In the mega-conference era, cross country trips are less unusual than before but the Virginia football team will be making its first trip to the West Coast on Saturday for an ACC matchup. The game at California actually marks only the third game ever for the Hoos in the state and their first ever matchup with the Bears.
UVA as a program is winless in four games in the Pacific Time Zone. The long trip - 2,369 miles through the air - can be challenging for teams. Coach Tony Elliott said Virginia discussed some planning tips with others to prepare for the travel. The Hoos left Thursday.
“The staff has done a great job of tapping into the resources of not just college, but NFL resources about making the West Coast trip,” Elliott said. “And so, yes, we've had conversation about what's the right timing? When do you go? How do you get acclimated to the time change? What's the meal schedule? Should you should you get out there and do some stretching? Do you want to have a fast Friday practice? What's the best combination? So we took all that information and evaluated it and then also looked at where our team is right now to help us finalize our plan to travel out west.”
Kickoff is set for 3:45 p.m. ET, which could help the adjustment concerns. UVA actually played earlier last week at UNC with a noon kickoff and avoided a really late kickoff at Cal, which could have made it more difficult.
Of course, game time and travel concerns may not matter if the Cavaliers can’t find a way to get their offense back on track.
Ranked in the top 10 for scoring earlier this season, UVA has posted 30 or fewer points the last three games. That includes back-to-back outings with Washington State and North Carolina with 22 and 17, the final 2 against the Cougars, of course, coming courtesy of the defense on a safety. Virginia’s 23.0 points per game in the month of October is tied for 91st nationally, while the 45.6 points in August/September ranked 8th.
Multiple factors likely have contributed to the slide. The offensive line has dealt with injuries and shuffling. Quarterback Chandler Morris is nursing pain on his non-throwing shoulder. Defenses are trying to shut down the run and short passing game, but UVA has not been able to counter with deep passing connections unlike earlier in the year. And so on.
The question, of course, is whether the Hoos can rediscover the magic that had the scoreboard lighting up earlier this season. It’s a weekly question right now and worrisome to fans, but Elliott keeps reminding his team that the same offense is still there somewhere. He said that players and coaches both have to find a way to win matchups and that the Cavaliers just need to find a way to connect the dots more often to get the rhythm and production get going.
“There were some things that we learned from to be able to help the guys and give them more answers in some of the fronts that they were seeing this past week,” Elliott said. “One-on-one matchups come down to inches. So the guys, it's not like there's a bunch of busted assignments and guys aren't giving great effort. But when pad level gets an inch too high, it's magnified now this point in the season. I think for the backs, man, when their eyes are off by an inch and it influences a decision to maybe bounce a ball when you should bang it, results in a TFL as opposed to a three- or four-yard gain that now keeps us on schedule. I think when we stay on schedule, right, you can see glimpses of a that looks like what we saw early in the season.”
Check out more trends, keys, and picks ahead of the matchup between Virginia and California.
3 Trends To Know
1. Kam Robinson Continues To Deliver. Virginia linebacker Kam Robinson missed the first three games of the season while recovering from a collarbone injury, but he’s been productive in a big way since he joined the lineup. Robinson has posted 7+ tackles in all five games he’s played including double-digit tackles in three games (10 vs. FSU, 10 at Louisville, 13 at UNC). With 48 tackles on the season, he has jumped into the team lead even with the late start. Robinson needs 17 tackles to reach 200 for his career.
2. Turnover Streaks. California has not turned the ball over in its last two games and has four games this season overall with no turnovers. The Golden Bears are 3-1 in the games without a turnover. On the other side, UVA’s defense has secured a takeaway in five straight games. The Hoos won all five games.
3. Cal’s Jacob De Jesus Challenges Pass Defenses. California receiver Jacob De Jesus has at least 6 catches in six of eight games this season, including the last four games. Against North Carolina two weeks ago, he posted 13 catches for 105 yards and 1 touchdown. He followed that up with 8 catches for 86 yards at Virginia Tech. De Jesus ranks second in the ACC and No. 8 nationally in receptions with 55 on the season. He does average 8.95 yards per catch with a long of 38 yards on the season so tackling on short receptions will be in order.
