Football scouting report: Virginia

UCLA football kicks off its 2015 season on Saturday against the team that it started off with last season: Virginia.

Similar to last year, the Bruins enter the matchup as heavy favorites over the Cavaliers. The spread is currently -19.5 in favor of No. 13 UCLA, which has 18 returning starters – sixth most in the nation. Virginia, on the other hand, ranks No. 114 in the nation with 10 returning starters.

But if last year is anything to go by, spreads are irrelevant to Virginia. The Cavaliers (5-7 in 2014) faced the 18th-toughest schedule in the country, yet only lost two games by more than eight points – and those losses came against top-10 teams in Florida State and Georgia Tech. What’s guaranteed is that Virginia coach Mike London’s squad will bring pressure – the Cavaliers were No. 20 in the nation in sacks last year and tallied 14 quarterback hits against the Bruins. The main question is if Virginia can put up enough points to remain competitive against UCLA.

Here’s a breakdown of Virginia’s offensive and defensive schemes heading into Saturday’s matchup at the Rose Bowl.

Virginia’s offense

Base formation: Shotgun
Tendency: Power rushing
Blocking style: Zone
Pass strategy: Intermediate passes and check-downs to running backs
X-factor: Junior running back Taquan Mizzell

Offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild has had a rough go in his two seasons at Virginia. His offense has failed to crack the top 95 in points per play, his quarterbacks have thrown more interceptions than touchdowns, and his running backs have averaged less than four yards per carry. Beyond that, Fairchild was blamed for blowing the game against UCLA last year, when he insisted on running the ball in the red zone even though the pass game had been Virginia’s best offense.

Something has to change this year if Fairchild wants to keep his job, and he knows that. In fall camp, Fairchild announced that he’s going to switch the offensive strategy up this year, vying for more of a power-rushing attack as opposed to a perimeter-rushing strategy. The offense will still run primarily out of shotgun sets, similar to Ohio State’s power-spread offense.

There is one big problem with this approach already: Virginia lacks a strong, downhill runner. The Cavaliers’ starting running back, junior Taquan Mizzell, weighs 195 pounds and is more known for his speed – hence his nickname “Smoke.” Behind Mizzell – who had 280 yards and 4.4 yards per carry in 2014 – are two backs who are more power oriented, but they combined for just 136 rushing yards last year.

The bottom line is that the Virginia offense will go as far as Mizzell and the running game takes it. With Fairchild more intent on running the ball downhill this year, the pass game will be reliant on the strength of the rush game. And if the rush game doesn’t get going, there will be a lot of long-distance downs for a relatively inexperienced quarterback in junior Matt Johns, who had just three starts last season. UCLA shouldn’t take Johns lightly, however, as he went 13 for 22 with two touchdowns and no interceptions against the Bruins last year, showing a nice touch on deep-ball throws.

Virginia’s defense

Base defense: 4-3
Tendency: Blitz heavy
Pass-rush strategy: Stunts, linebacker blitzes
X-factor: Sophomore safety Quin Blanding

This Virginia defense drove UCLA mad in the first game last season. The Cavaliers brought the blitz on seemingly every play, and ended up with five sacks, nine pressures and 14 backfield hits on then-UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley. The Bruins were only able to muster seven offensive points in the game.

That game was a snapshot of who the Cavaliers are defensively: They like to blitz – a lot. It will be difficult for them to live up to last year’s high-caliber performance, however, as the Cavaliers lost their top-five pass rushers from last year – three of whom were picked up by an NFL team this year.

There may be a little bit of a drop-off after all those losses, but don’t say that to Virginia’s defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta. He’s entering his 35th year of collegiate coaching after helping the Cavaliers rise to No. 19 in defensive efficiency last season. He has a knack for drawing up effective stunts up front – not only with defensive linemen, but also with linebackers.

“They’re very intense when it comes to their scheme,” said UCLA redshirt senior center Jake Brendel. “They’re very mobile on their front, they almost always slant, they almost always bring one guy.”

Defensive line stunt:

Linebacker stunt:

As much as Virginia was known for its blitz last year, its strong point this year is in the secondary. Free safety Quin Blanding is back for his sophomore season after a standout first year that ended with Freshman All-American honors. The former five-star recruit is a ball-hawking safety – he was one of just two freshman in the nation to lead his team in tackles a year ago.

Joining Blanding on the back line is one of Virginia’s most experienced players – senior Maurice Canaday – who enters the year on Phil Steele’s Preseason Atlantic Coast Conference First Team alongside Blanding. UCLA freshman quarterback Josh Rosen may want to stick to underneath passes against Virginia.

Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.