Schaub should be ready for Wake
The Virginian-Pilot
© September 26, 2003

Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub likely will be available to play Saturday against Wake Forest, Cavs coach Al Groh said Thursday. But Groh added he still wants to see another day of practice before deciding whether the 2002 ACC Player of the Year, who has been out most of the season with a shoulder injury, will make his return against the Deacons.

“Matt’s progress has been very positive,” Groh said. “We need to see another practice to decide just how much he can go and what he can do.”

Groh said there is a “very good chance” Schaub will be available to play. The senior, who injured his right shoulder early in the season opener against Duke on Aug. 30, returned to practice Tuesday.

“We’ll have to see what today brings,” Groh said Thursday morning. “But I had decided early in the week that we weren’t going to jump to any one-day conclusion, whether it was 'he’s in’ or 'he’s out.’”

Groh said his primary concern is whether Schaub’s shoulder can withstand game contact. Schaub has taken some light hits in practice. Virginia practices are not full contact sessions in which players are tackled to the ground.

“It’s not just being able to throw it, but it’s his velocity, it’s his range, it’s the stability of the joint against contact,” Groh said. “We want to take all three days to see.”

Marques Hagans started at quarterback in a 59-16 win Sept. 13 over Western Michigan. Groh said earlier in the week that Hagans would start against Wake, but that was before Schaub returned to practice.

— ED MILLER

 

Schaub's progress 'positive'
By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

When given a chance Thursday to declare a starting quarterback for Virginia's football game Saturday with Wake Forest, UVa coach Al Groh withheld judgment.
That was the surest sign yet that senior Matt Schaub is physically ready to play.

"Matt and Marques [Hagans] have both worked this week," Groh said on his weekly Thursday teleconference. "Matt's progress has been very positive. I think we need to see another practice to decide just how much he can go and what he can do.

"He's moving into the circumstance [where] there's a very good chance he will be ready to play in the game. We'll have to see what today brings. I had decided early in the week that we weren't going to jump to any one-day conclusion, whether it was 'he's in' or 'he's out.'"

Schaub, the 2002 ACC Player of the Year, suffered a separated right (throwing) shoulder on the first series of the Cavaliers' opening game Aug.30 against Duke.

Redshirt freshman Anthony Martinez replaced Schaub in that game and went the distance at quarterback Sept.7 at South Carolina, where the Cavaliers lost 31-7.

Martinez was replaced one week later by sophomore Marques Hagans, who led the Cavaliers to a 59-16 victory over Western Michigan only five days after moving from wide receiver.

Schaub was floating 25-yard spirals in pregame warm-ups before the Western Michigan game. That was two weeks ago.

"We didn't see him at all last week," said Groh, referring to the Cavaliers' open date Sept.20. "It's not just being able to throw it. It's his velocity, his range, the stability of the joint against contact that we want to take all three days [of practice] to see."

Groh does not have a no-contact policy for his quarterbacks, but the Cavaliers also do not tackle players to the ground, a practice intended to reduce the chance of injury.

Groh has repeatedly rejected the notion that he might start Hagans, see how things progress, and hold Schaub available for an emergency while hoping for another week of rest and rehabilitation. When Schaub is ready, Groh has maintained, he will play.

"We want to be really sure with this thing," Groh said Wednesday on the ACC teleconference. "Matt and I have spoken about this: We don't want to have a circumstance where, after having four weeks invested in his rehabilitation, that we have to start all over."

 

2003 Wake Forest - Virginia Preview
by Jeremy Williams
Sep 25, 2003

Virginia head coach Al Groh wants his team “to win ACC Championships.” This Saturday features an important an important step in the Cavaliers quest for that goal as they face a fiery and dangerous Wake Forest squad. The Demon Deacons have already taken out N.C. State in one conference battle, and a win over Virginia would make them 2-0 and instant title contenders with two of their tougher matchups out of the way. Needless to say, the Deacons will be fired up when they roll into Scott Stadium this Saturday.
For the very same reasons, it will be crucial that Virginia come up with a win if they hope to keep the team goal of an ACC Championship alive. With Florida State looking like world-beaters once again, combined with the fact that the Cavaliers must go on the road against N.C. State and Maryland, there is not a whole lot of room for error the rest of the way if Virginia slips up against Wake Forest. While the upcoming game is certainly not a do-or-die situation, its importance in the drive for an ACC championship cannot be overstated.

“It is a big game for us because it is a conference game,” sophomore quarterback Marques Hagans said this week. “Games like this are important if we want to compete for [an ACC] title. I know we are all looking forward to going out and playing a good game against a conference opponent. Games like this are very important.”

