Who was the winner?
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
September 5, 2005

As a young fan was strolling out of Scott Stadium on Saturday night, he looked up to his father and asked who the postgame fireworks were for - Virginia or Western Michigan?

While his question was innocent, the little one made a good point.

Virginia (1-0) won the game, 31-19, but Western Michigan (0-1) left the gridiron with their heads held high, having taken a program that went to three straight bowl games to the brink.

There was ample reason for apprehension among the Cavalier faithful who watched their team allow 16 unanswered points during a mid-game stretch to a squad that went 1-10 in 2004 and was playing without its starting quarterback, tailback, among others.

The Cavaliers, ranked 25th in the country, had four fumbles (only one was lost) and two interceptions, which led to 10 points. Tailback Wali Lundy had only three carries before leaving with a sprained foot. Quarterback Marques Hagans was sacked four times. The Cavaliers were called for six penalties. Placekicker Connor Hughes missed a third quarter field goal attempt that could have pushed Virginia's lead to eight.

Virginia coach Al Groh, however, put those troubling elements, on the backburner - at least publicly.

When asked about one aspect of Virginia's operation - the offensive line's protection for Hagans - Groh snapped back.

"How many times in one of these press conferences does somebody use the word concerned? We didn't have absolutely perfect protection, but, look, if you're not happy with this win, you have got a problem with your ego," Groh said. "I'm happy to win. It's been nine months since we won a game. I'm real happy to win.

"I told the players that. I feel like I haven't felt in nine months. We won, okay. That's a pretty good feeling. Now we have one more win than Oklahoma's got. That feels pretty good, too."

Oklahoma, who played and lost in the National Championship game last year, lost their season opener to Texas Christian (17-10). Virginia won their season opener, which Groh said was the main objective.

"If you're pooh-pahing around and looking for what's wrong, this and that, was it perfect? Nope, it wasn't perfect," Groh said. "Can we do some things better? We better do some things better. But I'm real happy about it. I'm not going to let my ego or the ego of the team get in the way."

Virginia's players agreed and some even gave credit to Western Michigan's offensive scheme, which first-year coach Bill Cubit used to consistently give the Cavaliers a steady dose of short passes.

"We came into [the game] having no idea of what they were running. That is always tough to defend when you have a new coach," said UVa defensive end Chris Long. "[Western Michigan] played a great game out there and they had some great schemes. We just took what they gave us and tried to go with that."

Long pointed out that the Mid-American Conference is underrated.

"Those MAC teams, we were sitting in our hotel room today, at least I was, watching the games and those are some impressive teams in the MAC," Long added. "If you watched Bowling Green [on Saturday], they looked great. These are good teams, so we feel like we were really tested.

"That's what I am encouraged about - being tested and playing a game after all the monotony of training camp. You get better in training camp but you can only get so much better."

Ottowa Anderson, one of the brightest spots for Virginia in the win with three catches for 109 yards, said the team would benefit from having an extra week to prepare for Syracuse. Virginia plays the Orange, who lost 15-7 on Sunday at home to West Virginia, on Sept. 17 at noon.

"We got the win and that is the most important thing because we can work on the things that we need to work on next week since we have an off week," Anderson said. It gives us an extra week to prepare ourselves and rebound."

"The win is the most important thing. There are always things that you want to do better. Even if we would have blown them out, sure there are things that we wanted to do better."

LONG LAYOFF FOR LUNDY? After just three carries, Lundy limped off the field at Scott Stadium.

The 30 yards that Lundy gained in the first quarter proved to be the only ones for the senior.

After the game, Groh said Lundy, who watched the second half in street clothes, left the game with "a foot sprain."

In a teleconference with reporters on Sunday, Groh was unable to give an update.

"He has got a foot sprain. What we know is the same thing that we knew last night, he's got a sprained foot," Groh said.

The coach said until he speaks with the training staff, he could not "do much to fill in the blank."

Groh said the manner that Lundy came off the field served as an indication that the tailback would not return to the contest.

"Not the way the he came off, it didn't seem to me that he would be coming back," Groh said. "I was eventually told that he would not be coming back."

