just being a football player,” Hall said when asked what he saw on the play. “I was in the zone, I was reading the quarterback’s eyes. As soon as I saw him let it go I went and got it. He let it go in my area and I went and took it.”

Perkins marched the ‘Hoos down on the ensuing possession, connecting with Joe Reed over top of the Cardinal defense on a 44-yard strike to push the lead to 20-3 early in the fourth quarter.

Perkins said he noticed something pre-snap on the scoring play that caused him to change things up at the line.

“They were cover-zero, no safety,” Perkins said of the UL defensive look, “so, I mean, I like Joe Reed one-on-one against anybody so I just gave him a route, and he scored and executed.”

Snowden, who came up with an impressive interception in the second quarter that led to the game’s opening points, was all over the place defensively Saturday, especially on Louisville’s next drive.

An unsportsmanlike penalty pinned Louisville back to its own 13, and after a first-down completion, Snowden got his paws on a Pass attempt on second down, and then the 6-foot-7, 225-pounder from Silver Springs, Md., sacked Pass for a loss of eight, which led to a Cardinal punt.

Snowden filled the stat sheet on the day with the team-best eight tackles (three of them solo), the pick, the sack, one and a half tackles for loss, and the exclamation point, which came on the next Louisville possession following just the second Virginia punt of the day.

On a 2nd-and-10, Pass was hit by freshman defensive tackle Aaron Faumui, who jarred the ball loose, and who else was there to pounce on it but Snowden, at the Louisville 25.

“I saw the quarterback start to scramble and I saw him get hit, and then luckily [sophomore defensive end Mandy Alonso] kicked the ball to me and I just dove on it,” said Snowden.

Once again, the big play on defense translated into points for the offense. Four plays later, Perkins kept the ball on a draw and leapt over another Cardinal defender and into the end zone, capping the convincing victory with just over six minutes to play.

Perkins finished the game 17 for 24 for 197 yards and two touchdowns through the air while rushing 14 times for a net of 78 yards and the acrobatic dagger on the 8-yard plunge. Jordan Ellis added 68 yards on 20 carries, as he couldn’t get much going. Zaccheaus extended his streak of games with at least one reception to 33, but finished with four catches for 29 yards. Reed only had two grabs for a team-best 52 yards, but he surely made the touchdown grab count.

Louisville’s Malik Cunningham will likely want to forget his first collegiate start at quarterback, as he was pulled in the first half and completed 6 of his 9 passes for just 35 yards. He also carried the ball 10 times for 26 yards. Pass came in and threw for 113 yards.

The Cavaliers amassed 401 total yards (204 rushing, 197 passing), and will now prepare for a tough ACC road trip to Raleigh next week at 12:20 p.m. to face N.C. State.