CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – On a night when Virginia’s offense couldn’t get the ball to the end zone, it was fitting, perhaps, that Beau Pribula’s final pass sailed into the hands of a Duke defender, ending the Cavaliers’ already slim comeback hopes and – in reality – ending any hopes that this steaming disappointment of a season could still be saved.
UVA’s defense did its part for most of the night, bottling up Nate Sheppard, the ACC’s leading rusher, to 55 yards on 15 carries. But Sheppard threw a running back pass to a wide-open Brody Keefe for a 28-yard touchdown pass with 1:14 left to stun the reeling Cavaliers and give Duke the 19-16 win.
“I feel like we played great until that last snap when we gave up that busted play,” said UVA linebacker Kam Robinson, who recorded his first sack and first interception of the season. “We really wasn’t even expecting that. I just thought, they just had run that same play to the field. I just thought they were going to run it to the boundary. But he turned around and threw the ball. It was crazy.”
Virginia had just taken a 16-13 lead on a 30-yard field goal by Will Bettridge with three minutes to play, the Cavaliers shooting themselves in the foot when Pribula was flagged for intentional grounding on a disastrous second-down play in the red zone.
UVA (4-4, 2-3 ACC) racked up 353 yards of total offense, including 195 on the ground. Running back Jekail Middlebrook had 117 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, building on the success he had in the first half at SMU the weekend before.
But four times, including thrice in the red zone, Virginia settled for field goal tries. Bettridge hit from 21, 32 and 30 but missed a third-quarter try from 47, a distance he connected from in last week’s road loss at SMU.
Pribula finished 15 for 24 for 158 yards. He was intercepted once, lost a fumble and got sacked five times. Yes, his receivers again dropped two or three catchable balls and his protection was spotty, at best. Still, it was hard to leave Scott Stadium on Friday night feeling confident in the Cavaliers’ quarterback.
In the first four games, as the Cavaliers went 3-1, Pribula completed 76.7% of his passes. In the past four games, three of which have been losses, he’s connected on just 54.6%.
Would UVA coach Tony Elliott consider benching the Missouri transfer?
“We’re going to review the film, alright?” Elliott said. “But five sacks, that’s on the quarterback? We’re putting that on the quarterback, right? And the guy’s running with the ball and trying to get more yards. Now, the ball security’s got to improve. And then, you teach a quarterback don’t die with the ball in your hand on fourth down, and protection breaks down. So, we’re going to evaluate the film just like we always do, but I’m not going to sit here and say that it’s the quarterback’s fault. We have a lot of things to improve all the way around.”
Elliott also didn’t want to point fingers at the team’s leadership. Earlier in the season, he acknowledged that this year’s team had a different style of leaders. Gone were the outspoken, in-your-face personalities of Sage Ennis and Chandler Morris. Is this new, lead-by-example approach working?
“It’s different,” Elliott said. “West Virginia was a one possession game in the fourth quarter. And we didn’t make a couple of plays. And then, last week, it was a one-possession game in the fourth quarter. And then this week was a one-possession game in the fourth quarter. A lot of that’s on me. So, I’m not going to throw the leadership of this team under the bus.”
It could be quarterback play, lack of leadership, coaching and play-calling, something else or all of the above. Whatever the reason, a season that began with Virginia’s most quixotic fans dreaming of 10 wins and a return trip to the ACC championship game, and its more level-headed supporters believing it would win eight games, has taken a startling nose dive.
ACC title hopes have dissolved into bowl eligibility wishes. Winning at Wake Forest next weekend or at rival Virginia Tech in the regular-season finale on Nov. 28 seem like tall orders. In between, home games against Cal and North Carolina provide these crestfallen Cavaliers the best path to the six wins needed to qualify for a bowl.
But for an offense that can’t get the ball in the end zone, there are no sure things.
