Cavaliers catch a break
Wyoming misses an extra point in overtime, giving Virginia a win despite the Cavaliers' listless offensive performance.
BY DARRYL SLATER
247-4641
September 10 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The moment the ball left Aric Goodman's foot, Virginia defensive end Chris Long turned around. He knew he wasn't supposed to watch an opponent's kick when he should be trying to block it.

But he had to see, had to know if Goodman missed an extra point in overtime and bailed the Cavaliers out of another anemic offensive performance. So Long looked up and watched the ball sail right by four or five feet, watched Virginia's fans cheer louder than they had all day - because they finally had something to cheer about.

It was a fittingly flawed ending to an unsightly game, a 13-12 Virginia victory in which the Cavaliers had 181 yards through four quarters and coach Al Groh yanked senior starting quarterback Christian Olsen in favor of junior Kevin McCabe. Groh wouldn't say who will start next Saturday against Western Michigan.

"It's about finding a way to win," Groh said. "And that's what we're gonna have to do every week. ... But it's not gonna come because we just go out there like a juggernaut and mow 'em all down right away."

Virginia's first two games proved as much. In a 38-13 loss last week at Pittsburgh, the Cavaliers gained 211 yards - the fifth-lowest output since Groh arrived in 2001. Virginia's 181 yards through four quarters Saturday were the second fewest in Groh's tenure, behind the 170 the Cavaliers gained in 2003 at South Carolina.

Of course, the record will show they gained 206 yards Saturday (now the fifth-lowest total under Groh). But those extra 25 were perhaps the most important 25 they'll gain all season.

The game was tied 6-6 going into overtime, and Virginia (1-1) got the ball first. McCabe entered with 12:49 left in the fourth quarter. Olsen completed 12 of 21 passes for 89 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.

Having lost the coin flip, Virginia started overtime on the Wyoming 25-yard line. Virginia's coaches decided to take three shots at the end zone and, if they failed, turn to placekicker Chris Gould.

"Given the results of the previous 60 minutes, the odds were against us (scoring a touchdown) by driving the ball to the goal line," Groh said.

Yep. In regulation, Virginia went three plays and out on six of 11 drives. The longest drive was McCabe's first: a 12-play, 49-yarder that ended when Virginia failed to convert fourth down and 1 yard because McCabe aligned the offense in the wrong formation.

With their offense still not working, the Cavaliers' first, go-for-broke play in overtime was a pass down the left side of the field to wide receiver Kevin Ogletree.

The play nearly worked in the fourth quarter but clearly worked in overtime. Ogletree got behind Wyoming's safety and caught the touchdown pass in stride. It was Virginia's longest offensive play of the season and, after the extra point, gave the Cavaliers a 13-6 lead.

Wyoming (1-1) responded by taking five plays to score, on a 3-yard pass from quarterback Jacob Doss to tight end Chris Sundberg. Goodman trotted onto the field, an 18-year-old true freshman who made all three extra points in his first game last week but missed two of three field goals.

No Virginia player tipped his extra point. Just a pure, gut-turning miss, and Goodman crumpled to the grass at the sight of it.

"He gets a little lazy once in a while, squaring his hips up, getting through the ball," Wyoming coach Joe Glenn said. "He left his right hip open."

McCabe emerged from Saturday's mess as the winning quarterback.

His 25-yard touchdown pass helped the Cavaliers avoid their most embarrassing home loss under Groh. The pass appeased, at least for a moment, the Virginia fans who groaned and booed the offense's shortcomings Saturday.

But where does McCabe's presence - and burst of success - leave this offense, so disappointing in its first two games under new coordinator Mike Groh?

"We made sure that we told Chris when (he) came out that we weren't down on him," Groh said. Then Groh, as he's wont to do, used a baseball analogy and said that just because a starting pitcher gets yanked doesn't mean he'll miss his next start.

Right. So Virginia's starting quarterback next Saturday will be (drum roll) ...

"That's not something we're gonna address in here or at any time," Groh said. "When we decide each week who our quarterback's gonna be, the quarterbacks will know first. And the team will know second. And then everybody else will know third."

The biggest question the quarterback must answer: How much must this offense improve for Virginia to succeed?

"Oh my gosh," McCabe said. "We have to be 10 times better than we were this week to win next week. And from there on."
 

Fakes stun Groh; Zidenberg makes a big play
BY DARRYL SLATER
247-4641
September 10, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Virginia coach Al Groh has been on the sidelines since 1967, when he was an assistant at Albemarle High in Charlottesville. So few things surprise him.

Wyoming managed to surprise him Saturday. The Cowboys converted two fake punts - using the same play.

With 10:22 left in the first quarter, Wyoming, on its first drive, faced fourth down and 15 yards at the Virginia 44-yard line. The Cowboys lined up in punt formation, but snapped the ball to safety John Wendling, who ran left 29 yards for a first down. Wyoming finished the drive with a field goal and took a 3-0 lead.

With about 3:45 left in the quarter, the Cowboys got in punt formation for the second time.

It was fourth and 12 at the Wyoming 15. But again, the snap went to Wendling who, again, ran left for 31 yards and a first down.

During the second punt, Groh was on the sideline talking to the defensive players. He didn't see the play. But he heard Virginia's assistants shouting for the defense to get back on the field after Wyoming converted the trick play.

"Pretty stunned," Groh said. "And all I could think of was, 'Holy Batman, what happened here? Not again.' "

SNELLING SIDELINED

Starting senior tailback Jason Snelling missed the game with a sprained ankle. He injured it late in the game last Saturday at Pittsburgh.

At first, Groh didn't think the injury was severe enough to sideline Snelling, but he aggravated it in Wednesday's practice.

Sophomore Cedric Peerman started and had 16 carries for 41 yards. Senior Michael Johnson, a Heritage High graduate, carried four times for 7 yards.

BIG BLOCK

Junior fullback Josh Zidenberg, a former walk-on from Poquoson High, made the biggest play of his career Saturday and helped Virginia's ailing offense get back in the game.

With 1:23 left in the third quarter, Zidenberg burst through Wyoming's punt protection and blocked Billy Vinnedge's punt. Wyoming recovered, but because it was fourth down, Virginia took over at the Cowboys' 14.

Virginia had a prime chance to score but lost 3 yards on the drive and settled for 34-yard field goal from Chris Gould to tie the game at 6.

On Wyoming's previous two punts, Zidenberg almost burst through for blocks. He went to the right side of Wyoming's protection on those.

On the sideline after the second punt, he told strength coach Evan Marcus, "I think I'm gonna get one if I just keep going at it."

For his block, Zidenberg went through the left side of the protection. "I figured this time, I'll switch it up and see what happens," he said. "I caught the snapper off guard, and I was home free from there."