With senior quarterback Matt Schaub’s status still unknown, it is likely that Hagans will be the one to face a Wake Forest defense that is ranked 8th in the league in total yards given up. They don’t fare much better in scoring defense, as they give up exactly three touchdowns (with an extra point) a game. Hagans will need to take advantage of a passing defense that has struggled this season.

Junior Eric King and redshirt junior Marcus McGruder are the two featured cornerbacks in Wake’s 3-3-5 defensive setup. While the two have combined to come up with three interceptions and seven passes defended, they have also had a propensity to give up quite a few yards this season. They do catch a break, with Schaub likely to be on the sidelines this weekend. The starting corners will need a break, however, as they are in a secondary that has given up 293 yards a game in the air. Hagan’s 177.45 passer rating is nothing to look down upon, on the other hand, even if it was in only the one game against Western Michigan.

While they have struggled at times this season, the Demon Deacon secondary certainly is experienced. Senior Quintin Williams headlines a secondary that also has two more redshirt juniors in the form of Caren Bracy and Warren Braxton. Bracy leads the team in tackles, as well as forced fumbles, and most of the secondary has followed his lead. As a team the Demon Deacons have 10 forced fumbles this season, with the secondary coming up with half of them, meaning Virginia receivers will want to watch out for the entire secondary trying to strip the ball.

“It will be important to continue playing well against those guys,” said freshman wide receiver Deyon Williams, who caught a touchdown pass on his first play in college football. “We have all been working hard to keep playing well. We know Wake Forest has some good players, so we will have to go in prepared.”

Wake’s three linebackers, redshirt senior Jamaal Argrow, redshirt junior Brad White, and senior Kellen Bradley, have caused havoc in opponents backfields all season long. The Demon Deacons only have two sacks the entire season, but the linebackers have 1.5 of those sacks. More importantly, however, is the fact that the linebackers have 10.5 tackles for loss. Virginia’s offensive line and tight ends will especially have to look for Brantley, who leads the team in tackles for loss and sacks.

In the trenches, Wake’s play has been nothing to write home about. Right end Jerome Nichols leads a defensive line whose starters only have 21 tackles on the season, though Goryal Scales and Arthur Orlebar, the Demon Deacons’ other two starters, have missed one game already this season. Wake Forest is middle of the pack in rushing defense, as they have given up 129 yards a game this season.

“We know that Wake Forest is going to be a challenge,” said Virginia running back Wali Lundy, who says he is close to 100 percent health. “We all have to play a good game and be on our games if we want to win on Saturday. It is a conference game, it’s going to be a battle.”

On the other side of the ball, Wake’s offense has the ability to cause plenty of problems for a Virginia defense that is once again in the bottom half of the league in total defense, but third in the category that matters the most: scoring defense. While Wake is 8th in the league in total offense, they have the ability to find the end zone, scoring almost 29 points a game, which ranks 5th in the ACC.

Head Coach Jim Grobe, who has done a terrific job at Wake Forest, is known for showing opponents plenty of different sets and motions that try and confuse the defense. While the Deacons don’t do anything spectacular on offense, they are solid in all phases, and are led by a young quarterback who appears to be on the rise in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Redshirt Sophomore Cory Randolph has passed for 600 yards and three touchdowns this season, and while a passing efficiency of 130 won’t necessarily jump out at you, he has been a solid option at quarterback for Grobe. So far this season he has limited his mistakes, while also providing a running threat, as he has run for 82 yards in four games. Saturday will be a challenge for Randolph, however, as he faces one of the better secondarys in the league this week.

“It’s going to be important to try and shut him down and limit what he can do to us,” Senior caption Almondo “Muffin” Curry said. “All of us on defense need to have a good game, because Wake Forest has a good offense.”

Randolph has a solid set of receivers to help him out, and they are led by redshirt junior Jason Anderson, who leads the ACC in yards per catch (17.3 ypc), giving the Deacons a deep threat down the field. Anderson has caught 16 balls for 277 yards and two touchdowns this season, and will need to have a big day if Wake hopes to upset the Cavaliers. On the other side of Anderson you will find sophomore Chris Davis, who has five catches for 63 yards. Wake’s slot receiver, Anthony Young, has the second most catches on the team with 14 for 183 yards.

Wake’s most exciting receiver, however, might be redshirt freshman Willie Idlette, who has been a tremendous sparkplug so far this season. In addition to catching eight passes for 101 yards, Idlette has run the ball 17 times for 147 yards on reverses and straight handoffs. The young man has wreaked havoc on opposing defenses, and Virginia will need to assign someone to follow him.

