Groh looks to learn more about Cavaliers
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

In the 14-day span between Virginia's first and second football games, head coach Al Groh has conducted one postgame news conference, two radio call-in shows, a sit-down news conference and five teleconferences.

No wonder the media keeps asking him about linebacker Ahmad Brooks, who did not travel with the team to Syracuse on Friday.

What else is there?

There was a monthlong buildup for the Cavaliers' opening game Sept. 3 against Western Michigan, won by the Cavaliers 31-19 in less-than-revealing fashion.

"It's a little bit like we're starting the season all over," said Groh, whose Cavaliers (1-0) visit the Orange (1-1) for a noon kickoff today at the Carrier Dome.

No one knows what to think about the Cavaliers, who dropped from 23rd to 25th in The Associated Press poll during an open date but stayed at No. 20 in the coaches' poll.

So, what does Groh know about his team?

"Not a great deal," Groh said. "We've only played one game and that was kind of an unusual-style game. There's probably a lot more to be learned about this team."

He was referring to his team, but the same probably could apply to the Orange, who are in their first season under Greg Robinson, who, like Groh, owns a Super Bowl ring -- two of them, in fact, as the defensive coordinator of the 1995 and '96 Denver Broncos.

Robinson, most recently the defensive coach at Texas, took over a Syracuse program that did not post a winning season in its final three seasons under Paul Pasqualoni, whose first 11 seasons had produced winning records.

Pasqualoni was 6-6 in each of his last two seasons and might have kept his job if not for a lopsided loss to Georgia Tech, 51-14, in the Champs Sports Bowl.

It was one of two games in which the 2004 Syracuse team gave up 51 points -- the other was a 51-0 thrashing by Purdue in the season opener at the Carrier Dome. The Orange later lost at Virginia, 31-10, in the first meeting between the teams since 1975.

A home-and-home series with the Orange wraps up this year, and the Cavaliers will be adding another Big East team, Pittsburgh, for the next two seasons. Groh said a series with West Virginia has been "kicked around," but that bowl tie-ins that pair the ACC and Big East make such arrangements risky.

In other words, a bowl such as the Meineke Car Care Bowl would be reluctant to pair Virginia with a Syracuse or Pittsburgh if they also played during the regular season.

Few people projected rebuilding Syracuse as a bowl team this year, particularly after its season-opening 15-7 loss to West Virginia in the Carrier Dome. The Orange had 103 yards of total offense against the Mountaineers.

Syracuse, which does not play its first road game until Oct. 1, defeated Buffalo 31-0 last week.

Tailback Damien Rhodes rushed for 236 yards and four touchdowns in that game and quarterback Perry Patterson went over the 2,000-yard mark for his career, but Virginia quarterback Marques Hagans passed for more than 2,000 yards last season and is foremost in Robinson's thoughts.

As soon as he turned on a tape of last year's UVa-Syracuse game, Robinson could see Hagans scoring the Cavaliers' first touchdown on a 59-yard run, one of his three runs last season for more than 40 yards.

"It isn't just escaping," Robinson said. "He escapes, but he also throws the ball. I saw him throw a ball 55 yards, sliding to his right, with his shoulders turned to the sideline, dead on the money.

"He threatens you in a lot of ways and he also threatens you in the way he competes. That's the thing we have to emphasize to our team, that 'don't think for any moment that the guy is done.' "

1. Containing the big play. While Syracuse quarterback Perry Patterson completed 15 of 23 passes against the Cavaliers last year, the Orange did not have a rushing or passing play go for more than 18 yards.


2. Avoiding turnovers. Virginia did not have a turnover in a 31-10 victory over Syracuse last year and had a total of 10 in 12 games (five fumbles, five interceptions). The Cavaliers had three turnovers in a 31-19 victory over Western Michigan in the season opener.


3. Protecting quarterback Marques Hagans. Hagans was sacked four times by Western Michigan and was fortunate to escape a sack on at least one other occasion.

 

Plot thickens with UVa’s Brooks
Doughty gets a grip on ACC scheduling
By Doug Doughty
THE ROANOKE TIMES

Not to bore the Virginia Tech readers and maybe even the UVa readers, but I’m now hearing that linebacker Ahmad Brooks is not making the trip to Syracuse for the Cavaliers’ game Saturday with the Orange.

