The UVA offense ran 28 first-down plays on Saturday in its opener with #13 UCLA. At first glance, the plays were an aggregate success, with the average first-down play gaining 4.7 yards.
That translates to second-and-five. You’re ahead of the chains at second-and-five.
Problem is, averages are deceptive. Dive into the numbers, and the Cavs gained 76 of the 131 yards that came on first downs on four big passing plays.
Take those gains out, and the other 24 first-down plays gained 55 yards, 2.3 yards per play.
(Breaking that down further, Virginia was 6-of-12 passing for 88 yards on first down, and ran 16 times for 43 yards on first down.)
At 2.3 yards per first-down play, you’re talking second-and-eight, not second-and-five.
Going through the play-by-play, Virginia ended up with second-and-eight or worse 15 times, basically a tad more than 50 percent of the time.
When you see UVA going 4-for-13 on third downs, this is why. You get behind the chains on first down, and it gets to be hard to get back on track and get a rhythm offensively.
– Column by Chris Graham
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