In the two weeks between Virginia’s 59-10 loss to Oregon and its matchup against Virginia Military Institute, coach Mike London had talked at length about the Cavaliers needing to find their identity on the field. Through one quarter Saturday, it looked as though Virginia was having an identity crisis.
Sophomore quarterback David Watford was supposed to iron out his errors and take advantage of an FCS opponent, but he threw two interceptions early in the game. Held scoreless, Virginia looked primed for an upset until junior tailback Kevin Parks reeled off a 61-yard touchdown minutes into the second quarter. The score woke the dormant Cavaliers, and they used the momentum to blaze past the Keydets in a 49-0 win.
“Going into the open week, we wanted to work on some things we thought we needed to do in order to become a better football team,” London said. “Obviously that first quarter wasn’t indicative of the things we worked on. I thought that the second quarter … showed the things we have been working on.”
Parks rushed for 125 yards combined in Virginia’s first two games, but he eclipsed that total before halftime against VMI. The long touchdown run highlighted a career day for the junior, who rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns. He had both his longest run at Virginia – the 61-yard touchdown — and his longest reception — a 54-yard pass in the third quarter.
Both junior Khalek Shepherd and freshman Taquan Mizzell were sidelined due to injury, so the Cavaliers turned to freshman walk-on Daniel Hamm to back up Parks. He did not disappoint, rushing for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Hamm received the majority of the Cavaliers’ snaps in the second half, and even he was surprised with his output.
“I was really just hoping for playing time,” Hamm said after the game. “I was not really expecting what happened … It was shocking actually, the performance I had.”
Virginia rushed for 357 yards in total, a stunning number considering the team’s performance so far this year — just 233 rushing yards in the first two games combined.
“We need to get our confidence going,” Parks said. “I told the team early that we need to start having fun again. Once we start having fun, then points will be up. We just need to start getting back to doing the things we do well and doing what we’re capable of.”
Parks’ score loosened up the offense, which had looked sluggish throughout the first quarter. Two tipped passes from Watford had resulted in interceptions, and it looked as though Virginia offensive woes in the Oregon game had not been healed. After going up 7-0, however, the team looked transformed.
The subsequent drive led Virginia into the red zone, but sophomore kicker Ian Frye missed a 37-yard field goal. The Cavaliers drove down the field again behind Parks and Hamm later in the quarter, and Parks found the end zone with just over three minutes left before halftime. One minute later, Watford found senior wide receiver Tim Smith in the back of the end zone on a 38-yard touchdown to put the team up by three scores.
“It’s hard in games like this to know what to expect,” Smith said. “I think guys came out and needed a couple of series to get comfortable. Fortunately, it ended up going our way.”
Smith’s reception was the first of more than 25 yards this year for Virginia. Against tough secondaries in BYU and Oregon, Watford had been reticent to throw too deep, but against VMI, he felt more comfortable in his game.
“It was like my first touchdown that I threw to [Smith] against NC State [in 2011],” Watford said. “It’s that same feeling, just a deep ball. He’s a deep ball threat. All of our receivers are deep ball threats, and it’s just a confidence booster for me. I throw it up there and he’ll go get it.”
Watford finished 18-for-25 for 206 yards and two passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown, and was replaced by redshirt freshman Greyson Lambert in the third quarter as Virginia led 42-0. London praised him after the game for recovering from the rough first quarter.
“We have talked about David several times and what kind of young man he is,” London said. “The thing he has is poise. He is a very mature young man and doesn’t get rattled very much. That showed with how he bounced back and helped the team win.”
Watford was aided by his defense’s tremendous play. After giving up 59 points and more than 500 yards of offense against Oregon, Virginia played lights-out against the Keydets. VMI had just four first downs – one on a penalty – and senior quarterback Eric Kordenbrock had just 38 yards on 9-for-27 passing.
Combined with just 41 rushing yards, the Keydets had fewer than 100 yards of total offense. VMI punted on 13 of its 16 drives — the other three ended in a turnover on downs and two fumbles.
“We did well, we met our goals,” sophomore defensive end Eli Harold said. “Playing a team like this, you just can’t let up. We just did what we do. Coach didn’t change anything up. We ran the same calls as the first two games.”
London was glad to see the team return to defensive form, an area that the Cavaliers were expected to excel in this year.
“They continued to improve on things we have worked on,” London said. “We are a defensive team and have to play good defense.”
With the team’s first ACC game looming on the road in Pittsburgh next weekend, the team believes that this win could provide crucial momentum. Even though Virginia was expected to easily defeat VMI, seeing their performance match expectations was important.
“Obviously, there are a lot of plays we need to correct from early on in the game, but overall I think we had a plan in place to do what we do and we got some stuff on film,” senior offensive lineman Luke Bowanko said. “I think there’s absolutely stuff to learn from and it will be a good confidence booster going into Pitt.”
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