Pitt Game Preview: Virginia

Game One: Pitt (0-0) vs. Virginia (0-0), Saturday, August 31 at 7:30 p.m.

Series Record: Pitt 8-3

Last Game: Pitt won 23-13 (2018)

Pitt football begins their 130th season of play against ACC foe Virginia this Saturday night at Heinz Field. It also serves as the beginning of the defense of their Coastal Division title and could make or break their hopes of repeating right off the bat, as the Cavaliers are considered a contender to win it this year. Last year’s matchup between the two teams in Charlottesville proved to be something of a watershed moment for both teams. Going into the game Virginia was 6-2 and controlled their destiny to win the division title. Instead Pitt pulled away in the 2nd half of a low-scoring game and went on to win it themselves. The Hoos will be out for revenge this year and with legitimate aspirations to take the Panthers place in Charlotte the first Saturday of December, it will be a real battle to start off the season on a winning note.

Offense

To put it simply, the Virginia offense revolves around Quarterback Bryce Perkins. The Senior transferred into the program last year and made quite the impression, earning 3rd Team All-ACC honors. A true dual threat, Perkins is a mobile Quarterback that is a deadly effective passer. He put up 2,680 yards through the air last year and completed 64.5% of his passes. He also had an impressive 25 Touchdowns to only 9 Interceptions. Despite this, the key to stopping the Virginia offense though is to keep him contained in the pocket, as it is the threat of him taking off that allows him to be such an effective passer. Last season, he was the team’s second leading rusher with 923 yards. The good news though is that Pitt was by far the most effective team at keeping him contained that he faced, as he actually rushed for -7 yards and was sacked 5 times.

As talented and dangerous as Perkins is, there isn’t too much to worry about in the rest of Virginia’s offense. Last season’s rushing and receiving leaders Jordan Ellis and Olamide Zaccheaus have both moved on and there is very little proven production filling in. At Wide Receiver, they do return 3 of the 4 top receivers from last season in Hasise Dubois, Joe Reed, and Terrell Jana. However they barely outproduced Zaccheaus combined, accounting for 1,194 yards between them while he alone accounted for 1,058 yards. They do add a couple of grad transfers in Dejon Brissett and Terrell Chatman though. At Running Back, things are even more desolate, as Jordan Ellis accounted for nearly all of Virginia’s yards from the position. Taking over for him as the primary back will likely be PK Kier who had only 80 yards last season. Filling out the backfield will be Chris Sharp, Lamont Atkins, and Wayne Taulapapa. All told, the entire position only had 141 yards on the ground last season.

Tight Ends aren’t utilized very much in Virginia’s offensive scheme, but even that spot saw a lost starter. The primary guy there last year, Evan Butts, is gone and taking over for him is Tanner Cowley. The Senior has only appeared in 8 games in his college career and has only recorded 6 receptions for 84 yards. He’ll be used primarily as a blocking Tight End and likely won’t show up much on the statsheet, despite being the starter. Speaking of blocking, the Offensive Line is one area where there is consistency on this side of the ball for the Cavaliers. 3 starters return from last year’s unit, though they were dealt a blow when Penn State transfer Alex Gellerstedt, who was supposed to start at Right Tackle, was lost for the season with a knee injury. Overall, the unit is unspectacular but solid, which is all they need to be given the mobility of Perkins.

Defense

For as much as Virginia has to replace on Offense, they are fairly set on the defensive side of the ball. The Cavaliers utilize a 3-4 front that often shows unusual formations with only 2 down linemen. The style of play definitely shows that the strength of this defense is at the back. Like their Offensive counterpart, Virginia’s Defensive Line is solid, but won’t be dominant. Though they do return Senior DE Richard Burney, who missed most of last season due to injury. 

Having a modest Defensive Line may seem like a break for the Panthers who will be breaking in 4 first-time starters on the Offensive Line. However, Virginia boasts an experienced and talented Linebacking corps that will test the new group. Inside Linebacker Jordan Mack was their 2nd leading tackler last season, despite missing 4 games (he did play against Pitt). Outside Linebacker Charles Snowden will be a player to watch though as he developed into an excellent pass rusher last year. He has the attention of Pitt Offensive Line Coach Dave Borbely who said he was, “Definitely a guy that you have to account for in…every phase of the game.”

Defensive Back is definitely the unit on this side of the ball that had the most impactful loss with Juan Thornhill. The 2nd Team All-ACC Safety was taken in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. However, this is still a strong unit and they have another player that will likely be joining his former teammate in playing on Sundays in the future. Cornerback Bryce Hall led the nation in Passes Defended last year and was the only Cavalier named to the Preseason All-ACC team. He is a legitimate contender to take home ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors this winter and is a player that receivers will have a very hard time getting open against.

Special Teams

Virginia will be replacing their Punter and Long Snapper this year. This makes a mistake in that aspect of the game more likely and in what should be a close game all the more impactful. Though new Punter Nash Griffin is a Junior, the Long Snapper will be a Freshman, either Enzo Anthony or Lee Dudley. On the road, under the bright lights, in what should be a close conference game, don’t be surprised if a special teams mistake ends up being a key play. Virginia does return presumptive starting Kicker Brian Delaney. The Junior was a perfect 25/25 on extra points and 12/16 on Field Goals last season. Like the Panthers, the Cavaliers also have a dangerous kickoff returner in Joe Reed. The Senior has 3 kickoff returns for touchdowns in his career and will look to add more in his final college season.

Final Thoughts

This is a talented team, however the media picking them as the Coastal favorite in the official preseason poll is too much hype. This is definitely a team that can win the Coastal, but they are also very flawed. The offense is entirely the Bryce Perkins show. The assumption is that he’s going to go out and light it up like last season, but he was an unknown commodity last season. Defensive coaches have had a whole offseason to watch tape of him and devise ways of slowing him down. Look no further than our own Pitt Panthers for the team that may have provided the blueprint on how to do that. There’s always the danger of injury too and options behind Perkins are short. The defense should be strong again though and will keep the Cavaliers in most games, even if Perkins can’t get the offense going. If Pitt is going to win this game, they are going to need to slow him down. Despite likely implementing a new offensive system, unless the Panthers come out of nowhere and start playing like it’s 2016 again, it’s going to be hard for this (or really most teams) to beat Perkins and Virginia in a shootout. The Panthers were able to do it last year and it led to a division title, can they do the same again?

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