THIS AND THAT

Cornerback Chris Cook started in place of Chris Gorham. Safety Byron Glaspy started in place of Tony Franklin. ... Chris Gould's punting improved by more than 6 yards. He averaged 45.4 yards on five punts - with a long of 51. ... Outside linebacker Olu Hall and fullback Kevin Bradley didn't dress. ... Outside linebacker Denzell Burrell injured his left leg and spent the second half on crutches. ... Nose tackle Keenan Carter was on the sidelines wearing warm-ups and a boot on his right foot. ... Virginia is now 1-4 in overtime games.

UVa edges Cowboys by a boot
Wyoming's Aric Goodman misses an extra-point in OT, giving the Cavs the victory.
Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- After Virginia and Wyoming traded field goals for 60 minutes, it was easy to see how the outcome might come down to a kick.

Not an extra-point kick.

Virginia has been playing football games for more than 100 years and, as far as anybody can tell, none of them had been decided by a missed extra-point kick on the last play. Until Saturday, that is.

Almost everybody at Scott Stadium was thinking ahead to a second overtime before Wyoming's Aric Goodman was wide right on his first extra-point attempt of the game, enabling Virginia to win its first overtime game in five tries, 13-12.

"I was lucky enough to be a part of a team to win the Super Bowl on a kick on the last play of the game that went right," said UVa coach Al Groh, an assistant on the New York Giants team that won Super Bowl XXV when Buffalo's Scott Norwood's 47-yard attempt was wide right.

"This one felt almost as good."

Virginia (1-1) never led until relief quarterback Kevin McCabe threw a 25-yard dart to Kevin Ogletree on the first play of overtime.

Normally, the team that wins the toss is at an advantage in overtime, which influenced Virginia's decision to come out throwing.

"We wanted to score a touchdown, not kick a field goal," Groh said. "Given the results of the previous 60 minutes, the odds were against us doing that by driving the ball through the teeth of the defense."

Virginia (1-1) finished with 206 yards in total offense -- 25 of that coming on the McCabe-to-Ogletree connection. After rushing for 52 yards in a loss to Pittsburgh in their opening game, the Cavs ran for 32 yards on 22 attempts this time.

Wyoming got 60 of its 306 yards on two fake punts, but the Cowboys (1-1) moved the ball much more consistently.

A delay-of-game penalty wiped out an apparent touchdown run by Wynel Seldon in the overtime, but the Cowboys eventually matched Virginia's touchdown on a fourth-down pass from Jacob Doss to Chris Sundberg.

Sundberg admitted that he was not the intended receiver on the play, but Doss' toss hung up in the air so long that Sundberg beat a fatigued Jon Copper to the ball.

Copper, a walk-on from Northside High School, said he thought he played all 70 defensive snaps for Virginia.

Copper, likely to quote scripture at the click of a tape recorder, said he didn't ask for divine intervention at that point.

"They've got believers on that team, too," Copper said. "I would never pray for a guy to miss like that, but, after giving up that touchdown, I might have been the happiest person out there."

There were some other challengers for that distinction, including McCabe, a fourth-year junior who came on with 12:58 to play.

On their previous drive, the Cavaliers had forced a 6-6 tie on Chris Gould's second field goal, but Groh may have hoped for more after Josh Zidenberg blocked a Wyoming punt and UVa took over at the Cowboys' 14.

A 2-yard completion was followed by a false start and two incompletions, at which point McCabe started warming up behind the UVa bench. Starter Christian Olsen was 12-of-21 for 89 yards.

"We made sure to tell Chris that we weren't down on him," Groh said. "We just thought, at that particular time, to try and see if something different might work."

McCabe had thrown 17 passes in his three seasons of eligibility, including three in a return to his hometown of Pittsburgh, where the Panthers returned one of his attempts for a touchdown.

"I threw a touchdown to another team before I threw one to my own team," said McCabe, who was 8-of-13 for 85 yards. "You live and learn."

Other than the two fake punts, Wyoming did not have an offensive gain of more than 20 yards against a UVa defense that had given up three scoring plays of 70 yards or more at Pittsburgh.

"That game right there is the kind of game we've been trying to get here for six years," Groh said. "That is, get our defense playing so that we can win a game on defense."

Gould averaged 45.4 yards on five punts and came close to being a hero before his 49-yard field-goal attempt clanged off the left upright with 3:35 to play.

Goodman, who had converted just one of three field-goal tries in a 38-7 victory over Utah State, was 2-on-2 on field goals before his missed PAT.

"We'll win a lot of games for us before it's all said and done," Wyoming coach Joe Glenn said of his freshman kicker. "He outkicked their guy all day long, had a chance to win it and couldn't. It's just a shame we missed the 3-inch putt at the end."
 

Groh to re-evaluate starting QB spot
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Almost 10 minutes had gone by Saturday when Virginia football coach Al Groh took his first postgame question about his quarterback situation for next week.

"What took you guys so long?" Groh asked.

The Cavaliers had just beaten Wyoming 13-12 on an overtime touchdown and extra point, the touchdown coming on a 25-yard pass from Kevin McCabe to Kevin Ogletree.

McCabe, who had replaced starter Christian Olsen on Virginia's first offensive series of the fourth quarter, completed 8-of-13 passes for 85 yards and one touchdown.

It was only the second touchdown scored by the Cavaliers in more than eight quarters.

So, who gets the start next week, Olsen or McCabe?

"That is something we will address [internally]," Groh said. "When we decide each week who our quarterback will be, the quarterback will know first. The team will know second. Everyone else will know third.

"All it does is cause division with the fans, division with the team. We are not going down that road here."

'Holy Batman'

One faked punt, setting up Wyoming's first field goal, was enough. When the Cowboys faked a second punt, getting a 31-yard gain by up-back John Wendling after picking up 29 yards earlier, Groh went ballistic and raced after first-year UVa special-teams coach Bobby Diaco.

When asked afterward for his reaction, Groh took a gulp, paused and said, "Pretty stunned."

"A lot of times, coaches say, 'I didn't see it,'" Groh continued. "Well, I was back on the bench, talking to the defensive players and I heard people yelling for the defensive players.

"I was like, 'Holy Batman! What's happened here?' That was it. We had to go in there and do something about it. The ball was where it was and we had to get back to work on defense."

On seven subsequent Wyoming punts, UVa got a block by Josh Zidenberg ("put in for this game," Groh said) and returns of 18 yards by Andrew Pearman and 15 and 13 yards by Emmanuel Byers.

For starters

Groh reacted to a 38-13 loss to Pittsburgh in Week 1 with two position changes, subbing sophomore Chris Cook for junior Chris Gorham at one cornerback spot and sophomore Byron Glaspy for fifth-year senior Tony Franklin at safety.

Cook, who had been ticketed for increased playing time earlier in the week, finished with a team-high 12 tackles, 10 unassisted. Walk-on linebacker Jon Copper was next with 11 tackles, including three for loss, and his first college sack.

