The inclination is to set fire to everything having to do in the form of records from the debacle in Blacksburg the other night.
Pro Football Focus graded the effort from Virginia as its lowest of the season – a 60.9 overall grade.
The PFF grade for the offense was 61.5. One other game graded lower: the 59.7 for the 38-21 loss to N.C. State back on Oct. 10.
The grade for the defense was 59.7. Three other games got lower grades: the 51.3 in the 42-17 loss to Clemson on Oct. 3, the 56.3 in the 44-41 win over North Carolina on Oct. 31; and the 57.6 in the 43-32 win over Boston College on Dec. 5.
Wow. Won two of those four total.
Offense: D
Brennan Armstrong had back-to-back 93.7 grades from PFF in the wins over Abilene Christian and Boston College.
Saturday was only his second game in 2020 below a 69.2 grade (the other: the N.C. State game).
Armstrong graded out at 59.4. His counting stats: 25-of-46, 259 yards, two TDs, two INTs, 23 yards on 15 carries.
The tailbacks were barely used: Shane Simpson, Wayne Taulapapa and Keytaon Thompson had a combined 32 yards on six carries.
Best efforts among the pass-catchers:
- Tight end Tony Poljan (PFF grade: 71.5) had five catches on seven targets, 66 yards, a TD.
- Wideout Billy Kemp IV (PFF grade: 68.0) had nine catches on 13 targets, 73 yards.
Lavel Davis Jr. (PFF grade: 57.9) was targeted nine times, had three catches, 75 yards, and two drops.
The O line allowed two sacks and 19 total pressures. Subpar game for a unit that had allowed an ACC-best 16 sacks and 9.6 pressures per game coming in.
Right tackle Bobby Haskins had a particularly tough night: allowing three pressures and being assessed for a penalty on just 10 snaps.
The best night on the line was put in by center Olusegun Oluwatimi: 69 snaps, two pressures, 70.1 PFF grade.
Defense: D
What stands out on defense is the utter and shocking lack of pressure from the front seven: just eight total pressures, for a unit that had averaged 21.4 pressures per game coming in.
Safety Coen King (PFF grade: 68.3) had a nice night, with a team-leading 10 tackles.
Not a lot of productivity otherwise.
It’s never a good thing when your second-leading tackler is a cornerback, in the case of Saturday night, Nick Grant (PFF grade: 64.0), who had eight.
Tough nights for middle linebackers Nick Jackson (PFF grade: 53.9) and Zane Zandier (50.5), and in particular safety Joey Blount (46.6), who had five tackles, but was credited with three missed tackles, and was burned in coverage on a 41-yard pass play on a second quarter third-and-2 that led to a Tech field goal.
Not much to learn from this one, is the sum.
Story by Chris Graham
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