Virginia left searching for answers after shut out
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
September 17, 2006

Rock Bottom. You can’t find it on a map and your fancy-schmancy GPS might blow a fuse trying to locate the place.

But ask any Virginia football player or coach directions and they can tell you all about it after Saturday’s 17-10 upset homecoming loss to visiting Western Michigan.

Not only was it the worst Cavalier loss during the six years of coach Al Groh’s regime, it also put an exclamation point on just how putrid this offense has been. Virginia trotted three different quarterbacks onto the Scott Stadium turf and all failed to answer the bell.

Triple trouble

Backup Kevin McCabe, who saved the Cavaliers’ bacon in last week’s overtime win over Wyoming, was elevated to starter’s status and looked like he might have tightened his grip on the job until he threw a pair of first-half interceptions that essentially handed the Broncos two touchdowns and the win.

McCabe got the hook, was replaced briefly by former starter Christian Olsen, but that didn’t last long as the fifth-year senior gave way to third-stringer and redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell, who played the rest of the game.

Sewell, the most athletically gifted of the three, failed to get the Cavaliers on the scoreboard as he completed 7 of 10 passes for 51 yards. He confirmed rumors that he has yet to grasp UVa’s complicated West Coast offense.

All of this left Groh completely frustrated.

“It’s like being caught in quicksand,” said Groh. “When you can’t score any points, you can’t kick it through, you can’t throw it in, and you can’t run it in, it makes it pretty hard to win. Teams that we’re playing are recognizing that, playing a certain kind of game. They know that they don’t have to score a lot of points to win. We put them in position to get 14 [points] today. That’s good smart planning on their part.”

Where to go from here?

With an offensive line that is struggling to open holes for the running game or keep the heat off its inexperienced quarterbacks, and with inexperienced quarterbacks struggling to make plays, what’s a team to do?

As legendary Bear Bryant once told this columnist, you can’t make chicken salad out of chicken feathers. Well, the Bear didn’t quite put it that way, but this is a family newspaper.

Some research revealed that this is easily the worst three-game start offensively in Groh’s six seasons at Virginia.

So far, the Cavaliers have mustered a dismal 675 yards of offense (522 passing, with five interceptions, three returned for opposing TDs, and 153 yards rushing). The lowest offensive production in any other three games to start the season was just under 1,000 in 2003 (948, of which 539 came on the ground, 409 via the air) and that’s when UVa used three different starters in those three games when Matt Schaub was injured in the opener against Duke.

Anthony Martinez started the next game, a loss at South Carolina, then Marques Hagans moved from wide receiver to quarterback for only the next game at Western Michigan - a lopsided Cavalier win.

Opponents have wisely taken advantage of UVa’s weaknesses and blitzed the living daylights out of the Cavaliers.

“Whoever they put in there, we were trying to put pressure on them and make some big plays,” said Western Michigan senior linebacker Ameer Ismail.

Virginia thinks it has seen blitzing? Just wait ’til Thursday night when they hit Atlanta. Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta must be licking his chops at the prospect of putting the heat on Virginia. He normally blitzes every down anyway, so goodness knows what he may throw at the Wahoos.

Had McCabe avoided the second pick, things might have gone a little differently. Virginia game planned with the confidence it could run on the Broncos and make some plays downfield.

McCabe moved the team the first quarter, compiled 124 yards of offense and led the Cavaliers to a TD that tied it at 7-all before his pass to Mike Robertson was thrown slightly behind the wide receiver. Western’s Desman Stephen took the tipped pass 34 yards for a 14-7 lead, which essentially won the game.

The next 37 minutes, 42 seconds was an exercise in frustration for Virginia.

“Obviously we did everything necessary to help them win,” said Groh, who had to deliver his post-game media conference standing up after he was run over on the sidelines during the game, injuring the back of his leg. “And we were well below unacceptable in every phase of the game, from me on down. It’s got to get better than this.”

But how? How do you fix this, when it appears the Cavaliers will only improve over time on the line and at quarterback where they are the most inexperienced?

“It looks like it’s going to take some time,” bemoaned Groh. “There’s really not any other places to look right now.”

The whole scenario is a coach’s nightmare and a Monday Morning Quarterback’s dream.

Second-guessers will wonder aloud if Groh should have given McCabe another shot in the second half. After all, he moved the team, put ’em on the board. But Groh admitted he stubbornly decided against it, somewhat understandable because of the fear of another interception.

“Coaches made the decision to pull me and I can’t really dispute that,” said McCabe, practically in tears after the game. “When you keep watching your team not putting points on the board, you want to just be there and pull them out of it because you got ’em into it, so it’s your job to get ’em out of it. It was hard to watch.”

He also understood the staff’s reluctance to not call his number the rest of the game.

“I turned the ball over twice,” said McCabe. “Without those two picks, we win the game.”

Sewell, who has a strong arm and is extremely mobile (receiver Kevin Ogletree said the Richmond native is just as quick as former UVa QB Marques Hagans), showed flashes of brilliance, but also played like a rookie.

He didn’t expect to get the whole second half, but Virginia’s coaches were left - and still are left - with some interesting questions. Do they go with a redshirt freshman in a season that looks dismal from this point, or go with the quarterback that gives them the best chance to win week by week?

John Madden once said, “If you’ve got two starting quarterbacks, you’ve got none”

So, what if you’ve got three?

“We were planning on doing whatever the situation during the course of the game indicated was necessary,” said Groh. “What I saw out of the three quarterbacks was what I see every day: not enough production.”

The one mistake that was made was not taking advantage of Sewell’s terrific running ability. He’s got the same game-breaking running ability of a Hagans or a Vick, just not as polished, but just as dangerous.

On a couple of the bootlegs, Sewell admitted there was room to run but admitted the hesitated too long. That’s no surprise coming from a rookie. He will learn when to run and when not to run.

Olsen, who couldn’t get the offense to move, summed it up like this:

“It’s our fault as an offense in general,” he said. “I think our defense has been playing good enough for us to win. We have tried a bunch of different things and nothing’s really clicking for us right now.”

If that doesn’t change by Thursday night on a quick turnaround, Virginia is headed for a night of embarrassment on a national stage because Georgia Tech will show no pity.

It’s gut-check time in Charlottesville.

 

Cavs can't convert
UVa runs through 3 QBs in loss to WMU
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
September 17, 2006

Some college football analysts had called it “Separation Saturday.” For Virginia, it might as well have been a “Boise Buster.”

Virginia’s dreams of playing in the postseason for the fifth consecutive year took a major hit as Western Michigan capitalized on two first-half interceptions to escape from Scott Stadium with a 17-10 win in front of a dazed crowd of 59,679.

The Cavaliers (1-2) tried everything offensively to no avail, including a trio of quarterbacks - Kevin McCabe, Christian Olsen and Jameel Sewell - but each struggled.

“It is pretty self-explanatory - lack of production, overall the team needs to play better [and the] operation needs to perform better,” said Virginia coach Al Groh, whose team must now win five of its last nine to become bowl eligible. “We were well below unacceptable in every phase of the game. From me on down, we have got to get better than this.

“When you can’t score any points, you can’t kick it through, you can’t throw it in and you can’t run it in, it makes it pretty hard to win. Teams that we’re playing are recognizing that, playing a certain kind of game. They know that they don’t have to score a lot of points to win.”