While the Deacon’s passing game appears to be on the rise, their staple on offense the past few seasons has been a dominant running game. Unfortunately for the Deacs, that running game hasn’t been quite so spectacular this season. Wake Forest has only averaged 3.4 yards a carry so far this season, and if you take away Idlette’s contributions to the running game, Wake has averaged less than three yards a carry this season.

Though he has been dinged up at times this season, starting tailback Chris Barclay has gained only 183 yards on 63 carries (2.9 ypc) in four games this season. His backup, redshirt sophomore Cornelius Birgs, hasn’t fared much better, averaging only 3.1 yards per carry this season. Wake Forest will face a Virginia defense that has given up 4.5 yards per carry this season, so it will be important for the Deacons to establish a running game against a suspect Virginia front. Barclay will have to step it up, but he will need some help from a relatively young offensive line.

Two seniors are the bookends for the Deacon’s offensive line, as Tyson Clabo and Mark Moroz lead the way at the two tackle positions, but that is where the playing experience ends, as the interior line features three players that have not seen a lot of time on the field. Center Blake Lingruen, left guard Craig Jones, and right guard Steve Vallos will have to play much better this weekend to open some holes for their running backs, and give Randolph plenty of time to get rid of the ball.

“It’s going to be important for everyone to play well,” said senior corner Jermaine Winborne. “I think we all understand that this is a big test, so we need to be fired up come game time.”

The Low Down

Wake Forest is a team that is similar to the 2002 version of Virginia. Their numbers are not very good when you analyze them, but the Deacons have found a way to win three of their first four games. (It should have been four of four if not for a few horrendous play calls against Purdue). At some point this season they figure to run into trouble if their numbers stay the same and they are unable to force turnovers. The Demon Deacons have forced 9 turnovers on defense, which was one of the main reasons they were able to upset N.C. State.

The Cavaliers will need a big game out of Hagans, as the Cavaliers need to take advantage of a pass defense that has not played well so far this season. If he plays the way he did against Western Michigan, a team that is obviously not as good as Wake Forest figures to be, Virginia should be able to move the ball on offense fairly easily. He will get some help from a much healthier Lundy, who was happy to see a bye week at this point on the schedule, and added depth on the offensive line now that Kevin Bailey has returned.

All in all, this is a game that Virginia should win, especially if they hope to reach their goal of an ACC Championship. Coming home after a three-week hiatus from Scott Stadium will certainly help.


 

Waking Deacons
Grobe leads Wake Forest into contending status
By Dave Johnson
Daily Press
Published September 26, 2003

When Jim Grobe became Wake Forest's football coach 33 months ago, there was little reason to believe he was anything special. There was nothing on his resume that hinted he could do what nobody before him had done - make the Demon Deacons a consistent winner.

But some things you just can't foresee. Who thought Larry Coker, a career assistant in his 50s, would be the answer at Miami; or that a Division I-AA coach named Frank Beamer would turn Virginia Tech into a national power? And who could have known that Jim Grobe, with three losing seasons in six years as a head coach, could win at Wake Forest?

But today, the Deacs are on the verge of something they haven't accomplished in a half-century. And Grobe, supposedly next in line to be buried in the coaches graveyard that is Wake Forest football, has a 10-year contract.

"We've always been considered a team that you generally counted ahead of time as a 'W'," Grobe said. "I don't know if teams are doing that anymore. I don't know if teams are scared of us right now, but I think we have become more competitive. I hope people respect us more than they have in the past, but we're still a team that positively has to earn it every Saturday."

Earn it the Deacons have. Entering Saturday's game at Virginia, Wake is 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the ACC. Following a 6-5 record in 2001 and a 7-6 finish in '02, Grobe may become the first Deacs coach since Pat Miller in the early 1930s to post winning seasons in each of his first three years.

The last time the program had three consecutive winning seasons? The early 1950s, when Brian Piccolo, the most revered name in the history of Wake Forest football, was in elementary school.

"You can feel the building of excitement and enthusiasm from our fans," Wake athletic director Ron Wellman said. "The attitude has become, 'Hey, I'm not going to be let down this time.' This was supposed to be a rebuilding year and we're still pretty good, and this has our fans really excited - not only about this year, but future years as well. So if we can continue that momentum, I think it would pay great dividends down the road."

Though Wake Forest is a beautiful campus with a 10-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio and consistently scores well in the U.S. News & World Report's Guide to Colleges, football has always been a tough sell. With an enrollment of 3,950, the second-lowest among I-A schools, academic requirements are strict. With a seating capacity of 31,500, Groves Stadium is the second-smallest facility in the ACC.

Other than its graduation rates - 86 percent for the incoming class of 1996-97 - this program hasn't had much to brag about. Since fielding its first team in 1888, Wake has posted a record of 369-554-34, the worst among ACC teams. It's been 15 years since the Deacs finished with a winning record in the conference.

