I didn't see any of the game, because it wasn't on TV where I was. I've watched some highlights and read plenty about the game. But my thoughts are still mostly second hand.
Considering the struggles we've had on the road the past few seasons, I'll take any road win no matter how ugly. And last second wins are always exciting, especially for the players. However, it seems to me that we didn't play very well. The game plans on the road have often been questionable, and were again. From what I've seen and heard, we didn't pressure the MTSU QB enough, and we didn't run the ball enough. That sounds a lot like the Wyoming gameplan.
We expect teams to load up on the run and force us to beat them with the pass. So then we don't try to establish a run game, we start out trying to throw the ball. The problem with that game plan is our QB isn't all that accurate, and we don't have the personnel to really throw the ball downfield. So keeping 8 guys at the LOS is still a solid defense against short crossing routes and flare passes. If we want to make teams respect our passing game, we need to be able to complete a fly route, or a deep out, at least once in a while. Our longest pass plays have all been to TEs, mostly on seams and posts. Those routes will not work as well against the VT and Miami defenses because their safeties are good enough to cover TEs.
It is nice to see Vic Hall doing so well with punt returns. He's so explosive with the ball in his hands. It sounds like the block in the back penalty had little to do with the TD that it negated. I think Vic is going to take one to the house in the next couple of weeks. He's just too good.
If you'd told me we'd be 5-1 right now I would've been thrilled. And I am thrilled. This week may have been a small step backwards, following the thumping of Pitt. However, a win is still a win. One more to be bowl eligible.
I've been pretty quiet on the Virginia football season so far. It's been such a strange season, that I never knew what to write. Also, I've been kind of busy.
Now that we are over 1/3 of the way through the season, and I've finally seen the team in person, I've decided to comment. Obviously a 4 game winning streak is nice. The team has improved from week to week, culminative in this weekend's blowout of Pitt. It sounds crazy, but 44-14 doesn't really tell how big a blowout this game was. The middle quarters were closer, but mostly due to some poor execution on the part of Virginia. Pittsburgh just never got anything going, even struggling to move the ball late, against a Prevent defense.
As bad as Jameel Sewell was against Wyoming, thats how good he was in the first quarter on saturday. He completed all 7 of his passes, including 3 TDs. He had some poor throws later in the game, but the game was out of reach. He was also victimized by a few drops. Still, all in all, it was a much better effort from the passing game.
What can I say about Cedric Peerman? I was not sold, coming into the season. I will happily admit that I waws wrong. He's a completely different back than we saw last year. He's picking his holes, he's hitting them hard. And when he gets hit, he doesn't go down. I just love watching this guy run. Some backs try to run around contact. Peerman just lowers the shoulder and goes through guys. Maybe he learned it from watching Snelling last year. But Peerman is much faster than Snelling, Peerman runs over DBs 10 yards downfield.
Also, the coaching staff has improved significantly since the Wyoming game. Maybe that was a case of over-thinking. I guess that can happen when you have 10 months to prepare for a game. We tried to be cute, when we should've just been overpowering a smaller team. I also think maybe Sewell wasn't mentally ready for that game. All the more reason for us to run the ball more.
That Wyoming game still stings a bit. It's hard to get over looking as bad as we looked. But I'm beginning to think it was the wakeup call this team needed. They spent the offseason talking about how good they were and how much potential they had. Now they are finally showing it. If they continue to get better at the same pace, look out.