In 2003, Lundy had a foot injury against Clemson and missed the contest the following week against Florida State. When asked if the injuries were similar, Groh said: "I was told [the injury in 2003] was pretty close to being a season-ending injury. I am certainly hoping that this one is not."

 

Cavaliers get a scare
By Doug Doughty
The Roanoke Times

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Say this for the fans Saturday night at Scott Stadium: Most of them didn’t leave early.

Neither did Western Michigan.

The Broncos came to town as 321/2-point underdogs and threatened to win the game outright before 25th-ranked Virginia held on for a 31-19 season-opening victory.

The Cavaliers had led 24-3 after the first possession of the second quarter but allowed the Broncos to cut the deficit to 24-19 behind unheralded back-up quarterback Robbie Haas.

Virginia didn’t help its cause by committing four turnovers — two fumbles and two interceptions — and missing a field goal.

“It wasn’t perfect,” UVa coach Al Groh told the media. “Can we do some things better? We better do some things better. [But] if you’re not happy with this win, fellas, you’ve got a problem with your ego.

“I’m happy to win. It’s been nine months since we won a game. I’m real happy to win. I told the players that. I feel like I haven’t felt in nine months. We won. That’s a pretty good feeling. Now, we’ve got one more win than Oklahoma’s got.”

Seventh-ranked Oklahoma was upset at home Saturday by Texas Christian, 17-10.

The Cavaliers began the game without All-ACC linebacker Ahmad Brooks, still in rehab after offseason knee surgery, and lost tailback Wali Lundy to an ankle injury on his third carry of the game.

Western Michigan was without returning quarterback Ryan Cubit, nursing an injured shoulder, but Broncos’ wide receiver Greg Jennings was all the Cavaliers could handle.

Jennings finished with 16 receptions for 156 yards, setting a record for receptions by a UVa opponent. Haas completed 33 of 49 passes for 271 yards.

The Broncos scored only one touchdown — that coming on a 55-yard interception by safety C.J. Wilson with 37 seconds left in the half — but got four field goals in four attempts from Nate Meyer.

Meyer was 1-for-4 during the 2004 season.

“It was a very good performance by our defense,” Groh said. “Obviously, they played quite a few plays [87], but the opponent never got a touchdown on the defense.

“The only statistic we look at on defense is points allowed, and on defense we allowed 12 points. That’s a pretty darn good night.”

Still, the Broncos would not go away.

Western Michigan was driving, with a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter, before a fourth-and-4 pass from Haas to tight end Brandon Ledbetter was stopped for no gain at the Cavaliers’ 31.

Virginia responded with a 12-play, 69-yard drive that was capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by redshirt freshman Cedric Peerman with 5:38 remaining.

Peerman had 10 carries on the drive, including the last seven, after Groh seemed to lose faith in junior tailbacks Michael Johnson and Jason Snelling.

Each player lost a fumble and Snelling, normally a fullback, fumbled the ball backwards and out of bounds as the Cavaliers were trying to keep another drive alive.

Senior quarterback Marques Hagans was intercepted twice but finished 17-of-25 for 252 yards, a career high.

On the Cavaliers’ final touchdown drive, Hagans righted himself after a near-certain sack and scrambled 12 yards for a first down on third-and-8.

“Another typical Marques play,” Groh called. “Obviously, he made some plays that not too many quarterbacks but Marques can make.”

Hagans had begun the game with a 57-yard completion to Ottowa Anderson, the longest completion for Hagans and the longest reception for Anderson, a fellow fifth-year senior, Anderson, who missed the 2004 season while on academic suspension, had the first 100-yard receiving game of his career (three receptions, 109 yards).

“They told me last night that they were coming to me on the first play,” said Anderson, who later had a 46-yard reception on a broken play. “I’d been dreaming about it for 24 hours.”

It was the third straight season-opening victory for the Cavaliers, who had not won as many as three in a row since winning four consecutive opening games from 1949-52.

Western Michigan lost its 11th straight game over two seasons, but first-year head coach Bill Cubit saw some good things.

“Basically, we just asked to 'play as hard as you can for as long as you can and do the right thing,’ “ said Cubit, father of the injured quarterback. “And, the kids played hard all the way through.”
 