From 1908-2000, Wake Forest had 27 head coaches. Three - Hank Garrity, Peahead Walker and Miller - left with winning records.

"I wouldn't send Vince Lombardi there," former Georgia coach and current athletic director Vince Dooley said in the early '90s.

Grobe came to Wake after six seasons at Ohio, where his record was the definition of mediocre - 33-33-1. Before that, he was an assistant for 11 years under Fisher DeBerry at Air Force. His couldn't have been the most impressive resume on Wellman's desk, and there was little excitement when Grobe was hired in December 2000. It was going to take more than a mid-level Mid-American Conference coach to turn this program around.

Yet that's what Jim Grobe has done. The Deacons went 6-5 in his first season, which included a victory over bowl-bound North Carolina and a win at Virginia that broke a 17-game losing streak to the Cavs. Though fans took note, they had seen it before. Twice in the last 12 years, Wake had finished with a winning season. And each time, it followed up with 2-9 years.

Instead, the Deacs went 7-6 and whipped Oregon in the Seattle Bowl. Suddenly, Grobe was hot property. Baylor courted him - Grobe listened but wisely said no. Wellman, just as wisely, quickly signed Grobe to a 10-year contract.

"Obviously, that's a fairly aggressive approach to a coach," Wellman said. "There aren't many 10-year contracts out there, I don't think. But knowing what Jim's priorities are, what his expectations of the program are, how he represents this department and university in all circumstances, I felt very good about offering him that kind of contract."

With eight starters lost on offense, Wake was projected next-to-last in the conference. But with exactly half its two-deep either freshmen or sophomores, the Deacs began the season by upsetting Boston College and 14th-ranked N.C. State. Wake debuted at No. 20 in the polls, its highest spot since 1979.

Just like that, the Demon Deacons have become accustomed to winning.

"My first year here, we were 2-9," said senior safety Quintin Williams, who played as a freshman under Jim Caldwell. "Nobody expected Wake Forest to win. If we did win, everybody thought it was good, but if we didn't, everybody was like, 'Oh, well, it's Wake Forest.' Coach Grobe doesn't accept anything less than winning. His motto to us is: Anybody can beat us, but don't forget we can beat anybody."

"Coach Grobe has changed the attitude to the fact that they believe they can win any game they're playing," N.C. State coach Chuck Amato said. "They play a full 60 minutes whenever they play, and they don't care who they play. They're a very physical team. They play errorless football. They don't have a lot of turnovers or a lot of penalties."

Amato is right: Wake is 12th nationally in turnover margin at plus-6 and is the second-least penalized team in the conference. But turning things around hasn't been easy. Given his school's academic reputation, Grobe couldn't go the junior-college route like Bill Snyder did at Kansas State.

"We've had to adopt somewhat of an Air Force Academy mentality," Grobe said. "In some cases, we're not getting the biggest, fastest, strongest guys. In a lot of cases, we have to take a kid who's first and foremost a kid that's a good student who has a chance of doing well at Wake Forest. A guy who might be an inch shorter or a half-step slower or 20 pounds lighter that what some of the so-called major schools are taking.

"And then we hope that over a five-year period, if we take a kid with great character and great work ethic, that he can come in as a good player and leave Wake Forest as a great player. That's been our mentality."

Whatever the recipe, it's working. When opposing coaches talk about how tough Wake is to beat, they aren't just being nice anymore. Asked how well coached the Deacs were, Amato answered, "very, very, very." Asked what about Grobe impressed him the most, Virginia coach Al Groh - 26-40 as Wake's head coach from 1981-86 - answered, "The product."

The respect Wake Forest craved has arrived. But there's more out there.

"We want one day to get to the point where at the beginning of every year, people are talking about us having a chance to go to a bowl game," Grobe said. "And eventually, down the road, we'd like people to start talking about us as maybe being contenders for a conference title."

The craziest thing about that statement is that it's not so crazy anymore.

Notre Dame: Don't bother with talk of ACC and football
League, Irish call published report 'erroneous'
By Dave Johnson
Daily Press
Published September 26, 2003

When the ACC officials meet next week, their focus will be on how to align for football and the number of league games to be included on the basketball schedule. But expansion and Notre Dame are not on the agenda.

It's no secret that the Irish are coveted as a 12th member by the ACC, or that the Big Ten is equally interested. Nor is it a secret that Notre Dame has been reluctant to give up its independent status in football, which allows it to rake in $8.5 million from its television contract with NBC.

