Sunday Couch QB: Coastal Carolina

By Josh Burton

This week, the University of Virginia Football team picked up a 43-24 win at Coastal Carolina.  The victory brings them to 3-1 on the year, having already picked up 3 of 6 wins needed for bowl eligibility in the first month of the season. Let's look at how things shaped out for the Hoos.

Offense

The offense played very well this week, racking up the most points and total yards achieved in a game under Coach Elliott. What I liked most was that the Hoos found success on the ground  They not only firmly established the run, but went back to it time and time again. The running game is something I’ve been wanting to see deployed more by the team.  Once they found they could exploit the matchup, they kept attacking it.   Kobe Pace led the team in carries (15 for 57 yards), but it was Junior back Xavier Brown who was the star, taking 9 carries for 171 yards including a 75 yard run. I thought Brown showed a good balance of speed and physicality and am expecting him to continue to see an increased workload going forward.

Xavier Brown rips off a 75-yard run, again showing off his dynamic playmaking.

Brown has 7 carries for 152 yards, eclipsing his career-high of 88 yards.

Most rushing yards by a UVA player since 2019 (Perkins vs VT) and most by a Virginia RB since 2018 (Ellis vs Ohio).

— Preston Willett (@PrestonWillett) September 21, 2024

Although the Hoos only had to complete 15 passes to coast to the win, I thought they did a pretty good job with the passing game. Malachi Fields led the way with 4 catches including two scores, while Tyler Neville continued to show as a threat to spread the field more vertically from the tight end position. Neville only had two catches but both went for over ten yards. There were some breakdowns in protection, something that will look to be addressed as the offensive line as a whole should be able to get healthy with a bye week coming up before hosting Boston College.

Defense

I thought the defense as a whole did a pretty good job in this one. It was similar to the Richmond game earlier this season, where the Hoos once again looked the part against an outmatched opponent.  The defensive line had maybe their best game so far, not only creating pressure but also completely shutting down Coastal’s vaunted run game. Coming into the week, Coastal was averaging 250 yards per game on the ground.  The Hoos held them to just 82 yards.

Although it is nitpicking, I thought our secondary had the worst performance of the day. Specifically the corners. Coastal was able to complete five passes for 20 or more yards on the day, including two that went over 50 yards. While one play was a busted coverage due to a defender slipping, the issue of allowing explosive plays needs to be addressed. The corners have been playing very relaxed coverage, meaning they line up backed multiple yards off the line of scrimmage, to accommodate for the lack of speed at the position. Even in doing so, they have still had issues with allowing the offensive players to get behind them. Personally, I’d like to see them maybe mix in some looks where the safeties are providing more help over the top to slow down the big plays coming from opposing offenses.

Special Teams

Although they did have one kickoff go out of bounds, I thought the special teams units did a great job today. I liked the strategy of kicking just short of the end zone and forcing Coastal to return the kickoffs. Coastal fumbled away the opening kick, setting up UVA's first score. They also managed to stop the returner around his own ten yard line on another kick. The Hoos also cleanly fielded both of Coastal's punts and converted all their tries from extra points and field goals. 

Next Up

Before the Hoos host Boston College on Saturday, October 5th, they will have a bye for the upcoming weekend. This comes at a great time, giving the Wahoos a chance to regroup, adjust and get healthy before conference play really gets rolling. Having already picked up half the wins needed for bowl eligibility, they’ll look to continue playing good football and take that next step as a program by getting back to postseason play.

How are you feeling about where things stand? Do you think the Hoos will go bowling for the first time since the 2019 Orange Bowl? Come join all our discussions over on the Locker Room Access forum!

(Featured Image Credit: Jamie Holt/UVA Athletics)