Since I was convinced for a month that coach Al Groh was holding Brooks out of UVa’s opening game as a precaution, my interpretation of this latest news is that either there have been complications following offseason knee surgery or that rehabilitation has taken longer than some expected.

If you ask me, something isn’t right.

“We’ll be ecstatic when we get him back,” UVa defensive end Chris Long said earlier this week, so teammates expect him back.

Notice, Long said “when”, not “if and when.”

I think there is a chance the Cavaliers could lose Saturday at Syracuse, but if Virginia escapes the Orange, it should be able to beat Duke at home next week. Under a win-win scenario, the Cavaliers would be 3-0 going to Maryland and have Brooks ready for that game,

Now to the original topic for this column, which springs from a discussion I had earlier this week with a UVa fan, who tried to tell me that Virginia Tech and Florida State do not play next year – for the third year in a row.

“Oh, yes, they do,” I told him emphatically.

Well, no, they don’t. I got that confirmed Friday morning by ACC assistant athletic director Mike Finn, talking by cellphone on his way to Clemson for the Tigers’ game Saturday with Miami.

I guess it’s common knowledge. At the very least, Randy King knew about it. King, the Tech beat writer for The Roanoke Times, said the Tech future schedules had been in the paper.

(“You tell your buddy King, if he got rid of that cheesy gold necklace, that he’d have enough money to service those Luminas of his,” Tech fan Clark Cole told me on the golf course Sunday).

Anyway, our computer archives indicated that King wrote about Tech’s future football schedules on June 24, but, when I located the June 24 edition in which King wrote about an upcoming series with East Carolina, the accompanying graphic only had the Hokies’ future non-conference opponents.

However, when I went on the hokiesports.com Web site, I found complete future schedules through 2015. Tech has home ACC games next year with Duke, Georgia Tech, Virginia and Clemson, and the Hokies go on the road for games with Miami, North Carolina, Boston College and Wake Forest.

Finn had told me that a Coastal Division team, such as Tech, could expect to play each of the Atlantic Division teams four times over a 10-year period. The Hokies play Florida State in Blacksburg before making their first trip to Tallahassee (as ACC members) in 2008. There will be another home-and-home series between the teams in 2012 and 2013.

Finn said that the addition of Tech and Miami for 2004, followed by the late addition of Boston College for 2005, left the ACC scrambling to come up with schedules -- and that’s why the schedule will be totally balanced for the first time in 2006. Even to do that, there will be situations where teams will be playing at the same site two years in a row (Georgia Tech comes to Blacksburg in 2005 and 2006).

“We’ll have five repeat site games,” Finn said. “That’s the fewest amount that we could get. I don’t know if it’s posted anywhere, but we’ve released it, maybe a year ago. Call the conference office and they should have it."

When I called the ACC office, the 2006 conference match-ups were not readily available. However, as I got ready to leave for Syracuse, an e-mail popped up on my screen.

Next year, Virginia plays Maryland, N.C. State, North Carolina and Miami at home; road games are with Florida State, Georgia Tech, Duke and Virginia Tech. N.C. State takes the place of Boston College off this year’s schedule.

“Once it starts, teams will go no longer than three years without playing everybody in the league,” Finn said. “You rotate in and out in an order. Virginia Tech and Florida State would play each other four times in 10 years, just like Virginia [and Florida State] would.

"Obviously, you play everybody in your division every year and a crossover opponent every year.”

Maryland is Virginia’s crossover opponent and Boston College is the Hokies’ crossover opponent. According to the original expansion plan, Syracuse and Boston College would have been crossover opponents; when Tech was admitted and Syracuse was not, the Hokies took the Orange’s place in the model.

“That’s not the only reason,” Finn said, “but Tech and Boston College had some history as [fellow] members of the Big East.”

AS EXPRESSED in last week’s recap of the state’s top football prospects, when you do these lists five or six times, you hope eventually to get them right.

My failure to fill out index cards on North Carolina recruit Ed Barham and Duke recruit Andrew Holoman contributed to my failure to list them among the preseason top 40 recruits.