Groh was right. Western Michigan (2-1) did little offensively throughout the game - it had just two first downs after the first quarter - but Virginia was a gracious host.

The warm greeting for the Mid-American Conference foe started early.

McCabe, who was making his first-career start at quarterback, tossed an interception on the fourth play of the game. As the junior tried to connect with Fontel Mines, the ball sailed over the receiver’s head and into the hands of WMU free safety Louis Delmas at the UVa 45.

After a 24-yard interception return, WMU converted twice on fourth-down conversions during an eight-play drive to score - tailback Mark Bonds dove two yards into the end zone on fourth-and-1 for a touchdown.

Virginia answered. A 10-play, 83-yard drive that was highlighted by a 34-yard pass from McCabe to tight end Tom Santi ended with a 5-yard touchdown run by tailback Jason Snelling with 5:14 left in the opening quarter.

McCabe’s second miscue, however, broke the deadlock - for good.

With 7:14 left in the first half and UVa facing a second-and-8 at its own 23, McCabe dropped back and threw a pass to his right in the direction of backup wide receiver Mike Robertson.

The pass never got to Robertson. Instead, the ball was tipped into the air by WMU’s Anthony Gephart and into the hands of cornerback Desman Stephen who promptly raced 34 yards untouched into the end zone.

“It was just me being in the right place at the right time and being aware of my surroundings,” Stephen said.

McCabe took full blame.

“[Robertson] just slid out,” said McCabe, who finished 13 of 16 for 111 yards. “I thought he would stand still and he slid out. He did what he was supposed to do. I just had an error.”

Wide receiver Kevin Ogletree admitted the play was tough to witness. After being called for a 5-yard holding penalty on the previous play, Ogletree came out of the game.

“It was hard for me on the sidelines just seeing that play happen but it wasn’t Mike’s fault,” Olgetree said. “It was just that the defender made a good play on the ball. It got deflected … but it was not by any means Mike Robertson’s fault.”

It proved costly. Not only to the score, WMU led 14-7, but also to McCabe. He was promptly benched in favor of Olsen, the starter in Virginia’s first two games.

“I got into a rhythm there moving the ball a little bit, but when you have turnovers it just kills you,” McCabe said. “You try to avoid those at all costs. I threw two costly picks.”

Olsen, who completed 4 of 6 passes for 27 yards, controlled the team’s offense for two drives, the second of which led to a 34-yard field goal by Chris Gould after Virginia started its drive at the WMU 43.

Apparently, the field goal was not enough. Groh made the final quarterback insertion of the game at halftime and Sewell played the entire second half.

WMU added the only second-half score on a 32-yard field goal by Nate Meyer with 4:44 left in the third quarter.

Sewell, meanwhile, struggled to get on track and was sacked twice.

The redshirt freshman was in on five drives and ran 22 plays, but while he was under center the Cavaliers managed only 60 total yards. More importantly, UVa failed to score thanks in part to a missed field goal by Gould from 41 yards away with 8:38 left.

After Virginia’s defense forced Western Michigan to punt for the seventh time, Virginia’s hopes were dashed when Sewell tried to scramble for a first down on fourth-and-20.

Sewell got 17 yards, but like Virginia, he came up shy.

Despite a week’s worth of debate, Groh said he had no intention of playing three quarterbacks. Poor play, which has been a constant, dictated that.

“We were planning on doing whatever the situation during the course of the game indicated was necessary,” Groh said. “What I saw out of the three quarterbacks was what I see every day - not enough production.”

McCabe admitted that he had hoped for a second chance in the second half. Like he had done against Wyoming seven days prior, McCabe wanted to rescue the team. The call never came.

“The coaches made the decision to pull me and I can’t really dispute that, but then when you just keep watching your team not put points on the board, you want to just be there and pull them out of it because you got them into it,” McCabe said. “It is your job to get them out of it. It was hard to watch.”

While many, if not all, would not fault Virginia’s defense for allowing only 179 yards on 51 plays, the individual players still took full blame.

“We’re mad at the fact that their defense outplayed ours,” inside linebacker Antonio Appleby said. “So, we have to look at the tape and correct the things we did wrong and get ready for next week. The only important stat from the defensive side at the end of the game is the amount of points scored.”

Chris Long, Virginia’s leading tackler with 10 stops, agreed.

“A loss just hurts like any other loss,” Long said. “You just wish that we had played better as a group and we didn’t. That puts us in a hole and that’s the way it is sometimes. You have to play catch-up sometimes.”

That mission starts sooner than usual. UVa plays Thursday night at Georgia Tech at 7:30 on ESPN. Western Michigan plays at home on Saturday against Temple.

 

Landmark victory for Broncos
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
September 17, 2006

It wasn’t very difficult to decipher the winner from the loser on Saturday afternoon at Scott Stadium.

All you had to do was take a walk by the locker rooms.

Some 20 minutes after the game, the sound of Western Michigan celebrating reverberated through the bowels of the Carl Smith Center. At one point, players started singing the school’s fight song.

The team from Kalamazoo, Mich., had good reason to be giddy. A year after losing to Virginia, the Broncos returned to Charlottesville and notched a 17-10 win.

“It’s a great win for us against a great ACC school,” said Broncos linebacker Ameer Ismail, perhaps giving a 1-2 Virginia team a little too much credit.

Western Michigan (2-1) lost its season opener at Indiana before bouncing back with a 31-10 win in its home opener versus Toledo last Saturday.

Safety Desman Stephen, who had a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter against Virginia, couldn’t say enough about the win.

“It gives us an extra boost for teams we’ll play later in the season,” he said. “This was a team that beat us last year. Just to come back into their stadium and get this victory was huge.”

Stephen’s pick sent Virginia starting quarterback Kevin McCabe to the bench.

“It was just a matter of the coaches putting us in the right situation at the right time,” Stephen said. “We had other guys who gave great effort on that play as far as the [defensive] line up front.”

Ismail said Virginia looked different than it did last season.

“They lost a few guys - great linemen, a quarterback and a running back. It’s tough to replace them, but at the same time they have some good talent.

“We were a year smarter going up against them and knew what to expect - how to handle the big crowd and going on the road. We were a little bit more prepared and a bit more confident coming in.”

Western Michigan coach Bill Cubit stayed on more of an even keel than his players.

“To me, it’s just a win,” Cubit said. “When we look at the schedule, we never talk about winning or losing. We just talk about playing hard and not backing down from anybody.

“Am I happy about it? Yeah. I think I’ll be happier after the season when [I] look at it, but the focus now is to get ready for Temple [on Saturday].”

In that regard, Ismail and Stephen echoed their coach.

“We just have to use it and not let it be just one game of the season,” Ismail said. “We need to feed off of it and keep it rolling next week.”

“We don’t want to stop here,” Stephen added.

 

Hamilton's injury kept under wraps by UVa
By Todd Merchant / Daily Progress assistant sports editor
September 17, 2006

Virginia coach Al Groh is nothing if not mysterious when it comes to personnel issues. All week he was bombarded with questions regarding his starting quarterback - would it be Christian Olsen or Kevin McCabe under center against Western Michigan? Groh refused to tip his hat, leaving fans and media to ponder it right up until kickoff.

