Not many defenses in college football hold teams to under 300 yards of offense.
Virginia’s is allowing only 299.3 yards per game this year to opposing offenses through four games and is one of 17 teams in Football Bowl Subdivision to do so. The 299.3 yards allowed is significant when factoring Virginia has played No. 2 Oregon this season, who averages 599.3 offensive yards per game.
With a defense like that, Ball State knows it could have trouble trying to move the ball Saturday.
“They’re statistically top 10 in most categories on defense,” offensive coordinator Rich Skrosky said. “We’re going to have our hands filled.”
Ball State is averaging 472.4 yards on offense this season, 11th best in the country. Facing a defense that doesn’t give up a lot of yards means Ball State’s numbers could see significant drops against Virginia.
In Virginia’s 14-3 loss to Pittsburgh on Sept. 28, the defense only allowed eight rushing yards. Ball State’s running game has only recently shown consistency with the return of Jahwan Edwards to balance Horactio Banks.
Skrosky said getting the running game going against Virginia will be key, especially to balance the offense. He was most impressed by Virginia holding Pittsburgh to 14 points, who scored 58 points against Duke the previous week.
Head coach Pete Lembo took a great deal of time talking about how impressed he is with Virginia’s defense and their size on the defensive line. The Cavaliers’ defensive line is anchored by the 6-foot-7-inch, 295 pound tackle Brent Urban.
“They’re going to be real difficult to block,” Lembo said. “I think they’re as good as a unit I’ve seen since I’ve been here. They’re fun to watch.”
Lembo said from film he expects to see Virginia run a zone blitz scheme quite often. However often Ball State’s offense sees zone blitz schemes, moving the ball will be difficult.
Through four games this season, Virginia has forced 37 punts.
“They’re a high pressure defense,” Lembo said. “Our offense definitely has they’re work cut out for them.”
Though Virginia is allowing less that 300 yards on offense, the 49-0 win over VMI on Sept. 21 stands as an outlier. The Football Championship Subdivision team only recorded 79 yards of offense, which brings down Virginia’s defensive averages greatly.
At the same time, Ball State also won’t look heavily at Virginia’s defense against Oregon because of how talented the Ducks are on offense.
“I think there’s almost a mystique to playing Oregon,” Lembo said. “When you play them, their combination of speed, their tempo, their misdirection all of a sudden guys are playing a little more tentatively. I think at the end of the day Oregon is just that good.”
But the other teams on Virginia’s schedule thus far, Pittsburgh and BYU had limited success. Pittsburgh managed only 199 total yards while BYU went for 362 yards.
Both Skrosky and Lembo will be sure to have Ball State’s offense ready for Virginia’s defense, but going into a game against a tough defense will make some uncertainty about how productive the offense will be.
One thing is for certain, either Ball State’s offense or Virginia’s defense will have to give.
