Behind Enemy Lines: Five Questions for CavaliersNow's Matt Newton

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Following their stunning loss at Boston College, the Louisville football program is staying on the road in hopes of securing their first win in ACC play, traveling to Charlottesville to face Virginia.

Ahead of the matchup, Louisville Report sat down with Matt Newton of Sports Illustrated's CavaliersNow to find out more about the Cavaliers:

1. The start of the Tony Elliott era in Charlottesville hasn’t gone as well as many expected it would. What’s the overall mood of the fanbase and vibe around the program after a rocky start?

I think the majority of UVA fans have the patience and willingness to give Tony Elliott the necessary time needed to build the program the way he wants, but unfortunately the dissatisfied and frustrated voices are always the loudest. Most of the discontent in the Virginia fanbase has been about the shocking drop-off in offensive production versus last year's record-breaking season. But more recently, the complaints have been about the team's undisciplined play, with several penalties and sloppy miscues playing a significant factor in UVA's lopsided loss at Duke last week. Such discipline issues indicate a disconnected team and reflect poorly on the new coaching staff. No one should have expected the Cavaliers to be amazing this season, but with the talent that Tony Elliott and his staff inherited, many UVA fans are reasonably upset with the on-field product they have seen so far.

2. So far up to this point, quarterback Brennan Armstrong hasn’t been nearly as prolific as he was last season. It this more so a result of offensive coordinator Robert Anae leaving, or is it maybe a regression in his game?

There are a number of factors that are contributing to Armstrong's decline in production. That he is operating in a new offensive system is the most key determinant from my perspective. After playing in the same offensive system for his entire college career, it is difficult for even a veteran quarterback like Brennan Armstrong to seamlessly transition into new system and playbook without experiencing some bumps in the road. The same goes for Armstrong's receiving targets, who have also struggled after being heralded as one of the top receiving corps in the country coming into the season. Armstrong and his receivers are not currently on the same page and the outcome has been Armstrong uncharacteristically missing open targets and his usually sure-handed receiving weapons dropping passes as well. It's also worth noting that with UVA trying to run the ball more this season and having had to replace its entire offensive line, there was never a chance that Armstrong was going to repeat his prolific 2021 campaign. And while there are reasonable concerns that Tony Elliott and Des Kitchings' offensive system may be the source of the problem, I think it's too soon to discount the possibility that the UVA offense is simply still trying to adjust and that things will soon 'click' for the Cavaliers. Brennan Armstrong and the Virginia offense remain confident that that's the case.

3. Conversely, Virginia’s defense has made a dramatic turnaround from one of the worst in FBS football last season, to a top-60 defense this season. What has been the biggest key to the improvement on that side of the ball?

New defensive coordinator John Rudzinski deserves a great deal of credit for the significant improvement of the UVA defense so far this season. There have been some moderate changes in personnel and scheme, but just from a fundamental standpoint, the Cavaliers are doing the little things right on defense and it has made a world of difference. In 2021, UVA was one of the worst teams in all of college football when it came to missed tackles and surrendering big plays. So far this season, the Cavaliers have done a much better job of limiting the big yardage plays and wrapping up their tackles. They've also gotten to the quarterback and forced turnovers at a much higher rate than last season. UVA currently ranks 3rd in the ACC with 15 team sacks and is 2nd in the ACC and tied for 3rd in the country with seven fumbles recovered. The Virginia defense faltered somewhat in the loss at Duke last week, but through the first five weeks of the season, UVA's defensive unit has been the strength of the team rather than the weakness as it was in 2021.

4. If you look at UVA’s special teams stats and how they rank nationally, a lot of them aren’t great. How big of a role has that played in the 2-3 start?

Virginia's struggles on special teams have undoubtedly played a significant role in the team's overall struggles so far. In the week 4 loss at Syracuse, UVA changed kickers after Brendan Farrell missed a pair of field goals in the first quarter of a game that the Cavaliers ultimately lost by two points. UVA has had extra points and punts blocked, given up long returns to opponents on kickoffs and punts, and fumbled on a kick return last week against Duke. Virginia's issues are largely concentrated on offense, but the miscues on special teams have been too much to overcome for a Cavalier team whose margin for error is already extremely small.

5. What does Virginia need to do, or avoid, in order to pull out a win against Louisville?

The biggest thing the Cavaliers need to avoid on Saturday is penalties. UVA was penalized six times for 87 yards in the loss at Duke and those flags were extremely costly. The Virginia defense committed three 15-yard penalties in the first quarter that helped Duke score its first two touchdowns. That game could have been a much closer contest had the Cavaliers not committed those fouls, some of which were of the unsportsmanlike variety. If the UVA defense can keep things clean, they can potentially keep things close enough with Louisville on Saturday to give the Virginia offense a chance to finally wake up and win the game.

(Photo via Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

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