As it turns out, that wasn’t the only roster quirk Groh chose not to announce. After starting 39 consecutive games during the past three-plus years, senior cornerback Marcus Hamilton was scratched from the Virginia lineup due to a shoulder injury.

Without their captain leading the secondary, the Cavaliers turned to sophomore Mike Brown to patrol the right side. Brown, who had started three games last season, was up to the task as he tallied a pair of tackles, including one for a 5-yard loss, in Virginia’s 17-10 loss.

“I’ve started before and I was pretty comfortable with the scheme and what they were trying to do out there,” Brown said.

Groh said Hamilton hurt his shoulder on Wednesday, but he wanted to wait until game day to make a decision.

“I didn’t really think his absence had much of an effect on how we played today,” Groh said.

Groh will take a wait-and-see approach regarding Hamilton’s status for Thursday’s ACC opener at Georgia Tech.

What else can Brown do for you?

In addition to his work on defense, Brown also had a couple near-highlight plays on special teams. Twice, Brown was in position to help down a punt near Western Michigan’s goal line, only to be thwarted both times.

Early in the second quarter, punter Chris Gould nailed one into the right coffin corner, where Brown, one of the fastest players on Virginia’s roster, was waiting with open arms. He misjudged the ball and had it bounce off his hands, through his legs and into the end zone for a touchback.

Then midway through the third quarter, Brown hustled downfield and dove into the end zone to deflect a ball back across the goal line. UVa downed the ball near the 2-yard line, but referees ruled that Brown had stepped on the goal line.

“Just being a little pompous, I think I do that better than anybody around,” Brown said of downing punts. “The first one, I just kinda bobbled it, and that could’ve been a big play in the game. … The second one, they put two guys out on the edge, and I just kinda beat them, and actually I thought I had the play, but after looking at it, I realized I didn’t.”

Gould’s busy day

Speaking of special teams, one of the brightest spots for UVa through the first three games has been Gould, who has been doing triple-duty for the Cavs - the junior has handled punting, placekicking and kickoffs for UVa.

Against Western Michigan, Gould punted five times for an average of 47.0 yards, had two of his three kickoffs go for touchbacks and connected on his lone extra-point attempt.

The only area he has struggled in so far is field goals. After nailing both attempts against Pittsburgh, Gould missed 2 of 4 against Wyoming then missed a 41-yarder in the fourth quarter against Western Michigan.

He had connected from 34 yards earlier in the game and is now 5 for 8 on the season.

Offensive to the eyes

While the special teams had its ups and downs, it was the offense, once again, that ultimately did in the Cavs on Saturday. The 10-spot that Virginia put on the board brings its season total to 36 points.

UVa hasn’t had such a rough three-game stretch since October 2001, when it was outscored 97-31 by North Carolina, Florida State and N.C. State. That included a 24-0 loss to the Wolfpack.

In 2000, the Cavs scored just 20 points against Florida State, UNC and Georgia Tech. That included a 17-6 win over the Tar Heels and a 35-0 loss to the Yellow Jackets.

You’d have to go all the way back to 1981 to find a more meager three-game span that did not include a shutout. That season, UVa lost to UNC (17-14), Maryland (48-7) and Virginia Tech (20-3) to close out a 1-10 campaign.

Short yardage …

… Junior defensive end Chris Long had a big day as he tallied a career-high 10 tackles (3 solo, 7 assisted). He also assisted on a sack in the third quarter, his first of the season. Constantly facing double teams, Long now has 12 tackles on the year. The half-sack brings his career total to three.

… Kevin McCabe’s 34-yard pass to Tom Santi in the second quarter was the longest of McCabe’s career and the longest play from scrimmage for UVa this season.

… When Western Michigan’s Desman Stephen returned an interception for a touchdown in the second quarter, it marked the third time an opponent has done that against Virginia this season - Pittsburgh took back a pair of picks in the season opener. That is the most interception returns for scores against UVa since 1956, when the Cavaliers also allowed three that year.

… Saturday’s game was the sixth straight contest in which UVa’s opponent has scored first. The last time the Cavs jumped on the scoreboard first was Nov. 12, 2005, against Georgia Tech when they held on for a 27-17 victory.

… The loss was the Cavs’ first on Homecoming since 2000, when they fell to Clemson, 31-10. UVa has won 14 of its last 16 Homecoming games.

 

WMU FELLS VIRGINIA
With Cavs' offense no danger, Broncos win by playing it safe
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Sep 17, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Once it got the lead in the second quarter yesterday, Western Michigan took no chances on offense.

WMU could afford to play it safe with the football. The Broncos were confident that, unless they turned over the ball, Virginia had little chance of overtaking them, and they were correct.

After scoring only 13 points in each of its first two games, U.Va. took a huge step back on offense at Scott Stadium yesterday. The Cavaliers failed to score in the second half and fell 17-10 to Western Michigan before a stunned homecoming crowd of 59,679.

"It's like being caught in quicksand," said Al Groh, Virginia's sixth-year coach. "When you can't score any points -- you can't kick it through, you can't throw it in and you can't run it in -- it makes it pretty hard to win. Teams that we're playing are recognizing that, playing a certain kind of game. They know they don't have to score a lot of points to win."

Virginia (1-2) used three quarterbacks against Mid-American Conference member Western Michigan (2-1). None impressed. Starter Kevin McCabe completed 13 of 16 passes for 111 yards but threw two interceptions. The first was returned to the U.Va. 21 and led to the Broncos' first TD. The second was returned 34 yards for a TD that put WMU ahead to stay 7:42 before halftime.

"I got into a little rhythm there, moving the ball a little bit," said McCabe, a junior, "but when you have turnovers, it just kills you."

After McCabe's second interception, senior Christian Olsen, who had started the first two games, took over and finished the half. But Olsen didn't move the team, and Virginia went with Jameel Sewell, a redshirt freshman from Hermitage High, for the final 30 minutes.

Sewell was 7 for 10 passing for 51 yards, but he was sacked twice on critical third-down plays. He went down the first time on third and 3 from WMU's 14-yard line. The second time, on Virginia's final possession, Sewell tripped and fell without being hit. A penalty on tight end Tom Santi -- the sixth false start of the game for Groh's team -- brought up fourth and 20 from U.Va.'s 32. Sewell eluded a blitzing defender and took off running, but he was stopped after a 17-yard gain.

Western Michigan took over and ran out the clock. When the last second ticked off, boos serenaded the Cavaliers as they trudged to the locker room.

"We were well below unacceptable in every phase of the game," Groh said. "From me on down, it's got to get better than this."

The Wahoos allowed only 179 yards, their fewest in a loss since Navy totaled 167 and beat them 10-0 at Annapolis, Md., in 1969. Only twice under Groh has U.Va. allowed fewer yards in a game.

Junior defensive end Chris Long led U.Va. with 10 tackles. Sophomore linebacker Clint Sintim chipped in nine stops, and redshirt freshman defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald (Hermitage High) added eight. But the Cavaliers failed to force a turnover in a game when they desperately needed one.

"As a defense, we've got to put our offense in better position," Fitzgerald said.