The Charlotte Observer reported Thursday that the Irish and ACC commissioner John Swofford have agreed on what the newspaper termed "a membership scenario" that would allow the school to join the conference in stages. But in a statement through the league office Thursday afternoon, Swofford called the Observer's story "simply put, erroneous."

Notre Dame spokesman John Heisler also disputed the report, telling ESPN.com, "The suggestion that we would bring our football program into any conference is inaccurate."

Neither expansion nor Notre Dame was discussed when the athletic directors met Sept. 10 in Greensboro. Virginia AD Craig Littlepage, the committee's chairman, said it isn't scheduled to be discussed in next week's meeting in Charlottesville.

"We didn't broach the subject," Littlepage said. "And we haven't received any feedback that indicates any substantive conversations are ongoing. The most important thing for us is the immediate future and how things will shape with 11 teams.

"Expansion is an important priority, but we have to deal with 11 teams before adding a 12th team. We won't have 12 teams in 2004, so we have to deal with the reality of having 11 teams in the present."

Florida State athletic director Dave Hart said that, to his knowledge, little has changed since the ACC and Notre Dame began informal conversations almost two years ago.

"I don't think there's any new news, to be honest with you," Hart said. "We've been talking with Notre Dame for a couple of years now, but we haven't talked expansion in a couple of months. A lot of people like Notre Dame, but there are a whole lot of complexities associated with Notre Dame joining any conference. I don't see anything different as we speak today (regarding) Notre Dame than it was a couple years ago."

At least one thing is different. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the ACC's presidents agreed by conference call last week to begin formal conversations with Notre Dame. However, many consider the marriage a longshot because the Irish would prefer, at least initially, to join for all sports except football. The ACC's presidents are said to be adamant that Notre Dame, or any potential addition, be a full-time member.

Notre Dame is a member of the Big East in all sports except football. The conference's presidents are scheduled to meet Nov. 4 to finalize their reorganization plans and are making a push for the Irish to join full-time.

The ACC had hoped to be a 12-team league starting next fall, but its plans to add Miami, Boston College and Syracuse last summer were derailed.

After a lengthy debate that became political and embarrassing, the conference settled for Miami and Virginia Tech. That leaves the league with 11 members when the new-look ACC begins play next fall, one short of the number required to stage a postseason championship football game.

The ACC petitioned to have that rule waived in July, but the NCAA Championships/Competition Cabinet recommended this week that the appeal be denied. That was the first of several steps, and the ultimate decision on such a game could come as early as January or as late as April.

Swofford said he will continue to push the proposal. Other conference officials, while hopeful, aren't confident.

"I'm not optimistic," Hart said. "I hope I'm wrong, but I've always said I wasn't optimistic about it."

Notre Dame is crown jewel of college football tradition
By FRANK DASCENZO : The Herald-Sun
fdascenzo@heraldsun.com
Sep 25, 2003 : 5:36 pm ET

There are at least a million reasons why the ACC should pursue Notre Dame as the 12th member, and to have a leprechaun dancing on the sidelines in Chapel Hill or Death Valley or Charlottesville isn't one of them.

The problem is the Irish keep saying no. You know how it goes, no. Can you say it again? No. Not now. Not tomorrow. Nobody likes to hear "no" and there's a theory that if you ask long enough you might get a surprise "yes." As of this very hour, the ACC has 11 teams, wants 12 and you know who that 12th team is, don't you?

It doesn't matter if they win or lose. The lyrics say, "what thou the odds be great or small, old Notre Dame will win overall." Ask NBC.

Get the Irish and you get the crown jewel of college football tradition, and everybody in television loves you and always will.

You get the most-coveted college football history book ever written. Gold helmets, rich-navy blue jerseys, sometimes green. You get "Wake up the echoes." You get the ghost of Rockne, win one for the Gipper. You get seven Heisman Trophy winners and somebody named Montana who mounted more comebacks than somebody named Sinatra. You get everybody's envy and it doesn't matter if somebody named Parseghian or Davie is coaching them to victories or defeats. You will have an audience your competitors will be jealous of. Ask Chuck Amato.

Now look, it's not so much that everybody wants to beat Notre Dame. It's more like everybody wants to see Notre Dame.

Did you ask why, by chance? Notre Dame is a universal school in South Bend, Ind., loved by some, despised by some. The Fighting Irish are the last-standing major school in the nation surviving as a football independent. Your program might be a family, but the Irish are a nation unto themselves.

The Big 10, the conference with 11 teams, would drool to get Notre Dame. It would be foolish if the ACC didn't try to get the Irish into a league that -- you just wait until next year -- will take on a football-power lookalike as never seen before.