In another switch, sophomore Cedric Peerman got the start at tailback, where graduate student Jason Snelling had started the first game. Groh said he did not learn until the day after the Pittsburgh loss that Snelling had sprained an ankle.

"Jason's a very important player to this team," Groh said. "We just decided that what we didn't want to be sitting around in December and saying, 'Jason sprained his ankle during the first [game] and really hasn't had his juice all year.' "

For the record, UVa's final regular-season game is scheduled for Nov. 25.

Big plays

Fifth-year cornerback Marcus Hamilton ended a first-quarter Wyoming drive with an interception that he returned 29 yards to the UVa 44, then later recovered a fumble that saved a touchdown after Wyoming had driven inside the Cavaliers' 1-yard line.

It was the 11th career interception for Hamilton, nine coming in the last 16 games, but he had never recovered a fumble until Saturday. What's funny was, nobody from Virginia would take credit for causing the fumble, which may have occurred when Wynel Seldon ran into a teammate while swerving to avoid Antonio Appleby.

Sympathy

Wyoming coach Joe Glenn did not let freshman place-kicker Aric Goodman talk to the media after his errant extra-point try kept the game from going into overtime, but Virginia counterpart Chris Gould knew how he felt.

"I'm sure he was thinking, 'Unbelievable, how did I do that?' " Gould said. "He's a true freshman, he'll have his glory one day, and I wish him the best of luck."

Virginia next week

Western Michigan will be at Virginia on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff and will shown on ESPN360. This will be the third meeting between the Broncos and Cavaliers, who met for the first time in 2003 in Kalamazoo, Mich. Western Michigan, a 31-19 loser in the 2005 opener, beat Toledo 31-10 to even its record at 1-1. The Broncos opened the season with a 39-20 loss at Indiana.
 

Sophomore receiver impresses team
Kevin Ogletree catches 10 passes for 95 yards and scores his first touchdown for UVa.
By Jim Reedy
981-3222

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Kevin Ogletree was already juiced up when he came to the line of scrimmage for the first play of overtime.

The afternoon had gone well for the sophomore wide receiver, if not for the Virginia offense as a whole, and now there was more good news.

Ogletree was to run a post pattern straight down the field and then cut inside near the end zone. He was quarterback Kevin McCabe's first option if the cornerback was playing off.

And there across the 25-yard line, Wyoming cornerback Julius Stinson was playing off.

"When I saw that," Ogletree said, "I knew I had a chance to make a big play."

Ogletree got inside Stinson and behind safety Dorsey Golston, right where he needed to be when McCabe's throw arrived precisely.

"It didn't feel real for a second," Ogletree said of his first college touchdown. "I had to almost pinch myself."

Just like that, the Cavaliers had their first lead of the game. Minutes later, after Wyoming's Aric Goodman missed an extra point, they had a difficult first win, 13-12.

The list of Virginia standouts included McCabe, cornerback Marcus Hamilton and Northside graduate Jon Copper at inside linebacker. But near the top of the list, perhaps atop it, was Ogletree.

The Queens, N.Y., native woke up Saturday morning with nine career receptions, but he smoked the Cowboys for 10 catches and 95 yards.

Only seven times in UVa history has a player caught more passes -- though, admittedly, six of them came in the past six seasons.

"I'm proud of how he performed," said Hamilton, a senior captain.

"He made catches under duress," UVa coach Al Groh said. "Did a good job with it."

Ogletree hooked up with Christian Olsen three times for 28 yards in the final drive of the first half, but five of his catches came after McCabe came on with 12:49 left.

Hitting the out pattern time after time against Wyoming's withdrawn coverage, the quarterback and receiver gave the UVa offense just enough life.

"He gets open easily, so it's pretty easy to throw out there," McCabe said of Ogletree. "It's just like throwing the ball in the ocean whenever he runs routes."

When overtime rolled around, Ogletree was foremost in the minds of the Virginia coaches when they wanted to strike on first down.

"This is it," Ogletree recalled thinking. "They called my number."

But then, he's been earning that call since the end of last season, and especially since Deyon Williams went down with a broken foot last month.

"Yeah, [that was] a great opportunity for me to get out there and make some plays and show people that I can do some things," Ogletree said. "Coming into the season, I was looking to be a role player and just be there when the coach asked me to make a play. But with the loss of Deyon, I got the chance to step up and be that guy."
 

Cavs rope Cowboys
Wyoming's missed PAT gives Virginia 1st win
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
September 10, 2006

Nobody ever said the life of a Virginia fan was easy.

In a game with more twists and turns than a movie directed by Oliver Stone, Virginia's players wound up dancing around the field celebrating, of all things, a missed extra-point attempt in overtime.

Just moments after his team had scored what appeared to be a game-tying touchdown, Wyoming placekicker Aric Goodman pushed a PAT attempt wide right, securing an improbable 13-12 victory for the Cavaliers in front of 60,429 fans at Scott Stadium.

"It's too bad it had to come down to that," said Wyoming coach Joe Glenn, whose team is now 1-1. "[Goodman] left it right. He didn't square his hips up. He gets a little lazy once in a while squaring up his hips and hitting through the ball."

The win marked Virginia's first ever in an overtime game. The Cavaliers (1-0) had lost their first four overtime contests, including two under coach Al Groh.

"I was lucky enough to be part of a team to win the Super Bowl on a kick on the last play of the game that went wide right," said Groh, referring to his days as an assistant with the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXV. "This one felt almost as good."

The missed kick came just seconds after Wyoming had scored on 3-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jacob Doss to Chris Sundberg on what appeared to be a broken play.

That score answered Virginia's only touchdown - backup quarterback Kevin McCabe, a fourth-quarter substitution, connected on a 25-yard pass to wideout Kevin Ogletree on the first play of overtime.

"The throw was everything it had to be," Groh said of Virginia's longest play of the season. "It was right on the spot against that coverage with that route. Kevin did a real gob job.

"Ogletree was in the spot the quarterback expected him to be. Kevin McCabe threw the ball to the spot."

Both teams had chances to win the game in regulation.

Virginia placekicker Chris Gould missed two field goals, including a 49-yard attempt with 3:35 left in regulation.

"I thought it was good when it first came off," said Gould, who was 2 for 4 on the day. "It hit well up into the uprights. There is nothing that I can really do about that."

Wyoming, which outgained UVa by more than 100 yards (313-206) in the game, had the ball in Virginia territory three times in the second half and came away with only three points, one of two made field goals by Goodman.

The Cowboys' best opportunity to pull away came on their first drive of the second half.

After moving the ball to the Virginia 1, Wyoming running back Wynel Seldon took a first down handoff and dove for the end zone, but the ball was forced out of his hands. Virginia cornerback Marcus Hamilton recovered the fumble for a touchback and kept the game deadlocked at 3-3.