Cavs face injury issues
Status of Lundy and Brooks remains uncertain for U.Va.'s next contest with Syracuse
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Sep 5, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE - During the second half of Virginia's season-opening football game Saturday night, No. 33 (tailback Wali Lundy) stood on the home sideline at Scott Stadium in street clothes, as did No. 34 (inside linebacker Ahmad Brooks).

Even without those two standouts, the Cavaliers got past Western Michigan 31-19. U.Va.'s chances of winning its next game - Sept. 17 at Syracuse - will improve significantly if Lundy and Brooks are cleared to play, but their status remains uncertain.

On his third carry against WMU, a 28-yard gain, Lundy sprained his left foot. He limped off the field and didn't return. On a teleconference with reporters last night, Virginia coach Al Groh gave a brief update on Lundy's condition.

"What we know now is the same thing we knew last night," Groh said. "He's got a sprained foot."

As a sophomore in 2003, Lundy hurt his right foot in Virginia's overtime loss at Clemson. This injury isn't thought to be as serious.

"That was pretty close to being a season-ending injury," Groh said. "I'm certainly hoping that this one is not in that category."

Brooks, U.Va.'s leading tackler in 2003 and '04, had surgery in March to correct a degenerative bone problem in his right knee. The 6-4, 260-pound junior missed spring practice and spent much of training camp last month out of pads, working with trainers on his conditioning.

Will Brooks play against the Orange?

"That's too far away to speculate on that," Groh said last night. "That's a day-to-day deal, [depending] on how his rehab goes. And this is true: A long time ago, I set my thinking to go on without him. Then when we have him, it's a bonus."

Senior Mark Miller started in Brooks' spot Saturday and made two tackles. His backup, Bryan White, also had two stops. U.Va.'s other starter at inside linebacker, junior Kai Parham, had a game-high 11 tackles, including one sack.

The decision on when Brooks will return, Groh said, will be based on "a combination of medical opinion, his feeling as to where his game is and my observation as to what his functionality is."

For the second straight game, U.Va. will face an opponent with a new coach. Syracuse opened the Greg Robinson era yesterday by losing to West Virginia at the Carrier Dome. The Orange plays host Saturday to Buffalo (0-1).

Against a Western Michigan team that went 1-10 in 2004 and was missing several projected starters, the Cavaliers struggled after bolting to a 24-3 lead. In all, Virginia fumbled four times (though it only lost one), allowed four sacks, threw two interceptions and was penalized six times (for 50 yards).

"We felt we should have played better tonight," senior wideout Ottowa Anderson said.

Groh said his coaching staff singled out four players: Parham on defense, junior wideout Deyon Williams on offense, Anderson on special teams and true freshman linebacker Jason Fuller for his scout-team contributions.

 

U.Va.'s offense needs work
Virginia's coach is unsure of running back Wali Lundy's status, but Al Groh knows the Cavaliers must improve in other areas of their game.
BY DARRYL SLATER
247-4641
September 5, 2005

Virginia football coach Al Groh had no update Sunday on running back Wali Lundy's condition. Lundy, the Cavaliers starter, carried three times for 29 yards in Saturday night's 31-19 win over Western Michigan at Scott Stadium. But he sprained his left foot in the first quarter and did not return.

Groh hadn't talked with trainer Ethan Saliba as of 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

"What we know now is the same thing we knew last night," Groh said.

Groh also knows that Lundy's backups and U.Va.'s young secondary better brush up on some basics in the two weeks before the Cavaliers play at Syracuse. Running backs Michael Johnson and Jason Snelling both fumbled twice in Lundy's stead. And the defensive backs, namely sophomore cornerback Chris Gorham, missed several open-field tackles.

When Lundy left the game, Groh said the senior didn't look like he'd return. Yet Groh thinks Lundy's injury is less serious than the sprained right ankle he suffered in 2003 at Clemson.

"That was pretty close to being a season-ending injury," Groh said. Lundy missed one game.

During the time Lundy missed on Saturday, his replacements were disappointing. Johnson, prone to fumbles in the past, lost the ball on two of his seven carries, though U.Va. recovered both. Fullback Jason Snelling also fumbled on two of his seven attempts, and the Broncos recovered once.

