UVA Football: Five Keys to a Virginia Victory over Coastal Carolina

Five things the Cavaliers need to do to enter the bye week 3-1.

Colandrea will look to get the Cavaliers back on track against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Coastal Carolina is nowhere near as good as Maryland, but should not be overlooked. General public tickets are sold out in Conway, South Carolina, so the Virginia Cavaliers will enter a hostile environment on Saturday. With that said, here are five keys to a Virginia victory on Saturday: 

Win the Turnover Margin 

This has been key in the past but needs to be emphasized after the Cavaliers lost the turnover battle 4-0 on Saturday to the Terrapins, with Anthony Colandrea having two interceptions and a fumble, with Tyler Neville also having a fumble of his own. It was an inexcusable performance that needs to be corrected against the Chanticleers. 

Defensively, Virginia has yet to record an interception, which needs to change. Although Coastal Carolina is primarily a run-first offense, heading into the bye with zero interceptions would be disappointing. 

Stop the Run 

As recently mentioned, the Chanticleers have a run-first offense, which is powered behind the tandem of running back Christian Washington and quarterback Ethan Vasko, with the two rushing for 206 and 190 yards, respectively. Coastal Carolina has rushed for 755 yards this season, which is good for 9th most in college football. 

With that being said, it’ll be critical for the Cavaliers to stop the run early, relying on defensive linemen such as Chico Bennett Jr, Kam Butler, Michael Diatta, and Jahmeer Carter to stifle the Coastal Carolina rushing attack and force Vasko to throw the ball downfield. Unfortunately, the Cavaliers have allowed an average of 138 yards a game so accomplishing this key could be a challenge for John Rudzinski’s defense. 

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The Virginia Passing Attack 

The Cavaliers passing attack faltered against the Terrapins, with Colandrea throwing for only 247 yards and Trell Harris leading the way with only 72 yards. It’ll be important for Colandrea to get back in rhythm with his wide receivers with all eyes on Malachi Fields, who will look to go for his third 100-yard receiving game of the season. If Virginia can rediscover its rhythm through the air it had in its first two games, it could be too much for the Coastal Carolina rushing attack to respond. 

After facing a stout Maryland defense, a matchup against Coastal Carolina should allow for Colandrea to return to good form heading into the bye before a matchup against Boston College.

Finish in the Red Zone 

Executing in the red zone was a problem against Maryland, with the Cavaliers having four trips to the red zone, with the results being a fumble, two field goals, and one touchdown. For the season, Virginia has scored just five touchdowns on 12 trips to the red zone. If the Hoos want to win football games, they need to better execute in the red zone. 

Start Strong 

As mentioned earlier, all public tickets for the game have been sold out, so the Cavaliers should be expected to enter a hostile environment in Conway, South Carolina. With that, it’ll be important that Virginia silences the crowd early with a strong start, evening the playing field for the remainder of the contest. 

The Cavaliers showed they can win on the road in their comeback win over Wake Forest in week two. It will be critical that Virginia leaves the Carolinas with its second victory of the season. Despite only being week four, this is a make-or-break game for the Hoos.

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