UVA Football: Five Takeaways From Virginia's 43-24 Win at Coastal Carolina

Matt Newton | Sep 22, 2024

Virginia Athletics

Virginia bounced back from its first loss of the season in a big way, beating Coastal Carolina in convincing fashion on Saturday afternoon in Conway. Here are five quick takeaways from UVA's 43-24 victory at Coastal:

1. Run, Run, Run

Virginia entered week 4 of the college football season ranked 94th out of 133 teams in rushing offense, averaging 4.2 yards per carry and 132 yards per game. It took the Cavaliers a few drives to realize the significant advantage they had in the trenches. But once they found that edge, they exploited it all the way through to the end of the game. Virginia racked up 384 rushing yards, most in the Tony Elliott era and most since the 2018 season. Xavier Brown had 171 yards on only nine carries, averaging 19 yards per carry. His 75-yard run in the third quarter was the longest rush by a Cavalier since 2018 as well. It's too small of a sample against an overmatched opponent, but the Hoos will certainly be hoping that this sparks their ground game moving forward.

2. Capitalizing on Takeaways

Virginia came into this game with a -5 turnover margin this season and had yet to record an interception through the first three games. Coastal Carolina fumbled the opening kickoff and Ethan Vasko was intercepted by Antonio Clary in the first quarter. UVA scored touchdowns after both of those takeaways and also scored two touchdowns after Coastal turned the ball over on downs. There were a lot of things working in Virginia's favor on Saturday, but turning Coastal's turnovers into touchdowns was a big one.

Virginia Uses Dominant Ground Game to Overpower Coastal Carolina 43-24

3. Strong Starts to Each Half

Playing in a hostile environment, one of the keys to the game for Virginia was to not let the Coastal crowd impact the game by allowing the Chanticleers to get off to a hot start. Perhaps more importantly, the Cavaliers desperately needed a better third quarter after going scoreless in their two most recent third quarters.

How did Virginia do in those areas? UVA scored a touchdown less than 90 seconds into the game and started the third quarter by scoring 10-straight points. Check and check.

4. The Grady Bunch

He was incorrectly identified by the pro-Coastal broadcast team as Anthony Colandrea on his first score of the game, but Grady Brosterhous made sure the announcers knew his name by the end of the game. His first score wasn't a traditional tush push, but rather a QB draw from five yards out and Brosterhous bowled in for the score. Late in the second quarter, Brosterhous was pushed into the end zone by the Grady Bunch for his second rushing score of the game and third touchdown of his career. He also successfully executed the QB sneak on a 4th and 1 to keep a Virginia drive alive in the second quarter. Brosterhous has given the Cavaliers semi-reliable option in short yardage situations and that could be huge for Virginia as the season progresses.

5. Timely Stop for the Virginia Defense.

The UVA offense deservedly gets credit for its success running the ball, converting on third down (9/18), and dominating time of possession. But there were some key moments throughout the game where the Virginia defense came up with huge plays and pivotal stops to prevent Coastal from building any momentum. Holding the Chanticleers to a field goal on their first possession and turning them over on downs three times in the second half were notable moments for a UVA defense that struggled to get off the field against Maryland. Coastal Carolina was 4/13 on third downs and 1/4 on fourth downs. That's a step in the right direction and some good positive momentum heading into the bye week.

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By the Numbers: Breaking Down Virginia's Win at Coastal Carolina

Virginia Uses Dominant Ground Game to Overpower Coastal Carolina 43-24

Virginia vs. Coastal Carolina Live Score Updates | NCAA Football