I'll be the first to admit that 171 passing yards doesn't sound like a banner day. Marques Hagans' 19-for-28, 171-yard performance, however, was all it needed to be and more.
Against Georgia Tech, the offense seemed to be hitting on all cylinders for the first time in a long time. I wasn't even sure it was the same Virginia team I watched Roscoe Parrish beat a week ago. They just looked different. Maybe it was new punter Chris Gould, I have no idea, but the whole team looked far more comfortable and confident than they looked during the Miami game. A big part of that change was the renewed commitment to the passing game.
Sure, Virginia is still a rushing team at heart and rolled up 207 yards on the ground against the 12th best defense in the nation. But the Cavaliers also rediscovered their West Coast offense roots, ironically, in the Deep South.
In case you haven't watched football since the early 1980s, some version of the West Coast offense is run by over a third of the teams in the NFL. The system was perfected by Bill Walsh during the 49ers glory years of the 1980s, when Joe Montana and Jerry Rice were in their primes. The system is based on timing routes that utilize short and intermediate passing routes to move the ball down the field, especially slants, out patterns and quick stops.
Virginia runs a version of the West Coast, though until Saturday the passes had been shelved in favor of the Cavaliers' extremely productive running attack. But Ron Prince opened up the playbook a little wider against the Yellow Jackets and in the process gave Hagans a chance to be much more productive.
Remember when Jeff Garcia went to the Pro Bowl in 2000? I couldn't remember the year either, don't worry, but I have a point. He made the Pro Bowl because the coaches tailored their game plan to fit his strengths, such as his ability to throw on the run, roll out of the pocket and improvise. The Virginia staff has tried to do this same kind of thing with Hagans, and despite some success early in the season, it seemed to completely come together for the first time.
Hagans "is not going to be Peyton Manning in the pocket," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "He threw a number of real good balls out of the pocket today. But that's not his game to go back there 25 or 30 times and just stand in there and be a classic drop-back quarterback."
Hagans didn't try and force any passes back across the middle that weren't there, nor did he make any terrible decisions, which is why the junior didn't throw an interception all game.
Getting the wide receivers involved was a crucial part of expanding the passing game. Any defensive coordinator in the nation could watch five minutes of film on the Cavaliers and key on Heath Miller and whatever tailback is coming out of the backfield. Developing another threat was made more difficult because Deyon Williams injured himself in practice and didn't make the trip to Atlanta with the Cavaliers.
Despite the Williams setback and the dismal showing against Miami (only one catch for a wide receiver), Hagans found senior Michael McGrew eight times, mostly on those short out patterns and stops. McGrew's eight catches equaled the wide receiving corps' total number over the last three games. That kept the ball moving for the Cavaliers throughout the game, as they gained nine first downs on passing plays.
The third quarter touchdown drive was telling of Virginia's commitment to the passing game against the Yellow Jackets. Virginia attempted six passes on the drive and completed five of them for 39 yards. McGrew caught four balls on the drive, all intermediate and short routes, none of which exceeded 10 yards.
The West Coast philosophy lies at the heart of the Cavaliers' offensive system, and this week it gave the offense more balance. With a BCS bid still a possibility, the Cavaliers will need that revived passing assault against Virginia Tech next week in Blacksburg.
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