Virginia did everything but win that game, and also did everything it could to give it to Louisville.
Credit to Louisville, which rallied from a 20-17 deficit to take the lead for good with a 5-yard TD pass from Tyler Shough to Jamarri Johnson with 1:55 on the clock.
But it should have never been that close.
The odd move by special teams coach Keith Gaither to have punter Daniel Sparks going with rugby-style kicks backfired when he planted a third-quarter rugby kick firmly into the backside of one of his up men, leading to a short field that paved the way for a quick Louisville score.
That one came after the curious decision by head coach Tony Elliott to leave the offense on the field for a fourth-and-goal at the 3 late in the second quarter.
Virginia, coming into the game, was ranked 103rd in the country in red-zone offense, and there’s a reason for that.
You shouldn’t push the envelope against this backdrop, but Elliott did, and it failed, leaving three points off the board.
You give the other guys seven, starve yourself of three, and lose by four.
Do the math.
A buddy wrote me after the game – “every time I get invested in this staff, they remind me why I had no confidence in them.”
My retort: the staff has this program in position to blow games in the final two minutes.
This is a step forward from where it was the past two years, when the games were blown much earlier.
As it stands, Virginia was the two-minute timeout away from being 5-1 for the first time since 2017.
I’m trying here, folks.
My theory in writing is to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.
This one is tough, because I’m afflicted with the rest of you.
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Chris Graham
