Virginia’s trip through September takes another turn Saturday evening, and this one comes with a clear demand: respond.
After taking its first loss of the season against West Virginia in Charlotte, N.C., the Cavaliers are back at Scott Stadium for a 6 p.m. kickoff against Delaware on ACC Network. If Virginia wants this to be the kind of reset game it needs, the path is pretty straightforward.
It starts up front. Virginia’s offensive line should, in theory, be able to handle most defensive fronts it sees, but that didn’t fully show against West Virginia.
The Mountaineers got home for a few sacks, and the Cavaliers were held to a season-low 4.2 yards per carry. Once a 47-yard touchdown is removed from the equation, Virginia was barely averaging three yards a rush.
That’s not the identity this team wants, and it’s not the kind of performance that sets up a blowout.
The answer is to get back to the basics: physical football, toughness, and a run game that controls the tone from the start. If Virginia wants to bounce back the right way, that has to be part of the formula.
The same urgency applies on the other side of the ball. Virginia’s defensive line didn’t make enough noise against West Virginia, finishing with just one sack and one tackle for loss.
PFF graded Darrion Henry-Young and Matthew Fobbs-White as the 37th and 40th-best Cavaliers in the loss, and that reflects a unit that needs to be more disruptive. This is the spot where Virginia has to set the edge, win at the line and dictate terms instead of reacting to them.
And then there’s the cautionary note: Delaware is not walking into Scott Stadium as a punchline. The Blue Hens are 42-7 winners over Merrimack, beat Coastal Carolina 22-14, and even made Vanderbilt sweat on the road by leading at halftime. That’s enough to demand full attention.
Virginia has to treat Delaware like a competitive ACC opponent, come out swinging, and land the first heavy shots. The Cavaliers need to bully the Blue Hens early, build a multi-touchdown lead, and make sure this one never gets interesting.
That becomes especially important because the secondary has its own concerns. Ethan Minter, Brandyn Hillman, Jacobie Henderson and Omillio Agard were given three of the worst PFF grades on the team, and Virginia’s starting defensive backfield was also burned a few times against Norfolk State. If Delaware quarterback Nick Minicucci settles in and starts picking apart the coverage, this game could turn uncomfortable in a hurry.
Virginia needs its defensive backs to hold up, and it needs them to make plays the way Hillman did in the first two games. If that happens, and the line of scrimmage tilts back in Virginia’s favor, the Cavaliers should be in position to get the kind of rebound they’re after.
In Other News...
Virginia Is Waiting On One Offensive Line Decision After West Virginia
Virginias offensive line is still sorting out one of its key early-season questions after the West Virginia game, with left guard Noah Josey working through an ankle injury and the Cavaliers preparing for Delaware. Josey left the contest partway through and was replaced by Ben York, who handled 55 snaps in relief, giving Virginia a workable answer in the moment while the staff kept an eye on the bigger picture.
Tony Elliott said Josey was out at practice and described him as hopeful for Saturday, which leaves the Cavaliers in a familiar spot this time of year: balancing caution with the need to get their best five up front on the field. The line looked capable with York filling in, but Virginia would clearly prefer to have Josey back as it keeps building toward its next game. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Needs Noah Josey Back As O-Line Concern Grows
Virginias offensive line had a rougher night once left guard Noah Josey went out against West Virginia, and that has made his status worth watching as the Cavaliers get ready for Delaware. Josey left early with an ankle issue after 20 snaps, and coach Tony Elliott said the guard is expected to return to practice soon, a timely development for a group that looked less stable without him.
The bigger picture for Virginia is simple: the line needs to settle down before the schedule gets tougher, and getting Josey back healthy would help. The Cavaliers are hoping he can be available for a later matchup with Florida State, but first they need to see how his recovery goes over the next few days and whether the unit can regain its footing in practice. [Read more 🡒]
Virginias Rebound Game Comes With A Week Four Lineup Mess
Virginia had a rough reset after the West Virginia loss, a 38-27 setback in a game it was favored to win, and the attention now shifts quickly to Delaware with a rebound effort on deck. The Cavaliers are also sorting through the aftermath of that defeat, where injuries and lineup shuffling have started to complicate what looked like a straightforward path into the next week.
Noah Josey went down in the first half against the Mountaineers, and defensive tackle Jason Hammond is expected to be out for the foreseeable future, which only adds to the uncertainty on both sides of the ball. The week four depth chart did not fully match what Virginia has actually used on Saturdays, either, with John Rogers and Corey Costner already starting games even though they are listed as backups, so the Cavaliers are heading into the Delaware game with a few more moving parts than the official chart suggests. [Read more 🡒]