Loss to Illinois revealed differing levels of progress for Virginia offense and defense – The Daily Progress

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Saturday revealed differing levels of progress two weeks into Virginias first season under a new regime.

Theres a swelling belief among defenders in the scheme first-year coordinator John Rudzinski implemented, and an improving understanding in what Rudzinski is asking of them.

Take cornerback Anthony Johnsons interception on the second snap of the Cavaliers loss at Illinois for example.

Coach put me in a great position to just read the quarterbacks eyes, said Johnson, whose leaping, outstretched pick was the sixth of his career.

[Were] in Cover 2, he said without any hesitation of how the first of four forced turnovers came to be for the Hoos, with two verticals and sinking on the one. The quarterback threw it right to me, and then its just capitalizing and finishing on the play, making the play for the team.

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Said safety Langston Long, who had a game-high 13 tackles, a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery against the Illini: I think were getting confidence in the defense, and I think were also getting confidence in each other as we become more coherent as a unit and as we grow closer. Were trusting each other and trusting our coaches. Thats all you can ask for. Thats what makes great defenses.

On top of the four takeaways, UVa tallied more sacks and tackles for loss against better competition in Week 2 against Illinois (three sacks, five tackles for loss) than in Week 1 against FCS Richmond (two sacks, three tackles for loss). Pass rushers Kam Butler and Chico Bennett Jr. each recorded a sack versus the Big Ten foe whereas none of the edge players took down the quarterback in the season-opening bout against the Spiders.

Rudzinski said his defense made a step forward against Illinois, but still has upgrades to make in regard to tackling and can learn from the pair of touchdown passes it allowed off play-action fakes to Illini quarterback Tommy DeVito.

But those seem like possible and realistic adjustments to take care of on the heels of an overwhelmingly positive showing for the group.

On the other hand, UVas offense, which tallied only 222 total yards for its lowest output since 2017 and failed to maximize on favorable field position following those turnovers early, has much more figuring out to do ahead of this coming Saturdays home tilt with Old Dominion.

First-year coach Tony Elliott said his teams offensive issues are all fixable, though.

In the opening quarter, the Cavaliers managed only nine yards of total offense and in the third quarter, they netted just six. For the game, they were 1-of-16 on third down.

That first quarter was the longest first quarter Ive ever been a part of, OC Des Kitchings said, but theres still an opportunity, theres still a chance. We just couldnt seize the moment offensively to put us in a position to score and capitalize on the opportunity, which is extremely unfortunate.

Kitchings said Illinois played man coverage on the perimeter and UVa failed to win those matchups while its offensive line couldnt protect quarterback Brennan Armstrong. He was sacked five times. Additionally, the Illini registered six quarterback hurries, so Armstrong continually faced pressure while throwing for 180 yards his first time failing to eclipse the 200-yard passing mark since Oct. 24, 2020 against Miami.

Elliott said the Cavaliers couldve planned more designed runs for Armstrong to eliminate the advantage in numbers Illinois had on every play at the line of scrimmage.

Whether or not that idea is incorporated next week, Armstrong and Kitchings said UVa must determine ways to be more efficient up front and in one-on-one situations now that the Illini created a blueprint for upcoming opponents to use against the Cavaliers, who are still trying to gain comfort in the balanced offensive system Elliott and Kitchings created and installed.

The Hoos ran an air raid last year under former coordinator Robert Anae.

We just havent seen a lot of man [coverage], Armstrong said. With our defense throughout fall [camp], we dont see a lot of man and thats all they did [on Saturday] and so, thats a good eye-opener of what we need to work on. Because, shoot, teams could see what happened there and come out and play man against us every time. I mean, thats a possibility. So, we better figure out how to protect, how to get the ball out and how to get open with man.

Said Kitchings: Things get copycatted and we got some things weve got to answer offensively and clean up going forward.

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Loss to Illinois revealed differing levels of progress for Virginia offense and defense - The Daily Progress