Maybe so, but the Cavs' offense found itself in excellent position with 10:33 remaining after a 20-yard punt by WMU's Jim Laney. Trailing 17-10, U.Va. took over at the Broncos' 36, and senior tailback Jason Snelling ran for 15 yards on first down. He carried again on the next play, rumbling 5 yards to the Western Michigan 16. Snelling gained 2 yards on a second-down draw, moving Virginia to the 14, but after Sewell was sacked for a 9-yard loss, Chris Gould missed a 41-yard field goal attempt.

"It's our fault, the offense in general," said Olsen, who completed 4 of 6 passes for 27 yards in his second-quarter stint. "I think the defense is playing good enough for us to win. We just haven't been able to do our thing on offense."

Snelling, who'd missed the Sept. 9 win over Wyoming with a sprained ankle, started yesterday and finished with 77 yards on 14 carries and ran 5 yards in the second quarter for U.Va.'s lone touchdown. But Snelling later felt "woozy" and ill, Groh said, and missed about 1˝ quarters before returning early in the fourth.

Snelling's absence hurt at a time "when we needed someone to make a play somehow offensively," Groh said.

Sewell had been told he would play yesterday, but he didn't know when the call would come. That he played the entire second half "somewhat surprised" him, Sewell said. On the sideline, McCabe, who'd led the Cavaliers on an 83-yard touchdown drive, by far their longest of the season, looked on helplessly.

"The coaches made the decision to pull me," McCabe said. "I can't really dispute that. But then when you just keep watching your team not put any points on the board, you want to just be there and pull them out of it, because you got them into it, so it's your job to get them out of it. It was just hard to watch."

 

Needy offense for Cavs shows work in regress
JOHN MARKON
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST Sep 17, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE Exclusive to The Times-Dispatch, here's the first page of University of Virginia football coach Al Groh's "Things To Do" list for Sunday morning, Sept. 17, 2006:

Find some offensive linemen who can block. Five would be great, two or three would be progress.

Find a quarterback who can run and throw. Barring that, find one who can run or throw.

Find a few big-play people. When your offensive keynoters are a 232-pound tailback (Jason Snelling) and a 250-pound tight end (Tom Santi), people will tend to crowd the line of scrimmage on you.

Find some offensive players who are cool with the concept of waiting until the ball is snapped before moving forward.

Try to limit yourself to an average of one quarterback per half. Yesterday, Groh used three - Kevin McCabe, Christian Olsen and Jameel Sewell - in the first three quarters.

Afterward, he was asked if the Cavaliers had a fourth QB option somewhere on the roster.

"I don't think so," Groh said. "When you start doing that, you really become a ham-and-egg operation."

That might be the breakfast menu all week on the U.Va. training table following yesterday's 17-10 homecoming loss to Western Michigan, a team the Cavaliers had beaten 59-16 in 2003 (in Kalamazoo, no less) and 31-19 last fall.

"I think it shows how much progress we've been making," said WMU quarterback Tom Peregrin. "This has really been a good series for our development, although I don't know how Virginia feels about it now."

But he probably could guess. In another part of the Scott Stadium field house, Groh had just finished calling the Cavs "well below acceptable in every phase of the game."

For the home team, there was no bright side. Even what appeared to be a winning-caliber effort from Virginia's defense, which limited the Broncos to 179 net yards, was dragging a big, fat asterisk.

Western coach Bill Cubit conducted the entire game using rope-a-dope tactics on offense. The Broncos took very few chances, were guilty of no turnovers and patiently built their victory around three pivotal plays, two interceptions that led to touchdowns and a 56-yard run by Mark Bonds that set up a third-period field goal.

"They played just the way our scouting reports said they'd play," U.Va. defensive tackle Allen Billyk said. "What they do is take care of the ball and play not to lose. In their first two games, they'd only completed two passes that gained more than 8 yards, that's in-the-air yards and not counting after-the-catch stuff."

In the second half, Virginia could fearlessly stack eight, nine and, at one point, 10 men on the line of scrimmage. Western Michigan could just as fearlessly kill clock and punt the ball away to a Virginia offense that never showed much spark regardless of the identity of the quarterback.

Groh chose to use Sewell, a second-year freshman from Richmond, through the entire second half even though Sewell produced only four first downs on five possessions. The Cavs had moved best with first-time starter McCabe at QB, but McCabe also had thrown both interceptions.

"When they told me I wasn't going back in," McCabe said, "I really couldn't dispute the coaches' decision. If I don't throw those two interceptions, it's a different game."

Chances are it would have been the same game, perhaps with a slightly different score. The Cavaliers have a long list of offensive deficiencies and don't figure to have them cleared up in the four practice days they've been granted before a Thursday night date at Georgia Tech.

"This looks like it's going to take some time," admitted Groh, whose short postgame press session didn't contain the first attempt at blame dodging or spin doctoring.

Groh's under contract through 2010 and has the time. He'll have to hope U.Va. fans and alumni have the patience.

 

Broncos bust out at expense of Cavaliers
Western Michigan spoils homecoming at UVa and becomes the first MAC school to ever top the Cavs.
Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- If there was any question that Virginia had just suffered its worst loss of the six-year Al Groh coaching era, the boos told the story.

Cavalier fans roared their disapproval Saturday after Western Michigan defeated punchless UVa 17-10 before a homecoming crowd of 59,679.

Virginia isn't accustomed to losing at Scott Stadium, where it had won 16 of its previous 19 games; the Cavaliers aren't used to losing on homecoming, having gone 14-1 in the last 15 observances of that tradition, and they had never lost to a Mid-American Conference team.

"We were well below acceptable in every phase of the game," said Groh, who has five days to prepare his team for a Thursday night game at Georgia Tech. "From me on down, it's got to get better than this."

Virginia used three different quarterbacks, turning to redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell during a scoreless second half.

Why go to Sewell, who had not played in Virginia's first two games?

"'Cause the other two quarterbacks had done so well up until that point and I just wanted to be stubborn," Groh said.

Obviously, he was being sarcastic, but the Cavaliers did put together their best drive of the season under first-time starter Kevin McCabe, marching 83 yards in the first quarter to force a 7-7 tie on a 5-yard run by Jason Snelling.

McCabe completed 13 of 16 passes for 111 yards before a second first-half interception ended his day.

Western Michigan (2-1) scored its first touchdown after returning an interception to the 21-yard line and the Broncos went ahead 14-7 on a 34-yard return for a touchdown by Desman Stephen with 7:42 remaining before halftime.

That was all the scoring Western Michigan would need against a Virginia offense that has scored a total of three touchdowns in three games since Groh installed his son, Mike, as offensive coordinator.

Virginia opponents have returned three interceptions for touchdowns in three games, the most in a season since 1956.

"They got 14 points off those two interceptions and only three points the other way," said McCabe, who had thrown the winning touchdown pass one week earlier in a 13-12 victory over Wyoming.

"It hurts. It felt like we got in a little rhythm there, but the turnovers just kill you. You try to avoid those at any cost. The coaches made the decision to pull me and I can't really dispute that.

"You get your team in a situation like that and, sure, you want to be the guy to pull them out of it. It was tough to watch."

After McCabe's second interception, the Cavaliers turned to fifth-year senior Christian Olsen, who had started the previous two games. On his second series, Virginia got a 34-yard field goal from Chris Gould to close to 14-10 at the half, but that didn't prevent a smattering of boos as the teams headed to the locker room.