I’m not sure that Barham, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound tight end from Surry County, or that Holoman, a 6-2, 205-pound linebacker from Stone Bridge, belongs on a Top 25 at this point. However, they should have been preseason top 40 picks in a state that might not have 40 Division I-A signees.

Holoman is an interesting case in that he plays for one of the few Virginia graduates who is a Virginia High School League head coach, Mickey Thompson, and he is the son of one of Thompson’s ex-UVa teammates, Bryan Holoman, a four-year letterman for the Cavaliers (1978-1981).

Virginia had expressed interest in the younger Holoman, but Duke was quicker to extend an offer. The Cavaliers, who did not have an African-American on football scholarship until 1970, have only recently reached the point where some of those players, like Holoman, have recruiting-aged sons.

LAST WEEK’S COLUMN also noted that Dewayne Priest of William Fleming got the final spot on the preseason Top 40 ahead of Centreville High School quarterback Drew Dudzik, prompting the following reaction from professed Northern Virginia football fan John Dedon:

“I think you should ask the Woodson and Hayfield coaches if Drew Dudzik is of the best 40 players in Virginia. After over 200 yards passing and 100 yards rushing (not to mention more touchdown passes than you can count on one hand), in the first half of each of those games, you may want to reconsider.

“ I'm trying to help you out, because if you jump on the band wagon after the Westfield, Robinson and Oakton games, it will be way too late.”

 

Impending dome for U.Va.?
Virginia faces plenty of unknowns when it plays at Syracuse today, meeting a team trying to recapture its past success.
BY DARRYL SLATER
247-4641
September 17, 2005

A recruit sat in Virginia football coach Al Groh's office during the summer and saw a lithograph of Lawrence Taylor on the wall. Taylor played under Groh in the late 1980s and early '90s with the New York Giants and sent him the lithograph.

"Who's that?" the recruit asked, looking at the artwork.

Said Groh: "We find most of these players are that; they're players. They're not fans."

So Groh is certain many of his players know Syracuse as the underachieving team that's 16-20 over the past three years rather than the 1998 team, led by Donovan McNabb, that went to the Orange Bowl.

Heading into today's noon game at the Carrier Dome, Groh wants to ensure the No. 25 Cavaliers are wary of the Orange, especially because SU's new West Coast offense is a big change from the run-oriented unit U.Va. faced last year in Scott Stadium. (U.Va. won 31-10.)

Groh said new SU coach Greg Robinson's version of West Coast is similar to the Denver Broncos' system, which relies on running almost as much as the short passes that are the West Coast's trademark. SU offensive coordinator Brian Pariani was the Broncos' tight ends coach for the past 10 years.

While the Cavaliers try to solve Syracuse's new offense, they might answer some of their own questions. "There's probably a lot left to be learned about this team," Groh said.

Namely, how healthy running back Wali Lundy is after spraining his left foot in the season opener against Western Michigan on Sept. 3 and how ready inside linebacker Ahmad Brooks is as he continues to recover from offseason surgery on his right knee.

"Doesn't anybody want to believe the factualness of what we say?" Groh asked, exasperated by questions about Brooks' status. "When he's ready to play, we're going to tell everybody."

Groh today will also get a better impression of his three-man defensive line, which this year includes two new starters. The unit - along with U.Va.'s four linebackers, three of which are new starters - wasn't tested against Western Michigan because the Broncos ran just 37 times and opted for quick passes.

SU running back Damien Rhodes will provide a challenge. He rushed for 236 yards and four touchdowns last Saturday in a 31-0 win over Buffalo. But even Robinson skeptically views stats accumulated against Buffalo.

"Damien would be the first to tell you there were a couple holes there that I could've run through," Robinson said.

Syracuse was unimpressive in its first game, a 15-7 home loss to West Virginia. So perhaps Groh will reach into the depths of his memory when telling the Cavs about SU's success.

One of the first college football games Groh saw was a Nov. 15, 1954, meeting between SU and Fordham at New York City's Polo Grounds. Groh was 10 and went to the game in a Police Boys Club van with some other kids from Manhasset, the Long Island town where he grew up.

One of SU's players was also from Manhasset, a sophomore running back who wore No. 44. His name was Jim Brown. Syracuse won 20-7 that day in front of 10,423 fans.