Some of the radio talk show experts think the Irish are a Midwestern school and would appeal more to rivalries with Michigan and Michigan State and Purdue. They already do that. Notre Dame is, more than anything, a national school -- the most-famous school in the country. Who else has a subway alumni? The Irish are adored in the Northeast, and when they play in New Orleans, you'd think it's an Irish home game.

Notre Dame -- with quality academics to go with quality athletics -- remains atop everybody's most-wanted list. So what else is new?

Convincing the Irish to depart their football independent status and join a conference would be the greatest move since the Louisiana Purchase.

ACC commissioner John Swofford would be foolish not to try to get the Irish interested. Adding Miami and Virginia Tech will give the ACC 11 teams. The league will need 12 to have a conference championship game, which will mean big bucks for the league members to split.

The mystery question of the summer in the ACC was who'd be the 12th team. Kentucky was mentioned. Florida, too. Somebody said South Carolina. They'd all pale in comparison to Notre Dame's mystique and aura. Like it or not, the ACC shouldn't stop asking the Irish to come and take a look.

The question gets asked all the time why Notre Dame hasn't joined a conference like the rest of the NCAA Division I-A schools. That's easy: The Irish don't need a league, not now anyhow, and can reap benefits from NBC, which exclusively televises all Notre Dame home games. When the Irish are on the road, they're always on television.

Miami and Virginia Tech will bring football might, especially Miami. If the ACC snatches Notre Dame as the 12th team, it would be the greatest day in the history of the league.

 

Cavs' Schaub Likely to Play Against Wake
By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Friday, September 26, 2003; Page D04

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Sept. 25 -- Sidelined for nearly the entire season by a separated throwing shoulder, Virginia senior quarterback Matt Schaub is likely to play Saturday against Wake Forest, Coach Al Groh said today.

"Matt's progress has been very positive," Groh said. "We need to see another practice to decide just how much he can go and what he can do, but . . . I think there's a very good chance that he will be ready to play in the game."

Schaub -- the reigning ACC player of the year -- and redshirt sophomore Marques Hagans have worked at quarterback in practice this week, but Groh said he has not decided who will start.

"We'll just have to see what today brings," Groh said before the last of the week's three full practices. "But I had decided early [in the] week that we weren't going to jump to any one-day conclusion [about Schaub], whether it was 'he's in' or 'he's out.' We had this full week to see him and . . . we didn't see him at all last week [because Virginia did not play]. It's not just being able to throw it, but it's his velocity, it's his range, it's the stability of the joint against contact. We want to take all three days to see."

Schaub was injured on a sack on the first possession of Virginia's season-opening 27-0 win against Duke. The Cavaliers (2-1, 1-0 ACC) lost at South Carolina the following week, 31-7, with redshirt freshman Anthony Martinez at quarterback. Hagans engineered a 59-16 win at Western Michigan two weeks ago.

Once Schaub regains full health, the starting job is his, Groh said Monday. Left unresolved is the fate of Hagans, whose size (5 feet 10, 207 pounds) and athletic ability prompted Groh to compare him to former NFL quarterback Doug Flutie. Hagans was the backup quarterback last season, but he played mostly as a utility man once Schaub began to establish himself as one of the conference's best players.

In January, Hagans agreed to move to wide receiver full time because the Cavaliers were set with Schaub at quarterback. But that arrangement was thrown into flux once Schaub was injured.

"Now with this circumstance, who's to say we might not need [a quarterback] again, even when Matt comes back?" Groh said. "So I think we certainly have to be prepared for that circumstance. So we'll see. I don't know. That'll be a little tricky.

"Maybe [Hagans] can do a little bit of both, [but] I think you've got to be capable of playing each position full time."
 

Cavaliers' Bedesem Is Ahead Of Game
Football Family Helps Linebacker
By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Friday, September 26, 2003; Page D04

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- With a glance at Rich Bedesem's family tree, it becomes obvious why the Virginia inside linebacker knows what to do on the football field.
His father, Dick Jr., was an assistant football coach at Villanova for four seasons and at Virginia for one season. His grandfather, Dick Sr., spent decades in coaching, including a stint from 1975 to '80 as Villanova's head coach. Two uncles are high school coaches.

After a childhood spent playing on the sidelines of various football practices, absorbing knowledge almost through osmosis, it was perhaps natural Rich would become a player who applies a coach's mentality to his duties as a defensive leader.

"Since he could walk and start playing as a youngster, he was on the field, around football talk all his life," Dick Bedesem Jr. said. "When he experiences it or when he comes across it [now], he's already heard it or already seen it from one of us."

At the beginning of his college career, Rich Bedesem had to wait behind three veteran linebackers and fight through a knee injury that kept him out of nearly the entire 2001 season, but since moving into the starting lineup for the final four games last season, he has been among the smartest, most dependable players on the Virginia defense.

