Five Things Virginia Needs to Do Against Richmond (Other Than Win)

Matt Newton | Aug 30, 2024

Virginia Athletics

When Des Kitchings was asked what would constitute a "successful start" for Anthony Colandrea in Virginia's season opener against Richmond, the UVA offensive coordinator responded with a laugh, "A win, okay, let's start there" before giving a real answer about Colandrea not turning the ball over and making good decisions.

It was a good response and it sparked us to write this story about what we'd like to see from not just Anthony Colandrea, but the entire UVA football team, in the first game of the 2024 football season in addition to just winning the game, of course.

No Special Teams Miscues

We harped on this topic in a story on Thursday, which you can read here, but to put things simply, Virginia badly needs to get its special teams sorted out in 2024. UVA's offensive and defensive units had enough problems last year that the Cavaliers really didn't need to be enduring catastrophic miscues on special teams. And yet they did, and those special teams errors included two blocked punts that led to touchdowns in games that were ultimately decided by one score. We also wrote in that story that Virginia doesn't need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to special teams, just don't have the wheels come off the tracks. That means no blocked punts or field goals, no senseless penalties, and no fumbles. Those are achievable goals and Virginia can set the right tone for the rest of the season by accomplishing them on Saturday.

150+ Rushing Yards

In 2023, Virginia ranked second to last in the ACC in rushing offense at 117.9 yards per game and the team's 3.1 yards per rushing attempt were dead last in the league. Tony Elliott and Des Kitchings remain committed to establishing a "balanced offense", and while that doesn't mean a 50-50 split between pass and run plays, UVA has to make opposing defenses respect the ground game in order to open things up for the passing game. Saturday's game against Richmond represents an opportunity for Virginia's rushing attack, namely the offensive line and running backs, to make a bold first statement. We're looking for the Cavaliers to rack up at least 150 rushing yards against Richmond, something they did only three times last year. What were the outcomes of those three games? Virginia's only three victories of the season.

Balance for Anthony Colandrea

Kitchings alluded to this in his answer to what would make a successful start for Anthony Colandrea. We already know that the rising sophomore is capable of incredible improvisation, scrambling, and throws on the run that result in remarkable highlight plays. UVA fans have fallen in love with the kid as a result of those very plays. But everyone, including Kitchings, Elliott, Colandrea, and most of the UVA fan base, knows that a successful season can only happen if Colandrea finds a balance between cashing in those risky plays and having the maturity to know when taking the safer play is better for Virginia's chances to win. Colandrea doesn't need to have that balance figured out in week 1, but we need to see signs that he's looking for it.

Four Sacks for the UVA Defense

Virginia recorded just 11 sacks as a team in 12 games last season. A replication of that effort from UVA's pass rush in 2024 will likely result in a similarly disappointing season for the team as a whole. Kam Butler, who missed the final eight games of the season with an injury, accounted for 3.5 of those 11 sacks despite playing less than a third of the season. Butler is back this year, as is Chico Bennett, who recorded zero sacks in 2023 after leading the Cavaliers with seven in 2022. If Butler and Bennett can play their best football from the edges and get contributions from others on the defensive line like Jahmeer Carter and Jason Hammond, Virginia could see a resurgence from a pass rushing standpoint. We're looking for four sacks from the Cavalier defense in week 1 against Richmond.

A Comfortable Lead Before the Fourth Quarter

Virginia knows not to underestimate any opponent. Richmond is an FCS team, yes, but the Spiders are one of the better FCS teams and will come into Scott Stadium expecting to win. With that said, good execution from the Cavaliers in all three phases should result in a comfortable and convincing win. It'd be best if UVA could build that comfortable lead well before the late stages of the game, both for the confidence boost and to preserve the health of the team heading into the rest of the season.

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