Enter Kurt Benkert, who was mystery man among most Virginia fans until last spring.
The last half of the college football season provides the opportunity for a team to define itself.
The Cavalier Daily makes predictions for the upcoming weekend of football.
The Tar Heels (5-2, 3-1 ACC) have won eight consecutive true road games — the fourth longest active streak in the nation.
Yet, the “South’s oldest rivalry” — the matchup between North Carolina and Virginia football — can hardly be called a rivalry this decade.
If I had to pick one game to exemplify the frustrations of Virginia football, it would be this weekend’s Homecomings loss to ACC-opponent Pitt.
When it appeared the opening drive of Virginia’s homecomings game against Pittsburgh would end in a punt, back-to-back Panthers penalties brought junior quarterback Kurt Benkert and his Cavalier offense back out on the field for a chance to convert on fourth and one.
Going into the bye-week after winning their second-straight game, a 34-20 victory against a solid Duke team, the Cavaliers were confident that they had made great strides after an otherwise rocky start to the season.
The Iron Duke kept scratching his head. He told me he’d seen Virginia play over the years, and it seems like the squad has always had a good punter.
Here's a breakdown of Virginia's matchup against the Pittsburgh Panthers.
From the start of his tenure as Virginia football’s head coach, Bronco Mendenhall instituted a phrase that became the mantra for Virginia football — “earned, not given.”
Pitt (4-2, 1-1 ACC) comes to Charlottesville on a two-game winning streak of its own, and defeated a strong Big-10 offense in Penn State during their second game of the season.
The results this year have exceeded expectations. Zaccheaus has become a favorite target of junior quarterback Kurt Benkert, as he leads the team with 340 receiving yards, 63 more than anyone else, and is tied for the lead with 26 receptions.
Prevalent turnovers and poor timing between junior quarterback Kurt Benkert and his receiving corps, plus a lack of cohesion on the front lines, led in part to Virginia’s 0-3 start to the season.
Virginia’s most recent victory against the Blue Devils epitomized what the Cavalier defense should be. Virginia forced six turnovers, including five interceptions, en route to a 34-20 victory.
Coming into Saturday’s game against Duke, you would be hard-pressed to feel optimistic about the state of Virginia’s secondary.
Here's a breakdown of Virginia's week 5 matchup against the Duke Blue Devils.
For once, Virginia football didn’t play like Virginia football this past Saturday. The Cavaliers didn’t fall to an FCS team in an embarrassing fashion. The defense didn’t get its lid blown off and give up over 40 points. The coaches didn’t completely mismanage the clock and rush their placekicker up to miss a chip-in shot.
Fresh off their first win of the season, the Cavaliers travel to North Carolina this weekend to play ACC rival Duke.
Last spring, CBS Sports ran a “Position U” series, analyzing the claims of college programs across the country about which school reigns as the university, or the ‘U,’ for specific position groups.