"Field security wasn't too great back then," Groh said, "and I remember being one of 15 or 20 kids to be able to walk on the field afterward."

Brown made No. 44 legendary in Syracuse, where they named a bar after his number. Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis wore it. So did Floyd Little. It was last worn in 1998, by Rob Konrad, and they named a bar after him, too. SU, on Nov. 12, will retire No. 44, a symbol of success gone by for the Orange. Groh's players might think so, too, though he'll try to convince them otherwise.

U.Va. player's work ethic was raised on family farm
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© September 17, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE — He held on to the ball, and that’s a start.

After the two running backs ahead of him on the depth chart literally fumbled away their chances of carrying the ball again that night, Virginia’s Cedric Peerman entered his first college game two weeks ago and secured the ball in one of the strongest pairs of hands on the team.

They are hands that were toughened working on his family’s tobacco farm in Gladys, 30 minutes south of Lynchburg, an hour north of South Boston and years removed, it seems, from the suburban and urban upbringings of many of his teammates.

The other day at Virginia’s weekly news conference, Peerman, a 5-foot-10, 200-pound redshirt freshman, gave an impromptu lecture on the raising of tobacco, a labor-intensive process his family has pursued for 70 years.

“As far back as I can remember, if I could walk, I was probably out there in the fields,” he said.

Farming instilled a work ethic and discipline that has served Peerman well on the football field. Whether or not he starts today at Syracuse — a game in which injured starter Wali Lundy is expected to return — the young man who grew up with Campbell County soil under his fingernails looks to be Virginia’s tailback of the future.

“It’s nothing that we didn’t expect to happen,” quarterback Marques Hagans said.

Nothing that coach Al Groh didn’t expect as well. Peerman amassed huge rushing numbers at Group A William Campbell High — figures that were inflated a bit because he played against small-school competition. But Groh said Peerman would have excelled at any level.

“It wasn’t just that he looks faster than the players he’s playing against; you knew he was fast,” Groh said. “He had verifiable speed. He had track times.”

Strength, too. Peerman bench-presses 375 pounds, making him one of the team’s strongest players, pound for pound. Some of his power was built in the weight room. But much of it came naturally, working on the farm.

Peerman drove a tractor at age 8 and never knew a summer vacation. Through June and July, he worked nine-hour days, rising early to beat the heat.

Come September, the family would truck its harvest to market in South Boston or Danville. And Peerman would lead the Generals on Friday nights.

Peerman scored a state-record 708 points, 280 in his senior year alone. He drew inspiration from Thomas and Julius Jones, small-school phenoms from Southwestern Virginia who starred at Virginia and Notre Dame, respectively, and who now play in the NFL.

“There was never a doubt in my mind I could do it,” he said. “Football is football, wherever you go.”

At any level, hanging on to the football is paramount. After Lundy left the Western Michigan game with a sprained foot, backup Michael Johnson took over — and fumbled twice. Fullback Jason Snelling, playing out of position at tailback, also coughed up the ball twice.

Enter Peerman, who carried 16 times for 69 yards, in a little over one quarter .

“Ced got his opportunity and he made the most of it,” Hagans said.

How much work Peerman gets today depends on Lundy’s health. The senior tailback has had two weeks to recover and reportedly has looked good in practice.

From that standpoint, Virginia’s open week, one of two this season, came at a good time. Still, it was strange to have a Saturday off just a week into the year, Groh said.

“It’s a little bit like starting the season all over,” Groh said.

Virginia’s 31-19 win over Western Michigan was closer than expected, with the Broncos staying within five points until Peerman scored on a 1-yard run with 5:38 left.

The Cavaliers committed four turnovers: one lost fumble each from Johnson and Snelling, and two interceptions from Hagans. Western Michigan completed 33 passes but attempted only a handful more than 8 yards downfield.

Like Western Michigan, Syracuse runs a “West Coast” offense, but that doesn’t mean the attacks are similar .

“This 'West Coast’ term has grown so that it’s almost like referring to something as a soft drink,” Groh said. “You know, there are so many different varieties that you can get.”

Syracuse employs a “rhythm” passing attack in which the quarterback takes a quick drop and the receivers run short timing patterns. But the Orange also relies heavily on the running game, with 81 attempts through two games.

