The defense was going to carry Virginia while it faced a rebuilding year on offense.
But last week the Cavaliers surrendered 432 yards in a 31-21 loss to East Carolina that wasn’t as close as the score. The Pirates racked up 304 of those yards in the first half.
In two of the past three games, veteran quarterbacks have been largely responsible for shredding the Cavaliers defense.
East Carolina senior James Pinkney did a number on Virginia on Saturday, both in the air and on the ground. He passed for 224 yards and rushed for 42.
“[Pinkney] played like a veteran quarterback and that was the difference in the game. He stepped up and won thegame for his team,” said Cavaliers head coach Al Groh. “I give him a lot of credit, he stepped up and made some plays when his team needed him to and that’s what senior quarterbacks usually do.”
On national television on Sept. 21, it was Georgia Tech senior quarterback Reggie Ball (205 yards passing, 2 TDs). The one time the Cavaliers faced a freshman – Duke’s Thaddeus Lewis – their defense shined. Lewis was limited to just 121 yards passing and was intercepted three times.
It’s a foreboding omen – this weekend the Cavaliers face another veteran, Maryland fifth-year senior Sam Hollenbach, who has been consistent all season and hasn’t made the mistakes that marked the early part of his career.
“It’s another great challenge and it’s something that we get every week,” said Virginia defensive end Chris Long. “There’s usually somebody at the helm, an experienced guy, we don’t play too many guys who have just started. So obviously any position that’s not experienced is going to be able to be exploited a little bit.”
Virginia’s three-game homestand that begins this weekend against the Terrapins is its last chance to resuscitate a floundering season.
“We’ve lost our fair share thus far, but to this point, we’ve seen improvement in areas,” said Long. “We’re just going to try and build on that and try to get another win. The mindset is no different than any other week.”
