Virginia football is set to travel to Pittsburgh to face the Pittsburgh Panthers this Saturday at 8pm at Acrisure Stadium. Last time out against the Panthers, the Cavaliers were crushed 37-7 by Pittsburgh on their home turf in Charlottesville. UVA will look to get some redemption on Saturday in addition to snapping a three-game losing streak. Virginia has not won a football game since October 5th.

The Panthers face Virginia with a new quarterback, Eli Holstein, who has proved to be one of the best transfers in college football this season. Under head coach Pat Narduzzi, Holstein has revitalized the Pittsburgh offense, a key reason for the Panther’s strong 7-0 start before falling to SMU last week. With that said, here are five keys to a Virginia victory on Saturday at Pittsburgh.

The Virginia offensive line allowed a season-high ten sacks against North Carolina as Anthony Colandrea spent the entire afternoon running for his life. Despite the abominable performance, Virginia was without center Brian Stevens and guard Ty Furnish. With the two set to return, in addition to McKale Boley, who has been dealing with a knee injury, set to play closer to 100%, the Virginia offensive line can protect Colandrea and allow the sophomore quarterback to operate the Cavalier offense effectively. 

There are many reasons why the Virginia offense has struggled these past few games, such as poor protection, lack of separation by wide receivers, and failure to establish a rushing attack. Despite these things, Colandrea has not played his best football either, as the sophomore has failed to throw for over 160 yards in either of his last two games and threw two interceptions last week against the Tar Heels. If Virginia wants to win on Saturday, Colandrea must emulate past performances, such as last season against Duke and Wake Forest this season, where the Florida native lit up the opposing defense with poise and unwavering confidence.