Two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year Reece Beekman and first-team All-ACC defensive selection Ryan Dunn aren’t walking through that door for Virginia this season. Albeit stockpiling transfers this offseason, Coach Tony Bennett is staring down a roster bereft of individual defensive stars and one with limited experience in the vaunted Pack Line Defense. 

The data-driven website KenPom puts out yearly rankings based upon measures such as offensive and defensive ratings, luck, and adjusted tempo. According to the site, the ‘Hoos have notched an impressive nine appearances in the top-10 of overall defensive ratings since 2012. Alarmingly, however, is the sharp dip in the post-COVID era; finishes of 36th, 59th, and 25th occurred in 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23, respectively. Last year’s roster did bounce back with a seventh-overall ranking in KenPom’s defensive ratings, thanks in large part to the contributions of Beekman, Dunn, and transfer center Jordan Minor’s emergence halfway through the season.

Now, the 2021-22 and 2023-24 seasons, which culminated in double-digit losses, an NIT appearance and a 26-point play-in defeat, vary significantly in their offensive and defensive outputs. The former finished 85th and 59th overall in offensive and defensive ratings, respectively, while the latter’s numbers show 200th and 7th — a massive discrepancy. With the Cavaliers losing the three aforementioned pieces on defense, the offense might be expected to shoulder a heavy burden to offset a roster without much Pack Line experience (hopefully, rumors are true surrounding Bennett’s desire to change some offensive schemes).

Nonetheless, here are some ‘Hoos who could pick up the slack.

Reliable Defensive Pieces: junior guard Isaac McKneely, senior guard Jalen Warley

*DBPR, according to EvanMiya, another data-backed college basketball site, “reflects the defensive value a player brings to his team when he is on the court. This rating incorporates a player’s individual efficiency stats and on-court play-by-play impact, and also accounts for the defensive strength of other teammates on the floor with him, along with the offensive strength of the opponent’s players on the floor.”

McKneely isn’t Beekman, but he’s a steady guard who has played in the Pack Line throughout college and high school (at Poca High in Poca, WV). Courtesy of EvanMiya, McKneely posted a .98 DBPR* last season — good for fifth out of eight Cavaliers graded by the site — and a .86 in 2022-23 — sixth out of eighth. I’d argue that McKneely passes the eye test as a fluid and smart defender occasionally undersized in some matchups, yet his metrics suggest that improvement will be needed quickly to compensate for Beekman’s absence. 

A senior transfer from in-conference foe Florida State, guard Jalen Warley projects to be a high-quality fit in Bennett’s scheme despite his offensive shortcomings. The senior from Philadelphia outranked all fellow Seminoles two seasons ago with a DBPR of 1.16 followed by a fourth-best 1.85 mark in 2023-24. These numbers appear to be low; however, Florida State’s roster two years ago, having finished the season 9-23, featured five players with a negative DBPR. The team DBPR average increased by 0.93 after a 17-16 record in 2023-24, a sizable jump.

At 6’7, a player like Warley fits a mold closer to a Ryan Dunn or a Braxton Key than he does a McKneely or Beekman, and thus possesses more versatility when it comes to guarding the 1-4. Blanketing the opponent’s best guard might not fall to McKneely, as anticipated, but to a lengthier defender with a penchant for disrupting passing lanes and providing sound help defense. Assuming Bennett squeezes the defensive potential out of an already-impressive on-ball defender in Warley, there’s reason to believe that the defense will recover from its losses. 

If there’s one player to watch for the ‘Hoos defensively, it’s the Florida State transfer.

Potential Defensive Breakouts: freshman center Anthony Robinson, sophomore guard Dai Dai Ames

I’ve heard nothing but palpable buzz surrounding the redshirt center this offseason. Despite having such a limited read on a player who hasn’t yet touched the court, it’s clear that Robinson has gained several pounds of muscle over the course of his redshirt season and may be thrust into the rotation earlier than expected. Robinson could, in time, fill the role of a Darion Atkins-type player for Bennett: a strong rebounder, interior defender, and player whose importance to the roster can’t be reduced to a box score summary. At 6’10,” 238 lbs., the redshirt isn’t far off from Atkins’ measurables before his senior season in 2014-15 — 6’8,’’ 240 lbs. One can hope that Robinson replicates Atkins’ underrated career in Charlottesville, one in which he garnered an ACC Defensive Player of the Year honor and noticeably improved following his junior season. 