When he decided to go with Sewell to start the second half, Groh said it was his inclination to stick with him for the remainder of the game. On Sewell's first play, he found tight end Jon Stupar for 18 yards and a first down at midfield, but that was only one of four Cavalier first downs in the second half.

In the quarterbacks' defense, Virginia was called for six false-start penalties, the last turning a fourth-and-15 into a fourth-and-20 on UVa's final offensive play. That was one last sign of the Cavaliers' futility, seeing as Sewell fell short of the first-down marker after a 17-yard scramble.

Western Michigan actually crossed midfield only once all afternoon, doing most of its damage after taking possession in UVa territory.

The Broncos finished the game with nine first downs and 179 yards and displayed little interest in moving the ball down the field.

"As long as we stayed up, we didn't need to do those things," said Western Michigan quarterback Thomas Peregrin, who is 2-0 as a stand-in for injured regular Ryan Cubit.

The Broncos did not have a turnover and only put the ball on the ground once, recovering a fumble at their own 16 at a critical fourth-quarter juncture.

A 20-yard Jim Laney punt enabled the Cavaliers to take possession at the Western Michigan 36, and runs of 15, 5 and 2 yards by Jason Snelling left them with a third-and-3 at the Broncos' 14.

Sewell was sacked for a 9-yard loss on the next play, after which Gould was wide right on a 41-yard field-goal attempt.

Groh wanted no part of a debate as to whether he should have thrown the ball or gone to Snelling in four-down territory.

"We were trying to make a first down," he said.

Ten-point underdog Western Michigan wasn't even trying to make first downs, it seemed.

"Western Michigan knew exactly what kind of game they had to play, which was play a good, sound, solid game [and] see if Virginia would do enough to help them win," Groh said. "Obviously, we did everything necessary to help them win."
 

UVa QBs not cutting it
The Cavaliers try three different signal-callers, who lead the team to 10 points and another loss.
By Jim Reedy
981-3222

CHARLOTTESVILLE-- Against a wall in the back of the interview room, Virginia quarterback Kevin McCabe sat with a haunted, reddened face, providing the best visual evidence of the problems that continue to plague the Cavaliers at that position.

A few feet away, wide receiver Kevin Ogletree provided the best audio proof.

"I didn't think any of our quarterbacks were playing terrible," Ogletree said.

When that's the best your teammates can do for an exculpatory comment, there's trouble.

McCabe and fellow quarterbacks Christian Olsen and Jameel Sewell certainly weren't the only cause of Virginia's 17-10 homecoming loss to Western Michigan, but they were the biggest.

Despite combining for 189 yards on 24-of-32 passing, the three neophytes frequently struggled with everything from choosing a receiver to avoiding killer sacks to getting the offense quickly and properly aligned.

"Frankly," coach Al Groh said, "I saw out of the three quarterbacks about the same thing that I see every day."

And that is?

"Just what you saw out there. Not enough production."

McCabe, the conquering hero in last week's overtime win against Wyoming, had the best and worst moments, leading an 83-yard touchdown drive but also handing the Broncos 14 points with a pair of interceptions.

The fourth-year junior was at the helm for Virginia's first possession, which was barely under way when he threw on the run and slightly across his body toward Fontel Mines. The ball sailed high and safety Louis Delmas had an interception he returned to the UVa 21.

After engineering a tying drive, McCabe threw a crossing pass behind Mike Robertson, a reserve wideout who came in after Ogletree hurt his leg on the previous play.

The ball bounced off Robertson and the defender draped on him and fell into the arms of safety Desman Stephen at the UVa 34. He dashed down the sideline for what held up as the game-winning touchdown.

McCabe, who was 13-of-16 for 111 yards, knew the mistake had cost him and the Cavaliers dearly. "You're done," offensive coordinator Mike Groh told him as he came to the sideline.

"It's seven more points. That's the worst," McCabe said, fighting his emotions as he spoke after the game. "I feel more for the defense. I mean, 14 points went up on the board and they had [48] yards of total offense."

Olsen was no more impressive when he came in for the fifth and sixth UVa possessions, though he avoided any disastrous mistakes and helped the Cavaliers gain 26 yards to set up a 34-yard field goal by Chris Gould.

"Our defense has been playing well enough for us to win. We've just haven't been able to do enough on offense," said Olsen, a fifth-year senior who completed four of six passes for 27 yards. "We've tried a bunch of different things and nothing's really clicking for us."

By halftime, Al Groh was ready to see what Sewell could do, even though the redshirt freshman doesn't have a full grasp of the offense yet.

Sewell threw for 51 yards on 7-of-10 passing, surprising even himself by playing all five possessions in the second half.

"There's not a quarterback that's going to be perfect," Sewell said. "I've never seen one."

Virginia will keep looking.
 

Dizziness forces Snelling to sit out
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE-- After missing Virginia's previous game with a sprained ankle, fifth-year tailback Jason Snelling carried 17 times for 77 yards, only to have his afternoon interrupted by dizziness.

Snelling, who has had problems with headaches throughout his career, was not available for Virginia's final two series of the second quarter and did not return until 11 minutes remained in the game.

"I was told that he was woozy and feeling ill and unable to play at that particular time," UVa coach Al Groh said after a 17-10 loss to Western Michigan.

"His unavailability or lack of being on par does not come at a good time, when we certainly need somebody to make a play for us."

The Cavaliers' No. 2 tailback, Cedric Peerman, had six carries for 6 yards. For the season, Peerman has 29 carries for 54 yards. At the same stage last season, Peerman had 46 carries for 178 yards.

Hamilton out

Cornerback Marcus Hamilton was in street clothes Saturday after injuring a shoulder Wednesday in practice, although nobody was ripping the Cavaliers' defense. Virginia gave up 179 yards, the lowest yield by Virginia in a loss since Navy had 167 yards in a 10-0 victory over the Cavaliers in 1969.

On the other hand, Hamilton was a difference-maker in UVa's 13-12 overtime victory over Wyoming, when he intercepted a pass and had a touchdown-saving fumble recovery. Virginia did not cause a turnover Saturday but had two of its own, interceptions that led to both Western Michigan touchdowns.

n When the UVa captains went to midfield for the pregame coin toss, neither Hamilton nor wide receiver Deyon Williams was in uniform. They were joined by defensive end Chris Long and walk-on Simon Manka, presumably being rewarded for his special-teams contributions.

By the numbers

The two interceptions yielded by Virginia junior quarterback Kevin McCabe offset some of the Cavaliers' best ball movement of the season. In the four series of downs that McCabe was in the game, the Cavaliers gained 152 yards and had eight first downs.

Christian Olsen came in for two series at the end of the first half and the Cavaliers gained 35 yards and two first downs under his direction. Redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell was at quarterback for all five Virginia drives in the second half, during which the Cavaliers had 71 yards and four first downs.

n Western Michigan's efforts to run down the clock resulted in a two-hour, 40-minute game that included only 109 offensive plays. That's down from an average of more than 139 plays for UVa games last year, before the NCAA implemented new, speed-up rules.

