A rivalry not played in the regular season since 1985 was revived Saturday night. Not in the shadows of the Blue Ridge Mountains the opposing states share, but back in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Virginia had their heart shattered in last season's ACC title game. West Virginia, led by the return of Coach Rich Rodriguez after nearly 20 years, aimed to shatter some hopes of their own, ultimately claiming the 38-27 and putting the Cavaliers (2-1, 1-0 ACC) expectations at bay.
“I knew that in the first two games we didn’t have any adversity,” Coach Tony Elliott said. “I knew going into this game, with that bunch on the other sideline and their ability to score quickly and be explosive, we were going to have some adversity … I felt like there were times we could have responded better.”
A pair of teams who have shaped their offensive identities on running the football would do so all night to drastically contrasting results. West Virginia (3-0, 0-0 Big 12). ran the ball more than 50 times for nearly 250 yards, while Virginia struggled to get any consistent gains behind their leading backs. The known weakness of the Mountaineers’ defense was stopping the passing attack. They had given up nearly 250 yards a game through the air before arriving in Charlotte. Against Virginia though, it was different, with fifth-year quarterback Beau Pribula only beginning to throw consistently once the deficit demanded it. By then, the Cavaliers were too far behind the pace and it failed to matter.
The Cavaliers marched the opening drive down the field with clinical poise. Pribula connected several times with third-year wide out Kameron Courtney. Then, returning to the ground for the remainder of the seven-minute drive, Pribula took a punishing hit on a quarterback draw which brought Virginia knocking on the redzone. Fourth-year running back Jekail Middlebrook toted the ball in first and goal, waltzing into the endzone for his first score of the season.
The Mountaineers responded with a ground-shaking, rush-heavy touchdown drive of their own. Sophomore quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. placed the finishing touches with a hurdling touchdown, his airborne efforts tying the contest.
Virginia’s next drive ended in another touchdown but in more eruptive fashion. On just the third play of the drive, fifth-year running back Xavier Brown split the middle of the field for a 47-yard scoring run.
Hawkins Jr. promptly punched back, leading his own drive to tie the game on a 29-yard touchdown pass.
While neither team threw the ball particularly efficiently in the half, the difference is the passes West Virginia did complete went for explosive gains. Hawkins Jr. threw four first-half completions but totaled more than 100 yards through the air. In comparison, Pribula’s six completions brought him to just over 40 yards. Offensive coordinator Des Kitchings largely stuck to his guns in the run game, the identity of the offensive attack thus far in the season.
This proved to be decreasingly effective as the half wore on, as The Cavaliers ended the half on a teeth-grinding scoring drought. Virginia tallied three straight three-and-out possessions, with just 27 yards gained in those three opportunities. West Virginia finished the half with another touchdown behind the legs of Hawkins Jr., bringing the total to 21-14. The Mountaineers stressed the defense all half with Rodriguez’s signature spread-option, tempo offense, which he pioneered. Emptying Cavalier’s defenders from the box, allowing Hawkins Jr. to make simple reads with plenty of space to take off on the ground should his first options be unavailable. Hawkins Jr. was responsible for three touchdowns in the first half.
“If you misfit [the defense] it goes for a touchdown,” Elliott said of Hawkins Jr. “If you get him behind the chains, he’ll empty you out with a lot of one-on-one matchups … We knew coming in we wanted to make him one dimensional if we could … he just made the more competitive play than we did.”
Both teams limped out of half time, exchanging punts before Virginia opted to attempt a fourth down conversion. A full ten 10 behind the yard to gain, Pribula launched an off-base throw intended for fourth-year receiver Rico Flores Jr., who hauled it in on a drive saving catch. From there, Middlebrook would catch a goal line pass in the flat, working his way into the endzone for his second touchdown of the night, tying the game.
“We needed to make that play, and it was good to see our guys respond,” Elliott said, “For me, I have to do a better job of making sure I have them prepared to play at that level of intensity for four quarters.”
Virginia continued to run the ball towards loaded defensive fronts all night, breaking off just a single explosive rush in Brown’s 47 yard touchdown. The passing game, though, began to pick up enough steam to garner another touchdown and a field goal attempt, sailed just right. Beyond that, any energy in the offense garnered was slowly sucked out of the air as West Virginia continued to score with little resistance.
The Cavaliers defense continued to be confounded by West Virginia. Unable to clue in on Rodriguez’s scheme, Hawkins Jr. punished empty midfields with his legs, just to turn around and air out the football whenever the secondary would bite on the run. The Mountaineer offense totaled 437 with Hawkins Jr. passing for 190 and leading the ground attack with 123 yards and three scores.
“I thought there were some opportunities we are going to be proud of and some opportunities where we can grow,” Elliott said. “But I don’t think the belief ever waivered.”
Virginia will return to Charlottesville next week for the fourth rendition of the U.Va. Strong game. The Cavaliers will host Delaware, who is fresh off a home victory over East Carolina. The Cavaliers will hope to rekindle the fans' confidence with a convincing home victory.
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