Old Dominion Monarchs running back Blake Watson (2) runs the ball against Virginia Tech Hokies linebacker Jayden McDonald (38) during the first quarter at Kornblau Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium. — Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Virginia Football: How Did UVA's Future Opponents Fare in Week 1?

Scouting report for each of Virginia's remaining opponents on the 2022 football schedule

Author:
Matt Newton
Publish date:
Sep 6, 2022 12:41 PM EDT

In this story:

It's never too early to start scouting your opponent. That's our objective today as we take a look at how each of Virginia's future opponents fared in their games during week one of the college football season.

Illinois

Naturally, we begin with Virginia's next opponent. After winning handily in week 0 against Wyoming, Illinois traveled to Bloomington for an early Big Ten contest at Indiana. A Tommy DeVito touchdown pass early in the third quarter gave the Illini a lead that would last until the game's final minute. Indiana put together a 75-yard drive and scored with 23 seconds left to steal the 23-20 win over Illinois.

The Illini will be out for redemption after that loss and revenge for last year's defeat against Virginia in Charlottesville when the Cavaliers come to Champaign on Saturday.

Virginia Tech and Old Dominion

Other than Virginia's own game against Richmond on Saturday, the game that UVA fans undoubtedly paid attention to the most this weekend was another matchup between Commonwealth opponents. Virginia Tech's trip to Norfolk went about as poorly as it possibly could have. A snap on a field goal attempt sailed over the holder's head and resulted in a scoop-n-score for ODU, one of the Monarchs' two touchdowns of the game. The Hokies turned the ball over five times, including four interceptions by quarterback Grant Wells. Coaches were stuck in an elevator at halftime, personal items were stolen from the locker room, but most importantly, the Monarchs scored a late touchdown to stun Virginia Tech 20-17 and spoil Brent Pry's debut.

While ODU did win the game, it was hardly a deserving performance by the Monarchs. ODU had only 245 yards of total offense and converted only three of 16 third-down attempts. The five Hokie turnovers and 14 Hokie penalties influenced the outcome far more than ODU's offensive production. Virginia will host Old Dominion on September 17th and play at Virginia Tech on November 26th. UVA can only hope that the Monarchs and Hokies deliver similarly poor performances when they meet later this season.

Syracuse and Louisville

In another meeting between two future opponents on the UVA football schedule, Syracuse absolutely dominated Louisville 31-7 at the Dome, a surprising outcome given that the Cardinals came into the game favored by six points. A totally revamped Syracuse offense, coached by former UVA offensive coordinator Robert Anae, put up 449 yards of total offense. Quarterback Garrett Shrader looks like a completely different player from last season, no doubt the work of former UVA quarterbacks coach Jason Beck, who was responsible for the development of three-straight record-breaking quarterbacks at Virginia: Kurt Benkert, Bryce Perkins, and Brennan Armstrong. Shrader looks to be next in line to blossom under Beck, as he completed 18 of 25 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns and had the highest-rated quarterback performance in the Power Five this weekend according to Pro Football Focus. The Orange looked very good, making Virginia's trip to the Dome on a Friday night in late September look more and more challenging.

As for Louisville, the Cards will hope to flush that performance and move on right away. Louisville turned the ball over three times, including two interceptions from dynamic quarterback Malik Cunningham, who was largely held in check by the Cuse defense. The question remains whether Louisville's poor defensive play or Syracuse's elite offensive execution was more responsible for the outcome on the field. Only time will tell. UVA hosts Louisville on October 8th.

Duke

Mike Elko made his head coaching debut and the Blue Devils celebrated him by recording the program's first shutout against an FBS team since 1989, crushing Temple 30-0. Quarterback Riley Leonard was solid, completing 24 of his 30 passing attempts for 328 yards and two touchdowns. Duke is coming off of three-consecutive losing seasons and there is certainly still lots of work to do, but this is a great start for the program looking to turn things around under a new head coach. Virginia plays at Duke on October 1st, looking to win an eighth-straight game against the Blue Devils.

Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech was given an almost unfair challenge to start the season, playing against Clemson on a national stage on Monday night. The Yellow Jackets played very well through the first two and a half quarters and trailed the Tigers by just four points until late in the third. Then, Clemson found its groove offensively and ended the game on a 27-0 run, turning what was a surprisingly competitive game into the 41-10 blowout everyone expected it to be. Georgia Tech showed some nice flashes from the defense and from quarterback Jeff Sims, but it wasn't exactly an appropriate assessment against the juggernaut Clemson defense. Virginia plays at Georgia Tech on October 20th, a Thursday night.

Miami

Another new head coach in the Coastal division, Mario Cristobal's debut as the head coach at his alma mater wasn't exactly the biggest challenge. The Hurricanes put up ten touchdowns on the board against Bethune-Cookman and opened the season with a 70-13 victory. We can't really make many conclusions from this game, as Miami simply out-talented Bethune for the most part. Tyler Van Dyke needed to attempt only 16 passes, 13 of them were completions to rack up 193 yards and two touchdowns. Henry Parrish Jr. had 108 yards rushing and three touchdowns. The Canes comes to Charlottesville for the first time since 2018 on October 29th.

North Carolina

There were a number of wild games that took place across college football this weekend, but none were more crazy than North Carolina at Appalachian State. The Mountaineers scored 40 points in the fourth quarter alone to erase a UNC 20-point lead. With 30 seconds left, App State scored a touchdown to cut it to a one-point game, but then failed to score on the two-point conversion attempt. Appalachian State attempted an onside kick and UNC's Bryson Nesbit returned it for a touchdown, a great play but actually unwise, as it gave the Mountaineers another chance to score, which they did on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Chase Brice to Kaedin Robinson with nine seconds left. Now needing a two-point conversion to tie the game, App State failed again and North Carolina escaped with an insane 63-61 victory in Boone.

UNC quarterback Drake Maye continued to look great, passing for 352 yards and four touchdowns. But, the concerns regarding UNC's defense are 100% justified after a disastrous performance in a game that saw the teams combine for 62 fourth-quarter points. It could be a fireworks show when the Hoos and Heels meet at Scott Stadium on the first Saturday of November.

Pittsburgh

Week one of the college football season kicked off with another thriller that renewed the heated rivalry between Pittsburgh and West Virginia. The game lived up to the billing. The Panthers used a clutch pick six to take the lead late and then the Pitt defense held at the very end as the Mountaineers drove down the field and came up just short of scoring the tying touchdown in the final moments. It was a great game in an electric environment at the newly-named Acrisure Stadium and was a very good 38-31 win for Pitt in the Backyard Brawl. Kedon Slovis was solid with 308 passing yards, but the Panthers have some things to work on defensively. Nonetheless, they certainly seem to have to pieces to be able to push to repeat as ACC Champions. UVA will host Pitt on November 12th, looking to stand in the way of the Panthers claiming the final ACC Coastal title.

Coastal Carolina

Coastal faced a solid Army team in week one and the teams fought back-and-forth before the Chanticleers eventually pulled away in the fourth for a 38-28 win. Quarterback Grayson McCall accounted for four total touchdowns to help Coastal start the season off with a W. The Chanticleers and Cavaliers will meet for the first time ever in the second to last week of the regular season.

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