After the third game of the season, the UVa football team was able to claim its second win by defeating the University of Connecticut with a score of 38-13. The impressive outcome of the game has left student fans, especially upperclassmen who have endured multiple disappointing seasons, cautiously optimistic.
“[Having grown] up as a UConn fan practically since birth, it was difficult for me to root against UConn…However, [they] had a poor performance, so I have to give UVa the credit for a great win,” said second year Emily Williams.
“[It was] a great confidence boost after a tough loss last weekend”.
Although UVa was initially predicted to beat UConn, the team’s striking performance at one point resulted in a 31-0 lead that lasted most of the third quarter. Was this win, however, a good indication of UVa’s potential for the rest of the season?
“They shut down UConn on defense, so they should keep up their defensive play [for future games],” commented first year Ben Stein.
“The offense was good overall, but the quarterback got trigger happy after his first touchdown pass.”
Some students attribute part of the Cavaliers’ relative success in the beginning of the season to their fairly new head coach, Bronco Mendenhall.
“We did worse last year with out-of-conference opponents [like UConn],” said second year Logan Romberger. “It’s definitely an improvement, probably thanks to [Mendenhall]”.
“We have some great players…[H]opefully we can have a better season than we did last year,” remarked Williams optimistically.
Others were slightly more skeptical.
“I am not sure that this win will necessarily reflect how we play for the rest of the season,” said Stein. “[But] I believe that it will give us important momentum that will definitely aid us in our next games.”
The Hoos are set to play the Boise State Broncos this Friday in Idaho.
