Virginia’s trip to Tallahassee turned into a rough reality check fast.
Florida State rolled to a 38-7 win Saturday, and the Cavaliers were never able to make it a game. Virginia was overwhelmed on both sides of the ball, and the gap showed up early, often, and in just about every phase.
The most glaring issue was execution. Virginia had a defensive plan built around taking away star receiver Duce Robinson, but that only mattered if the Cavaliers finished plays.
They didn’t. More than 25 times, Virginia got a runner behind the line of scrimmage or to the line to gain, only to watch Florida State escape with broken tackles and turn chaos into chunk gains.
Missed tackles were a problem in the loss to West Virginia, and they came back even bigger against the Seminoles.
That’s a bad sign for what’s ahead. Virginia has already shown trouble against strong running backs and athletic quarterbacks, and the rest of the schedule does not offer much relief.
Offensively, the Cavaliers never gave their defense much help. Daniel Sparks punted seven times, and most of those kicks came after drives fizzled quickly.
Virginia was outscored 31-0 before the offense finally found the end zone midway through the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers didn’t score in the second or third quarter at all, which is the kind of drought good teams simply do not have.
The line of scrimmage was ugly too. Virginia’s offensive line, long viewed as one of the nation’s best, had its worst showing in more than 15 games.
The Cavaliers allowed eight tackles for loss and averaged fewer than two yards per carry. Entering the game, all five starters were graded as top-100 linemen in college football by various outlets, but that will almost certainly not be the case tomorrow morning.
Even the sack numbers told the story. Virginia gave up 10 sacks in one game, more than Florida State had recorded in its first four games combined. That’s a brutal number, and it left plenty for the Cavaliers to clean up.
The broader picture is just as harsh. Two of Virginia’s three wins came against Norfolk State and Delaware, and while the win over NC State looked good at the time, the Wolfpack have since fallen apart. That leaves Virginia having faced only two decent opponents - West Virginia and Florida State - and both ended in lopsided losses.
The difference between Virginia’s three blowout wins at Scott Stadium and its two frustrating road losses is hard to ignore. Right now, the Cavaliers do not look like a true ACC championship contender. With SMU, Wake Forest, Duke and Virginia Tech still on the schedule, Virginia likely has to win out - and probably get help - to have any realistic path to Charlotte.
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Virginias SMU Trip Just Got Much Bigger For The ACC Race
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SMU has also stumbled early in conference play, which gives this matchup added weight in the league race even before the teams arrive there. With both sides trying to keep their ACC championship hopes alive, the visit to SMU suddenly looks like one of those games that can change the tone of an entire season. [Read more 🡒]