Odds 'n' ends

Western Michigan was 0-7 against ACC teams before Saturday and the Cavaliers were 8-0-1 against Mid-American Conference teams. The Broncos' win Saturday came one week after another MAC team, Akron, had won 20-17 at North Carolina State.

n Louis Delmas' interception return for a touchdown was Western Michigan's second in as many weeks. ... The Broncos' Mark Bonds went over the 100-yard rushing mark against Virginia for the second straight year. Bonds had 27 carries for 118 yards Saturday, including a 56-yarder on which UVa's Chris Cook made a touchdown-saving tackle.

n Long, who had a total of two tackles after Virginia's first two games, was credited with a team-high 10 tackles. That included a shared sack with Jermaine Dias. ... A 59-yard punt by UVa's Chris Gould was the longest by a Cavalier since Mike Abrams got off a 67-yarder against Florida State in 2001. Gould averaged 47 yards on five punts.

Quote-unquote

Groh on the possibility that he might look beyond the three quarterbacks who played Saturday, although record-setting former Gretna High School quarterback Vic Hall, now at cornerback, was not mentioned by name:

"If we do that, then we might as well ask everybody in this [press] room to try out," Groh said. "You can only go down so far. Otherwise, you become a real ham-and-egg operation."

Virginia next week

The Cavaliers (1-2) begin the ACC portion of their schedule when they visit Georgia Tech (2-1) at 7:45 p.m., Thursday night in a game that will be nationally televised by ESPN.

The Yellow Jackets, who defeated Troy 35-20 on Saturday, have the preseason ACC player of the year in wide receiver Calvin Johnson.
 

Final thoughts from UVa
Posted September 16, 2006 at 09:15 PM
From the people who brought you a 13-12 overtime win against Wyoming, here's a homecoming loss to Western Michigan ...

Wrapping up Virginia's 17-10 loss:

- Definitive proof of the gap in quality between Virginia's defense and offense: The Cavaliers allowed 179 yards, their fewest in a loss since giving up 167 yards in a 10-0 loss at Navy in 1969.

- Featured back Jason Snelling, whose ability to gain tough yards is especially important with a young offensive line and inexperienced quarterbacks, sat out half the second quarter and all of the third because he "was woozy and feeling ill" after a big hit, coach Al Groh said.

- Senior cornerback and co-captain Marcus Hamilton did not play because he hurt his shoulder on Wednesday. Groh said the team didn't decide until today to hold him out and doesn't know if he'll be able to play Thursday at Georgia Tech.

- Groh himself was limping noticeably and could not sit down for his postgame news conference after being knocked over early in the game when a play carried into the Virginia bench area. He said he had injured a ligament behind his left knee.

“You didn’t see me missing any plays, did you?” Groh joked.

“There were a couple of plays out there," our man Doug Doughty replied, "you might have wanted to miss.”

And here's some assorted quotes on the quarterback play:

AL GROH
“Once again, we had a few operational problems that don’t show up but that we’re aware of, so that was an issue, something that we had to take into consideration as well as the turnovers.”

“There’s so much that goes on out there during the course of the game. Plays being called properly, reads being made, ball going to the right receiver. It’s a lot more involved in how that position plays than meets the eye just watching the game. We’re aware of all of those things. We’re just trying to line up all the facts.”

On going further down the QB depth chart:
“No, if we do that, we might as well ask everybody in this room to try out. You can only go down so far. Otherwise, then you become a real ham-and-egg operation.”

On Kevin McCabe's second interception:
"It was thrown behind the receiver. That’s why it got knocked up in the air.”

On inserting Jameel Sewell, despite his shaky grasp of the offense:
"I think it had just come to the point that we needed to see where he fit into the circumstance.”

CHRISTIAN OLSEN
“It’s frustrating. It’s our fault, the offense in general. I think our defense has been playing well enough for us to win. We’ve just haven’t been able to do enough on offense. We’ve tried a bunch of different things and nothing’s really clicking for us right now.”

On the quarterbacks keeping the offense organized, lined up correctly, running smoothly:
“Today wasn’t our best at that. We had a few mistakes when it comes to that and that really hurt us, especially on a few of those opening drives that didn’t go our way.”

KEVIN MCCABE
On his mistakes:
“Without those two picks, we win the game. ... I think those two picks overshadow everything else.”

If it's true that a team with two quarterbacks really has none, what does it say that y'all have three?
“I’m baffled. I don’t know. I don’t know. I’m just trying to move on from this.”

JAMEEL SEWELL
Were you surprised to play the entire second half?
“Yeah, somewhat. Somewhat surprised. … I didn’t expect the whole half, but you know, I got it.”

 

Cavaliers strike out against Western Michigan
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© September 17, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Three quarterbacks. Zero offense.

Forget all the statistics and analysis, that's what 60 minutes of the most frustrating football played in the Al Groh era boiled down to Saturday for Virginia in a 17-10 loss to Western Michigan that once again had the boo birds out at Scott Stadium.

The catcalling fans were no harder on the Cavaliers (1-2) than Groh and his players were on themselves after falling to a team from Mid-American Conference that flew home happy despite managing a mere 179 yards of offense.

"Obviously we did everything necessary to help them win," said an exasperated Groh, who limped into the postgame press conference after injuring his knee in a sideline collision.

"We were well below

unacceptable in every phase of the game. From me on down, it's got to get better than this."

Groh was in no mood to praise his defense, which practically gift-wrapped the game for the offense, turning the Broncos away time and time again in the second half, and handing the offense prime field position in the second half.

Virginia squandered it, managing just three first downs and 71 yards in the final two quarters.

"It's like being caught in quicksand," Groh said. "When you can't score any points, you can't kick it through, you can't throw it in and you can't run it in, it makes it pretty hard to win."

It's not often that a quarterback moves up two spots on the depth chart in a single half, but that's what happened to Jameel Sewell, who began the day at third string and found himself starting the third quarter.

After a week of speculation, Kevin McCabe, who sparked Virginia to an overtime win over Wyoming last week, started the game over former No. 1 Christian Olsen.

McCabe moved the team, completing 13 of 16 passes for 111 yards and guiding Virginia's only touchdown drive, in the first quarter. But two of his three errant throws were intercepted, and both led to Western Michigan scores. The first gave the Broncos the ball on the Virginia 29. The second was returned 34 yards for a touchdown.

"If I don't throw those two picks, man, we win the game," McCabe said.

McCabe's mistakes earned him a second-quarter exit. Olsen replaced him with

7:32 left in the half and managed one first down in two possessions.

Virginia settled for a Chris Gould field goal after starting at the Western Michigan 43.

It was all the scoring the Cavaliers would do for the day. Sewell, a redshirt freshman with one career passing attempt, was handed the keys for the second half. Despite starting two drives near midfield and another at the Western Michigan 36, Virginia came up empty.

"Each time I saw a new quarterback I was like, all right, maybe this'll get us some momentum, some motivation, and things would change," receiver Kevin Ogletree said. "We just couldn't seem to keep it constant."

Tailback Jason Snelling had some moments, rushing for 77 yards, but missed a stretch of the game after being knocked woozy in the second quarter. Tight end Tom Santi caught seven passes.

But more often, Virginia hurt itself with sloppy execution. The Cavaliers were flagged for six false-start penalties, including a final one by Santi that turned an already-desperate 4th-and-15 into an even-longer 4th-and-20.

Sewell scrambled for 17 yards on that play, but when he was stopped, with 1:41 left, what remained of the crowd of 59,679 began filing toward the exits.

