The UVA Football fans that could be bothered to attend Saturday’s Homecoming game against Louisville headed for the parking lots early in the fourth quarter. They had seen enough of the Great Collapse of 2022.
In the press box, high above the field, cheering is prohibited. Apparently leaving early is as well, or I may have taken that option, on an otherwise beautiful fall day in Central Virginia, which had so much else positive to offer.
After a promising 10-0 start to begin the game, Virginia returned to doing, well, Virginia-like things again. Terrible execution, turnovers, penalties, that has become the norm, rather than the exception, under first-year head coach Tony Elliott.
The result today was a completely inexplicable 34-17 loss to a depleted Louisville squad.
How depleted? The Cardinals were without their star quarterback, two leading rushers and top tackler.
That depleted.
The loss, the third in a row for Virginia, was particularly disturbing because the offense again appeared to struggle to adapt to the balanced-by-design offensive scheme being forced down its throat.
No one Cavalier player seems more out-of-sorts than the once-highly-touted quarterback Brennan Armstrong, who was responsible for three turnovers, including a costly fumble on a promising Virginia drive late in the first quarter, when Virginia appeared was poised to take a 17-0 lead.
Armstrong also threw two interceptions, his second coming with 5:31 to play in the third quarter after his 11-yard touchdown run had pulled the Cavaliers to within 20-17. Louisville responded by driving 60 yards to score and effectively put the game away.
After the game Armstrong said, “We’ve just got to learn to win.” But this has been a difficult season for the fifth-year senior QB, who elected to return to Charlottesville to play behind a completely overhauled offensive line. The result so far has seen Armstrong frequently on the move, and terribly uncomfortable with a collapsing pocket.
Elliott, after the game, said Armstrong was trying to do too much and needs others to come along.
Armstrong, disagreed.
“I don’t really feel like I’m trying to play outside the offense, but I mean, I’m just making mistakes also with trying to play and make plays,” said Armstrong.
Another example there of how the coach and the team may have a serious disconnect, or even worse have not yet connected at all this season.
The Cavaliers continue to make things difficult for themselves. Armstrong’s costly fumble at the Louisville 18 came when the Cardinals were ripe for the plucking, already down 10-0.
Sure-handed receivers continue to drop passes that kill drives, receivers that rarely had miscues last season. Is it timing, execution, or just being uncomfortable with different route schemes?
The one certainty is that these are the same group of skill players, plus Freshman All-America Lavel Davis Jr. that put points on the scoreboard like they were playing Madden Football.
OK, the offensive line is new, inexperienced, but that’s why you pay head coaches and assistant coaches tons of money, to compensate, be creative, to overcome weaknesses and play to the strengths.
So, six games into the season, the Cavaliers are a dismal 2-4, with what was thought to be the easier portion of the slate. The disarray continues, and it is now quite evident the current coaching staff is determined to put a square peg in a round hole. And neither the peg nor the hole is faring well.
Last year, Virginia finished 6-6. The offense was not the problem. Entering this season, the thought was that if Virginia could get a minimal uptick on the defensive side of the ball, then it could be a promising year for UVA.
The defense has accomplished that. The problem is the offense is completely broken, with a lot of finger-pointing. Players that performed at extremely high levels during the 2021 often appear a bit out-of-sync with one another.
A disconnect with the coaching staff? Possibly. Or they just understand that the square peg wasn’t designed for the round hole.
At 2-4, I say it’s both.
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