Jay Ballard 
Virginia prepares for Pitt as the final month of the regular season continues.
This Saturday, the Virginia Cavaliers (4-4) travel to Pittsburgh, for an 8pm kickoff, to take on the Pitt Panthers (7-1). Pitt is a 7.5 point favorite, with an over/under point total of 57.5. Virginia will be coming off of a much needed bye week. The Hoos have lost three consecutive games after a 4-1 start to the season, including an embarrassing 41-14 home loss to UNC in their last outing. Pitt returns home after losing their first game of the season at SMU. The showdown in Dallas, which was featured in primetime, saw SMU bolt out to a 31-3 halftime lead, before going on to win 48-25. The game was never in doubt, with Pitt scoring two TDs in the last four minutes to make the final score appear closer than the actual game. Which team will be able to return to their earlier season form under the lights Saturday night? Let’s check out the 1, 2, 3, DING DING DING for some further perspective.
THE ONE: Pitt’s offense has taken off this year under Freshman QB, Eli Holstein. A dual threat, Holstein has thrown for just over 2,000 yards with 17 TDs and 6 INTs. and rushed for 305 yards with 3 more TDs. While not a speedster, the 6’4” Holstein is very comfortable taking off if one of his many weapons in the passing offense isn’t open. While Eli has had some outstanding performances (see West Virginia game stats), he’s also had some of the typical struggles that freshmen QB forced to play right away almost always encounter. Which version of Holstein shows up Saturday night will likely determine if UVa can keep this game close, or maybe even pull the upset.
THE TWO: UVa is coming off their second bye week of the season. Coach Tony Elliott is an undefeated 3-0 coming off of byes, including earlier this year when UVa defeated Boston College 24-14. During the bye week, the offensive line has seen a resurgence in health. Brian Stevens and Ty Furnish both return after missing the UNC game and McKale Boley’s nagging knee injury has healed enough for him to play. The impact of missing Stevens against UNC was evident early as coaches didn’t want to run The Grady Bunch on first and goal from the one, instead choosing to go in shotgun, where the ball was snapped over Anthony Colandrea’s head. The Hoos would settle for three, and that seemed to be a big turning point in the game, as Virginia never looked the same. Colandrea was under pressure all game, and was sacked ten times. If the O-line can provide Colandrea with a little time, and open some running lanes for Kobe Pace and Xavier Brown, the Hoos should be able to put some points on the board.
THE THREE: Virginia could be catching Pitt at a great time, after a tough matchup against SMU, and before a home game against Clemson and a trip to Louisville. If Pitt is looking ahead to next week’s showdown with Clemson, or feeling sorry for themselves after their first loss, Coach Elliott’s squad could be ready to take advantage. If Virginia is to pull the upset, they will have to reverse a trend of playing poorly in the third quarter. In their previous three losses, UVa has been outscored by a combined 45-6. Success will most likely have to come through the air, as Pitt is only allowing 2.9 yards/carry on the ground (7th in the nation).
DING DING DING: This game will likely come down to UVa’s ability to slow down the passing game of Pitt. With six players having 19 catches or more (3 over 30 catches), Virginia will have to be ready for the ball to go anywhere on the field. They also can’t just sell out to stop the pass, or running back Desmond Reid will have a field day. He’s averaging almost 6 yards / carry for 590 yards on the season. For Virginia, with no Trell Harris again this week, Malachi Fields (43 catches / 4 TDs) and Tyler Neville (26 catches / 2 TDs) should remain busy getting peppered with targets. It would behoove Virginia to take advantage of the short passing game in this one, as the running game is likely to struggle. Could this be the game Chris Tyree is finally utilized? While I expect Virginia to play their best game in a month, and they always seem to play better on the road, I simply can’t pick the Hoos to win this one. Coach Elliott is officially in the “Show Me” phase, because talking about improvement hasn’t translated to the field.
Final Score Prediction: Pitt 37 UVa 20. Let’s Go Hoos! Prove me wrong!
About The Author
