‘These guys are going to be a force.’ UVA wants to build on their success despite loss
Monday night was probably the biggest game in Virginia football history.
The Cavaliers had only won 10 games once… three decades ago in 1989. At 9-4, UVA had the opportunity to prove their relevancy on one of the sport’s biggest stages against one of the game’s most storied programs. Despite falling short to Florida 36-28, senior quarterback Bryce Perkins believes that their season was the impetus for change in the next decade.
“It’s the standard for the guys coming up,” Perkins said. “This program is transcending. Next year, these guys are going to be a force to be reckoned with.”
The 2010s were primarily marked with periods ineptitude for the Cavaliers. UVA finished under .500 seven times. Of those seven instances, they twice had two-win seasons. Still, in spite of the ups and downs, they kept pushing. Virginia finished the decade strong with a combined record of 17-10 in the last two seasons.
“We’re on a mission to just simply establish that you can have world class academics and be at the top tier of college football,” coach Bronco Mendenhall said, visibly holding back tears.
That fight was on full display Monday night. UVA came into the Orange Bowl 16.5-point underdogs. And, after UF running back Lamical Perine galloped 61 yards to the end zone on just the fourth play of the game, the Cavaliers could’ve given up.
They didn’t.
After going three-and-out on their first drive, UVA cornerback Nick Grant picked off UF’s Kyle Trask on the next series. That interception set up a 34-yard touchdown pass from Perkins to Terrell Jana.
When the Gators responded with a touchdown, the Cavaliers put together a 14-play, 88-yard drive of their own that ended with arguably the most impressive score of the night.
With the pocket collapsing, Perkins rolled out to his right and hurdled defensive lineman Zach Carter before vaulting a 9-yard pass to wide receiver Hasise Dubois in the back of the end zone. The ball zipped right into the outstretched arms of Dubois, who was blanketed by UF corner Marco Wilson.
“Anytime I’m outside of the pocket I try to find Has because, like coach said, his ability to catch the ball in traffic is unmatched,” Perkins said.
Perkins and Mendenhall briefly shed the stoicism of the moment to share a laugh as they debated the Dubois’ catching abilities.
“They call them 50-50 balls [but] in that situation, it’s more like a 70-30,” Perkins said.
“I’d say 80-20,” Mendenhall, smiling, interjected.
“It’s more like an 80-20,” Perkins, returning Mendenhall’s grin, replied over the laughter of the media. “You can look at the film to see if it goes higher.”
Dubois echoed their sentiments.
“I was able to get a little separation, I was able to get Bryce’s attention and he put the ball where only I can get it,” Dubois said.
While a loss wasn’t the ideal way to end the decade, UVA can take a solace in a couple facts. Perkins was one of two players to pass and rush for more than 3000 and 700 yards, respectively. Their offense put up 28 points on a team ranked in the top 10 nationally in total defense. Little victories like these give Mendenhall hope for next year.
“I consider [the seniors] a legacy class in terms of establishing what UVA football really is,” Mendenhall said. “... The mark they’ve set is exactly the mark that we need to squeeze even more air out of this program.”
Outside of Clemson, the Atlantic Coast Conference is pretty weak. The Cavaliers could be the team that embraces the challenge and begin to rival the Tigers in the next decade. For that to happen, Perkins believes UVA has to improve from a physical standpoint.
“We’re going to have to be a more physical team than we are now,” Perkins replied.
When asked about that next step, Mendenhall seemed more inclined to revel in the moment. He repeated an earlier adage about finding the right players first then stated the obvious: replacing seniors like Perkins and Dubois will be difficult.
“Until you find that right mix it takes time,” Mendenhall said. “I think we’re showing that it’s fairly rapid what’s happening. Not all of the pieces are in place but many of them are coming together.”
For UVA, the chance to show their improvement comes early. The Cavaliers will face Georgia in their first game of the 2020 season.
This story was originally published December 31, 2019 at 1:59 AM.
