Five takeaways from No. 24 UVA football’s overtime win at Louisville

The Virginia Cavaliers found a way to pick up another overtime win, beating the Louisville Cardinals 30-27 on the road despite injuries and offensive woes.

The ‘Hoos now move to 5-1 (3-0 ACC) on the season ahead of a bye week. With the win, we have five takeaways.

Two defensive touchdowns carry UVA to tough road win

UVA found a different way to win on Saturday against the Cardinals. Donavan Platt returned a fumbled pitch for a 61-yard score in the first quarter before Kam Robinson picked off Miller Moss and housed it 47 yards in the third quarter.

Without those two plays, Virginia doesn’t win this game and is in a much different position entering the back half of the season.

The first score was a result of Platt and the Wahoo defense capitalizing on a major mistake for the Cardinals. The second was thanks to the Virginia pass rush that stepped up in the second half. On Robinson’s interception, Dan Rickert and Christian Charles had wrapped Moss up before he flung the ball away with Charles’ hand stuck between his knee and the ground.

It wasn’t just the big plays that stood out for the Wahoo defense. After it allowed the Cardinals to dink and dunk their way up the field in the first half, the guys up front rallied in the second half and brought pressure via the pass rush.

The ‘Hoos sacked Moss five times. Mitchell Melton took him down twice while Rickert, Jason Hammond, and Hunter Osborne each got home once. Additional pressure from Robinson and UVA’s other linebackers on blitzes gave Moss trouble and limited what Louisville could do through the air down the stretch.

The Cavaliers have had plenty of bad luck – particularly with injuries – this season. On Saturday, they took advantage of a few Louisville mistakes in a major way and proved that they can win in a multitude of ways.

Wahoo secondary continues to struggle to contain WR1s

A week after giving up nine catches, 147 yards, and a touchdown to Florida State’s Duce Robinson, the Virginia secondary allowed Chris Bell to rack up 12 catches for 170 yards and a pair of scores.

UVA’s corners played off the Cardinal receivers in the first half, allowing them to win underneath while often starting 10 yards off the line of scrimmage. Rudzinski doesn’t seem to trust his outside corners not get beat over the top. That cost the ‘Hoos as Louisville slowly chugged its way up and down the field against them, relying on slants, shallow crossers, and play action to move the ball through the air.

Bell was quiet for the third quarter as the Virginia pass rush started to get home. His one-handed second touchdown catch was unreal and probably unstoppable. That’s part of the reality of playing a receiver with the size and athleticism that Bell boasts.

In the end, Rudzinski’s defense got enough stops. The one in the final minute of regulation to force a game-tying field goal attempt and the one in overtime – aided by an Isaac Brown drop on third down – especially stand out as examples of the Wahoo defense bending, but not breaking when it mattered most.

Virginia overcomes continued decimation of offensive line due to injuries

As if injuries to offensive linemen Monroe Mills, Wallace Unamba, Brady Wilson, and David Wohlabaugh weren’t enough, UVA left tackle McKale Boley left the Louisville game due to injury late in the second quarter.

That left the ‘Hoos with a starting line of Ben York (left tackle), Noah Josey (left guard), Drake Metcalf (center), Kevin Wigenton (right guard), and Jack Witmer (right tackle). Of that group, really only Josey was a projected starter at that position in the preseason.

After Boley went down, the UVA offense struggled to string drives together. The Cavaliers only gained 84 yards of offense after halftime and accounted for just 9 points – three of which came thanks to a short field before the game-winning overtime touchdown. Louisville forced Chandler Morris to improvise as they brought blitzes and stymied the Wahoo offense until the running game made the difference in overtime.

Boley’s status moving forward will be a major question mark, as will Wilson’s, Unamba’s, Wohlabaugh’sm and even Morris’. Ideally for Virginia, the bye week will provide an opportunity to get some of those guys back before the matchup with Washington State on October 18.

The defense holding Louisville late, a few clutch plays from Morris, and Taylor’s continued success in the red zone were still somehow enough.

J’Mari Taylor is a game-winning back

On a day when Virginia totaled just 237 yards of offense, Taylor’s 97 total yards were especially well-earned.

He rushed 16 times for 68 yards and added six catches for 29 yards. Taylor had a pair of drops on check downs. But, after a conversation with Elliott on the sideline, he bounced back with a few key receptions down the stretch.

His efficiency in short yardage situations continues to be a major-plus for the Wahoo offense. The direct snaps to him are a cheat code, and he won the game on one even after Morris went down on the play before.

Taylor has been a difference-maker all season long and he came up clutch when Virginia needed him most against Louisville.

It’s time to dream, Wahoo fans

At 5-1 and 3-0 in the ACC, Virginia has a real shot to do something special in the second half of the season. The Cavaliers can start to think about competing for an ACC Championship and, if everything falls perfectly, maybe even a College Football Playoff berth.

Obviously, there is plenty of football to be played, and UVA fans have seen teams collapse far too many times to start counting chickens any time soon.

But the way this Wahoo team seems to find ways to win is different. Virginia has an easy schedule down the stretch and should be favored in at least five of six games. The ‘Hoos avoid playing Miami, Georgia Tech, and Clemson. Starting to wonder about a 10-2 or (whispers so quietly it’s practically inaudible) an 11-1 season is not clinically insane.

UVA is 5-1 through six games and is playing like a team that is for real. Maybe that changes, maybe the injuries pile up so high that those lofty goals can’t be reached. But, for the 14 days until Virginia plays again, let yourself dream a little bit.

Click here to read article