Virginia hammered by Clemson 59-10

Virginia lost its 6th straight game, this time at the hands of the #8 Clemson Tigers.  Clemson QB Tajh Boyd returned to his home state in style, passing 24 of 29 for 377 yards and 3 TDs and running for another, before being removed early in the third quarter.  After an impressive drive from the Hoos to tie the game at 7, they allowed the Tigers to run all over the Scott Stadium field and put up the next 5 TDs, putting the game far out of reach.  The loss moves Virginia to 2-7 on the season and 0-5 in conference play.

Boyd, who hails from the same Tidewater region as David Watford, continued his Heisman candidacy, putting up video game numbers in only 35 minutes of playing time.  His day was capped by a 96 yard scoring strike to an inexplicably wide open Sammy Watkins, as Tim Harris and the Wahoo defense blew the coverage downfield.  Anthony Harris's first quarter interception was a rare bright spot for the defensive unit; the other bright spot was that Boyd was removed so early.  Otherwise, Clemson could've made the score even uglier if that's even possible.

Virginia's offense simply isn't built to win any type of high scoring game.  The unit took a step back after last week's performance.  David Watford followed up the best game of his career with an inefficient one, as he threw 16 for 35 for 130 yards, and an interception.  Kevin Parks had another strong performance, finishing with 82 yards on 16 carries, but the team was forced to abandon the run early as the deficit widened.

Dabo Swinney, who this week described UVA as a potential "surprise team" in the next year or two, has his team in strong position for a BCS bowl bid.  Mike London, however, will continue to feel the heat from UVA fans.  With three games remaining, @UNC, @Miami, and vs. VT, the team badly needs a win, as does the head coach.  It will have a good chance to do so next week against a 3-5 North Carolina team, but just didn't have the talent to keep up with the stacked Tigers.