At what point, then, does a fumbler like Johnson run out of chances?

"Around here? Doesn't take long," Groh said. "Is there a number? It's a low number."

Especially when a redshirt freshman third-stringer shines on a key fourth-quarter drive, like Cedric Peerman did on Saturday for the Cavs. U.Va. turned to Peerman for the last seven plays of a 69-yard scoring drive that assured victory.

Other Cavaliers didn't fare so well.

Gorham, debuting as a starter, was juked near the sideline by Broncos wide receiver Greg Jennings on two second-quarter pass plays about six minutes apart. Groh seems to have more patience with his defensive backs - two new starters and a former cornerback, Tony Franklin, now at safety - than he does with veterans like Johnson and Snelling. But the coach said he's still looking for more results. He measures the efficiency of his pass defense by yard per pass attempt. The number should be lower than 7.5. The Cavs held Western Michigan to 5.4, as Broncos senior backup quarterback Robbie Haas - he of nine career pass attempts - completed 33 of 49 passes. (Jennings was 0 of 1.)

"If you get those kind of numbers all year long on 50 passes, you'd be pretty in control," Groh said. Of course, that will require better play from U.Va.'s secondary, since the Cavs' next 10 opponents will be a tad more competent than the Broncos, a 1-10 Mid-American Conference team last season.

Haas rarely threw the ball down the field. Just 12 of his completions were for 10 or more yards. Two were for 15 or more. "There were certain plays that were unique to what we've been seeing," Groh said.

The Cavs could face a similar strategy on Sept. 17 when they visit Syracuse. First-year Orange head coach Greg Robinson installed a West Coast offense that relies on quick passes. Quarterback Perry Patterson completed mostly short passes in the Orange's 15-7 loss to West Virginia on Sunday, going 15 of 31 for 85 yards. His longest completion was 14 yards. Then again, Patterson threw two interceptions and was sacked once in the end zone for a safety. Hey, he's no Robbie Haas, but maybe he's just the confidence-booster U.Va.'s secondary needs.

Nit-picking necessary
Brian Budnick, Cavalier Daily Sports Columnist

"It's stupid to nit-pick wins," defensive end Brennan Schmidt said after yesterday's game.

Not so fast, my friend.

If the Virginia Cavaliers are to be anything better than a 7-5 team this year, Al Groh and Co. better pick nits about Saturday night's game for the next two weeks. Because it was a case of nits not seen since third grade lice checks.

Every year, the Cavaliers' three biggest weaknesses seem to be the same: punters, receivers and the secondary. Last night, two of those three units actually played all right, though I use that term loosely against a team coming off a 1-10 campaign. The secondary gave up a pitiful 33 completions on 50 attempts. Greg Jennings alone had 156 yards receiving. If Calvin Johnson wasn't busy beating Auburn, I imagined him sitting in Atlanta giggling and licking his lips. Western Michigan was so effective in the air against Virginia that they controlled the ball for 35 minutes while only averaging 2.3 yards per rush.

Marques Hagans had two dumb picks. Tons of defenders missed tackles. Even Groh seemed to be a little off his rocker when, on a late fourth-and-two, instead of kicking a field goal to make it 27-16, the Cavaliers went for it, failed, and before you knew it, the score was 24-19.

Luckily -- and its easy to forget this -- Western Michigan is a really bad team. No matter how many mistakes the Cavaliers made, the Broncos couldn't score an offensive touchdown.

So what did we learn about Virginia Saturday night?

We learned freshman newcomer Cedric Peerman might be someone to take another look at, especially if Wali Lundy is seriously hurt. Without Peerman, it's highly doubtful Virginia would have had its game-sealing 12-play, 69-yard drive. It's also highly doubtful Michael Johnson will ever find his niche in Charlottesville.

We learned the offense even showed some downfield spark. Welcome back, Ottawa "The Longest Yard" Anderson, who went for 109 yards on three catches. Last year, an incident at Sterling Place resulted in Anderson being charged with assault and, subsequently, dismissed from the team and University.

