For those Virginia football fans watching ESPN bleary-eyed on the east coast late last Saturday night, the Oregon game probably didn’t stir up many semblances of hope. The Ducks racked up an absurd amount of yardage both on the ground and through the air, finishing with enough in both phases — 301 rushing and 332 passing — to outdrive most PGA Tour professionals. Flashy Oregon coasted to a 44-26 victory.
Sure, Virginia senior running back Albert Reid surpassed the century mark in rushing yards, establishing an effective, hard-nosed running game to the Cavalier coaching staff’s delight. But with the exception of Reid’s emergence, Virginia (0-2) looked neither pretty nor promising to those brave Cavaliers fans awake early Sunday morning.
There were the six sacks of redshirt junior quarterback Kurt Benkert, a pair of ugly interceptions and well-thrown balls that Cavaliers receivers inexplicably dropped. There also was the third down and 36 that Oregon’s offense somehow converted. Although prior to the play, seasoned Virginia fans likely sensed that the Ducks would move the chains as if they were in a video game.
Had the television cameras been trained on the away sidelines more often, though, Cavaliers supporters would’ve felt better about the direction this Mendenhall-led program is headed despite its 0-2 start. There, they would have witnessed the Virginia football team achieving a previously nonexistent level of enthusiasm and chemistry.
“Guys are out there smiling — you know, we’re behind a touchdown or two or three touchdowns — and we’re actually smiling, knowing that we feel a change within ourselves that has never occurred before,” senior offensive tackle Eric Smith said. “It was just a thrill to know that we’ve accomplished something, and to know we are capable of much more.”
How the Cavaliers respond Saturday at Connecticut (1-1) after having this apparent change of heart out west will go a long way in determining their trajectory the rest of the season. Believe it or not, Virginia hasn't won on the road since Nov. 3, 2012 at North Carolina State. So even the seniors under Mendenhall haven’t won on the road wearing Cavalier orange and blue. That is a discouraging historical trend, one that could certainly weigh on the minds of Virginia players Saturday.
Notwithstanding history, however, the team seems to have found a new identity during its loss to Oregon, as the body language that Virginia players exhibited in July, which resurfaced during the Richmond game, never did show against the Ducks. The Cavaliers may be outplayed on a given week, but their losses can no longer be attributed to a preconceived notion of how a daunting matchup would play out.
“Being away in a crowd [at Oregon] like that, the thing we emphasized on was just staying together and being a team, as one,” sophomore linebacker Chris Peace said. “And like I said, since I’ve been here there hasn’t been too much of that, not consistently. I’d say that day on the field that’s about as close as we’ve been.”
Throughout the week, Benkert, Virginia’s general on the field, has echoed this positivity. The start of his 2016 season hasn’t unfolded the way he wanted it to — two runaway losses, three ill-timed interceptions and far too strong and accurate of an arm for his longest completion to be just 26 yards — yet Benkert believes the Cavalier offense will soon mesh. In the meantime, he has been quick to blame himself for any of the unit’s inconsistency or the team’s for that matter.
“Kurt is one of those leaders that will shoulder as much burden as possible,” Mendenhall said. “So when asked in relation to sacks and everything else, it doesn’t surprise me at all if he says he’s probably holding the ball too long. That’s what any of us in a leadership position want to do… In my opinion he’s holding it appropriately.”
Benkert is exactly the leader Virginia needs right now to escape Connecticut and what could prove to be a tight game against the Huskies, with its first road win in over four seasons. The Cavalier defense, which has allowed an average of 40.5 points and 578 yards per game, will have to step up for Benkert and his offense to have a chance.
Yet if anyone on Virginia understands the fact that the football season is a process, it is Benkert. Regardless of whether his defense puts his offense in another tough spot Saturday afternoon, the transfer from ECU, along with his teammates, will try to take another stride or two towards learning how to win. That doesn’t mean they will.
“I’m having more fun than I’ve had in a while, just being out there with this team and fighting with this team,” Benkert said. “Getting hit feels good again. It’s nice to just kind of knock off the rust a little bit at a time. And I’m really looking forward to seeing how this team, and this offense, looks going into midseason.”
A moral victory in football may not exist, but then, how can one explain this new mindset the Cavaliers have exhibited since the Oregon game, and its potential to translate into victories going forward?
Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Conn.
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