Virginia held Western Michigan to 2.3 yards per rushing attempt, but the Broncos don’t have a back the caliber of the Orange’s 210-pound Damien Rhodes. He was last week’s Big East Offensive Player of the Week after a 236-yard performance against Buffalo.

“He’s a size running back, you know, which, if you’re going to run the ball quite a few times in the game, size is a factor,” Groh said.

So, as Peerman demonstrated last week, is holding on to the football.

 

Cavaliers ready for noisy Carrier Dome
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
September 17, 2005

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Home sweet dome.
At least that’s the way that Syracuse fans like to look at the Carrier Dome.
It’s been almost 25 years to the day since a mammoth mushroom-looking facility, known for its white roof, opened on the campus of Syracuse University.
The Loud House, as it is called in central New York, is truly unique. And more importantly, it offers the Orange a distinct home-field advantage.
Virginia (1-0) will find out today just how beneficial (or disadvantageous) the 12th man becomes for Syracuse (1-1). The nationally televised game (ESPN2) starts at noon.
History says the friendly confines of the dome have played a major factor in some of SU’s 103 victories at the venue.
Don’t think so? Just ask Nebraska fans.
In 1984, the Cornhuskers rolled into the Carrier Dome as the top-ranked team in the land only leave with a 17-9 loss (their first of the season).
Need more proof? Just ask Virginia Tech fans.
In an effort to avoid reliving the dramatic events, Hokie fans may want to skip the next few paragraphs.
In 1998, former Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb, now with the Philadelphia Eagles, tossed a game-winning 14-yard touchdown pass to Stephen Brominski. Virginia Tech left the Carrier Dome stunned, losers of a 28-26 thriller.
Years’ later, SU tailback Damien Rhodes scored on a 25-yard run in the third and final overtime. Virginia Tech, who entered ranked in the Top 10, left again with a loss - a 50-42 setback to team with a 3-6 record.
With his team ranked 25th in the country, Virginia coach Al Groh is wary of the impact the dome makes from communication to confidence.
“This is, mentally, a little bit different atmosphere,” Groh admitted earlier this week. “Obviously, none of these players have experience playing in a dome.”
While a few of the players do have some limited experience in playing in a dome, like true freshmen Eugene Monroe, who played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl last year in San Antonio, Groh’s players for the most part are heading into uncharted waters.
“We’re just going to focus on the things we need to do to win. [We need] to focus those things out, like the noise and the crowd being on top of you and all that type of stuff,” said UVa defensive end Brennan Schmidt. “You [have to] know your environment and know what things you [have to] adapt to and still stay on your game.”
To say that Schmidt, a senior, doesn’t know what to expect is not totally accurate. His older brother - J.D. Schmidt - played in the Carrier Dome with Boston College.
“I remember his teammates and him talking about how hard it was to play in there because it was so loud and the crowd is on top of you - just literally,” the Virginia captain recounted. “If we bring our A-game and we focus those things out and really focus on our gameplan, we will be alright I think.”
To Virginia’s benefit, the indoor test comes two full weeks after their season-opening win over Western Michigan
(31-19). The bye week allowed the Cavaliers extra time to prepare for the noise that comes with playing indoors.
Groh pumped in music into practice sessions, helping the offense and defense work on handling the increased decibel level.
Virginia quarterback Marques Hagans said offensively the team has “a couple of things that we are going to use and I think it will be beneficial for us.
“I don’t think you can simulate the type of environment that it is going to be, how loud it is going to be, [but] you can work on the signals and you can communicate. Everybody has to be on the same page. They have to be focused, they have to communicate and echo the calls. I think the main thing in going to a place like this is communication.”
Virginia was able to walk through the Carrier Dome on Friday, getting a feel for the facility, the newly installed FieldTurf (which replaced the old artificial playing surface).
The players also got a chance to see just how hot and steamy the Carrier Dome can be.
Why so? Despite being named for one of the world’s largest producers of air conditioning units, the dome does not have AC.