We learned that this team is absolutely hurting without Ahmad Brooks and Lundy, clearly the two most important players on either side of the ball for Virginia, excluding Hagans. Brooks would not have missed a lot of those tackles, and his talent to make plays around the line of scrimmage would probably have reduced the preposterous passing game we saw. As for Lundy, the numbers the committee of backs put up don't tell the real story. There were too many fumbles (three), and none of those players is the receiver Lundy is. Peerman might have had a nice game when it counted, but Lundy has been battle-tested for three years, and according to his online bio "holds the modern-day school record of 41 career touchdowns." The Cavaliers need him back almost as much as they need Brooks.

But perhaps the greatest lesson we learned yesterday was the one given to us on our television screens. Oklahoma, ranked No. 7 and national runner-up, lost to unranked TCU. Auburn, ranked No. 16 and coming off a 13-0 season, lost at home to unranked Georgia Tech (who Virginia will play in Charlottesville later this year). Texas A&M, ranked No. 17, lost to unranked Clemson in Death Valley. No. 3 Tennessee squeaked by UAB by a touchdown. All four of those teams are better than Western Michigan, and all four of those ranked teams are better than Virginia. To put things in perspective, that's why they play the games.

Virginia has a bye this week, and it's rare that a week-two bye is probably what the doctor ordered. Hopefully, Brooks and Lundy can heal up and go to Syracuse and play. After two weeks of film and intense practice, maybe the sluggishness and sloppiness we saw against Western Michigan will disappear. More importantly, maybe a glance around the national scoreboard will remind the Cavaliers that you can't overlook any opponent in sports, ever.

 

Bye gives UVa chance to work on some problems
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 5, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE - When the football schedule was first released, it appeared that Virginia’s bye in the second week of the season could hinder a team trying to find an early-season rhythm.

In hindsight, it couldn’t come at a better time.

The Cavaliers have two weeks until they travel to Syracuse for their next game on Sept. 17. That’s plenty of time to get healthy, prepare for what should be a different - if not difficult - matchup in the Carrier Dome and work out some of the problems from their 31-19 victory over Western Michigan on Saturday.

“I was kind of pleased with the setup beforehand,” said Virginia head coach Al Groh, who noted that the Cavaliers have another bye week at the end of October.

“When you have one after your first or second game, it gives you a chance to really follow up on some things (and) continue to develop your team. … The other positive is that it doesn’t give you too many open dates that break up your momentum once you really get the season rolling.”

Groh had no new injury information Sunday on tailback Wali Lundy, who sprained his left foot on Virginia’s second offensive series on Saturday. The two had a meeting Sunday evening to review the injury report.

The news (or non-news) was the same on linebacker Ahmad Brooks’ status for the Syracuse game. Brooks is recovering from offseason knee surgery.

“It’s too far away to speculate on that,” Groh said. “That’s a day-to-day deal. A long time ago I set my thinking to make plans to go on without him. When we have him, then that will be a bonus.”

As for on-the-field nitpicks, Groh will have a few.

The most obvious was the running backs’ inability to secure the football. Michael Johnson and Jason Snelling both had two fumbles, resulting in redshirt freshman Cedric Peerman (William Campbell) being called upon in the fourth quarter as the primary back. He ran for 68 yards and a touchdown, getting the ball 10 times on UVa’s game-clinching drive.

It’s unsure to say who will emerge out of that trio as the best option at tailback, but Groh is a coach who will not tolerate many fumbles before a running back no longer gets an opportunity to carry the ball.

“It doesn’t take long,” he said. “Is there a specific number? It’s a low number.”

The bye also gives UVa an opportunity to review its pass defense, which gave up 271 yards on Saturday. However, Groh said a closer look at the numbers suggests it wasn’t a bad night for the youthful secondary.

The Broncos made 50 pass attempts, averaging 5.4 yards per attempt. Groh said holding an opponent to anything less than 7.5 can be considered a success.

UVa, by comparison, averaged 10.1 yards per attempt.

“If you can get those kind of numbers all season long with 50 passes, you’re probably in pretty good control,” Groh said. “But there were certain plays that were a little bit unique to what we were seeing that we would like to play a little bit better.”