<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4PUKJI_1GqSbWML00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4PUKJI_1GqSbWML00" width="1000" height="667" ><figcaption>Virginia has not broken the 20-point mark since Oct. 10, a frightening trend for the offense Photo by Albert Tang | The Cavalier Daily</figcaption></figure>In Oct. 27 media availability before last weekend’s Wake Forest matchup, Coach Tony Elliott defended offensive coordinator Des Kitchings amidst an abysmal season for the offense.“There’s nobody out there in the building working their ass off [more] than Coach Kitchings,” Elliott said. Kitchings has a lot to be working on. Virginia ranks 79th in strength of resume, the fourth-lowest in their conference. Despite the lack of fierce competition, the Cavaliers are fourth-worst in the ACC in yards per game. They are also sixth-worst in the ACC and 78th in the country in offensive efficiency. Fifth-year quarterback Beau Pribula is an easy target when discussing the offense. The transfer from Missouri has only cleared 200 passing yards twice this season and is averaging only 6.26 yards per attempt on a 58 percent completion rate across his last five games. However, when the Cavaliers have had trouble scoring during Elliott’s tenure, Kitchings, not the players on the field, has been the common denominator.A survey of Kitchings’ history as offensive coordinator reveals last season as an aberration, a blip of success on a flat line of mediocrity. Across 13 seasons between Vanderbilt, NC State and Virginia, Kitchings-coached offenses have finished outside the top 100 in both points and yards three times and within the top 70 just once, in 2025. Chandler Morris is the only passer who has succeeded with Kitchings. Anthony Colandrea has become a dynamic quarterback without him, winning Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year last season with Nevada at Las Vegas after playing his way to a benching in his final year with Virginia. Going further back, Brennan Armstrong — holder of multiple program records — struggled mightily in his lone season with Kitchings following a career-best year under Robert Anae. This season, the Cavaliers’ struggles are unit-wide, not just at quarterback. Virginia has allowed 28 sacks thus far, good for first in the ACC and fifth in the nation. One culprit could be the departure of former offensive line coach Terry Heffernan, who accepted a job as offensive coordinator at Stanford. Even so, the personnel on the front is essentially the same as last season, with three out of five starters returning and seventh-year right tackle Monroe Mills returning from injury — if anything, the talent on the line has improved. The offensive line is not responsible for every sack — Pribula has had plenty of issues managing the pressure. But it is not exclusively a quarterback awareness problem. Virginia is on pace to nearly triple their sacks allowed from last year. However, the blame ought not to be transferred to Pribula’s supporting cast either. The offensive line is full of proven, familiar talent. Additionally, Elliott brought in plenty of high-quality transfers at the skill positions.Though the skill positions, especially receivers such as third-year Kameron Courtney and fourth-year Rico Flores Jr., have been hampered by injuries, the problem still lies in the playcalling. Kitchings has shown earlier this season he knows how to utilize players’ strengths up and down the depth chart, which makes his left turn in procedure and their recent struggles all the more puzzling.After Week Zero, it appeared Kitchings had continued to build off of the success the offense had last year — the design and execution of the Cavalier offense in their victory over NC State feels entirely alien to the sluggish attack which has since emerged. A preseason injury to Flores led Virginia’s offense to rely heavily on a rotation of running backs and Pribula’s legs. Kitchings employed a healthy amount of 12 personnel to bolster a self-sustaining run game, only attempting 11 passes.The results of the adjusted gameplan — 413 total yards and a 34-8 win — speak for themselves, especially when compared with the performance of their run game in their most recent defeat against Wake Forest Oct. 31.Virginia’s running back room, similar to last season, possesses both versatility and depth. Headlined by fourth-year Jekail Middlebrook, the unit boasts four players with at least 25 carries averaging over four yards per attempt. Against No. 14 Wake Forest, with Middlebrook out with an MCL sprain, the group collectively averaged less than one yard per carry. The reasons why the 51-7 loss is notable are too many to count, but one play stands out as remarkable in its haplessness. Down 17-0 towards the end of the first half, the Cavaliers found themselves at fourth-and-goal on the six-yard line. For this pivotal play, Kitchings dialed up a direct snap to the running back out of shotgun. After the snap, the line failed to hold back the tide of the fierce Demon Deacon front and Davis was promptly stuffed. For the first time in recent memory, the direct snap — Kitchings’ most reliable play for goal-to-go or fourth-and-short situations — failed. It was a failed play, in a failed game, in the midst of a failed season.Elliott does not appear to be considering changes of any kind. When there is a change, though, the first place he ought to look is in the coordinators’ box, not under center. Even if Kitchings remains in his current position, he should be stripped of playcalling duties if he cannot adjust his process over the upcoming bye week. </div></body>

Block Source: UV Cavalier Daily

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In Oct. 27 media availability before last weekend’s Wake Forest matchup, Coach Tony Elliott defended offensive coordinator Des Kitchings amidst an abysmal season for the offense. “There’s nobody out there in the building working their ass off [more] than Coach Kitchings,” Elliott said. Kitchings has a lot...

MCNIFF: The problem with Virginia’s offense is the playcalling

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In Oct. 27 media availability before last weekend’s Wake Forest matchup, Coach Tony Elliott defended offensive coordinator Des Kitchings amidst an abysmal 

MCNIFF: The problem with Virginia’s offense is the playcalling

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