Pressure will be on O-Line, QB when UVA goes to Pitt

By Jerry Ratcliffe

It makes all the sense in the world that Tony Elliott decided to keep Anthony Colandrea as his starting quarterback when Virginia heads to Pitt for an 8-p.m. kickoff on Saturday night (ACC Network, Pitt 7.5-point favorite).

For those blaming UVA’s lopsided loss to underdog North Carolina a couple of weeks ago on the second-year signal caller, it wasn’t entirely fair. While the sophomore may not have played at a winning level, there were underlying reasons, mostly a patchwork offensive line.

UNC’s pass rush defeated Virginia at the line of scrimmage — which was minus two starters and a backup — all day long, resulting in 10 sacks for the Tar Heels, who had only 15 sacks all season long coming into the game. That put Colandrea on the run the entire game.

The fact that the Cavaliers have those injured linemen back and healthy after a bye week certainly should help, but look for Pitt to test Virginia early to see if Elliott and his staff have fixed the problem.

“It was a tough day at the office for everybody the last outing,” Elliott said this week. “In all fairness to Colandrea, when you’re taking a three-step drop and you’re at the top of your drop and your third step is in the ground and guys are on your back or at your feet, I mean, doesn’t matter who you’ve got at quarterback.”

Elliott was exactly right.

At least Colandrea was able to escape the pocket a few times, where a less mobile QB would probably have been dropped even more.

Was Colandrea perfect? No. He missed on some reads and had to throw the ball away a few times, but again, some of that was either because of the pressure or thinking about the possible pressure.

“To be honest with you, I was proud of how he competed, considering the amount he was getting hit in this game,” Elliott said. “He just kept battling. To me, he didn’t lose his composure. Stood in there and threw some good balls, but wasn’t able to fully get through his progressions.”

So, Elliott said AC (Colandrea’s nickname) is Virginia’s guy for once-beaten Pitt. The coach recognized how well backup Tony Muskett has come in and played efficiently, but Elliott is sticking with his starter.

Colandrea gives Virginia the best chance to win as long as he’s not making bad decisions and forcing passes into coverage. Having been without legit deep threats in the passing game since Trell Harris was injured, it has taken away some options for AC because defenses have been playing more man coverage and sitting on routes more, not allowing receivers to get behind them.

Perhaps some of that will change now that Chris Tyree is healthy. Tyree has speed to burn and definitely has the ability to make secondaries pay.

No doubt Pitt will play man coverage against the Wahoos on Saturday night. The Panthers’ goal is to make opposing offenses one-dimensional by taking away the run and forcing opponents to beat them with the pass.

Coach Pat Narduzzi’s defense, which is No. 7 in the nation in stopping the run, will play seven defenders in the tackle box and have a safety situated about 10 yards back in support of the run.

“They’re going to do what they do and they’ve been really good at it,” Elliott said. “That’s why they’re top in the country in stopping the run.”

If Pitt is successful shutting down Virginia’s run, then Colandrea will have to be highly efficient, highly accurate, and his receivers will have to find a way to beat man coverage, or it could be a long night for the Cavaliers.

Conversely, Pitt’s offense struggled mightily last weekend in a landslide loss to SMU. The Mustangs put a ton of pressure on Pitt’s QB (20 pressures, 13 blitzes) and the Panthers couldn’t move the football for the first three quarters-plus.

Perhaps if Colandrea gets protection and UVA’s receivers can gain separation, and John Rudzinski’s defense can limit first downs, the Cavaliers will have a chance.