Hey coach, can we at least get a hint? Perhaps a small clue about what you’ve been slipping into their protein shakes?
Because right now nobody has any idea what has changed since Sept. 27 when our football team made Blue Devils look like Longhorns.
It’s not like we made a big trade. Or signed an experienced free agent. So we can rule out any increase in talent as being the culprit for the unexpected success against Maryland and East Carolina the past two weeks.
The quarterback is the same. The wide receivers are the same. And unless that was Don Shula wearing an Al Groh mask the past two Saturdays, we still have the same coach.
So what else, in the name of Marc Verica, has changed?
Possibility No. 1: We remembered we have running backs. It’s easy to forget those guys in the backfield. During the opening-game disaster, we totaled 32 yards on the ground. In the 35-point embarrassment against Connecticut, we ran the ball 14 times for a net of 31 yards. What did we do during our past two wins? With Cedric Peerman back in the lineup, we kept the ball on the ground 74 times for a total of 403 yards. Peerman and Mikell Simpson have been eating up yards on the ground the past few weeks. They’ve picked up key first downs, kept our defense off the field and helped Verica by opening up the passing game. Credit the big guys on the O-Line for breaking open those running lanes, too.
Sure, Peerman came back from injury, and he’s juiced the running game quite a bit. But one player doesn’t account for the difference between a 31-3 loss to Duke and a 31-0 win against Maryland one week later.
There must be another explanation in addition to the revival of the running game.
Possibility No. 2: home field advantage. All three of our wins have come at Scott Stadium. On the road, we’re averaging 6.5 points in two games against Connecticut and Duke. In four games at home, we’re averaging just more than 22 points per game against arguably slightly stronger teams, with the exception of Richmond. Maybe there is something to the “Power of Orange.”
That’s a frightening thought, though; if a “hostile” crowd at Duke and UConn can throw Virginia off its game, imagine what’s going to happen when we roll into Lane Stadium. A home field advantage is likely to be partially responsible for the change in tide for the Cavaliers, but it doesn’t account for the entire explanation (let’s hope).
Possibility No. 3: more experience for Verica. It’s been a tale of two quarterbacks this season. During his first two starts, Verica threw no touchdown passes and five interceptions. Against Maryland and ECU, he threw three TDs and just two interceptions. Not to mention that his completion percentage the past two games is an outstanding .757 (50 for 66). In all likelihood, it took the sophomore a couple of games to settle into his new role. Now that he’s got the feel for it, he’s able to pick apart defenses. The fact that our receivers haven’t had too many drops doesn’t hurt either.
Possibility No. 4: the big play. Present in both of the past two wins and absent in all of the losses was the big hit, big catch or big run. In the Maryland win, it started when Verica connected with wide receiver Kevin Ogletree on a 51-yard touchdown pass. The momentum from that touchdown built; Virginia’s offense poured it on while the defense stifled a sometimes-strong Maryland offense. Against ECU, the spark came from back-to-back Peerman touchdown runs — the first for 79 yards, the second for 60. And while Virginia would bend — allowing ECU back into the game after being up by 22 points at half — it never broke.
But it’s not as though the solution was as simple as calling more aggressive plays. Rather, the opportunity for Virginia has come as a result of multiple factors coming together at the right time. A 51-yard touchdown pass is the result of a running threat. A 79-yard touchdown run is the result of a passing attack. A big play on offense is dependent on a team finding itself on third-and-short rather than third-and-long. It’s dependent on the elimination of dumb penalties. It’s dependent on forcing the other team to make mistakes by inviting them to try and convert on third-and-long. And so, you can quickly see that the key ingredient in the Cavaliers’ success the past two weeks — the big play — is a result of the success of multiple smaller plays.
Maybe the big play has its origins in more attention to the running game. Or a home-field advantage. Or more experience for key players. Perhaps all three have something to do with it.
Regardless, Virginia has found its stride the past two weeks. And for Groh to say “we’re seeing some real progress” is an understatement. We’re seeing a turnaround. Maybe the biggest of any college football team in the nation if the Cavaliers can continue to do what they’ve been doing the past two weeks.
And, coach, if it’s not the running game, the home field, a more confident quarterback or the big play that’s the cause of the team’s success, then throw some of that protein shake mix this way.
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