Know Your Opponent: Virginia Was Sound in a 28-10 Win Over William & Mary
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Doni Dowling (7) was Virginia's leading receiver in Saturday's 28-10 win over William & Mary. Image: Amber Searls USA Today Sports
Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
Head Coach: Bronco Mendenhall (2nd year)
Overall: 102-53 (.658) 13th year
At Virginia 3-10 (1-7)
Bowl Appearances at UVA: 0
2017 Record: 1-0 Beat William & Mary 28-10
Bowl Appearances Since 2000: 7 (3-4 Record)
Mascot: CavMan
Colors: Orange and Blue
Outfitter: Nike
National Titles: 0
Conference Titles: 3
Heisman Winners: 0
Talking Points
1. QB Kurt Benkert is Efficient, But Didn’t Go Deep Often
Kurt Benkert, Virginia’s senior quarterback had a really clean opening game against FCS foe William & Mary. He completed 27-of-39 passes (69.2%) for 262 yards and three touchdowns. He didn’t throw an interception and was only sacked once, however only eight of his completions went for more than 15 yards. Nine different UVA receivers caught the ball, led by WR Doni Dowling who had six catches for 76 yards in the 28-10 win, so the Cavaliers can spread the ball around.
2. Virginia Has an Anemic Running Game
While it wasn’t quite the no-show we saw with the Indiana running game in Bloomington, however Virginia wasn’t able to do much against an FCS foe. The Cavaliers averaged less than three yards per carry (2.88) on 32 carries for a total of 92. The leading runner was Jordan Ellis who never really got going gaining 80 yards on 20 carries. Virginia was expected to have issues along the offense line and tried to address that area in the off-season with transfers. Whether that patch work line is a failure or if the lack of a running game was due to wet conditions remains to be seen, but it wasn’t a down pour in Charlottesville and they were not playing the Ohio State Buckeyes.
3. Joe Reed is a Solid Kick Returner
As is the case with most 50/50 games, it always seems to come down to a big special teams play here and there. Virginia can make some plays in the return game as Joe Reed averaged 30.3 yards per return on three attempts. The 6-foot-1 215-pound wide receiver has good speed and elusiveness, so IU will have to execute well in coverage if he decides to run the ball out of the end zone.
4. A.J. Mejia May Have Limited Field Goal Range
As I stated in the last bullet point, special teams will play a big role in this game and the Hoosiers should have a major advantage with their kicker. Virginia’s kicker, A.J. Mejia, was a very solid 4-for-4 on his extra points, however he was short on his only field goal attempt from 42 yards. If his range is inside 40 yards that should help the Hoosier defense and force Virginia to take a few more chances on fourth down inside the 40-yard line.
5. The Cavalier Defense Will Need to Make More Big Plays
The Virginia defense played well. They only allowed 10 points and 240 yards of total offense while limiting the Tribe to just 1-of-11 on third down, but they didn’t make a lot of big game changing plays. The Cavaliers had one takeaway, an interception, and forced two fumbles which William & Mary held on to and sacked the quarterback just twice. While solid on defense, they will need to create more big plays against the Hoosiers passing game. Two names the Hoosiers have to keep an eye on are All-Americans Quin Blanding (safety) and Micah Kiser (linebacker) who combined for 19 tackles last week.
Bottom Line
Facing a Power Five foe on the road is no easy task and the timing of the game is poor coming off an emotional opener against Ohio State, but this is the most important game on the Hoosiers’ schedule. Virginia struggled at times against an inferior opponent, but has the talent to beat IU if the visitors don’t come to play. Indiana needs the win desperately to put the fan base back at ease after a second half meltdown against Ohio State.