Glenn unsuccessfully challenged the call. The official said there was not enough evidence to change the ruling on the field.

"I thought it was a touchdown," Glenn said. "I couldn't see it, but I felt like Wynel went up and touched the line with the ball. He touched the line with the ball. It's supposed to be a touchdown, isn't it?"

Groh praised his team for the play and said it was just another example of his defense stepping up in a tough contest. Sixty of Wyoming's yards and two of its game-high 17 first downs came on back-to-back fake punts in the first half.

"That game right there is the kind of game we've been trying to get here for six years. That is, get our defense playing so that we can win a game on defense," Groh said. "That was a terrific job by the defense. Those guys were resilient, resourceful and hung in there under every circumstance."

Virginia's offense, however, left something to be desired until the extra session.

Starting quarterback Christian Olsen completed 12 of his 21 passes, amounting to only 89 yards. The fifth-year senior also threw an interception.

With Virginia's offense sputtering - the Cavaliers had just 95 yards in the first three quarters ? Groh elected to insert McCabe into the game in the fourth quarter.

"We didn't get enough drives going there [with Olsen at quarterback]," Groh said. "We made sure to tell Chris that we weren't down on him; we just thought at that particular time to try to see if something different might work. So that's what we did for the moment."

McCabe, a junior, moved Virginia into Wyoming territory on his first drive under center, but it stalled when UVa failed to convert a fourth-and-1 at the Wyoming 41 with 8:36 left.

The play McCabe called, a handoff to tailback Cedric Peerman, left the Cavaliers a yard shy. He said he ran the wrong play.

After Virginia's defense forced one of Wyoming's seven punts, McCabe moved the ball 45 yards in nine plays, which led to Gould's miss off the upright.

During the drive, however, McCabe and Ogletree noticed something in Wyoming's defense. That paid off in overtime when the play was revisited.

"We ran that play at the end of the fourth quarter, and Kevin Ogletree said the defender was in position where we could hit one," McCabe recounted. "He lined up the same way the first play, and I didn't want to force anything, but when you have a chance, you got to take it."

Wyoming's touchdown in overtime came after the Cowboys' first five plays moved the ball to the Virginia 3. As the Cowboys faced fourth-and-2, Doss tried to escape pressure from UVa linebacker Jermaine Dias and lofted a floater into the end zone. Sundberg, who was not the initial target, dove forward and to his right from the back of the end to make the catch.

"It definitely wasn't intended for me," Sundberg said. "I was initially doing a corner route in the back of the end zone and we had a guy in the flat. When I saw the ball in the air, I just took it upon myself to go catch it."

Virginia linebacker Jon Copper said he was beaten on the play.

"I was a little late reacting and I kind of panicked a little bit," Copper said. "I was one of the happiest guys on the field after they missed that extra point."

For McCabe, who also played late in Virginia's season-opening loss at Pitt, it was a coming-out party of sorts. He finished 8 of 13 for 85 yards and impressed the coaching staff with his poise.

"He had good ball movement out there," Groh said. "He had his rough moments out there. He miscalled a couple formations, but any guy would.

"One of the characteristics of a team that is going to do anything is resilience, and your quarterback has to be the most resilient. Probably the best characteristic that he showed wasn't the ball in the air, but the resilience he showed in coming back from some other circumstances that he found himself in."

Peerman, who started in place of an injured Jason Snelling (ankle sprain), led Virginia's ground game with 16 carries for 41 yards.

Doss finished 23 of 32 for 145 yards passing with one interception for the Cowboys.

Virginia plays Western Michigan at home on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Wyoming plays host to Boise State on Saturday.

 

Nothing like a good ole QB debate
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
September 10, 2006

During a week in which college football celebrated the 100th anniversary of the forward pass, Virginia’s offense seemed bent on setting back that part of the game 25 years - that is, until backup quarterback Kevin McCabe saved the day.

McCabe, a sparingly used junior reserve, entered the game with 12:49 remaining in the fourth quarter and the game knotted at 6-6 in a touchdown-less contest against visiting Wyoming. In what was left of the quarter and one play in overtime, McCabe accomplished what starter Christian Olsen had failed to do - he moved the team and got it into the end zone with a 25-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Kevin Ogletree, Virginia’s longest offensive play so far this season.

In less than 13 minutes, McCabe (8 of 13 for 85 yards and a TD) came up just four passing yards shy of what Olsen (12-21, 89 yards, one interception) had gained in more than three quarters against the Cowboys.

Talk about diplomacy

Afterward, coach Al Groh insisted that Virginia didn’t have a quarterback controversy.

Bullfeathers.

The only way there’s not a quarterback controversy is if McCabe is named the starter this week for Western Michigan. Cavalier fans were uneasy with the fifth-year Olsen taking over the offense to begin with. They showed their utter disdain with the starter during Saturday’s home opener against Wyoming as boos cascaded down upon Olsen’s troubled shoulders.

“We’re not going to have one of those deals around here,” Groh warned media about a quarterback controversy after the win that evened UVa’s record at 1-1. “All it does is cause division - whether it’s division of fans, divisions of the team. So, we’ll manage the situation here internally as we think it is in the best interest of the team.”

News flash to the coaching staff: There was a division of fans on the subject before the Cavaliers boarded the plane for a return from Pittsburgh last Saturday night.

Players will support whoever is starting as a rule, but as far as fans and media are concerned it’s a full-blown controversy.

McCabe proves worthy

Certainly Groh has the right to name anyone he feels justified as his starter. He watches the daily film of practice and studies the quarterbacks in practice. All fans and media have to go on is what they see on Saturdays, and clearly Olsen has appeared shaky at best.

Some critics are even suggesting that Groh take a look at redshirt freshman cornerback Vic Hall, who broke state high school passing and total offense records as quarterback at Gretna High School, as UVa’s quarterback.

That won’t happen. But up until McCabe got things moving late Saturday, it certainly seemed like a good idea.

When McCabe entered the game, the Cavaliers had compiled a meager 95 yards of total offense.

They finished with 206, including the 25-yard TD pass in overtime, which happened to be McCabe’s first ever as a Wahoo, and Ogletree’s first career TD grab.

After watching the offense flounder for three quarters, Groh had no choice but to try something different.

“It was one of those feel things,” Groh said. “We didn’t get enough drives going. We made sure to tell Chris when he came out that we weren’t down on him, we just thought at that particular time we wanted to see if something different might work, and that’s what we did for the moment.”

But the coach said just because Olsen was pulled that we shouldn’t read too much into the move, equating it to a Major League pitcher getting the hook for a reliever.

“When Tom Glavine or the Big Unit get knocked out, that doesn’t mean they are going to miss the next start,” said Groh. “We just thought we’d put the sixth man in, like they do in basketball sometimes and maybe he’ll get hot.”