This season Bedesem ranks fifth on the team with 18 tackles, though that is partly because he gives way to quicker linebackers when the Cavaliers switch to their nickel defense, as they did throughout their win at Western Michigan two weeks ago. On a per-play basis, no Cavalier who has played at least 50 snaps has a better tackles average.

"What coaches say about preparation being integral to your performance -- well, he's a poster child for that," said Coach Al Groh, whose defense is third in the ACC in scoring average. "Back months [ago] he started his preparation to have the kind of season that he wanted to have. His performance so far speaks of the way he's prepared."

"I think it's easier for me to watch tape and pick up tendencies of other teams," Rich Bedesem said. "That's half the battle, knowing what they do so when you go out there you just have to react."

Starting at inside linebacker alongside talented but inexperienced freshman Ahmad Brooks, Bedesem makes most of the calls for the defensive front seven. And his grasp of the game -- center Zac Yarbrough calls him "one of the smartest guys on our defense" -- enables him to pass his knowledge on to Brooks, Kai Parham and Virginia's other young linebackers.

"He helps everybody out, basically the whole defense," freshman outside linebacker Vince Redd said. "Knowing what to do and knowing what everybody else does, he's real good about certain changes being made."

Bedesem was ahead of the game even as a freshman in 2000. He quickly learned enough about Coach George Welsh's 4-3 defense -- four linemen, three linebackers -- to play in 11 of the Cavaliers' 12 games that season, backing up Yubrenal Isabelle at middle linebacker and serving on special teams.

With Groh's arrival the following season, Bedesem adjusted to a new 3-4 defense and played 50 snaps in the season opener before tearing the ACL in his right knee in practice. Last season he supplemented starters Angelo Crowell and Merrill Robertson at the two inside linebacker spots.

But opportunity arrived after the Cavaliers allowed 283 points in the season's first 10 games. Bedesem moved into the starting lineup, with Robertson shifting to outside linebacker. In the seven games since then, Virginia has allowed an average of 16 points per game.

"Every time we put him in he'd do well, and so we just finally decided to put him in all the time," Groh said.

"He's gone on from there. This is a player who knows how to make the most out of what he is. I would say that every day, based on what occurred the previous practice . . . every day he's a little bit better than he was the day before."
 

Notre Dame's ACC scenario set
Sources say presidents, chancellors arrange time to discuss Irish as 12th member
By GREGG DOYEL
Charlotte Observer

ACC Commissioner John Swofford and Notre Dame have agreed on a membership scenario that would allow the school to join the ACC in stages, leaving the future of both institutions in the hands of ACC presidents and chancellors.

According to sources close to negotiations, ACC presidents and chancellors have set aside a time to discuss -- and possibly vote on -- Notre Dame's candidacy to become the ACC's 12th member.

"The stage has been set," one source said Wednesday night.

The scenario in place has Notre Dame joining the ACC in 2004 or 2005 in every sport but football, with partial membership in football for several years but a commitment to become a full member by a specific date.

Two sources close to the process said ACC presidents and chancellors aren't guaranteed to accept Notre Dame on those terms, one of them putting the odds at 40 percent.

Even after growing to 11 teams this summer with the additions of Miami and Virginia Tech for 2004-05, the ACC's continued interest in expansion is obvious: With the NCAA sending negative signals about new legislation seeking a title game for 10-team leagues, the ACC wants a 12th team to stage a title game that could be worth $10 million annually.

The ACC's attraction to Notre Dame also is obvious. Notre Dame is the most influential Division I-A school in the country, with its own television deal and Bowl Championship Series tie-in. Swofford has had discussions with Notre Dame's television partner, NBC, about the Irish joining the ACC.

Notre Dame's interest in the ACC is less obvious, tied in large part to three interlocking variables to be played out during the next two years:

• The Fighting Irish's results in football.

• Notre Dame's TV rights after the 2005 season.

• The future of the BCS.

Notre Dame also has had overtures from the Big Ten, but sources say the school is drawn to the ACC's academics and status as perhaps the most powerful, prestigious conference in the country.

Notre Dame's football independence is critical to fans and alumni, associate athletics director John Heisler said, but it's not their decision to make.

"Independence in football has been a critical part of our identity, and right now there's not a reversal of field in (our) thinking," Heisler said. "I say with the idea that our fans and alumni are most outspoken in thinking that's tremendously important to Notre Dame.

"That doesn't necessarily carry the day in terms of all that you would consider, but I don't see the things going south that would suggest we wouldn't continue to make (independence) work."