Groh was left with four days to get ready for Georgia Tech on Thursday night, with few obvious solutions in sight and no clear No. 1 at quarterback.

"We'll stick together," he said. "We'll keep forging ahead. We'll do what we need to do to get better."

 

Virginia offense stuck in neutral
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 17, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - After quarterback options A, B and C failed to generate any semblance of a coherent offensive attack for Virginia on Saturday, there is a stark reality that is becoming more and more apparent to Cavaliers fans: that there is no option D.
Kevin McCabe, Christian Olsen and Jameel Sewell all got their shot in Virginia's stunning 17-10 loss to Western Michigan. None of them produced.

The Cavaliers (1-2) gained 258 total yards, only 71 of which came after halftime as the Broncos pulled off the biggest upset at Scott Stadium in the Al Groh era.

Virginia has scored three touchdowns in three games.

"It's like being caught in quicksand," Groh said. "When you can't score any points - when you can't kick it through, you can't throw it in and you can't run it in - it makes it pretty hard to win."

Western Michigan (2-1) won despite gaining 179 yards on offense, the third fewest yards by a UVa opponent since Groh took over as coach.

McCabe, the people's choice at quarterback after leading UVa to a win against Wyoming last week, got his first career start but was undone by interceptions. He completed 13 of 16 passes but threw two picks that led to Western Michigan's only two touchdowns.

The first came on UVa's first possession, giving the Broncos a short field and setting up a 2-yard touchdown run by Mark Bonds. The second came on a tipped ball that fell into the hands of cornerback Desman Stephen, who returned it 34 yards for a touchdown that gave Western Michigan a 14-7 lead.

The second pick earned McCabe a quick hook.

"You want to just be there and pull (your teammates) out of it because you got them into it," McCabe said. "It was hard to watch."

Olsen was next, coming in with 7:32 left in the second quarter, but was similarly ineffective. He led the team to one first down on two possessions before the half. Despite starting at Western Michigan's 43-yard line on one of them, the drive stalled and the Cavaliers had to settle for a 34-yard Chris Gould field goal that made it 14-10 at halftime.

In the second half, Groh decided to give redshirt freshman Sewell an extended look. He entered the game to a round of applause and got Scott Stadium buzzing with two quick completions on the run.

But he too could not jumpstart the offense.

After the first drive stalled, Virginia's next three possessions started at its own 42, its own 47 and Western Michigan's 36-yard line.

Twice, the Cavaliers went three-and-out and were forced to punt. On the third possession, they got to the Broncos' 14-yard line before Sewell was sacked on third down. Gould followed by missing a 41-yard field goal.

The last gasp drive was just as futile and seemed to epitomize the day. Trailing by seven with under two minutes remaining, the Cavaliers faced third-and-seven from their own 45 when Sewell, under intense pressure, fell down in the backfield for an eight-yard sack.

Tom Santi jumped early on the next play, one of six false starts by Virginia, pushing the Cavaliers into fourth-and-20. On the next snap, Sewell had no one open and tried to scramble for the first down. Western Michigan stopped him three yards short, took possession and ran out the clock.

"If the quarterback's not going to do anything, your team's not going to win," said Sewell, who was 7 of 10 for 51 yards but never put together a sustained drive. "Your defense can't get a pick every play and run it back for six."

Groh decided to stick with Sewell for the entire second half despite the fact that McCabe led Virginia on its first touchdown drive of longer than 25 yards this season, moving the Cavaliers 83 yards on 10 plays to set up a 5-yard touchdown run by Jason Snelling in the first quarter.

Groh balked at a reporter's question as to why he stuck with Sewell, who got fewer reps with the first team this week than either Olsen or McCabe.

"Because the other two quarterbacks had done so well up to that point. I just wanted to be stubborn about it," he said sarcastically. "C'mon. Give me something that really makes sense, fellas."

With four days of preparation time before the Georgia Tech game, Virginia's quarterback situation is as muddled as ever.

Like it or not, the starter will be one of the three quarterbacks the Cavaliers used Saturday.

Said Groh: "There are really not any other places to look right now."


 

Defense does well, but not enough
Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 17, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - It was hard to find anything wrong with what Virginia did defensively in a 17-10 loss to Western Michigan on Saturday, but a few Cavaliers defenders were able to nit-pick.

UVa held Western Michigan to 179 yards of offense, the fewest it has given up in a losing effort since Navy gained 167 yards in a 10-0 win over the Cavaliers in 1969.

“You always hope to go out there and not give up anything,” said defensive end Chris Long, who led Virginia with 10 tackles. “They really chipped away today. … We just couldn’t make that play.”

Virginia did it without all-ACC candidate cornerback Marcus Hamilton, who suffered a shoulder injury in practice on Wednesday and did not dress. It didn’t affect the Cavaliers, who held Western Michigan to 40 passing yards.

Despite giving up so few yards, UVa did not force a turnover. Virginia’s goal on defense is to force three turnovers a game.

“Therefore, we didn’t do our job,” said defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald, who had career highs in tackles (8) and tackles for a loss (2˝).

Call to duty

Sophomore Mike Brown got the start in Hamilton’s absence and turned in a solid day. He made two tackles, getting one in the backfield for a five-yard loss.

He also continued to excel as a gunner on the punt team. On one punt in the second quarter, he hit Western Michigan return man Joe Chapple right as he caught it, taking him down for a two-yard loss.

“We changed our punt formations and (the coaches) said they needed the fastest and most relentless hit guys,” Brown said. “I guess me and Vic Hall stepped up to the plate.”

Brown started three games last year as a true freshman but has not played much on Virginia’s regular defense this season. Head coach Al Groh said it was too soon to tell if Hamilton would play at Georgia Tech.

Injured again

Tailback Jason Snelling looked like he had his old burst, running off tackle, making people miss and even scoring a touchdown. It took less than a half for him to get banged up again, though.

Snelling, who finished with 77 rushing yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, went to the bench in the first half after feeling woozy. He missed last week with a sprained ankle.

Without him, UVa’s offense struggled. His backup, Cedric Peerman, ran six times for 13 yards. Snelling returned late and ran well, but Virginia was already playing catch-up and had to go to the air.

“When he came back in, he was able to create some plays for us,” Groh said. “But his unavailability certainly didn’t come at a good time when you need somebody to make a play offensively.”

Extra points

The loss was Virginia’s first to an opponent from the MAC. The Cavaliers had been 8-0-1 against MAC teams before Saturday. … The win was Western Michigan’s first in eight tries against ACC opponents. … Tight end Tom Santi led UVa with seven catches for 78 yards, the second time in three games he’s been the Cavaliers’ leading receiver. … Chris Gould averaged 47.0 yards on five punts, including a 59-yarder, the longest of his career. … Groh hurt his left knee when he was taken out by a Western Michigan player who was tackled into the Virginia sideline. His knee was so stiff afterward that he was unable to sit down for his post-game press conference. “You didn’t see me missing any plays, though, did you?” Groh quipped to reporters. “That’ll be the day, when I miss one.”

 

Wahoo! WMU downs Cavaliers
Sunday, September 17, 2006
gcouch@kalamazoogazette.com 388-7773

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Just enough offense and a whole lot of ``D'' -- it's the mantra Western Michigan University's football team has taken into its last two games, while its offense grinds it out with its backup quarterback.

