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Virginia Cavaliers vs VMI Keydets Football Recap
Virginia 48, Virginia Military Institute 7
Virginia welcomed its military-school visitors to Charlottesville by delivering a sound whipping. The FCS-based Keydets were dominated in all phases of the game.
The Cavaliers led 466-179 in total yards, 341-133 in passing yards, and 125-46 on the ground. The only thing that prevented this from being a complete blowout was the collection of three turnovers committed by UVA, including two lost fumbles.
After forcing a three-and-out on VMI’s first possession, UVa took no time in driving down a short field. The Cavs' 5-play, 42 yard drive was capped off by a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Marc Verica to receiver Dontrelle Inman.
VMI’s first quarter was its only decent offensive quarter of football on Saturday afternoon. After UVA return man Chase Minnifield fumbled the punt, giving the Keydets great field position at the UVA 19. VMI couldn’t convert, though, losing two yards on the next three downs before missing a 30-yard field goal.
Virginia punted on the second set of downs on their next possession, giving VMI the ball at its own 37 yard line. Keydet signal caller Cameron Jones promptly hooked up with T.J. Talley for a long 36-yard pass. After an incompletion, Jones hit teammate Chaz Jones for a 25-yard pass play to the UVA 2-yard line. After two unsuccessful rushes, they Keydets scored on a Cameron Jones touchdown pass, tying the game at 7-all.
That's as long as the fun lasted for the military men who entered Scott Stadium for this in-state encounter.
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The Keydets enjoyed the tie on the scoreboard for mere seconds, as UVA's Raynard Horne took the subsequent kickoff to paydirt with an 87-yard return, and the Cavs never looked back.
Minnifield intercepted a Jones pass on the next VMI possession, giving UVA the ball at its own 31. Verica then hooked up with Kris Burd for a 27-yard touchdown pass a few plays later to make it 21-7 after the second quarter had barely started. On the next possession for VMI, Adam Morgan entered the game at quarterback for the underdogs and wasted no time in delivering another woefully inadequate aerial. An additional interception landed in the arms of Minnifield, giving the Cavs the ball at the Keydets' 25. A few plays later, Verica hit Inman for another scoring strike to make it 28-7.
VMI managed a first down on the next possession, but again was forced to punt on the second set of downs. UVA took over on its 27 and marched inside the VMI 20 and settled for a field goal to extend the lead to 31-7 at the half.
The second half was just window dressing, as the two squads played out the string. Cavalier head coach Mike London was able to assess much of his roster before the meat of his team's ACC schedule. He has to know that 41-point wins are not going to be the norm for the rest of 2010. The Cavs will have to scratch and claw for every conference scalp they might want to attain.
By
Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer