Sunday Couch QB: Richmond

I am excited to announce that this season we will be bringing extended football coverage, starting with the Sunday Couch QB. In these I will dive into each game with a recap along with opinions and analysis of all the action. This will be my most opinionated work so far on Locker Room Access, and is meant to draw more extended discussions. Let's get started.

Yesterday, the Hoos had to wait over 2 hours for a weather delay before finally picking up a convincing win over FCS foe Richmond, 34-13. The Hoos built an early 20-7 lead before the delay, then came back strong to outscore Richmond 14-6 in the second portion of the game. Virginia’s 497 yards of total offense were more than any game last season.

Offense

Starting quarterback Anthony Colandrea looked very in control of the offense, managing to go 17/23 for 297 yards and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions while also picking up close to 50 yards and a score on the ground. Anthony did all of this without playing in the fourth quarter as the Hoos had built a comfortable lead. Anthony’s decision-making, both throwing and running, showed a lot of awareness as he took care of the ball and was able to slide or get out of bounds to avoid unnecessary contact.

This play had some history behind it!

The Anthony Colandrea to Trell Harris TD marked the first time in the 135-year history of UVA football the Cavaliers scored a touchdown on their first pass attempt of the season.
pic.twitter.com/NK6746W4mQ

— Preston Willett (@PrestonWillett) September 1, 2024

But it wasn’t just Colandrea who impressed, as it was very apparent quickly that this UVA team had Richmond outmatched. I thought the offensive line did a very admirable job of not only keeping Anthony protected, but setting the tone in the running game as the Hoos amassed 200 yards on the ground. Also impressive compared to previous seasons was the number of substitutions made on the offensive line, showing more promising depth than they’ve had. The O-Line also did a great job of avoiding penalties, with the first flag not being thrown until a false start was called with under a minute to go until halftime. On the ground, Kobe Pace led the way with 93 yards and one score on just 11 carries.

At the skill positions, the Wahoos had a clear advantage, Nine different players recorded a reception, led by Malachi Fields with 5 catches for 100 yards including one incredible diving catch just before halftime.

Malachi Fields with a RIDICULOUS CATCH 🤯

📺 ACCNX | @UVAFootball pic.twitter.com/OxUmV6N4UM

— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) September 1, 2024

Not only did the players show up and execute, but I thought overall the game plan and play calling offensively were pretty impressive. The Hoos continued to keep their foot on the gas and tried to leave no doubt, not only pushing the ball downfield but also going for multiple fourth down conversion attempts to put the game on ice.  There were times last season when we would build leads and then become passive (allowing the opponent an opportunity to get back into the game), so this was a very welcome sight.

Of course I would be remiss to not mention the improvement in the energy the Cavaliers played with coming out of the extended delay. Last season most probably remember a similar situation where the Hoos looked to be in control of James Madison before a long weather delay hit. After that delay, JMU came out as the team with the energy and managed to come back and win that contest. This time, however, the Hoos stayed locked in and came back out of the intermission with an immediate touchdown drive and never looked back.

Defense

Defensively, the Wahoos played a sound game. The linebackers and secondary both played very well, although the defensive line did leave some to be desired as they didn’t record a sack until full substitutions were made late in the fourth quarter. Pass rush was one of the biggest issues for the Hoos last season, and my hope was that with a healthy front group available they would have a better showing.. They'll need to be able to produce more pressure so that the Hoos won’t have to rely on blitzing to frustrate the opposing offense.

I also thought the defensive game plan was good. UVA looked very good against the run, and was able to force a fumble on an early pass play that had Richmond moving into Virginia territory. My only real critique of the plan was I thought we gave too much space in coverage to an offense that was mainly throwing short passes. I would have preferred to see some of the same aggressive mindset that the team showed offensively; playing some tighter coverage and trying to force turnovers, but that is essentially nit-picking what was otherwise a very good showing.

Special Teams

It was status quo early on with Will Bettridge making his field goal attempts and extra points and kickoffs going very smoothly. Coming out of the delay, however, things changed as the field was soaked from all the rain of the previous few hours. The Hoos missed a field goal just before the half.  Outside of that, our special teams units did a very good job of executing. There were also multiple very good punts, allowing the Wahoos to flip the field on the Spiders. After having lost so many close games last season, it feels easy to acknowledge that field position will be crucial to the success of the team this season, and our punting unit looked very promising. 

The one thing I wasn’t sure about was Antonio Clary being back deep to field punts almost every time. It appeared to be a “punt safe” formation in some situations and it’s fairly common to see a safety drop back for that. Other times, it appeared as a normal punting situation. Clary was just playing the normal return role. I’m interested to see more on that going forward.

ACC Showdown Looms

Overall the Cavaliers inspired a lot of hope for the rest of the season. It was only one game against an FCS opponent, but the Hoos looked the part. Business will now pick up very quickly as the Wahoos head to Winston-Salem to take on Wake Forest this upcoming Saturday (9/7). That game is scheduled for 7 pm EST and will air on ESPN2.  

How are you feeling about the season going forward? Be sure to hop in on the discussion with Locker Room Access!

(Featured Image Credit: Josie Drumheller/UVA Athletics)