While Virginia’s transfer class isn’t defensively-loaded outside of Warley, sophomore transfer Dai Dai Ames has shown flashes as an on-ball defender. The ex-Kansas State guard registered a measly 1.14 DBPR last season — good for sixth out of seven Wildcats — yet also took on tougher on-ball assignments with 5’11’’ backcourt mate Tylor Perry limited defensively. If Ames takes the point guard job from Warley or freshman Christian Bliss, he’ll have less pressure to take on matchups against larger shooting guards or even wings, so long as Warley, McKneely, or a bigger guard such as Andrew Rohde or Taine Murray are on the floor. There’s a reason why Bennett brought in Ames, a crafty playmaker whose toughness will be key.

While the defensive personnel is thin, the Pack Line will endure. The individual stardom might be lacking without Beekman and Dunn in the fold, yet Bennett will find a way through on that end of the floor. He always does.

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PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers made a late comeback to defeat their hated rival in the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Backyard Brawl at Acrisure Stadium.

The win makes it back-to-back wins at home for the Panthers over the Mountaineers for the first time since 1980 and 1982 at Pitt Stadium. It also keeps the Panthers undefeated on the season a a chance to finish without a loss in the non-conference for the first time in program history.

Quarterback 
Eli Holstein-63
Nate Yarnell-1

Running Back
Desmond Reid-47
Derrick Davis Jr.-17

Wide Receiver
Raphael “Poppi” Williams Jr.-59
Konata Mumpfield-56
Kenny Johnson-46
Censere “C.J.” Lee-18
Daejon Reynolds-11

Tight End
Gavin Barthlomew-67
Jake Overman-6

Offensive Lineman
Right Guard BJ Williams-64
Right Tackle Ryan Baer-64
Center Lyndon Cooper-64
Left Tackle Branson Taylor-63
Left Guard Ryan Jacoby-49
Left Guard Jason Collier Jr.-15
Left Tackle Terrence Enos Jr.-1

Defensive Line

Defensive End
Nate Matlack-65
Jimmy Scott-57
Sincere Edwards-20
Chief Borders-15

Defensive Tackle
Nick James-40
Isaiah “Ghost” Neal-35
Nakhi Johnson-29
Elliot Donald-19
Francis Brewu-15

Linebacker
Brandon George-79
Kyle Louis-78
Rasheem Biles-62
Braylan Lovelace-19
Jordan Bass-1

Cornerback
Ryland Gandy-63
Rashad Battle-57
Tamon Lynum-36

Safety
Donovan McMillon-72
Javon McIntyre-48
Phillip O’Brien Jr.-38
Cruce Brookins-9

The offense snap count stayed relatively the same against West Virginia as it was for Cincinnati. The biggest change was that sixth year Ryan Jacoby came back to the starting lineup over fellow sixth year Jason Collier Jr. at left guard.

Panthers offensive linemen in redshirt junior Lyndon Cooper, redshirt sophomore Ryan Baer and sophomore BJ Williams played all 64 snaps at center, right tackle and right guard respectively. Redshirt senior Branson Taylor played 63 snaps at left tackle, missing one with a minor injury, which saw redshirt junior Terrence Enos Jr. come in for a play. Jacoby played 49 snaps, but Collier came in for 15 snaps, when he had to sit for a minute with an injury.

Sophomore linebacker Rasheem Biles earned his first career start at money linebacker and had the most snaps as well at 62. Sophomore Braylan Lovelace, who started the first two games at money linebacker, played just 19 snaps in the win.

The Backyard Brawl will take place again next season on Sept. 13, 2025 in Morgantown, W.Va.

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The momentum Virginia had generated in its comeback victory at Wake Forest must have dissipated at some point during halftime of the game against Maryland on Saturday night. Anthony Colandrea had just scrambled for a 10-yard touchdown run with one second remaining to put the Cavaliers ahead of the Terrapins 13-7 at halftime.

Sure, UVA had missed some opportunities to build a bigger lead, but the defense was playing well, the offense was having some success moving the ball, and the Cavaliers’ outlook was generally pretty good considering they were set to receive the ball to start the second half.

Instead, Virginia went three-and-out to start the third quarter, beginning a chart of second-half possessions for the Virginia offense that looked like this: three-and-out, interception, three-and-out, three-and-out, fumble, turnover on downs.

30 frustrating minutes later, Virginia’s 13-7 halftime lead turned into a disappointing 27-13 defeat, the first loss of the 2024 season.

So, what went wrong?

It begins, as it so often does in college football, in the trenches. Virginia’s offensive line is in pretty bad shape right now. If you looked behind the south end zone during Saturday’s game, you would have seen a long line of inactive UVA football players sporting sweatpants, boots, crutches, casts, and slings. Many of those injured Cavaliers are offensive linemen.

