Chris Graham leads the Live Blog as UVA football (1-0) faces Indiana (1-0) Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Bloomington, Ind. The focus: in-game commentary, stats analysis, observations, lamentations.
The Line
Indiana -6
Game Details
- Day/Time: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
- Location: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Ind.
- TV: Big Ten Network
UVA last week: 42-13 win over Richmond
The new UVA quarterback threw for 185 yards and two touchdowns, and added 108 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, lifting the ‘Hoos to a 42-13 win over Richmond on Saturday.
The start of the game was delayed 40 minutes by inclement weather, and then Virginia (1-0) delayed what would become a beatdown, when Perkins, in his only mistake of the night, was picksixed by UR linebacker Dale Matthews, whose 72-yard interception return put the Spiders up 7-0 early.
Perkins scored on a 36-yard scamper to tie the score, then after a Griffin Trau field goal put Richmond back on top, another Perkins scoring run, from 22 yards out, had UVA back on top.
A Perkins-to-Olamide Zaccheaus 38-yard pass TD and a Jordan Ellis 10-yard TD run made it 28-10 Virginia at the half.
Another Ellis TD run, from 21 yards out, pushed the lead to 35-10 four minutes-plus into the third quarter.
After another Trau field goal, UVA finished out the scoring on a 20-yard pass from Perkins to Hasise Dubois.
The Cavaliers finished with a 492-225 advantage in total offense, gaining 301 yards on the ground.
Ellis had 146 yards on 20 carries and two scores on the ground.
Perkins finished 13-of-24 passing for 185 yards, two touchdown and one INT, and his 108 yards rushing came on 13 attempts.
IU last week: 38-28 win over Florida International
IU won its season opener at Florida International, 38-28, on Saturday. Quarterback Peyton Ramsey was 20-for-27 passing for 156 yards for the Hoosiers, who outgained FIU 465-327.
FIU, picked fourth in the Conference USA East in the preseason, led 7-0 early, but Indiana recovered, led 28-14 at the half, got back to 38-28 with a TD with 6:04 to go, but IU was able to run the clock out from there, so effectively, the outcome was not at question at all in the second half.
Indiana was picked fifth in the Big Ten East in the preseason after finishing 5-7 a year ago, including a 2-7 mark in Big Ten play.
Of note: the Hoosiers didn’t necessarily play up to their statistical profile in 2017. They were sixth in the Big Ten in both total offense and total defense.
The issue was twofold: turnovers, where Indiana tied for last in the conference in turnover margin, and red-zone defense, where IU was 12th, allowing scores on 87.5 percent of opponents’ red-zone possessions.
Indiana won the turnover battle in its opener, forcing three FIU turnovers while committing just one. But the red zone is still a defensive issue: the Panthers scored touchdowns on each of its three red-zone trips.
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