With a two-game losing streak, growing fan criticism, and a challenging trip to Wake Forest ahead, Tony Elliott is searching for answers for his Virginia footbal l team. But one of them (at least for now) is not a change at quarterback.
Here's the gist of what the Cavaliers' head coach had to say at his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
Beau Pribula hasn't thrown a touchdown pass in either of Vrginia's last two games (losses to SMU and Duke). Social media and fan boards are buzzing with calls to turn to backup Eli Holstein, but Elliott said the offensive struggles are not all his fault.
"I don't know if putting another quarterback in there solves your problems," Elliott said. "Like, everybody's got to play better. You know, everybody's asking about the quarterback, but nobody's telling me to replace my left tackle [McKale Boley] who, you know, didn't play great, right? That should play great because he's a veteran guy, right?
" ... So we're just evaluating everything. And trust me, when it comes to the point where, you know, I believe that. A change at that position is necessary, right? We'll go that route. But I think right now, there's enough blame for everybody."
Elliott didn't rule out tweaks elsewhere in the starting lineup, although the depth chart looked similar to last week's, aside from the omission of wide receiver Rico Flores Jr., who officially has been declared out for the season with a knee injury suffered against Syracuse.
"Where I got the depth to be able to [change starters}, you know, absolutely, right?" Elliott said. "Like, you want to, but sometimes you don't have the depth that's but sometimes you don't have the depth that says that it's going to produce better, right? So, we got to figure out how to get the guys to play better, right? And produce.
Virginia ran 77 offensive plays to Duke's 50, held the ball for nearly twice as long (38:47 to 21:13) and outgained the Blue Devils 353 yards to 327. But the Cavaliers settled for field goals on three of their four red zone possessions.
"I don't know how to describe it," Elliott said. "Like the car's running and it can go, but then it'll kind of sputter, right? And then it'll backfire a little bit, right? And so, you see that moving the ball, right? We're actually more explosive than we've been since the Delaware game. Had 11 explosives, more explosive in the passing game. But then we have three drops, right? And so, then everybody's mad at the quarterback, but they're three catchable balls."
Offensive coordinator Des Kitchings has taken as much grief as (if not more than) Pribula for Virginia's offensive woes. Elliott defender his longtime play-caller's choices, adding that the players have to execute his game plan.
"One thing I will tip my hat to Coach Kitch is his ability to find the numbers and the angles, right?" he said "So, for the most part, like It's not a situation where he's calling plays and putting kids in a position where they're swimming upstream where now there's two unblocked, there's a guy unblocked, and now they have to go make that type of play."
Like most coaches, Elliott declared that the buck stops with himself--with a yes-but condition.
"We live in a world now where everybody wants to point their fingers and say, who's to blame?" Elliott said "Well, point it at me, cause I'm the head coach. I'm ultimately responsible, and I gotta figure it out, right?
"But internally, right, behind when you guys aren't here and it's me and the team, everybody's kinda getting their fair share of 'You gotta play better, I gotta do this better.' And I always start every Monday. 'You got to play better. I got to do this better.' And I always start every Monday with where I got to be better as a head coach in leading the organization. ... And I'm not the guy that's going to point one finger at one person. If anything, I'm going to point it at myself and then go to work and figure out how to get better."
Even if Virginia improves its level of play Saturday, snapping Wake Forest's four-game win streak on the road will be a challege. The 14th-ranked Demon Deacons (6-1, 4-1 ACC) have won four straight, the last three by an average of 37 points. They're coming off a bye week, and quarterback Gio Lopez looks nothing like the player who struggled at North Carolina last season, with 17 touchdown passes and one interception.
"He looks like he's free," said Elliott, a renowned quarterback guru. "He's playing inside the pocket, outside the pocket. He's running the ball, man. He's dishing it like a point guard. Then he's throwing it down the field.
"And so, what you see is you just see a ton of confidence in all three phases. And the guys are playing with a ton of energy, a ton of passion, and a ton of belief. And it's a good thing to see on tape. Like, as a coach, man, you always want to see that out of your team. And I see that out of my team at times, you know."
After routing NC State in their opener, the Cavaliers dreamed of a return trip to the ACC championship game and a possible College Football Playoff berth. Now they need to win two of their final four games just to qualify for a bowl. But Elliott said he doesn't see a team ready to throw in the towel.
"At times it's just a little bit off," he said. "Now, what I don't see is I don't see a lack of effort. I don't see guys just flat-out blowing assignments, right? Like they're headed in the right direction for the most part. It's just now my job is to instill mental toughness and discipline, right, for 80 plays, right?"
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/virginia as Here's what Tony Elliott is doing (and not doing) as Virginia prepares to visit Wake Forest .