3 Keys To The Game
1. Reset The Running Game. A big part of UVA’s struggles on offense of late? The running game. In August/September (those 45.6 points per game games), Virginia averaged 243.4 yards rushing per game (12th nationally) and 5.61 yards per carry (22nd nationally), while it scored 17 rushing touchdowns (tied 7th nationally). Flip the calendar to the three games in October (23.0 points per game) and those numbers plummet. UVA averaged 89.67 yards (128th nationally) and 2.74 yards per carry (128th nationally) with only 4 rushing touchdowns (tied 73rd nationally). Yes, there’s some noise in there due to sacks - 3 allowed for -14 yards in August/September vs. 8 allowed for -64 yards in October - but that’s not the whole reason for the slip.
California’s defense is not a run-stopping juggernaut as it allows 151.88 yards per game (81st nationally) and 4.57 yards per carry (100th nationally). The Bears have given up 15 rushing touchdowns (103rd nationally). It didn’t show an uptick in October either (218.33 yards/128th, 5.28 yards per carry/123rd, 8 TDs/113th tie). Louisville, Washington State, and UNC were all in the top half of the country in those categories in the middle month of the season.
Long story short: get the run game going again. It could pay dividends this week.
2. Keep Up The Defense, Especially In the Second Half. Obviously, the UVA defense has played a major role in the team’s winning streak. The Hoos have allowed 27 or fewer points in five of the six games in this stretch and the defense has been even more stingy the last three with 20 and 16 allowed in the last two wins. Against Louisville and Washington State, the defense put up points on top of that with a fumble return for touchdown, an interception return for touchdown, and a safety.
The Cavaliers, who have allowed just 1 touchdown in the last 96:36 of regulation time, have been really good in the second half of late. During the six-game winning streak, opponents have scored just 42 points in regulation after halftime (7.0 points allowed on average). Washington State had 3 points, while UNC had 0 in the last two games. For the season, Virginia has outscored its opponents 38-19 in the fourth quarter.
3. Clean Special Teams. As noted above, Jacob De Jesus is a threat to make a lot of catches, but he’s also a threat on returns. He returns both punts and kicks for Cal, ranking in the top 30 for return average in both (11.2 and 22.3, respectively). Last season, the Bears blocked a field goal in a win at Wake and returned a kickoff for a touchdown in a win against UC Davis. In recent weeks, Virginia has felt close to giving up a punt block a couple of times as well and that’s something that has tripped up Daniel Sparks in previous seasons. Those are the types of plays that can change a game.
3 Virginia Picks
1. Offensive Player of the Game: J’Mari Taylor. If UVA can take advantage of the sometimes shaky California run defense, it could mean a big day for Taylor. He looked a little slower after a possible ankle sprain against Washington State, but he’s been great after contact by averaging 3.6 yards this season after getting hit. Among running backs in the Pro Football Focus data, that’s in the top 15 in the ACC among backs with at least 30 carries. VT’s Marcellous Hawkins is another running back in that category (4.7 yards per carry after contact this season) and he had 167 rushing yards against last week against Cal.
2. Defensive Player of the Game: Emmanuel Karnley. The Cavalier corner has not had a big day yet defensively with 20 total tackles and 3 pass breakups on the season. While not credited in the stats, he did have a pass breakup last week that led to Antonio Clary’s interception and he was part of the overtime stop at the goal line to preserve the win. Now, he’ll be playing in his home state less than 30 minutes from where he competed at Las Lomas High School.
3. Winner: Hoos 30, Bears 20. Virginia has been in a lot of close games and is only a slight favorite in the sportsbooks, but the team will be up to the task despite the long trip. Season to date: 6-2.
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