We’ve seen Olsen for seven quarters (29 of 55) and we’re still waiting to see him heat up.

Ogletree, who had a career day with 10 catches for 95 yards and the big-play score, went out of his way to support both quarterbacks without any nudging from media.

“I didn’t think it was a matter of [Olsen] struggling that much,” said the receiver. “The offense just wasn’t playing that great. I don’t think in any kind of way we can blame Christian Olsen for that because he was out there trying his best. [McCabe] showed great poise and leadership and we’re behind him, but we have faith in him and Chris Olsen.”

Meanwhile, McCabe steered clear of any controversial stuff. Asked by one scribe if he felt he deserved to start next week and the answer was predictable.

“No comment,” said McCabe. “I don’t know. I’m just going to enjoy tonight with my family and see what happens on Monday. If the coach calls on me again, I’ll try to be ready.”

Wyoming coach Joe Glenn wasn’t overly impressed with either Virginia passer.

“I don’t know, they scored six points,” he said. “[McCabe] threw the ball a little bit better.”

But even he had to confess he was impressed with the TD pass, which gave the Cavaliers their first overtime win after four previous losses in the program’s history with the rule.

“That was a great play. ... McCabe threw a nice shot, got it in there,” said the Cowboys coach. “Give him credit because he made a real good play.”

For McCabe, it was a glorious moment. It’s not like he’s a newcomer. He’s been in the Virginia program for four years, waiting and waiting.

During the third quarter, he thought he might finally get a chance.

“Yeah, I thought so, but at the same time, I’m trying to keep my cool,” he said. “If you do get called on, you try not to go out and make a big play right off the bat because that could come back to haunt you. So, I tried not to force anything.”

Still, his heart was racing at the possibility of getting an opportunity to make a difference.

“Whenever you get called into the game, even if I have five running plays, I’m going to go out there and try to execute the best I can,” said McCabe. “It just so happened Coach called my name in the fourth quarter and I was ready. I was honed in ... well prepared. Coach Mike [Groh, the offensive coordinator] did a great job of preparing me all week.”

What a feeling of satisfaction for McCabe, who came in with big expectations as a schoolboy from outside Pittsburgh, and finally got a chance. He noted that it was the first meaningful snaps he had gotten in a game that was close, with the game on the line.

Whenever he got to bed last night, his head hit the pillow with the satisfaction that he got the job done.

As well as he performed, he still had a couple of goof-ups, but when he gazed into his teammates’ collective eyes all he felt was confidence.

If Virginia is going to move the ball this season, it appears it will have to come via the airways. The only thing that made the Cavaliers’ passing game look good on Saturday was that the running game was almost non-existent for a second straight week.

UVa rushed 22 times for 32 net yards. With its best back, Jason Snelling, sidelined with a sprained ankle, it was up to the quarterbacks to get the job done.

On this day, McCabe was a difference-maker. If fans had their vote, it won’t be for the last time. But Al Groh makes that call. We’ll all have to wait and see.

 

Cowboys work trickery to perfection
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
September 10, 2006

If you think the 60,000-plus fans in Scott Stadium were flabbergasted after the second straight fake punt by Wyoming during Virginia’s 13-12 victory, imagine how UVa coach Al Groh was feeling.

“I was pretty stunned,” Groh said. “I was back on the bench talking to the defensive players when I heard people yelling for the defense. All I could think of was ‘Holy Batman, what happened here? Not again!’”

On Wyoming’s first possession of the game, Virginia defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald sacked quarterback Jacob Doss to push the Cowboys out of field goal range. The big hit by Fitzgerald, which went for an 8-yard loss, had the crowd juiced.

But not for long.

On the next play, Wyoming’s John Wendling took a direct snap out of a punt formation and scampered for 29 yards to the Virginia 15-yard-line. That set up a 23-yard field goal by kicker Aric Goodman that gave the Cowboys’ an early 3-0 lead.

Wyoming got the ball back following a Virginia punt, but its drive quickly stalled after another nice UVa defensive play - this time a sack by linebacker Clint Sintim.

Nobody in the stadium could have expected another Wyoming fake - not in the same game, not so soon after the first one, and not on fourth-and-12 from the Cowboys’ own 15-yard line.

But that’s just what happened.

Wendling took off with the ball again - this time gaining 31 yards.

“We leave it up to John,” said Wyoming coach Joe Glenn. “If it’s there, we take it. John Wendling is a star. He took both of those into his own hands.”

Wendling said he didn’t have too much apprehension about the second fake.

“They gave me the same look and I said, ‘Might as well do it again,’” he said. “We had a little different blocking scheme on that one, so the back was able to come over the top, but I was fortunate that the inside release gave me the sidelines.”

The play didn’t lead to points - thanks to an interception by Marcus Hamilton - but it once again took the crowd out of the game. It also seemed to momentarily deflate Virginia’s defense.

“That’s the toughest thing to deal with, because I know as a defensive player when you make a stop, it’s a big deal,” Wendling said. “But then all of a sudden they get a first down on a fake punt and you have to be back on the field again. It’s tough to deal with. I think that helped our momentum.”

Doss said it’s no accident that Wendling, the team’s starting safety, is on the punt team.

“That’s why they put the [senior] captain there to make that play,” Doss said. “Fourth-and-12, we were sitting there talking to our coaches and then all of a sudden we see him running up the sideline.

“That’s why you put those kind of players there to make those kind of situational calls. It was good coaching.”

 

Kicking miscues do in Wyoming
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
September 10, 2006

The lasting image from Virginia’s 13-12 overtime win over Wyoming on Saturday will be that of Cowboys’ place-kicker Aric Goodman lying face down on the Scott Stadium field as Cavalier players ran around in celebration.

Goodman’s extra-point attempt in the first overtime sailed wide right and gave Virginia its first win of the season.

After the kick, in a show of good sportsmanship, several UVa players tried to console the freshman.

“I just told him to remember that he is still young,” said Virginia punter/kicker Chris Gould. “He still has a long way ahead of him - four more years. You feel for him. Time goes so fast out there that you don’t have time to think about a missed extra point like that, but I am sure it is killing him right now.”

Virginia cornerback Marcus Hamilton could empathize with Goodman. He experienced similar failure when UVa lost on the final play of the game to Fresno State at the 2004 MPC Computers Bowl.

“I just tried to pick [Goodman] up in any way that I could,” Hamilton said. “In that Boise game we were in overtime and we gave up a touchdown. For anybody to come and try to pick somebody up in that situation is the right thing to do. It is just football. It is just a game.”

Goodman was not made available to the media following the game.

“He’s too young to handle this right now,” said Wyoming coach Joe Glenn. “He’ll win a lot of games for us before it’s all said and done. He out-kicked their guy all day long. He was 2 for 2 [on field goals] and their guy was 2 for 4. It’s just a shame he had to miss a three-inch putt [at the end].

