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ZAMOFF: The New Standard is within reach

Despite struggling with the best of the ACC, the Cavaliers continue to improve from past seasons

<p>Coach Bronco Mendenhall established the New Standard of excellence for Virginia football.</p>

Coach Bronco Mendenhall established the New Standard of excellence for Virginia football.

When Bronco Mendenhall came in as head coach in December 2015, Virginia football was at a historic low. The Cavaliers hadn’t made a bowl game since 2011, and had losing seasons in all but one of the last eight seasons. Virginia needed a change, and the former BYU head coach was the man for the job.

In his initial press conference, Mendenhall said in a statement that the “high standards both academically and athletically at Virginia” appealed to him.

Mendenhall came to Charlottesville to set a New Standard. The New Standard has been the mantra of Virginia football, defining the high expectations that Mendenhall demands from his players.

Coming from hard work, commitment to detail and professionalism, the New Standard stipulates that everything is “earned, not given.” The New Standard is about a new culture of excellence on the field, excellence in preparation, and excellence off the field. The New Standard is something to strive for, as Virginia’s football program continues its revitalization.

The mantra really emerged last season — Mendenhall’s second season — that saw Virginia earn its first bowl game berth in six years. Making it to the postseason was a big step for the Cavaliers. Previous seniors led the way in 2017, especially quarterback Kurt Benkert, safety Quin Blanding, defensive end Andrew Brown and linebacker Micah Kiser.

This year’s team came in with lower expectations, with all of those team leaders gone.

Bryce Perkins came in at quarterback from junior college in Arizona, and the Cavaliers had to replace a number of key starters. Mendenhall said he had just “27 ACC-caliber players” on the roster this year. ESPN.com released a preseason power ranking placing Virginia last in the ACC.

Many pundits doubted Virginia, predicting the Cavaliers would take a step back after making it to the Military Bowl last year.

Although there is plenty of football left to play, this year’s team has proved skeptics wrong so far. Despite key areas that need to be improved and its serious lack of depth, Virginia is playing solid, tough football.

Now sitting at 3-2 and 1-1 in ACC play, Virginia is in position to go to another bowl game and win one — a feat the Cavaliers haven’t accomplished since 2005.

Virginia has several great individual talents on offense. Perkins, although not a polished passer like Benkert, is arguably one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the game. It has been a record-smashing season for Perkins, who has awed with his athleticism and ability to extend plays. Perkins has 1,125 yards passing, 341 yards rushing and 14 total touchdowns through five games.

Senior wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus has been Perkins’s primary target. Zaccheaus is also racking up a historic season, averaging over 100 yards receiving per game. The game-changing speed of Zaccheaus, explosiveness and composure of Perkins and consistent grit of senior running back Jordan Ellis have made the Cavaliers’ offense a force to be reckoned with.

Reflecting Mendenhall’s background as a defensive coordinator, the Cavaliers have a talented, well-coached defensive unit. Particularly impressive are the linebacking core and secondary.

Senior linebacker Chris Peace’s consistency and leadership heads the unit that has played well despite injuries to two starters — senior linebacker Malcolm Cook and junior linebacker Jordan Mack. Sophomore linebacker Charles Snowden has been a standout. Snowden had his breakout game against Louisville, with a sack, interception and fumble recovery, and followed it up with a career-high 11 tackles against N.C. State.

The secondary has been inconsistent, but is laden with talent. Senior safety Juan Thornhill and sophomore safety Joey Blount lead the team in tackles, and junior cornerback Bryce Hall’s nose for the ball is special. Hall leads the team with nine pass breakups.

That said, Virginia has struggled to get it done against the best. The Cavaliers have many talented players, and have played well against inferior opponents this year. But they don’t have the depth — or the experience in their offensive and defensive lines — to contend for an ACC Coastal Division title just yet.

Virginia ran all over the likes of Richmond, Louisville and Ohio. In those three games combined, the Cavaliers accumulated 678 yards rushing. However, in their two losses combined, the Cavaliers managed to get just 281 yards on the ground.

On the flip side, Virginia’s run defense is getting slammed in their losses. The Cavaliers are allowing an average of 73 rushing yards per game in their wins and an average of 207 rushing yards per game in their losses.

Rushing comes down to play from the offensive and defensive lines. For Virginia, it hasn’t been consistent enough.

Nonetheless, Virginia has game-changing players that can keep the Cavaliers in games at all times. When Bryce Perkins hurdled over his second player of the game on an 8-yard touchdown run that put the Cavaliers up 27-3, you could sense it in Scott Stadium. The New Standard is within reach.

While the Cavaliers will be serious underdogs this Saturday at home against Miami, they will put up a good fight, just like they did against N.C. State.

And maybe — just maybe — this is the year Virginia Tech falls to a wave of orange and blue in Blacksburg.

Zach Zamoff is a Senior Associate Sports Editor  for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at z.zamoff@cavalierdaily.com or followed on Twitter @zachzamoff.

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