Say what you will about the officials not giving us chances to win — and both our team and our fans have, in light of yesterday’s loss to Louisville — but simply executing and playing good football goes a long way toward lessening their impact.
Making the 24-yard field goal (or better yet, scoring a touchdown) after Micah Kiser’s fumble recovery would have been nice. Olamide Zaccheus being aware of his surroundings and calling for a fair catch on the 20 with a Louisville player bearing down (maybe too close, but hard to say) would have been great. Stopping the Cardinals on a late third and seven or not giving up 31 yards on third and one on the same drive would have helped. It’s not always about the officials. It’s about making plays, and having the right players in the right position to make them. I don’t blame our guys for not always getting that — it’s been a really long time since we’ve been able to count on that kind of fundamental edge — but it’s true.
I had thought that the pocket-passing attack of Kyle Bolin would key Louisville’s offense in this one, but it was the ground game that did us in instead. Brandon Radcliff gashed us for both of the 30+ yard runs on the final drive, but those weren’t flukes. They were the last gasps of a run defense that had already been beaten and battered for 199 yards. The promising edge contains that we saw against Georgia Tech and Miami were nowhere to be found, as Louisville strolled off tackle like someone crossing an empty street. Nine of their 37 rush attempts went for at least 10 yards. I’m not sure if Louisville converting 44% (four of nine) of their third downs is worse, or if it’s that their rushing attack set them up to only have nine third downs to try. One interesting note: young Andrew Brown had what was by far his best college game, living in Louisville’s backfield when he was in. It makes me wonder what exactly has gone on behind the scenes this year with him, as it’s become a joke how Brown is listed as a starter only to barely see the field (if he even does) every week.
The offense was OK. Louisville didn’t allow us to run much (94 net yards), but Matt Johns threw for 260 yards and four touchdowns, and we scored 31 points. There are things that we could have done better — all the screens, all the time! — but 31 is a full touchdown over our average coming in and the third-most points (second-most in a regulation game) we’ve scored this season. It should have been enough to win. Canaan Severin had a great game, reeling in eight catches for a career-high three touchdowns. I wish he hadn’t played his 10 snaps in 2012 — it would have been nice to have him returning for 2016. That’s coaching. Smoke had nine catches for 89 yards. His 63 catches for the season are the most by a Virginia receiver since Kris Burd caught 66 in 2011, a mark that Mizzell will almost certainly pass against Duke next week, as he’s only caught less than four passes in a game once this season.
Speaking of coaching, at 3-7 (2-4 in the ACC) and low on the APR totem pole that the selection folks use to pick 5-7 teams to fill any empty spots in bowl games, this season now has a fixed expiration date regardless of the outcomes against Duke and Virginia Tech. Now, the question is the obvious one: what will be done about Mike London, and if something is done, when?
I expect a change — how can you not, given the results and that he either will need to be extended or relieved of his duties? — but the saga of London’s job security has been like a cheesy horror movie since the 2012 season; one of the ones where the house full of teenagers assume the worst is over and let their guard down only for the bad guy with the chainsaw to make a surprise return to wreak havoc again and again. I don’t trust Craig Littlepage (and certainly don’t trust Jon Oliver) to make the right decision, so my guard isn’t coming down until I’m reading the press release telling me that London isn’t returning.