“He left it right. He didn’t square his hips up. He gets a little lazy once in a while squaring up his hips and hitting through the ball … it’s too bad it had to come down to that.”

Wyoming tight end Chris Sundberg, who caught the touchdown pass in overtime to make it 13-12, was on an emotional roller coaster during the final sequence.

“I was elated for about 15 seconds and then I was deflated after that,” Sundberg said. “I was so ecstatic we had a chance to keep playing and was going to be back on the field in 30 seconds, but [the kick] didn’t go through the uprights. That’s just the way it goes. Not much we can do about that.”

Quarterback Jacob Doss said it was a somewhat surreal feeling in the Wyoming locker room.

“At first you’re like, ‘Did that really happen?’” Doss said. “You can only feel for him. We definitely hugged him up a little bit - the leaders did - to get his confidence back up. He was an All-American in high school, so he’ll be fine.”

The missed extra point capped a hodgepodge of special teams’ miscues.

In the first half, Virginia allowed Wyoming to execute two fake punts. But late in the third quarter, with the Cowboys leading 6-3, UVa exacted some revenge when junior Josh Zidenberg blocked a punt.

Virginia took over at the Wyoming 14-yard line. Three plays later, Gould kicked a 34-yard field goal to tie the game.

 

Ogletree catching on
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
September 10, 2006

Ever since Deyon Williams suffered a stress fracture in training camp, fans have wondered who would step up at wide receiver as Virginia’s go-to guy.

Just when the Cavaliers were in need of a hero, sophomore Kevin Ogletree made his move, hauling in the Cavaliers’ only touchdown pass of the day from UVa’s other Kevin, quarterback Kevin McCabe.

Oh, yeah, the scoring catch just happened to be Ogletree’s 10th reception of the game and Virginia’s longest offensive play of the season, a 25-yarder on the first play of overtime in the narrow 13-12 escape over upset-minded Wyoming.

“I thought ‘This is my chance to make a big play.’ They called my number,” said Ogletree of his big catch. “That was the biggest play of my career.”

He only caught 14 passes all of last season, then added two catches for 26 yards last week in the loss at Pitt.

McCabe had called the same play in the fourth quarter but felt so much pressure from Wyoming’s pass rush that he didn’t get a good look at Ogletree. But the sophomore receiver came back and told him that if the Cowboys stayed in that defense, there was definitely the possibility of hitting the big one with that play.

“[Ogletree] lined up the same way as he did the first time and I didn’t want to force anything,” McCabe said. “But when you have a chance, you’ve got to take it.”

McCabe did and it was a perfect scoring strike that gave UVa the lead.

“The throw was everything it had to be,” said coach Al Groh of the play. “It was right on the spot against that coverage with that route. Kevin did a real good job ... both Kevins. Kevin Ogletree was in the spot the quarterback expected him to be and Kevin McCabe threw the ball to the spot.”

It was the first career TD throw for McCabe, a redshirt junior, and the first career TD catch for Ogletree.

Ogletree said Virginia had practiced this play all week and Wyoming’s coverage allowed him to be the first option.

“It didn’t feel real for a second,” said Ogletree, who was clutching a game ball for his efforts (McCabe also received a game ball). “I had to almost pinch myself. It was a big play and we needed that.”

For the day, Ogletree had 10 catches for 95 yards and a TD. It was the most catches by a UVa wide receiver since Williams hauled in 10 against Georgia Tech last season.

 

Groh planning ahead with Snelling
By Sean McLernon / Daily Progress staff writer
September 10, 2006

After Jason Snelling suffered a slight sprain in last week’s loss to Pittsburgh and re-aggravated it in practice on Wednesday, Groh believed Snelling was healthy enough to play but figured it was best to be cautious.

“Jason is a very important player to this team and we’re going to need him,” Groh said. “We just decided that what we didn’t want to happen was one of those things where we’re sitting there in December saying ‘I’ll be darned, Jason sprained his ankle in the first game and came back but never had his juice all year long.’

“So, we just had to have the discipline to face the reality of things and hold him out here today.”

Cedric Peerman started in Snelling’s place, finishing with 55 yards on 16 carries.

Hamilton tops in the nation

Senior cornerback Marcus Hamilton’s second-quarter interception, the 11th of his career, tied him with three other players for the most interceptions among active Division I-A players.

Duke’s John Talley, a preseason All-American, also has 11 career interceptions.

Hamilton’s pick came with the Cowboys up 3-0 and threatening to score again. On a first-and-10 from the Virginia 29, Wyoming quarterback Jacob Doss looked for wideout Michael Ford down the right sidelines. Hamilton cut in front and snagged the underthrown pass at the 4-yard line, returning it 29 yards for the Cavaliers.

OT win first in Virginia history

Coming into Saturday’s contest, the Cavaliers were 0-4 all-time in overtime. Half of those losses have come in the Al Groh era - a 27-24 loss to Fresno State at the MPC Computers Bowl in 2004 and a 30-27 loss at Clemson during the 2003 season.

In both of the losses and Saturday’s win, the Cavaliers lost the coin toss and played offense first.

“Our thinking going into overtime was we wanted to score a touchdown and not kick a field goal,” Groh said. “Given the results of the previous 60 minutes, the odds were against us doing that by driving the ball to the goal line. So we were going to take three shots at the end zone.”

Virginia has also lost to Brigham Young (38-35 in 2000) and to Duke (24-17 in 1999) in extra time.

Burrell leaves game with knee injury

Linebacker and special teams player Denzel Burrell hurt his left knee in the first half and left the game. He returned to the sidelines in street clothes with crutches and a knee brace to watch the rest of the contest.

Nose tackle Keenan Carter was watching the game from the Virginia bench in street clothes as well, wearing a protective boot on his right foot. Deyon Williams (stress fracture) also took in the contest from the UVa sidelines.

Fitzgerald, Copper tally first career sacks

Redshirt freshman defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald registered the first sack of his career in the first quarter, taking down Wyoming quarterback Jacob Doss for an 8-yard loss on the Cowboys’ first series of the game.

The sack came on a third-and-7 on the Virginia 36-yard line, forcing fourth-and-long and putting the Cowboys out of field goal range. Wyoming did convert the first down, however, gaining 29 yards on a fake punt.

Sophomore linebacker Jon Copper also recorded his first career sack in the first quarter, tackling Doss for an 8-yard loss on the opening play of Wyoming’s second series.

Hughes still looking for a place to kick it

Former Virginia placekicker Connor Hughes was in the crowd for Virginia’s victory on Saturday, still looking for a place to play football.

Hughes signed with the New Orleans Saints in April but was eventually cut in mid-August.

“They had Jon Carney, who is a great kicker with a lot of experience, so they let me go,” Hughes said. “It was a good time and a good place. I’m in an in-between stage right now.”