HOOS TRAVELLING? Multiple sources confirmed on Friday that linebacker Ahmad Brooks did not travel with the team to Syracuse. Brooks, a junior linebacker, continues to recover from a January surgery to repair a degenerative bone in his right knee.
Among those in the traveling party were tailback Wali Lundy (sprained foot), offensive lineman Ian Yates-Cunningham (back) and defensive back Lance Evans (undisclosed). Lundy, a senior, carried the ball three times against Western Michigan for 29 yards, all in the first quarter, before he left game. He did not return.
Former Charlottesville High product Chris Johnson, who did not dress for the season opening win at Scott Stadium, reportedly did not accompany the team.

QUICK HITS: Today’s game will be the only non-conference road game of the season for the Cavaliers. With a win against Syracuse, UVa would win consecutive non-conference road games for the first time since they beat Auburn, Virginia Tech and BYU in succession (1998-99). … Under Groh, the Cavaliers are 2-4 in non-conference games, a mark that only includes regular season contests. …
In 1995, the surface at Scott Stadium was converted from artificial turf to natural grass. Since that time, the Cavs have played seven games on an artificial surface, including a 37-34 loss last year to Fresno State on Boise’s blue turf field in the MPC Computers Bowl.

 

UVa making first trip to the Carrier Dome
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 17, 2005

The teleconference wound down on Thursday when Virginia coach Al Groh flipped the script and asked reporters a few questions of his own.

“Do any of you guys have any experiences in the dome?” he asked, referring to Syracuse’s Carrier Dome.

A couple of reporters said that they did.

Groh continued: “Is there anything you can relate to us from your experiences?”

The Carrier Dome is just one of many unknowns for 25th-ranked Virginia when it takes on Syracuse today at noon.

The players might be the same for an Orange squad that lost to the Cavaliers 31-10 in Charlottesville last season, but the system is entirely different under new coach Greg Robinson.

Moreover, Groh doesn’t know exactly what kind of hand he’s holding with his Virginia team, which struggled at times in a 31-19 win over Western Michigan in the season opener two weeks ago.

“We’ve only played one game with them. And that was kind of an unusual style game,” Groh said. “There’s probably a lot left to be learned about this team.”

He’ll have a better idea after this weekend, when Virginia will have to deal with a volatile - and unique - setting at the Carrier Dome.

The Cavaliers have not played in a dome since the 1998 Peach Bowl, when they lost 35-33 to Georgia in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. They have never played on FieldTurf, the artificial surface the Carrier Dome has that emulates grass.

For a smallish dome (it seats about 49,000), it’s one of the loudest stadiums in the country. And hot. Ironically, though sponsored by an air conditioning company, the building itself is without AC.

Virginia’s players, for their part, don’t sound too concerned.

“I’m very excited,” sophomore defensive end Chris Long said. “You kind of feed off the energy of the opposing crowd and from just what I’ve heard, the Carrier Dome is just a great atmosphere. …

“And I actually play well on turf, so I’m pretty excited about playing on that faster surface.”

Said senior center Brian Barthelmes: “A game is a game whether you’re playing at U-Hall or a parking lot. Everybody’s playing on the same field, so I’m not too concerned by that.”

The Cavaliers might be more concerned about whether they will eliminate the mistakes that allowed Western Michigan to hang around in the opener.

UVa running backs fumbled four times (retaining possession three times), quarterback Marques Hagans threw two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, and the Broncos threw for 271 yards, mostly on short passes.

That kind of performance is unlikely to hold up against a Syracuse defense revived by the presence of Robinson, who was a defensive coordinator for three NFL teams - the Jets, Broncos and Chiefs - before being co-defensive coordinator for the Texas Longhorns last season.

Despite the Orange’s offensive misgivings, their defense has not allowed a touchdown in two games and is ranked ninth nationally in yards allowed per game (231.0).

Syracuse’s new West Coast offense has not been nearly effective, averaging just 295 yards a game. Tailback Damien Rhodes ran wild against Buffalo last week, gaining 236 yards, the fifth highest single-game total in Syracuse history.

The Orange have struggled in every other facet, however. Quarterback Perry Patterson, who made a successful college debut in Charlottesville last year, completing 15 of 23 passes for 141 yards, hasn’t thrown for more than 139 yards in a game this season.

In a 15-9 loss to West Virginia two weeks ago, the Orange offense was a wreck, gaining just 103 yards, only 18 of which came on the ground. But they shook it off with a 487-yard day in a 31-0 rout of lowly Buffalo last week.

