Virginia football concluded its non-conference schedule with a 56-14 drubbing at the hands of Boise State Friday night. The Cavaliers’ out-of-conference slate proved tough as advertised, and losses to top-10 programs UCLA and Notre Dame as well as the preseason-ranked Broncos (3-1) leave a tough road to bowl eligibility for Virginia (1-3).
“Obviously, we played poorly tonight,” coach Mike London said. “After our first play from scrimmage, it all went downhill.”
The Cavaliers began the game with the most inauspicious of starts. On the first play from scrimmage of the game-opening drive junior quarterback Matt Johns threw an interception that senior Justin Taimatuia returned 21 yards for a touchdown. Feeling pressure, Johns was simply trying to throw the ball away.
“It was a stupid play by me really,” Johns said. “It got away from me and they scored, but I didn’t let it affect me.”
Virginia’s starting quarterback was under duress throughout the game — the Broncos sacked Johns three times and hurried him often.
“They put a tremendous amount of pressure on our tackles and made Johns step up in the pocket,” London said.
Without a secure pocket, Johns struggled, going 12-for-25 with 199 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.
Of those 199 yards, 120 came on two separate plays. On his first completion of the game, Johns connected with senior wideout T.J. Thorpe for a 75-yard touchdown. The reception was Thorpe’s first for Virginia, and the North Carolina transfer walked a tightrope to stay inbounds.
That touchdown pass came with 6:51 remaining in the first quarter and broke a 17-0 scoring run by the Broncos. Boise State scored its second touchdown on its first offensive possession. Once again, the Cavaliers’ reeling defense was victimized by the big play. Facing a 3rd-and-2 from his own 28-yard line, sophomore Jeremy McNichols ripped off a 47-yard run. Freshman quarterback Brett Rypien followed that rush with a 20-yard screen pass, which put the Broncos on Virginia’s four-yard line.
Two plays later, McNichols punched the ball in to make it 14-0.
The first quarter was 15 forgettable minutes for Virginia’s offense. The Cavaliers accrued 80 yards of total offense — 75 coming on the Thorpe reception. Rushing the ball eight times, Virginia recorded a meager five yards on the ground.
The Broncos extended their lead in the second quarter. Boise State scored its third touchdown on its sixth offensive possession. Rypien kick-started the drive with a 22-yard pass to junior Chaz Anderson. Following a rush for no gain, Rypien strung together two completions of 11 yards and a 15-yard pass to reach Virginia’s 10-yard line. From there, McNichols walked into the end zone after catching a Rypien swing pass.
Boise State’s defense scored once again on the ensuing Cavalier possession after Johns was flagged for intentional grounding in his own end zone. The penalty resulted in a safety and pushed the Broncos’ advantage 26-7.
Virginia scored its final points of the game with three minutes remaining in the half. Johns hit junior running back Taquan Mizzell on a short slant route, and Mizzell broke away from the secondary for a 45-yard touchdown reception.
“On that play they just brought pressure and manned up,” Mizzell said. “I don’t think they played a lot of man tonight, but the one time they did, I just beat my man, got open and got the touchdown.”
The Cavaliers entered the half trailing 29-14. They would not put up any semblance of a fight in the final 30 minutes of game time.
“There are so many things that went into that game — penalties, being lazy, running routes, catching balls, tackling,” Thorpe said. “As a group we didn’t put out a good product today … Offensively, we need to take more pride.”
Boise State owned the second half, putting up 27 unanswered points to make the game a rout. In the second half, Rypien tossed two more touchdowns — one of 30 yards and the other for 64.
Filling in for the injured Ryan Finley, the true freshman quarterback made the most of his first career start. Rypien finished the game 24-for-35 with 321 yards and three touchdowns.
Johns tossed a second pick-six in the third quarter. With the game already in hand, London benched Johns in favor of junior Connor Brewer following Johns’ third interception. Brewer went 4-for-8 with 34 yards and a pick. The Cavaliers turned the ball over five times Friday.
Virginia’s rushing attack struggled mightily against Boise State’s defense, which is ranked second nationally against the run. The Cavaliers managed only 40 yards on the ground. Sophomore Daniel Hamm led all Virginia rushers with 22 yards on eight attempts.
The Cavaliers are afforded a week off to regroup before opening ACC play against Pittsburgh Oct. 10. Virginia must go 5-3 in conference to reach its first bowl since 2011.
“You can’t let one game define you,” Johns said. “You really have to move forward. We believe in each other, and we believe in this team.”
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