In the current marketplace, Notre Dame is financially viable as an independent because it operates almost as a conference unto itself, with an $8.5 million annual deal with NBC and a connection to the BCS. In some respects, though, the future of those agreements is beyond Notre Dame's control.

NBC's contract to televise Notre Dame home football games expires after the 2005 season, and television executives believe NBC won't renew if the Fighting Irish aren't national contenders. This year, they aren't; Notre Dame is 1-2 and facing one of the toughest schedules in the country.

The conferences that formed the BCS, meanwhile, are experiencing the same kind of political and public-relations assault that staggered the ACC's plans to expand to 12 teams this summer. The ACC initially had hoped to add Miami, Boston College and Syracuse, but took Miami and Virginia Tech as a compromise to appease surprisingly staunch Virginia.

In the past month, Congress has held antitrust hearings about the BCS, while presidents and chancellors in non-BCS conferences have complained loudly about the inequality of a system that will parcel out $112 million of the BCS's projected $118 million this season to the 63 BCS schools -- leaving $6 million for the other 54 in Division I-A.

Representatives from BCS and non-BCS schools met Sept. 8 in Chicago to discuss the situation, with another meeting set for Nov. 16 in New Orleans. The resistance to the BCS could jeopardize its renewal after the agreement expires in 2005, jeopardizing the profits Notre Dame has received from its periodic appearances in BCS bowls.

Although ACC officials remain pessimistic that Notre Dame will become a member, the odds rise with each loss Notre Dame suffers on the football field, and with each step the BCS takes toward evolution or even eradication.

Even with those parameters, Heisler said Notre Dame is comfortable -- and even better off -- as a football independent at the moment.

"But," he said, "I can't tell you what will happen 10 years from now."
 

Deacons don't beat themselves
Wake Forest is headed to Virginia on the short end of ACC statistics
By Dan Collins
JOURNAL REPORTER

Using standard math, what Wake Forest has accomplished in 2003 doesn't add up to the Deacons' 3-1 record going into Saturday's game at Virginia.

The Deacons rank eighth in the ACC in total offense with an average of 313 yards a game, and they rank eighth in total defense by allowing an average of 422 yards a game. Furthermore, they're not even the dominant running team they've been in the past two years, as their ninth-place standing in time of possession would attest.

But whereas fans use standard math, coaches rely on calculus. And only by calculating the effects of turnovers and penalties - or lack thereof - is Coach Jim Grobe able to explain the Deacons' record.

Wake Forest ranks first in the ACC (and 12th in the nation) in turnover margin and second in the ACC in fewest penalty yards a game. The Deacons have forced 11 turnovers and made just five for a margin of plus-six, and they've been whistled for just 21 penalties for an average of 43.2 yards a game.

Both numbers are a surprise to Grobe, considering that 22 freshmen or sophomores are among the 44 players listed as first or second team.

'I've been really impressed with the composure of our football team,' Grobe said. 'Some of the penalties have been on the younger players. You'd expect that. But we've really done a pretty good job of managing penalties. And it's been very rewarding for me as a coach to see the young guys, especially offensively, take good care of the football and not beat themselves with too many penalties.'

Grobe said that great emphasis is placed in practice on the defense forcing penalties and the offense avoiding them. You might fumble if you play for Wake Forest, but you don't expect to get away with it.

'Our offensive coaches stress every day in practice taking care of the football, and there's usually a little motivation involved if we're not,' Grobe said. 'We usually do some up-downs, or we'll do a little extra conditioning. It's more of a game than anything. It's not so much punishment as a reminder to everybody that that's important.'

A constant worry for Grobe throughout the off-season was having to replace senior quarterback James MacPherson - who was intercepted four times last year on 223 passes - with redshirt sophomore Cory Randolph, who has been intercepted three times out of 77 passes.

By comparison, Philip Rivers of N.C. State has thrown four, and Florida State's Chris Rix, North Carolina's Darian Durant, Maryland's Scott McBrien and Clemson's Charlie Whitehurst have all thrown three.

'As a coach, you'd like to never have a turnover,' Grobe said. 'But for us, as young as we are, I really expected turnovers to be a huge problem early in the year. '

An annual goal of all of Grobe's teams is to be the least penalized team in the ACC. But there are some penalties Grobe can abide, and some he can't.

'Some penalties are going to be judgment penalties by the officials,' Grobe said. 'But the things that we want to take care of business with are things like procedure penalties, jumping offside, delay of game, things that we have control over. We don't want to beat ourselves with those kinds of penalties.

'Some of the judgment calls, you get back and watch the film and it could go either way. Those are the things that we can't spend too much time worrying about. It's the blatant, dumb penalties that we stress all the time, and hopefully when games are over, we've managed penalties pretty well.'