Virginia hopes it can do likewise and iron out some of its first-week kinks in all facets of the game.

“I don’t think you’re ever pleased with your game, especially your first game,” Barthelmes said. “Things need to fall in order and there’s definitely a lot of improvement that can take place. And I think it’s going to.”

 

Cavaliers used week off to fine-tune game
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Sep 17, 2005


After losing to Fresno State in the MPC Computers Bowl, the University of Virginia football team waited eight months to play another game. Then, after the excitement of opening day, it was back to the waiting room for the Cavaliers.

Utah and Texas Christian, which met Thursday night, each is now preparing for its fourth game. Virginia plays its second game today in Syracuse, N.Y. The 25th-ranked Wahoos have been off since Sept. 3, when they battled to a 31-19 victory over West- ern Michigan at Scott Stadium.

Today at noon, Virginia meets Syracuse (1-1) in a nonconference game.

"It's a little bit like starting the season all over for us," U.Va. coach Al Groh said.

That might not be a bad thing for the Cavs, who were less than flawless against the unheralded Broncos. U.Va. turned the ball over three times -- twice on interceptions thrown by senior quarterback Marques Hagans -- and allowed 357 yards of offense.

Breaking so soon after the opener "wasn't hard at all," Hagans said, "because a lot of things we needed to fine-tune to make us a better team, we got the opportunity to do that with the bye week."

No two versions of the West Coast offense are the same, as Groh often points out. Still, the experience that U.Va.'s defense gained against Western Michigan, whose quarterback threw short passes, usually after a three-step drop, should prove beneficial this afternoon.

"I think it'll definitely help, because I found myself a little frustrated in the game last week, just not being able to make big plays," sophomore defensive end Chris Long said. "But you just need to fit into the defense and do your part, take care of your gap and get a pass rush if you can and just focus more on team defense. Not to say that anybody was being selfish last week, but it's frustrating when guys can't make those big plays."

A season ago in Charlottesville, Hagans weaved through the Syracuse defense on a 59-yard first-quarter touchdown run that put U.Va. ahead for good. He added a 10-yard TD run in the second quarter and in the final period threw a 39-yard pass to wideout Michael McGrew for another score. In all, Hagans ran for 81 yards (on six carries) and passed for 202, completing 11 of 12 attempts in Virginia's 31-10 victory.

Paul Pasqualoni was the Orange's coach then, and Greg Robinson was co-defensive coordinator at Texas. But Robinson, who replaced Pasqualoni at Syracuse after last season, has seen more than enough of Hagans on videotape.

"We have to work hard to keep him in the pocket, and that's really what our goal is," Robinson said.

Syracuse's quarterback, Perry Patterson, played well in Charlottesville, too, connecting on 15 of 23 passes for 141 yards. The junior from Lancaster, Pa., has struggled this season, however, in adjusting to Robinson's offense. In the season-opening loss to West Virginia -- the first of three straight games at the Carrier Dome for the 'Cuse -- Patterson was 15 for 31 passing for a mere 85 yards, with two interceptions. He played better last weekend against lowly Buffalo, but his completion percentage for the season remains below 50 percent, and he's yet to throw a TD pass.

For Virginia, all-ACC linebacker Ahmad Brooks, who's recovering from offseason knee surgery, did not make the trip to Syracuse and will not play today. The outlook is more promising for tailback Wali Lundy, who sprained his left foot against Western Michigan. Lundy is in Syracuse and might play today. Regardless, the Cavaliers expect to be sharper today than they were in the opener.

"We've gotten a game under our belts, we've felt the flow of the game and where we need to improve," Long said.

Hagans said: "I think we're a whole lot better. Taking nothing away from Western Michigan, but that was only the first game. There's so much more to build on, so many young players who can get better."

 

Confidence game
Last season's road effort boosts Orange optimism
Saturday, September 17, 2005
By Donnie Webb
Staff writer

This may sound like denial to the University of Virginia football team, but the Orange left Charlottesville a year ago thinking it was a lot closer to the Cavaliers than the final score.