Two-and-Oh-my: After Saturday, Toledo and Virginia have likely had enough of the Broncos' defense.

For the second straight week, WMU's defense was responsible for at least as many points as it allowed. And again, the formula paid off. This time, WMU surprised favored but struggling Virginia, 17-10, in front of 59,679 at Scott Stadium.

It's the Broncos (2-1) first win against a Bowl Championship Series conference opponent since they beat Iowa in 2000.

Afterward, a suddenly confident WMU team didn't act surprised by its deed. Its defense was already looking ahead.

``It's big. It gives us the extra boost for the bigger teams later on in the season,'' WMU defensive back Desman Stephen said, pointing toward the Mid-American Conference slate. ``They beat us last year (31-19), so to come back into their stadium and get this victory was huge for us. We don't want to stop here.''

Stephen, a sophomore and former walk-on, was as big a reason as any that the Broncos left Charlottesville with such a feeling.

With the game knotted 7-7 midway through the second quarter and Virginia (1-2) clearly onto WMU's conservative offensive attack, Stephen picked off a pass and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown.

Wahoo! WMU downs Cavaliers

The play took on added meaning because the Broncos had been on their heels since their defensive leader, sophomore safety Louis Delmas, left the game with an undisclosed knee injury in the first quarter.

Delmas' left knee was heavily wrapped and eventually immobilized on the sidelines. Head coach Bill Cubit said he doesn't believe there's any ``structural damage'' to the knee. The length of Delmas' absence isn't yet known.

``It made us want to come together and play even more for him because when he was in there, he played his hardest,'' Stephen said of Delmas. ``It pulled us together as a team.''

A good example of that is the performance of the man who replaced Delmas, junior Anthony Gebhart.

Gebhart, who stands 5-foot-8, played about 6-7, recording a career-high nine tackles -- one for a loss -- and tipped the pass which led to Stephen's snare and score.

From there, the Broncos' defense tightened, allowing just four Virginia first downs the rest of the way, and stopping the Cavaliers on seven of eight third-down attempts.

Bill Cubit, who didn't hide the fact all week that his Thomas Peregrin-quarterbacked offense would take few chances, said he was sure his defense could come up with stops, and do so repeatedly.

``I was confident they couldn't sustain any drives the whole way through,'' Cubit said of Virginia.

While unlikely standouts such as Stephen and Gebhart played important roles, so, too, did the usual suspects.

Delmas had a first-quarter interception, and the 24-yard return that accompanied it gave the Broncos the ball at Virginia's 21. That set up the game's first points, when junior Mark Bonds dove over the top of the pile for a 2-yard touchdown eight plays later.

Senior linebacker Ameer Ismail paced WMU in tackles for the third straight week. Saturday, he had 11 and another 1.5 sacks, bringing his season total to 4.5. All three plays he was in on that went for losses came on third down.

WMU produced three sacks in all, with senior Anthony Belmonte, sophomore Austin Pritchard and redshirt freshman Cody Cielenski each notching half of one.

The Broncos were in the faces of Virginia's quarterbacks -- junior Kevin McCabe, senior Christian Olsen and freshman Jameel Sewell gave it a shot, in that order -- throughout the game.

``Whoever they put in there, we were trying to put pressure on them and make some big plays,'' Ismail said. ``If one quarterback isn't getting the job done, the next guy, he brings a little something different, and we've just got to be able to adjust.''

While defense was the story -- Virginia netted just 69 yards on the ground -- WMU's offense did enough to, at the very least, give the Broncos' defense a breather.

Bonds rushed for 118 yards on 27 carries, including a 56-yarder in the fourth quarter that set up a 32-yard field goal by Nate Meyer. That score gave WMU a full touchdown cushion.

Peregrin, in for Ryan Cubit (laceration on his throwing hand), completed 7 of 11 passes for 40 yards.

The yardage wasn't impressive but, for the second straight week, Peregrin didn't throw an interception. And he made several plays when the Broncos were up against it. For example, with WMU hanging on to a 14-10 advantage and facing a third-and-13 from its own 18-yard line, Peregrin found senior Joe Chapple downfield for 18 yards. The Broncos eventually punted, but the earlier third-down conversion changed the field position.

``I just want to come out with a `W,' '' Peregrin said. ``Luckily, like coach says, we need to score enough points to win and that's what we did. The defense was able to get us some big plays, and the special teams were just huge for us.

``I can't thank the defense enough for taking the pressure off us.''
 

Stephen, Gebhart shine for Broncos
Sunday, September 17, 2006
By Howard Thomas
hthomas@kalamazoogazette.com 388-8541

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Ameer Ismail and Louis Delmas are the marquee players on the Western Michigan University football team's defensive unit.

Desman Stephen and Anthony Gebhart?

Just a couple of walk-ons who dreamed of one day contributing to coach Bill Cubit's rebuilding process.

That day arrived in a big way Saturday, when each unheralded defensive back took his turn stepping up in the Broncos' 17-10 victory against Virginia at Scott Stadium.

Stephen returned an interception 34 yards for the Broncos' second touchdown and Gebhart made nine tackles and tipped the ball Stephen returned after being pressed into duty following the first-quarter knee injury to starting safety Delmas.

``Our kids defensively came up with big plays after big plays,'' Cubit said. ``Our guys didn't give them a chance to get in a rhythm.''

That isn't a surprise for a unit which has allowed 10 points in back-to-back games -- both victories. What is eye-opening is that several different players -- guys like Stephen, a former walk-on now who's now a scholarship cornerback, and Gebhart, a walk-on backup safety -- are making major contributions.

``Des Stephen goes out there and intercepts the ball for a touchdown and last year he didn't travel (to road games) half the time. Gebhart goes in a does a great job as a walk-on,'' Cubit said.

``You look at us and we're not the most imposing group running around. The one thing I know about our kids is they'll play hard.''

Stephen and Gebhart combined for perhaps the biggest play of the game for WMU, which Gebhart started by tipping a pass by Virginia QB Kevin McCabe.

Stephen took over from there, cradling the ball and returning it untouched down the left sideline to give the Broncos a 14-7 lead midway through the second quarter.

``It was just a matter of the coach putting us in the right situation at the right time,'' said Stephen, in the lineup because E.J. Biggers is nursing a sprained ankle. ``We had other guys who gave great effort on that play. It was just me being in the right place at the right time and being aware of the surroundings.''

While Stephen enjoyed the glory associated with a defensive score, the Broncos' second interception return for a touchdown in as many weeks, Gebhart quietly put together a monster game after entering midway through the first quarter.

The 5-foot-8, 195-pound junior's nine tackles were second only to Ismail's 11 stops, and he planted Virginia running back Jason Snelling for a five-yard loss in the third quarter.

Not bad for a guy who entered the game with zero tackles this season.

``The guy is all heart,'' Ismail said of Gebhart. ``We take that from him every day at practice, so we expected it in the game.''

Fittingly, it was Gebhart and Stephen who combined to bring down Virginia's third quarterback, Jameel Sewell, four yards short on the Cavaliers' last gasp -- a fourth-and-20 from their own 32 with 1:41 left.

``It was pretty intense. Me and Des actually met the quarterback and when we got up, I didn't even know where the yard-marker was,'' Gebhart said. ``Then, it was just exhilaration. It was a great feeling.''