1. 3rd Down Efficiency

The Hokies converted just 13% of their third-down attempts yesterday and struggled to move the football in the running game, which is their primary offensive strategy. This week, the Hokies will face Syracuse, a team with a very explosive offense, meaning they cannot afford to take risks as they are more likely to pay for mistakes than they did against Georgia Tech. Syracuse is currently averaging 30.9 points and 469.9 total yards per game. If the Hokies third-down struggles continue, it’s likely that Syracuse will win this game by a wide margin.

2. The Run Game

The Hokies running game wasn’t as effective as Virginia Tech fans are used to seeing, which could be a significant problem if it continues this week. The team is currently averaging 195.5 rushing yards per game, but they managed only 89 total rushing yards yesterday, as Georgia Tech shut down their ground attack throughout the game. Adding to the concern, star running back Bhayshul Tuten was injured in yesterday’s game, and it is uncertain whether he will play next week. Reports indicate that he was seen in a walking boot at the end of the game. It is also important to note that as a result, Tuten’s streak of nine consecutive games with a touchdown has ended, and this marks the third time this season he has been held to under 100 rushing yards.

3. Passing game needs to be more consistent

This year we have seen the Hokies offense come out slow or struggle with throwing the football and that was no different yesterday. The Virginia Tech offense managed only 134 passing yards and averages 181.5 yards per game this season. This will likely need to improve, as we saw yesterday, teams will focus on stopping the run and force the Hokies to rely on the passing game. You also can’t rely on your defense to hold opponents to just six points and consistently provide your offense with great field position, especially against a potent offense like Syracuse’s.

Additional Links:

Virginia Tech Football: 5 Big Takeaways From Virginia Tech’s Win vs Georgia Tech

Virginia Tech Football: Three Keys To Victory For The Hokies Against Georgia Tech

Virginia Tech Football: Hokies Reveal Uniform Combination For Matchup With Georgia Tech

Virginia football suffered their third straight defeat, this time in lopsided fashion as North Carolina routed UVA 41-14 on Saturday afternoon at Scott Stadium. UNC successfully avenged last year’s upset victory by the Cavaliers over the then-No. 10 ranked Tar Heels and improved to 66-59-4 in the all-time series with UVA, which dates back to 1892.

The 27-point margin of victory for the Tar Heels is the largest they have had against Virginia since beating UVA 45-14 in 2013. North Carolina recorded ten sacks against Virginia, the most UNC has had in a single game since the year 2000.

See the chart below for a breakdown of the stats from Virginia’s loss to North Carolina:

Here are some key individual stats from Virginia vs. North Carolina along with some more notes:

Malachi Fields finished with three receptions and 48 receiving yards, his 23rd game in a row with at least one catch. With 1,695 career receiving yards, Fields is 12th on Virginia’s all-time receiving list and is eight yards shy of passing Heath Miller.

Tyler Neville had four receptions for 32 yards, allowing him to surpass the 1,000-yard career receiving mark with 1,013 career receiving yards, 317 of which have come at Virginia.

Anthony Colandrea completed 16 of 28 passes (57%) for 156 yards, but had zero touchdowns and two interceptions, breaking a streak of four consecutive games without throwing a pick. He had thrown 146 passes in a row without an interception until throwing a pick on the first drive of the third quarter.

Tony Muskett threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to JR Wilson in the fourth quarter. That was Wilson’s first-career touchdown and UVA’s longest pass play of the season as well as the team’s longest pass play since Kobe Pace caught a 75-yard touchdown against James Madison in the second game of the 2023 season.

Anthony Britton led Virginia with 10 total tackles, setting a career-high in that category. Jonas Sanker was second on the team with seven tackles, six of which were solo stops, and he is now up to 154 career tackles.

Will Bettridge converted field goals of 30 and 27 yards, giving him 184 career points, which is four shy of catching up to Bill Dudley for the 15th spot on the all-time scoring list at Virginia.

Daniel Sparks booted a 60-yard punt in the second quarter, his 14th career punt of at least 60 yards. 12 of those punts have come at Virginia, putting Sparks past Russ Henderson for most 60+ yard punts as a Cavalier all-time.