Syracuse University lost the game to Virginia by three touchdowns, 31-10. But the Orange made the polo-shirt-and-pearl-necklace crowd sweat hard in the second half. Syracuse threatened to make it a one-score game late in the third quarter when the Cavaliers held on fourth-and-goal.

"We let one get away," said Syracuse tailback Damien Rhodes. "From playing that game . . . it let us know we can play with people."

What's important about history is that Syracuse (1-1) has a quiet confidence going into its rematch today against the Cavaliers (1-0) at the Carrier Dome. Kickoff is noon and the game will be televised nationally by ESPN2.

Rhodes, who is coming off a four touchdown, 236-yard rushing performance a week ago, believes the Orange has plenty of knowledge and encouragement from last year's game to give the Cavaliers more problems.

"Virginia is a great team and they have great personnel," Rhodes said. "They lose a couple of players from last year, yet they've still got a lot of players to rebuild and be the same team. They're probably the same team, if not a better team than they were last year. As long as we execute and work hard, we'll be all right."

Syracuse managed 20 first downs but only 254 yards of total offense against Virginia last season. It did prove to be a breakout game for Orange quarterback Perry Patterson, who made his first career start and completed 15-of-23 passes for 141 yards with no interceptions.

Virginia coach Al Groh said the offense implemented in Syracuse is the same offense that Orange coordinator Brian Pariani used with the NFL's Denver Broncos. And while it's West Coast in name, its ground oriented in reality.

"Which means,No. 1, that they have, probably, philosophically, a much stronger interest in running the ball than Western Michigan did," Groh said of his team's opening season opponent. "Denver's always been a dedicated running team, to go along with their rhythm passing game."

That makes Rhodes a marked man by the Virginia defense. The key issue for Syracuse is to find a passing game that either forces the Cavaliers defense to back off or burn them with deep balls to the receivers.

Patterson, who ranks 110th nationally in passing efficiency, is the critical player for Syracuse. Pariani said one of the not-so-small goals of the easy win against Buffalo was to restore Patterson's confidence, which had been shot by the woeful performance against West Virginia. Head coach Greg Robinson said he sees a "commander" back at quarterback and believes Patterson has gotten over the hump.

"Nobody is going to touch the panic button and get all worried about it," Rhodes said. "It's only been two games.

"I think we need to (get the passing game untracked), not just so much for me, but I think the whole team in general. The more balanced or dynamic we can be, the better we can be on offense."

Through twogames, Syracuse has shown vast improvement defensively. The Orange defense has yet to give up a touchdown. It ranks second nationally in third-down defense (12.9 conversion rate), seventh in passing defense and ninth in scoring defense.

The Orange's defensive game plan today is pretty much circled around Virginia quarterback Marques Hagans. The senior completed 11-of-12 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown last season against Syracuse. He also broke touchdown runs of 59 and 10 yards in the win.

Robinson said if Hagans was three inches taller, the nation would be talking about him as a Heisman Trophy candidate.

"We're going to try and scramble his circuit and make him make mistakes," said Syracuse outside linebacker Kellen Pruitt, who tried to play through an injury in last year's game. "We're going to go with the same aggressiveness and gusto that's got us to be a good defense that we are now. I don't know if we give him that much respect and give him a whole new package. We feel we can contain him from running and hopefully, contain him from passing."

Virginia starting tailback Wali Lundy injured his ankle in the opener against Western Michigan and could be limited. Groh said the Cavaliers have "pretty decent playable depth" with Cedric Peerman, Michael Johnson, Jason Snelling and Mikell Simpson. Virginia has a mix of youth and experience in the line led by All-America tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson of Freeport High School on Long Island.

Ferguson saidhe's eager to see how the Cavaliers bounce back from a week off following the opening win against Western Michigan. He thinks the strange open spot in the schedule won't have much effect on the team.

Again, the Orange isn't worried so much with the traditional Virginia running backs. The team's focus is locked and loaded around one player - Hagans.

"If we get him, that's our main focus," said Syracuse senior defensive tackle Kader Drame. "I know for a fact if we do what we're supposed to do and control him, that's going to really, really, really help us to win the game. He's a dangerous guy. We have to make sure all the things we did last year, we need to improve. That means contain him and make sure we chase to the ball and when we tackle him, bring him down."