Former kickoff specialist Kurt Smith was selected in the sixth round of the NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers but was released on Aug. 28

Smith, ACC champs honored

Before the game, the Cavaliers honored former Virginia player and donor Carl W. Smith, who died in December.

A 1951 graduate of UVa, Smith, along with his wife, Hunter, donated $25 million to the university. It was the largest single money contribution in UVa history. All but $2 million of the unrestricted gift went to the expansion of Scott Stadium that was completed in 2000. The area encompassing Scott Stadium is named the Carl Smith Center in his honor.

The ACC champion men’s cross country and women’s rowing teams were honored at halftime. The cross country title was Virginia’s first since 1984, while the rowing team has won seven straight ACC titles.

 

Alabi visits Cavs
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
September 10, 2006

Amid a packed concourse at Scott Stadium on Saturday afternoon, just behind the student section, was probably the tallest person among the 60,429 in attendance.

Solomon Alabi, one of the most highly recruited big men in the country, was on hand at the Virginia-Wyoming football game.

And he looked every bit of the 7-foot-1 that he is listed at.

Alabi, in town on a recruiting visit, told The Daily Progress that Virginia, Florida State and Arizona are the three schools in the running for his services.

“This is my first visit,” Alabi said, “so I can’t really compare them that much.”

Alabi, a 230-pound senior at Montverde Academy in Florida, would be a big addition for UVa.

So far, Virginia coach Dave Leitao has done a nice job of bringing in highly regarded perimeter players, with the most recent addition being 6-3 Jeff Jones. But with the exception of Ryan Pettinella, a transfer from the University of Pennsylvania, Leitao’s only other recruit with any kind of beef is 6-9 Jerome Meyinsee, who may take a couple of years to develop.

Alabi, who said his hook shot is the best part of his game, would provide a legitimate post presence. He is rated as a five-out-of-five-star recruit by Rivals.com.

One potential stumbling block for Virginia in netting Alabi, a Nigeria native, would be the fact the program currently has no scholarships left for its 2007 class. UVa has already received verbal commitments from Sam Zeglinski, Eric Wallace and Jones.

A factor working in Virginia’s favor is the presence of Tunji Soroye and Solomon Tat, two fellow Nigerians.

“They have a nice campus and good coaches and good players who just came in,” Alabi said. “They have good possibilities … if I came here I would give it my best shot.”

 

Cavs prevail on foot fault
Wyoming kicker fails on OT extra-point try to cap U.Va.'s victory
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Sep 10, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The first overtime victory in five attempts for the University of Virginia football team ended on a stunning note - a fitting close to a game filled with twists and turns.

In its home opener, U.Va. prevailed 13-12 when Wyoming kicker Aric Goodman's extra-point attempt sailed well outside the right upright.

The Cowboys (1-1) had made it a one-point game on quarterback Jacob Doss' fourth-down touchdown pass to tight end Chris Sundberg, who wasn't the intended receiver. On came Goodman, a true freshman who'd made both of his field goal attempts yesterday, connecting from 23 and 39 yards.

Goodman wasn't close on this PAT, however, and so U.Va. (1-1) survived on a day when its offense mustered only 206 yards.

Wyoming, which routed Utah State 38-7 in its opener, totaled 313 yards yesterday, and two successful fake punts accounted for 60. Led by sophomore linebacker Jon Copper, Virginia had eight tackles for loss, including four sacks.

"That game right there, that's the kind of game we've been trying to have here for six years," Cavaliers coach Al Groh said. "That is, to get our defense playing so that we can win a game on defense."

Virginia's offense delivered when it mattered most, rallying around backup quarterback Kevin McCabe. After losing the coin flip, the Wahoos got the ball first in OT, and offensive coordinator Mike Groh decided to attack. He called a play that his offense, to the amazement of many in the near-capacity crowd of 60,429 at Scott Stadium, executed perfectly.

McCabe, a junior who'd replaced starter Christian Olsen early in the fourth quarter, dropped back and fired a pass that sophomore wide receiver Kevin Ogletree caught in stride in the end zone. The touchdown - the Cavaliers' first in more than six quarters - made it 12-6, and Chris Gould added the extra point. "We wanted to score a touchdown, not kick a field goal, and given the results of the previous 60 minutes, the odds were against us doing that by driving the ball to the goal line," Al Groh said. "So we were going to take three shots for the end zone and see if our field goal kicker could make one."

Ogletree finished with 10 catches for 95 yards - both career highs - and scored his first touchdown as a Cavalier. A week after throwing an interception that was run back for a touchdown in U.Va.'s loss at Pittsburgh - his hometown - McCabe completed 8 of 13 attempts for 85 yards and wasn't intercepted.

McCabe entered with the score 6-6, after three quarters in which U.Va. stumbled to 95 yards of offense.

"You don't go in there and try to be the hero," he said. "You just go in there and think, 'Hey, man, just play within the offense. They got a good game plan for you.' I just tried to go out there and have no fear. I didn't play tentative, and I knew that I had 10 other guys out there who would go into battle for me."

Olsen was 12 of 21 passing for 89 yards and, for the second straight week, threw an interception. Groh turned away questions about who would start at QB against Western Michigan at Scott Stadium next weekend.

"That's not something we're going to address in here, or at any time, because we're not going down that road," Groh said. "When we decide each week who our quarterback is going to be, then the quarterbacks will know first and the team will know second and everybody else will know third."

Of McCabe's performance, Groh said, "There were some rough moments in there, but there are going to be for any guy. I'm sure that the two Manning brothers will each have a couple rough moments [tonight]. One of the characteristics of a team that's going to do anything, particularly if it's not a dominant team, is resilience, and your quarterback has to be the most resilient person on your team."

Senior cornerback Marcus Hamilton came up with two turnovers for U.Va. The first, on an interception near the goal line, foiled an impressive first-quarter drive by the Cowboys. The second, on a fumble recovery in the end zone, spoiled a drive on which Wyoming had first and goal at the Virginia 1.

"That's why he's a captain," Cavaliers defensive end Chris Long said.

Gould, who was 2 for 2 on field goals in U.Va.'s 38-13 loss to Pitt, was 2 for 4 against Wyoming. But he punted significantly better than he had against the Panthers, averaging 45.4 yards on five kicks yesterday.

With 3:35 left, Gould missed a 49-yard field goal attempt that would have broken the 6-6 tie, the football hitting the left upright and bouncing away.

In its previous OT games, Virginia had lost to Duke, to Brigham Young, to Clemson and, in the 2004 MPC Computers Bowl, to Fresno State.

 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Sep 10, 2006

PLAYING IT SAFE: Jason Snelling, who started at tailback in the opener against Pittsburgh and scored Virginia's only touchdown in that game, suited up but didn't play yesterday against Wyoming.

