There are many strategies that are preached to David when playing Goliath on the gridiron.
“Just keep hanging around for three quarters — at the end anything can happen.” “Slow the tempo of the game down and keep the offense off the field.” “Don’t give up the big play on defense.” “Take advantage of the opportunities given to you.” “Lace the other team’s pregame meal with arsenic.” We’ve heard them all.
Saturday at Scott Stadium, none of those things happened. A whirlwind 21-7 first quarter broke the Cavaliers’ backs right from the get-go; each of USC’s first three drives resulted in touchdowns, and each was under 3:05 in length. Big plays came early and often, on the ground and in the air; Virginia went nine yards on six plays after one of the few errors USC made while it was still a game, a muffed punt return in Trojan territory. I couldn’t find my way into the room of the hotel restaurant where USC ate, even through the ventilation system. (Only joking.)
What was worse, when the Trojans needed a first down in a short-yardage situation, they got long yardage. Well, very long yardage. With the score 14-0 in the first quarter, a fourth-and-1 turned into a 33-yard touchdown run, and on the first drive of the second half with a 24-7 score, the Trojans converted a third-and-6 on a 42-yard strike into the heart of the defense.
“I think after that first initial push that we were just able to slow them down for a little while,” senior safety Byron Glaspy said. “We made some mistakes that kept them on the field though.”
Who was the culprit? Naturally, there were many.
“It wouldn’t be right for my job down to anybody to say that anybody did well today,” Virginia coach Al Groh said.
Indeed, no one looked particularly good, but against USC, that’s forgivable. The defensive line, however, was atrocious. The line collectively had just five tackles in the first three quarters — just three in the second and third combined — and nine total. And, while the secondary is always blamed for long bombs – USC junior quarterback Mark Sanchez had six completions of more than 15 yards, including the aforementioned completion for 42 yards and another for 49 yards — it doesn’t help when you give an All-American type quarterback like Sanchez enough time in the pocket to adjust his chin strap before unleashing a pass.
True, the Cavaliers were employing a conservative three-man rush for most of the afternoon. Yes, the 3-4 is designed for the linebackers to make a sizeable portion of the tackles against the run. But three tackles in two consecutive quarters? Sanchez getting six, even seven seconds in the pocket? That is unacceptable.
Junior nose tackle Nate Collins told me in training camp that he thinks this year’s defensive line will match or even exceed last year’s starting three in terms of production. From this game, I think we all are beginning to realize just how much Chris Long and Jeffrey Fitzgerald meant to this defense.
How much of this is forgivable? Where do you draw the line between tipping your cap to a good team and putting your tail between your legs in embarrassment?
“You go play well, play a solid game, a team like that wins, you say, ‘Well, we played about as well as we can play, they’re just real hard to beat,’” Groh said. “But there are some of those things that we did today that’s disturbing to me, disturbing to everybody in the organization.”
Glaspy put it another way.
“I feel like just a lot of the mistakes that we were making, that we were in control of, like missed tackles, missed assignments,” he said, “those are things that we can control, we can fix.”
The good news for Virginia relates to what made so many headlines before this game: the quarterback situation. Just like the fans, the media didn’t find out who was starting at QB until sophomore Peter Lalich’s name flashed on the big screen. While a single touchdown isn’t anything to drop a hat over, Lalich did look reasonably accurate and even sidestepped a pass rusher on occasion before finding his man. Groh noted Lalich’s three turnovers, but an inexperienced quarterback debuting against one of the fastest defenses around can be forgiven for a few mistakes. On the Cavs’ lone touchdown drive in particular, Lalich looked decent considering the opponent, and with the strong corps of running backs and receivers Virginia has, decent is all the Cavs need him to be.
“I think everybody who watched the game can see the type of throws that he’s capable of making,” Groh said. “He had to make those without having the opportunity to get much of a look at the defense — that pocket didn’t hold up very long.”
So, despite Saturday’s obliteration, I am somewhat encouraged by Saturday’s performance. Lalich is young and will make mistakes but he clearly has the tools to set himself apart as Virginia’s starter for the next three years. The offensive line was another worry for this team, but it held its own. The D-line was nothing short of horrible, but maybe the eventual return of sophomore defensive end Sean Gottschalk will bring the line back to neutral.
And, there’s even better news for Virginia. The next game is against Richmond.
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