Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1529159
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 16, 2024 33 GAME PREVIEW: VIRGINIA V irginia sophomore quarterback Anthony Colandrea watched any comeback hopes slip away from a familiar place: the ground. With North Carolina holding a com- manding 31-6 lead but the Cavaliers driving late in the third quarter Oct. 26, Colandrea threw a pass over the middle that was tipped and intercepted by Tar Heels defensive tackle Jahvaree Ritzie. Ritzie caught the ball at the Carolina 16-yard line and Colandrea tried to bring him down near the 30, but the 6-foot-4½, 290-pound graduate stu- dent brushed him off. All Colandrea could do was look on as Ritzie took it 84 yards to the house. UNC won 41-14, dropping Virginia to 4-4. "First of all, I owe an apology to the administration, to the players in the locker room, [to the] staff," Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott said after the game. "I did not do a good job of having them prepared to play." Colandrea was sacked nine — nine — times against a North Carolina team that was allowing 34 points per game. He also threw 2 interceptions — his first since Week 3 — including the pick six. Elliott has to figure out how to bet- ter prepare his team to play and do it soon, because after three straight losses, Virginia's schedule is not getting any easier. The Cavaliers went on the road to face No. 18 Pittsburgh Nov. 9. They host No. 13 SMU Nov. 23. And between those two difficult ACC matchups lies a date with No. 10 Notre Dame, which will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 16 in South Bend. "We had to look ourselves in the mir- ror this past week," Elliott said Nov. 5. "Either we can sit here and feel sorry for ourselves and hope that it's just going to change, or we can own it and be honest with ourselves, be honest [with] each other and go back to work." Defense has been a struggle for Vir- ginia, conceding 34 points to North Carolina and 48 to Clemson a week prior. But the Cavaliers' most signifi- cant concern might be that opposing defenses have started to figure Colan- drea out. Virginia is sticking with the 6-foot, 183-pound sophomore as its starting quarterback for the foreseeable future. He won the job in September of his freshman year and hasn't looked back. Colandrea's gutsy style and ability to make magic happen outside of structure made him one of the more fun players to watch in the ACC, despite Virginia's 3-9 record last season. However, he hit a rough patch as the Cavaliers' season flipped from 4-1 to 4-4. In October, Colandrea completed 57.6 percent of his passes and threw for 6.2 yards per attempt. He was sacked 18 times — 16 of which came during the three-game losing skid — during that span, after going down only 6 times in August and September. Defenses have learned that good things happen if they keep Colandrea in the pocket, and they're also playing more man coverage than he's used to seeing. "I think teams want to keep him in the pocket and make him throw from the pocket," Elliott said. "Once he pulls the ball down to run, he's dangerous, both run and pass outside of the pocket." Elliott also explained that it's been difficult to evaluate Colandrea because he's been under constant pressure, which is true. Virginia allowed pressure on 42.8 percent of its signal-caller's drop-backs in October, which was the fifth-highest rate in the nation. Injuries and poor play have hit the Cavaliers' offensive line hard. Graduate student center Brian Stevens missed the UNC game, so senior Noah Josey had to move to center from left guard. Josey was fine, but his replacements, accord- ing to the Augusta Free Press, allowed 3 sacks and 8 pressures. SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS A brutal October has Virginia in a tailspin entering its matchup with Notre Dame Sophomore quarterback Anthony Colandrea has already been sacked 24 times through Virginia's first eight games, with 16 of them coming during a three-game losing streak in October. PHOTO COURTESY VIRGINIA ATHLETICS Facts & Figures NOTRE DAME VS. VIRGINIA Date: Nov. 16, 2024 Site: Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET Television: NBC/Peacock Radio: Notre Dame IMG affiliates Series facts: The Irish are 4-0 against the Cavaliers, most recently winning 28-3 in Charlottesville, Va., on Nov. 13, 2021. Head coaches: Virginia — Tony Elliott (11-20, third season); Notre Dame — Marcus Freeman (27-9, third season). Noting Virginia: Through Week 10, the Cavaliers were No. 70 in ESPN's FPI and No. 69 in SP+, rating as slightly below average in both … UVA had the 82nd-best scoring offense (26.3 points per game) and 88th-best scoring defense (27.6) in the country through Week 10 … Running the ball has been a struggle, with the Cavaliers sitting at 3.96 yards per carry (88th nationally) after eight games … Virginia has scored touchdowns on only 36.36 percent of its red-zone drives, which is the second-worst rate in college football (Houston) through Week 10 … The Cavaliers had one player taken in the 2024 NFL Draft: Wide receiver Malik Washington, who caught 110 passes for 1,426 yards and 9 touchdowns last year but fell to the Miami Dolphins in the sixth round.