Up 27-26 against then-No. 9 Notre Dame in the fourth quarter of its second game of the season, it all looked bright for Virginia. Despite suffering a 34-16 loss to UCLA in its season-opener, the Cavaliers were on the cusp of bouncing back and recording a signature victory. But ever since the Fighting Irish scored a last-second touchdown to escape with a 34-27 win—the first of Virginia’s several close losses—the Cavaliers have had little to celebrate this season.
With head coach Mike London on the hot seat, the Cavaliers will try to finish the season strong beginning with their 3:30 p.m. showdown with Duke Saturday at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va. A victory would mark Virginia’s first win against the Blue Devils in four years and extend Duke’s three-game losing steak.
“We’re focusing on the opportunity to go 4-4 in the conference, which is important, and then probably one of the biggest things is to focus on the fact that our seniors, the guys that are finishing their eligibility, go out on a positive note,” London said at his weekly press conference Monday. “We've talked about unity all season long, dealing with adversity, being resilient. And then focusing on things that we can control, the things that are in our capability of controlling."
The recurring problem for the Cavaliers (3-7, 2-4 in the ACC) this season has been their inability to make big plays down the stretch. Four of Virginia’s seven losses have been decided by seven points or less. Offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild’s unit has had opportunities to win or tie games late, but has repeatedly stalled on its final drives.
Although Virginia’s offense has put up middling numbers this season, netting 336.1 yards and 24.7 points per game, the individual performances of its offensive weapons indicate that the Cavaliers are fully capable of giving Duke's defense problems for a fourth straight week. After taking over as starting quarterback following Greyson Lambert's transfer to Georgia, junior Matt Johns has thrown for 2,295 yards with 17 touchdowns and recorded a quarterback rating of 128.3.
Johns’ flashy stats are in part thanks to having Canaan Severin as a target. The 6-foot-2 wide receiver has hauled in 50 catches for 699 yards with seven touchdowns. The Marlborough, Mass., native—who suffers from sickle-cell anemia—was especially dominant in his last outing against Louisville, accounting for 116 yards on eight catches and three touchdowns.
At running back, the Cavaliers have another weapon in junior Taquan “Smoke” Mizzell. After two subpar seasons in 2013 and 2014, the former five-star recruit has emerged as one of the country’s most complete running backs, running for 577 yards and recording 628 receiving yards—the only player in the nation with 500 or more receiving and rushing yards.
“Virginia is a very talented team. They’re gifted,” Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said. “I went through game by game. [The games] are right down to the wire. [They’ve got] tremendous skill on the offense. They’ve got a quarterback playing well. Between running back and receiver…they’re a nightmare in that regard.”
Although Virginia also has several talented defenders, its defense allows 414.9 yards per game, which ranks 12th in the ACC. Like Duke, the Cavaliers have struggled to stop explosive plays—in its last two games, Virginia surrendered 13 plays of 20 yards or more. Although the secondary is led by former freshman All-American safety Quinn Blanding, the Cavalier defensive backs have frequently made mistakes in coverage.
“When you have mental errors and you turn a guy loose, that leads to explosive plays,” London said. “Those are the things that we keep talking about, trying to improve upon, and although we've gotten some [improvement] and we've increased in what we're getting, we need to minimize the other team's opportunities.”
Wins against Duke and rival Virginia Tech to close the season would be crucial for London. After winning only seven games in 2013-14, London will continue to feel pressure from the Cavalier fan base if his squad cannot finish the season with two impressive performances.
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