“Apparently, the prior staff didn’t realize that a football team needs both offensive and defensive linemen,” Noles26 said bluntly. “Right now, it’s like watching an arcade game out there. Just line up and run straight through us — doesn’t matter what schemes we put on the field.”
Despite the struggles, there were a few bright spots. Running back Pace turned in another strong performance, rushing for 117 yards on 19 carries. But for the second consecutive game, he put the ball on the turf — a mistake that didn’t go unnoticed.
“Our offense played about as well as can be expected given our line issues,” Noles26 admitted. “But the sacks and the lack of player confidence make it difficult to rely too heavily on the running game. Ball security and protection are non-negotiable.”
The defense, however, was the most glaring concern.
“Our lack of defense is definitely an issue,” the coach acknowledged. “We have a lot to improve on if we’re going to be competitive moving forward. It’s still early, and if our staff can figure out how to grind these games to a much slower pace, it may help out our defense a little.”
That adjustment, it seems, will come with a significant change. Noles26 announced that the team’s Defensive Coordinator and his 3-4 base scheme have been let go.
“Five hundred yards of easy offense is a joke in this arcade world,” he said. “We need answers, not excuses.”
It’s clear that Virginia’s coaching staff is demanding accountability and immediate improvement. Whether that message resonates with the team remains to be seen, but one thing is certain — changes are already underway in Charlottesville.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons welcomed the Virginia Cavaliers to Winston Salem today in a long standing ACC rivalry. The Deacs got off to a hot start as Demond Claiborne would take the first carry of the game 75 yards to paydirt and Wake would jump to a 7-0 lead. It would be a sign of things to come on the day as Claiborne was just getting started.
The Wake Forest defense would allow a couple first downs on the ensuing drive but force a punt from the Cavs. The Demon Deacons would string together a more conventional drive this time with a mix of pass and run, and the drive would be capped by another touchdown from Claiborne. 14-0
Virginia would answer right back and score a touchdown drive of their own as Colandrea would find Harrison for 38 yards with only 6 seconds left on the clock in the first quarter to make it 14-7.
The Deacs would counter that score with Claiborne again notching his third td of the day, 21-7.
After a three and out, Wake would turn to an Hank Bachmeier to get going and hit Taylor Morin for 30 yards and Donavon Green for 17, then Micah Mays would take a net sweep the rest of the way for a 22 yard score to push the score to 28-7.
The cavs would then get up off the deck and hit a long 84 yard pass to cut the lead in half at 28-14.
However: the Deacs did not let the remainint 38 seconds just run off, after a 17 yard run from Claiborne, Bachmeier would find Mays deep, and 58 yards later it was 35-14. The Cavs would also be able to be aggressive and notch a field goal before half time gun. 35-17.
The second half, the Wake Foresr oline and ground game would do just that, ground and pound the UVa defense and win this game for the Deacs. Notching two more tds and the defense held the Cavs off the scoreboard for a final of 49-17.
“We were looking like this was going to turn into a shootout for a little while, but our guys locked in and took control of the game, on both sides of the ball. We made plays when we needed to and controlled the lines of scrimmage. The Cavs just got a new coach and he is imprinting his brand on that program. If the players follow his lead they will be all the better for it.”
Gg coach Noles best of luck the rest of the season
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