Snelling, a senior from L.C. Bird High, sprained his ankle against Pitt and re-injured it Wednesday in practice, Cavaliers coach Al Groh said.

"Jason''s a very important player to this team, and we're going to need him," Groh said. "We just decided that what we didn't want to have was one of those things where we're sitting there in December and saying, 'I'll be darned, Jason sprained his ankle in the first game and he came back, but he really never had his juice all year long.'

"So we just kind of had to have the discipline to face the reality of things and hold him out here."

Sophomore Cedric Peerman started at tailback for U.Va. yesterday and rushed 16 times for 41 yards. Senior Michael Johnson added 7 yards on four carries.

Injured in yesterday's game were U.Va. reserves Keenan Carter, a junior nose tackle, and Denzell Burell, a redshirt freshman who plays linebacker in the nickel defense and also has a special-teams role. The nature of their injuries wasn't clear.

SYMPATHETIC FIGURE: His second college game ended disastrously for Wyoming kicker Aric Goodman, an 18-year-old true freshman who missed an extra-point attempt that would have forced a second overtime.

"I'm sure he was thinking, 'Unbelievable, how did I do that?' " U.Va. kicker Chris Gould said. "But he is a true freshman. He'll have his glory one day, and I wish him the best of luck and am sure he'll get a lot better."

Goodman was 2 for 2 on field goals yesterday. "He'll win a lot of games for us before it's all said and done . . . It's just a shame we missed a 3-inch putt at the [end]," Wyoming coach Joe Glenn said.

TRICKY STUFF: Senior safety John Wendling is the up man and calls the signals when Wyoming punts. On the game's first series, on fourth and 15 from Virginia's 44-yard line, Wendling took a direct snap and raced 29 yards for a first down. On the Cowboys' second drive, Wendling did it again, sprinting 31 yards on fourth and 12 from his team's 15-yard line.

Groh was talking to some of his players, with his back to the field, when he heard the crowd groan during Wendling's second successful fake.

"All I could think of was, 'Holy Batman, what happened here? Not again,' " Groh said. "But that was it. We had to go in there and do something about it. . . . The ball was where it was, and we had to get back to work on defense."

In each case, the decision to run a fake was Wendling's, he said. The second one "probably wasn't the smartest thing to do," Wendling said, "but it worked and we went with it."

TOUGH KID: Jon Copper battled an ear infection and sinus problems all week, and the sophomore from Roanoke still was sick yesterday. But Copper, a former walk-on, started at inside linebacker and played virtually every snap for U.Va.'s defense.

He finished with a career-high 11 tackles, including three for loss. Copper collected the first sack of his career when he dropped Wyoming quarterback Jacon Doss for an 8-yard loss in the first quarter.

MAKING HISTORY: Not only did the Cavaliers win in overtime for the first time, after losses to Duke, BYU, Clemson and Fresno State, yesterday's game marked the first time they'd scored a touchdown in OT. It came on junior quarterback Kevin McCabe's 25-yard pass to sophomore wideout Kevin Ogletree, Virginia's longest play of the game.

UP NEXT: Virginia will be back at Scott Stadium for another non-conference game Saturday, this time against Western Michigan of the Mid-American Conference. The teams meet at 3:30 p.m. in a game that won't be televised.

U.Va. is 2-0 against Western Michigan, having won 59-16 at Kalamazoo in 2003 and 31-19 in Scott Stadium last season. The Broncos, who lost 39-20 to Indiana in their Sept. 2 opener, entertained Toledo last night.

Most observers will be surprised if McCabe doesn't start against Western Michigan, ahead of senior Christian Olsen, but Groh wants no part of a quarterback controversy.

"We're not addressing that here," Groh said. "We're not going down that road. We're not going to have one of those deals around here. All it does is cause division, whether it's division with fans, division with the team, division with people. So we'll manage the situation here internally the way we think is in the best interest of the team." - Jeff White
 

Extra chance pays with blocked punt
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 10, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Josh Zidenberg came close to blocking two punts early on in Virginia’s 13-12 win over Wyoming on Saturday. He got to the punter just a tad late, though.

“He seemed to indicate to our coaches that if given another opportunity, he could get one,” Virginia head coach Al Groh said.

Zidenberg got that chance, blocking a punt near the end of the third quarter. That set up Virginia for a 34-yard Chris Gould field goal that tied the game 6-6.

It was a play Virginia put in just for this game specifically designed to free up Zidenberg.

“That’s a move I’ve been working on,“ the junior fullback said. “It’s just a little rip and I got by the long snapper and I got there so fast that I got past the personal protector before he could get over there.”

Zidenberg is the first Virginia player to block a punt since Jon Thompson did so against Duke in 2004.

Will be fooled again

The Cowboys’ best play in the first quarter was a fake punt, where the up back, John Wendling, took a direct snap and ran off the left side for 29 yards and a first down.

It worked so well, Wyoming tried it again on the next possession from its own 15-yard line. This time, Wendling went 31 yards for another first down.

How stunned was Virginia?

“Pretty stunned,” Groh said. “A lot of times coaches say, ‘Oh, I didn’t see it.’ Well I was back on the bench talking to the defensive players when I heard people yelling for the defense, and all I could think of was, ‘Holy Batman, what happened here? Not again.’”

Wyoming got a field goal out of its first bit of trickery. UVa cornerback Marcus Hamilton intercepted a pass after the second fake, bailing out the punt return unit.

Role reversal

Chris Gould was everything the Cavaliers needed in a place-kicker in the season opener at Pittsburgh, but his punting left a lot to be desired. Against Wyoming, things were reversed.

Gould, who handles kickoffs, place-kicking and punting for UVa, averaged 45.4 yards on five punts Saturday, with a long of 51 yards. However, he missed two of his four field goal attempts, pushing a 43-yarder wide right just before halftime and later hitting the left upright on a 49-yarder that would have put the Cavaliers ahead by three with 3:35 remaining.

“I felt as though I did two out of three aspects pretty well today,” Gould said. “I just need to bring it all together for next week. And I don’t think that should be a problem.”

Let’s get Cooking

Chris Cook (Heritage) made his second career start, replacing Chris Gorham in the lineup. The sophomore led Virginia with 12 tackles, 10 of which were solo stops.

“Say word?” Hamilton said when told of Cook’s tackle total. “Wow. I didn’t know that.

“He shows it all the time at practice. It’s nothing new for him to demonstrate that out there.”

Extra points

Tailback Jason Snelling did not play because of a sprained ankle. Sophomore Cedric Peerman (William Campbell) started in his place and ran for 41 yards on 16 carries. … Injured wide receiver Deyon Williams (stress fracture) was in uniform on the sideline but did not play. … Nickel linebacker Denzel Burrell left the game in the first half with a left leg injury. He was on crutches on the sideline in the second half. … Linebacker Jon Copper made a career-high 11 tackles and had his first career sack.