Up next, Virginia has a bye next week before heading on the road in week 11 to take on No. 19 Pitt on Saturday, November 9th at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh. The kickoff time and TV designation have yet to be announced for Virginia at Pittsburgh on November 9th.

Virginia Football Suffers 41-14 Loss vs. North Carolina

Five Takeaways from Virginia Football’s 41-14 Loss to North Carolina

Virginia vs. North Carolina Live Score Updates | NCAA Football

Virginia football fell to 4-4 and 2-3 in ACC play with a disappointing 41-14 loss versus North Carolina on Saturday at Scott Stadium. The beatdown came as a surprise to many, as UNC came into the contest on a four-loss skid. With the victory, the Tar Heels improve to 4-4 and 1-3 in ACC play.

The contest started off well for the Hoos, forcing a UNC punt on their first possession before driving into the red zone. Unfortunately for Virginia, the red zone troubles of the 2024 season were amplified in today’s contest, and after a poor snap from backup center Noah Josey flew over Colandrea’s head, the Hoos failed to find the end zone and settled for an early FG – their only lead of the game at 3-0.

UNC responded to the early lead with a scoring drive of their own, this one for a touchdown on a 37-yard connection from Jacolby Criswell to wide receiver JJ Jones. Other than another failed red zone trip that saw the Hoos tack on another field goal, the rest of the first half was a one-sided affair. Colandrea was under constant pressure and the Cavaliers amassed just 77 total yards through the first two quarters. A balanced UNC offensive attack between Criswell, star running back Omarion Hampton, and JJ Jones proved too much to handle for a struggling UVA defense. Hampton punched in a rushing touchdown just before the two-minute timeout, and after another UVA three-and-out. the UNC offense drove down the field, with Criswell finding JJ Jones for his second touchdown of the game, this time a 31-yard score that ballooned UNC’s halftime lead to 24-6.

The second half did not improve in any aspect of the game for the Hoos. The first drive of the half saw Anthony Colandrea throw an interception, and UNC turned around and immediately found the end zone again on another Hampton touchdown. Including that interception, the Colandrea offense started the second half with the following string of results: interception, punt, interception, turnover downs. The second interception further exasperated UVA’s abysmal performance in the red zone, as Colandrea threw an 86-yard pick-six on the UNC 16-yard line. At this point, Scott Stadium was emptying out with the Hoos down 38-6, and some boos from the Virginia faithful raining onto the field.

The lone offensive highlight of the game came from Tony Muskett, who replaced Colandrea down 32 points midway through the fourth quarter. On Muskett’s third pass attempt, he connected with JR Wilson for a 68-yard score – the first of Wilson’s young career. Naturally, Elliott was asked about Muskett, Colandrea, and the starting QB role postgame given Muskett’s garbage time efficiency in the last two losses; Elliott was far from brushing the idea of a QB change off, saying it is “good to see Tony come in and have some success” and that he will “evaluate” the QB role during the bye week.

UNC would tack on a field goal late in the fourth, extending the lead further to 41-14, the score that would hold as final and hand them their first ACC victory of the season.

For Virginia, this loss against a fairly average UNC squad makes the 4-1 Cavaliers from just three weeks ago seem like a distant memory. Today’s loss was a beatdown on both sides of the football. Colandrea could barely breathe under center as he was sacked nine times in the contest, he took a step back in the turnover department with 2 interceptions on the day, and once again found himself on the bench in the late stages of a loss. The defense did little to help the cause, with poor tackling and a lack of pressure allowing the UNC offense to move up and down the field with relative ease en route to 428 total yards and 41 points.

Tony Elliott took the blame for the defeat in his postgame presser, immediately apologizing to the administration and declaring he “did not do a good job” having the team prepared for UNC. After this home blowout for a program that seemed to be heading in the right direction, perhaps the only bright spot after the defeat is that the Hoos have a bye week to watch the film and come better prepared for an even tougher matchup, on the road against the No. 19 Pittsburgh Panthers on November 9th.