Virginia needs fast start against favored Louisville

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia hopes to get off to a fast start against visiting Louisville on Saturday when the 3-2 Cardinals come to Scott Stadium in a huge conference game for both programs (3:30 p.m., ACC Network).

The Cavaliers are eying their first 5-1 start since 2017, but are 7- to 7.5-point underdogs in the game to Louisville, which played in last year’s ACC Championship game.

Coach Jeff Brohm complained about his team’s slow starts in back-to-back losses to Notre Dame (31-24) and to SMU (34-27). The Mustangs, new members in the ACC, jumped all over the Cardinals in the early stages of last week’s game, scoring on four of their first five possessions, including marches of 75, 75 and 78 yards.

Fast starts are something that UVA’s Tony Elliott keeps emphasizing to his team, although the Cavaliers struggled out of the blocks in last week’s 24-14 win over Boston College. Virginia trailed 14-6 at the half, but dominated the rest of the way, thanks in part to an effective running game and turnovers created by the defense.

It was the second consecutive game that UVA’s running-game production was a key to victory. After piling up a staggering 384 yards rushing at Coastal Carolina, the Cavaliers followed it up with 121 yards against a bigger, more physical Boston College defense that featured an 8-man front. Tailback Kobe Pace led the way with 43 yards and Xavier Brown, who posted 171 yards (19 yards per carry) at Coastal added 22 yards on only 5 carries.

Louisville ranks 38th nationally in rushing defense (113.8 per game), but the number is skewed by lopsided wins against Austin Peay and Jacksonville State.

SMU gashed the Cardinals for 190 yards on the ground, finding great success in the A-gaps (89 yards on 8 attempts) and another 53 on 13 rushes behind right guard and right tackle. Louisville has shown vulnerability against running quarterbacks this season, such as SMU’s Kevin Jennings, who had a career rushing day with 113 yards on 10 carries, including a 59-yard touchdown run.

Virginia has had some recent success running in the A-gap this season with 305 yards on 50 carries (6.1 per attempt) and 183 yards running through B-gaps (6.8 per attempt).

Quarterback Anthony Colandrea, who played a good game against the Cardinals as a freshman last season, is averaging 7.7 yards per scramble attempt this season, and has also been effective on QB draws and other designated runs. UVA had the Cardinals on the ropes before losing, 31-24, to a Louisville team that was 9-1 at the time.

Colandrea had an outstanding game, leading the Cavaliers in rushing with 109 yards on 14 attempts (minus-20 yards on 4 sacks). He also passed for 314 yards (20 for 31).

This time he’ll have a little more help in the run game, especially if offensive coordinator Des Kitchings doesn’t forget about Brown, who had a mere five touches against BC after that spectacular performance vs. Coastal.

Granted, Pace was playing well against BC and showed some explosiveness in his game for the first time this season, but still, only five touches for Brown was a clear oversight.

“Ideally you would [give Brown more carries], but again, at that position it’s who gets the hot hand,” Elliott said this week when questioned about the touches. “I think early on, we didn’t have a ton of plays early in the game just because we were three-and-out a couple of times and trying to establish the run.

“And different calls have different personnel packages, but yes, he’s a guy we want to get involved more in the right situations. So, do we have an ideal number for him? No, but I anticipate that he’ll have more than five touches. And he’s a guy that needs more than five touches because each time he touches it, you’re seeing that he has the ability to have a big play.”

UVA Offensive Stats

UVA Defensive & Special Teams Stats

Boston College Offensive Stats