From the Upper Deck: Recapping the Hoos loss to the Boise State Broncos

There isn't much you can really say to sum up what happened Friday night in Charlottesville. The team was outmatched and outclassed from the first play of the game. There is a plethora of narratives that can be written about this game, but let's take a look in the context of the three keys to game from the upper deck.

Bring the Energy - Whether it was the rain, the Friday night game, or just he level of interest in Virginia football right now, only 42,427 showed up for that debacle.  In addition, any energy that was in the building was sucked right out as Matt Johns' first "pass" of the game was intercepted and returned for a touchdown putting the Hoos in a 7-0 hole, 14 seconds into the game. Beyond the crowd, the team look ill prepared.  What has become a standard of Mike London coached teams, there were countless pre-snap penalties, miscues on special teams, and frustrating personal conduct fouls. Unfortunately, and unlike in big games in the past, this team was not ready to play.

Make Boise State Sustain Drives - For the fourth week in a row, the Hoos gave up a touchdown pass of at least 30 yards.  This time on strikes of 30 and 64 yards.  But it wasn't just the big play that doomed the Cavaliers this week as the Broncos outgained Virginia 447 to 273. The Hoos were stout on third down, if the Broncos ever got there.  Of the 19 first downs that Boise State earned, 15 of them came on first or second down.  While Virginia held possession for longer, that predominantly because they got the ball back so many times following Bronco touchdowns.

Unleash T.J. Thorpe - This is at least part of what Hoos fans hoped they would be seeing all year. Mid way through the first quarter, Thorpe caught a 15 yard Matt Johns pass and took it to the house tip-toeing the sideline as he eluded a would be Bronco tackler on his way to a 75-yard touchdown.  However, in what was for me one example of the most frustrating storyline of the evening, Thorpe was then flagged for excessive celebration after a dance and "throat slash." In the future, i would ask that the coaches unleash T.J. Thorpe with the play calling, but reign him in with the antics.  The Thorpe over the top, Canaan Severin over the middle combination didn't pan out either as Thorpe had only one catch and Severin cooled off with only four catches.

A bye week can't come at a better time for the Hoos. Later this week, I'll look at three things the Hoos need to do to turn this season around.