“It’s on me,” mentioned UVA’s second-year coach, Tony Elliott. “I didn’t do an incredible job of getting this soccer staff ready and able to play at a excessive stage. It’s type of the story of soccer, how momentum can swing and the way issues within the sport can change shortly, and we weren’t in a position to seize the momentum as soon as it modified. For a short while we had been going backwards and forwards and it was aggressive soccer, after which we began making some important errors, after which they discovered some solutions and made some changes that we couldn’t alter again to.”
Virginia fell to 2-7 general and 1-4 within the ACC. The Yellow Jackets (5-4, 2-2) had been coming off a win over North Carolina wherein they completed with 635 yards of whole offense, they usually had been almost as productive towards the Hoos.
Georgia Tech totaled 514 yards Saturday, together with 305 on the bottom. Of the Jackets’ six touchdowns, 4 got here on performs of 33 yards or longer.
“They received after my tail right here right this moment,” UVA defensive coordinator John Rudzinski mentioned. “I’ll be the primary one to say that. I take full accountability for our efficiency. I gotta do a greater job so far as placing our guys in place.”
On a day when Virginia pressured no turnovers, Georgia Tech got here up with three takeaways. The primary, an interception, got here on the first-quarter play on which Muskett suffered an obvious high-ankle sprain.
The second got here halfway by the second quarter. On a third-and-1 run, Colandrea picked up the primary down however then fumbled the ball, and the Jackets recovered.
“I simply gotta defend the ball,” Colandrea mentioned after his first look since Sept. 22.
A real freshman from St. Petersburg, Fla., Colandrea took over within the season opener after Muskett suffered a shoulder damage after which began the Cavaliers’ subsequent three video games. Muskett returned on Sept. 30 to face Boston Faculty, and the teaching workers hoped to retain a redshirt yr for Colandrea.
These plans modified Saturday, although, when it grew to become clear that Muskett couldn’t return to the sport. Colandrea completed 21-for-37 passing for 200 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted as soon as.
“He made some errors that he’ll be taught from, get higher from, and transfer ahead,” Elliott mentioned. “So I’m not going to say that it’s on Colandrea, as a result of it’s a collective effort, beginning with me right through all people. We received to do a greater job of getting ready to the usual in order that we are able to play to plain.”
Hollins, who rushed for 2 touchdowns final weekend in UVA’s additional time loss to ACC foe Miami, carried 5 instances for 25 yards Saturday earlier than leaving the sport with a neck damage. Elliott didn’t have any updates on Hollins or Robinson, a real freshman who damage his knee early within the second quarter and didn’t return.
On the ultimate play of the primary half, Will Bettridge’s 39-yard area objective lower UVA’s deficit to 14 factors. The Jackets scored a landing on the primary possession of the third quarter, nevertheless, and had been by no means significantly threatened thereafter.
Colandrea threw an 8-yard landing go to tailback Kobe Tempo with 8:47 remaining, and Bettridge’s additional level make it 38-17. However Georgia Tech wanted solely two performs to stretch its lead again to twenty-eight factors.
That’s how issues went Saturday for Virginia’s protection, however “as irritating as that’s, we don’t have any time to level fingers, we don’t have any time responsible anyone,” mentioned junior security Jonas Sanker, who completed with a team-high 10 tackles.
“Georgia Tech didn’t run towards one participant for nevertheless many yards they ran for. They ran towards our protection, they ran towards UVA. No matter it takes, we’re gonna do it. So we’re gonna come again subsequent week and we’re going to appropriate the issues we tousled.”
Virginia’s offensive line didn’t have one in all its most interesting video games, both.
“Early on, I assumed they had been doing job,” Elliott mentioned. “Early on, we had been having some success operating the ball, after which as the sport went on, you grow to be just a little bit one-dimensional. And if you grow to be one-dimensional, it’s heavy go. And when the D-line is aware of it’s heavy go they usually can screw their cleats within the floor and get a soar, it makes it powerful on you.
“However we’ll return to work, and I do know these guys have gotten a whole lot of delight they usually’ve proven the resilience that they’ve and we’ll personal our errors. We’re not gonna run from them. We’re gonna personal our errors. We received what we earned right this moment, and we didn’t put our greatest foot ahead.”
UVA’s veteran extensive receivers—Malik Washington and Malachi Fields—provided a lot of the offense’s manufacturing. Washington caught 11 passes for 107 yards, and Fields had 5 receptions for 65 yards.
Washington, a graduate switch from Northwestern, has 79 catches for 1,044 yards and 6 touchdowns this season. He’s the sixth participant in program historical past to whole a minimum of 1,000 yards, and he’s the quickest (9 video games) to succeed in that mark.
“I’ve tried my greatest to ship,” Washington mentioned. “I feel I nonetheless haven’t performed my greatest, and I’ve gotta have the ability to put collectively my greatest sport, whether or not that’s catching the ball, blocking or regardless of the case could also be.”
