Four Questions for Virginia Football on the Road at Illinois

Questions for the Cavaliers in their first road test of the season

Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics

As Virginia embarks on its first road trip of the season to Illinois this weekend, the Cavaliers have lots of questions they'll need to answer in order to knock off the Fighting Illini on Saturday in Champaign. Here are the four most important questions for the UVA football game at Illinois: 

1. Can Virginia stop the run?

After supplementing the roster's depth at the position with four transfers this offseason, the reconstructed defensive line was supposed to be a strength of the Virginia defense this season. The Cavaliers did not have a great start on Saturday against Richmond. The stats won't jump off the page - Richmond had 170 rushing yards on 35 attempts for an average of 4.9 yards per rushing attempt. However, the eye test provided much more alarming results. As was the case through the entirety of the 2021 season, there were several running plays where Richmond's tailbacks got five yards beyond the line of scrimmage before meeting any resistance. UVA has to be more disruptive up front and better at plugging up the gaps in the running game. 

Illinois will bring a much bigger and more physical offensive line, blocking for the focal point of the Illini offense: running back Chase Brown. After picking 151 rushing yards against Wyoming, Brown amassed 199 yards on 36 carries against Indiana last week. If Illinois can consistently run the ball, it could spell trouble for the Cavaliers, as that will mean more time with the UVA offense on the sideline. The Illini love to run the ball. Virginia has no choice but to stop them.

2. Can Virginia establish its own run game?

Similarly, the Cavaliers are hoping to take another big positive step towards establishing a run game of their own. The season-opener was a solid start to that end, as both Perris Jones and Brennan Armstrong eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark against Richmond. Virginia is also set to get Miami transfer Cody Brown and fifth-year Ronnie Walker Jr. back from injury this week, so we could potentially see some different faces in the backfield on Saturday. Illinois will have trouble containing UVA's receivers, as was the case in the meeting last season. But, whether Virginia can also throw the threat of a rushing attack at the Illini will determine if the Hoos can dominate this matchup for the second season in a row. 

3. Does the UVA offensive line move forward or step back from its performance against Richmond?

The Virginia offensive line delivered a serviceable performance against Richmond last week. Brennan Armstrong was sacked once and hurried twice. Not bad, but the Cavaliers were hardly tested to the fullest by an FCS opponent. The Fighting Illini will have bigger and stronger athletes up front and the UVA offensive line will have to be steady to keep Armstrong's jersey clean. The Virginia receivers can't hurt the Illinois defense if Armstrong is on his back.

Four players - McKale Boley, Logan Taylor, Derek Devine, and Ty Furnish - made their first-career starts against Richmond last weekend. The unit performed well enough, especially considering it was the first time all five of them (including Dartmouth transfer John Paul Flores) have played together in a game setting. Garett Tujague's offensive line must continue to develop and the game at Illinois will be a big test. The good news is that the Cavaliers should get senior tackle Jonathan Leech back from injury this week. Barring any issues, he should take true freshman McKale Boley's spot in the starting lineup. 

Watch the video below to hear Tony Elliott comment on the performance of the UVA offensive line against Richmond and his expectations for the group heading into the Illinois game:

4. How does Virginia handle the adversity and a hostile environment?

The Cavaliers were able to give Tony Elliott a win in his head coaching debut against Richmond, but that game against an FCS opponent lacked any semblance of real pressure. That won't be the case when UVA plays a quality Illinois opponent in front of a hostile environment in Champaign on Saturday. The Illini are currently favored by 4.5 points, which takes into account the factor of home field advantage. Tony Elliott has been blaring the Illinois fight song over the speaker during practice this week in an attempt to get his players to get so used to the sound that they won't even notice it when it's played in the game. 

The effectiveness of that strategy is up for debate, but at the very least, the Cavaliers have had to learn how to maintain communication in a loud, distracting setting during practice. Virginia did have some communication issues against Richmond last week, including a couple of illegal substitution penalties. Such mistakes become more likely, and more costly, in a loud road environment, so it's good that the Hoos are working on that this week. 

The Illini are going to want revenge for last year's 42-14 loss at Virginia and they are also coming off of a painfully close defeat at Indiana last week. The motivation Illinois is bringing into this game is not lost on Tony Elliott, who has made sure to instill in his team that they must match that level of intensity if UVA wants to take the victory on the road. Win or lose, we'll learn something about the toughness of this Virginia team this weekend.

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