stats will fail to tell you, though, is that the Cavaliers have displayed the ability to make the big plays when they desperately needed them, time-and-time again this season.

A huge part of that has been the centerpiece of the Cavalier offensive attack, sophomore quarterback Jameel Sewell. The Richmond native has overcome a disastrous outing against Wyoming and has proven to have an uncanny knack to make big plays with his arm and at times, his legs. He’s rushed for over 200 yards this season, which is not great, but certainly not bad either. Sewell has displayed masterful performances in the fourth quarter. He engineered four game-winning drives against the likes of Middle Tennessee State, Connecticut, Maryland, and Wake Forest. In the fourth quarter of those games, he’s posted highly efficient numbers, completing 17 of his 20 passes for 199 yards. Sewell is nifty in the pocket and has displayed the ability to improvise and escape pressure, although he is not a “dynamic dual threat”. He can get 10-15 yards when he needs to and he is not slow by any means, but don’t look for Sewell to rip off any 60-yard, 70-yard runs any time soon. His ability to improvise and elude pressure will be needed against a Virginia Tech defensive line that is excellent at getting pressure on the quarterback. The Virginia Tech defense is ranked 7th in the nation in sacks, racking up 3.27 sacks a game.

Offensive coordinator Mike Groh deserves a ton of credit for packaging the playbook around Sewell’s strengths and weaknesses. There are plenty of weaknesses in Sewell’s game and his biggest is his inability to attack the field vertically. Jameel Sewell simply cannot complete throws more than 20 yards down the field. His deep ball usually sails on him and makes it more likely that it will be intercepted by a safety or corner. Sewell’s strengths as a quarterback lie in his ability to carry out excellent ball fakes; he’s excellent at running play action and running the bootleg to his throwing(left) side. His best passes are the shortest passes and are usually no longer than 15 yards. His greatest strength is his ability to throw the screen passes, shovel passes, swing passes, and passes to the tight ends. His favorite targets are the tight ends and running backs and it shouldn’t be a surprise that Virginia’s top three receivers are either tight ends(Jon Stupar, Tom Santi) or a running back(Mikell Simpson). If Mike Groh knows what is good for him, he’ll stick to what got the Cavaliers in this position and keep the playbook conservative on Saturday with screens, shovel passes, swing passes, and passes to the tight ends.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?