Ethan Sipe and Drake Metcalf are the big ones, two transfers who were expected to provide important depth snaps, but who are now lost for the season. But there are others like Charlie Patterson and Noah Hartsoe whose absences are also notable. Most significantly, starting left tackle McKale Boley has yet to play this season as he continues to deal with an ankle injury. Terry Heffernan just doesn’t have as many pieces to work with as he was supposed to.

Anthony Colandrea was only sacked once on Saturday night, but he was hurried seven times and frequently had to throw the ball away. Though Virginia’s ground game wasn’t bad – 123 total rushing yards and 4.1 yards per carry – it wasn’t good enough to be leaned on consistently.

Virginia’s playcalling did not take the lack of protection into account nearly enough. With Colandrea having almost no time to scan the field, the Cavaliers needed shorter routes for their best playmakers, namely Malachi Fields, who had just four catches for only 36 yards. UVA hit on a few big plays – the 45-yard bomb from Colandrea to Trell Harris comes to mind – but Colandrea’s opportunities to give his receivers time to run long-developing routes like that were few and far between.

Even in the first half, when Virginia managed to drive the ball deep into Maryland territory, the red zone playcalling left much to be desired. The 45-yard pass to Trell Harris gave the Cavaliers first and goal from the 6-yard line. Kobe Pace ran the ball down for four yards to the 2 and then the Cavaliers attempted two passes, both falling incomplete, before settling for a 19-yard chip shot from Will Bettridge.

On their next drive, the Cavaliers again reached the red zone, but more immediate pressure on Colandrea forced a throwaway and another short field goal. It’s still early, but Virginia has scored touchdowns on only five of its 12 trips to the red zone this season. That’s not nearly good enough execution at the most important part of the field.

And then there’s Anthony Colandrea. One of the biggest keys we mentioned in the lead-up to Saturday’s game was Colandrea taking care of the football. His worst game from a turnover standpoint came against Maryland last year, when he threw three picks on consecutive possessions in the second half, turning that game into a blowout. This time around it was, unfortunately for Colandrea and the Hoos, not that much different. The Anthony Colandrea experience necessitates taking the bad with the good in terms of high-risk, high-reward plays, but when you combine his willingness to put the ball in jeopardy with the fact that he was consistently under pressure, the outcome is a three-turnover game for Colandrea, four turnovers for Virginia as a team, and a shutout in the second half.

Also contributing to that scoreless outcome was the fact that the Cavaliers converted on just three of their 15 third down attempts, while Maryland went 8/19. The disparity in third down conversions and turnover margin led to a significant advantage in time of possession for the Terrapins, who possessed the ball for 35:36 of gametime.

As for the Virginia defense, this was far from a bad game and it was really the turnovers/time of possession factor that was primarily responsible for Maryland putting up 27 points. The UVA offense was unable to sustain drives in the second half and turned the ball over four times. The Cavalier defense held the Terps to only seven points in the first half and did not allow any points off of the first three turnovers by the Virginia offense. It should also be mentioned that two of Maryland’s three touchdown drives started around midfield.

With that said, there are three things that are concerning for the UVA defense moving forward:

1. Despite knowing that Maryland’s offensive game plan was going to involve frequently putting the ball in the hands of Tai Felton, the nation’s leading receiver, the Cavaliers were unable to stop Felton, who had nine catches for 117 yards and a touchdown.
2. After breaking through for six sacks against Wake Forest last week, the UVA pass rush reverted to being relatively unimpactful, sacking Maryland quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. only once.
3. Injuries. Namely, linebacker Kam Robinson missed the game after spraining his knee in the game against Wake Forest. We’ll see if Tony Elliott has positive news about a timetable for Robinson’s return at this week’s press conference.

This loss is by no means the end of the world for Virginia. But it does represent a massive missed opportunity to make a statement by defeating a rival and improving to 3-0 for the first time since the legendary 2019 season. It especially feels like a missed opportunity given the fact that UVA went to the red zone twice before Maryland had scored a point and came away with just six points and given that the Terrapins committed eight penalties for 66 yards.

What this frustrating defeat does mean, however, is that next week’s game at Coastal Carolina now becomes even more important than it already was. The Cavaliers cannot miss this opportunity to get to 3-1 and it might just be a must-win game with regards to Virginia’s aspirations to become bowl eligible this season.

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Virginia Shut Out in 2nd Half, Suffers First Loss of Season to Maryland

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