Virginia had chances to try and pull off an upset against the No. 22 SMU Mustangs, but once again, an inconsistent offense could not make enough plays, and the defense could not get critical stops on 4th down, giving SMU a crucial ACC win.
What stood out from today's performance in Dallas?
Loser: Virginia's ACC Championship hopes
While it is the ACC and anything can happen, this was a game that UVA really needed to have if they wanted to have a chance to make it to back to Charlotte for the ACC Championship game.
This is now the second ACC loss for the Cavaliers and now the Mustangs also have the tiebreaker over Virginia. A lot of chaos can still happen in the ACC, perhaps more than any other conference, but Virginia would also likely need to win out to make that happen. Given what we have seen from this team against FBS competition, I don't think that is likely to happen and at this rate, UVA might be fortunate to make a bowl game. If they had won this game, they would have had the inside track to get to Charlotte and likely play Miami, but that dream is likely out the window now.
One year after nearly making the College Football Playoff, Virginia is not going to come anywhere close to that after this loss.
Winner: UVA special teams
It was a good day for the special teams.
Will Bettridge was 2-for-2 on his field goal attempts, both of which were from 40-plus yards. Daniels Sparks had three punts today and averaged 54 yards per punt. This was the best phase of the game for UVA by a mile.
Loser: Virginia's Offense
Against FBS teams other than NC State, it has been a slog for UVA on the offensive side of the ball and today was more of the same.
The passing game, which was missing some of the top pass catchers today, was ineffective, as Beau Pribula went 13-for-22 for 137 yards and aside from some big plays, they could not find any sort of consistency.
The offensive line has been disappointing for Virginia this season, and they did not help themselves today. UVA ran for 121 yards total and only averaged 3.8 yards per carry.
The run game was supposed to be the strength of this team this season on the offensive side of the ball, but it has been far from it.
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