U.Va. stumbles at Ga. Tech
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© September 22, 2006

ATLANTA - Reggie Ball had every right to feel comfortable. Georgia Tech's senior quarterback was making his 40th career start, in front of a friendly home crowd. When in trouble, he need only look downfield to arguably the nation's best wide receiver, All-American Calvin Johnson.

Jameel Sewell had every right to feel nervous. Not only was Virginia's redshirt freshman quarterback making his first career start, he was doing it on the road, on national TV, after a short week of practice, against one of the ACC's most aggressive defenses.

Two quarterbacks on opposite ends of the experience spectrum. It made for a predictable result Thursday night, in Georgia Tech's 24-7 win at Bobby Dodd Stadium, a result that dropped Virginia to 1-3, its worst start in 20 years, and 0-1 in the ACC.

Ball was hardly brilliant but didn't have to be. Virginia's offense was again that bad, especially in the first half.

Tapped to breathe some life into a unit that was producing just 225 yards per game, fewest in the ACC and 112th in the nation, Sewell had no better luck than the other quarterbacks Virginia has tried this year, senior Christian Olsen and junior Kevin McCabe.

Sewell one-hopped four first-half passes and misfired on several others. In fairness, he was operating without benefit of a running game - Virginia's ranked 117th of 119 Division I-A teams heading into the game - and behind a green offensive line.

Virginia's offensive totals threatened historic lows. Fourteen yards in the first quarter, 54 in the first half, 135 through three quarters and 166 for the game, the lowest output in coach Al Groh's six seasons. When Sewell finally got going in the third quarter, completing four straight passes, Virginia was flagged for procedure and holding penalties on consecutive plays. Later, receivers dropped some catch able balls.

"We still have quite a few things to do in this process of getting a number of these players up to playing and performing like college football players,'" said Groh.

On defense, Virginia had feared Ball would beat them with his legs - he ran for 130 yards against Troy last week. Instead, he did it with his arm, finding Johnson on scoring passes of 58 and 66 yards, bookend touchdowns at the close of the first half and the start of the second.

Ball and Johnson broke open a game that was shaping up - at least offensively - like the first three Virginia has played. On the season, the Cavaliers have managed 43 points, the lowest total through four games since 1978.

Ball demonstrated his versatility on Tech's first scoring drive, completing three passes, running three times and catching a pass from fullback Mike Cox on the 12-play, 84-yard possession.

Sewell's first attempt sailed wide. His second skidded off the turf in front of a wide-open Fontel Mines.

Signs of things to come.

To his credit, Sewell kept plugging away, and Virginia finally scored after being handed its best field position of the night, on the Georgia Tech 29.

Sewell finished 15 of 31 for 115 yards.

"I had no fear. I guess it was kind of a mental thing. My teammates showed faith in me and kind of boosted me up," Sewell said.

Virginia had won three straight over Georgia Tech, which improved to 3-1, 1-0 in the ACC, and had little trouble dealing with the Yellow Jackets' blitzing defense in those games.

But as Groh said earlier in the week: "We did it with veteran players."

 

Don't blame only the QBs for Cavs' woes
David Teel
September 21 2006, 11:55 PM EDT

ATLANTA — -- By DAVID TEEL

Harp on the quarterbacks. Go ahead. It's natural and easy.

But Virginia's historically inept offense goes far beyond three struggling quarterbacks.

Blocking, running, catching, coaching: All the basics elude these Cavaliers, never more so than during Thursday's 24-7 loss at Georgia Tech.

Sure, the offense is young, with only two senior starters. And yes, the season is only one-third complete.

But there's no excuse for this. D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Wali Lundy graduated to the NFL? Deyon Williams is hurt?

So what? Programs everywhere send players to the pros and lose them to injuries. That's why you recruit.

Look at Virginia's offense. Look closely. Now find someone who might start for a decent ACC team.

Tight end Tom Santi? Probably.

Tailback Jason Snelling? Maybe as a fullback.

The rest? No way. There's not a playmaker or reliable lineman to be found.

The evidence rests in the numbers. Virginia (1-3, 0-1 ACC) has scored 43 points, the program's worst four-game stretch since the 1978 Cavaliers scored 30 in their first four games en route to a 2-9, 0-6 season.

And this isn't coming against top-25 opposition. This is against Pittsburgh, Wyoming, Western Michigan and Georgia Tech. After five-plus seasons under coach Al Groh, Virginia should be better than four touchdowns in four games. Much better.

"You can only use the 'I'm inexperienced' tag for so long," Groh said.

Indeed, the expiration date on that mantra is past. But the Cavaliers began Thursday ranked last or next-to-last among ACC teams in every major offensive statistic -- scoring, third-down conversions, rushing, pass efficiency and total offense. And those ratings aren't likely to improve after this.

The Cavaliers' anemia was chronic. Their first drive netted minus-2 yards, and their first-half total was 54. They finished with 166, their lowest under Groh and 117 fewer than Troy racked up last week against Georgia Tech.

Still, Groh stuck with redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell at quarterback. Making his first college start, Sewell was like senior Christian Olsen in the opener at Pittsburgh and junior Kevin McCabe last week against Western Michigan -- skittish and ineffective.

But why not stay with the kid? He's the youngest and most mobile of the quarterbacks, the only one who might represent a long-term solution.

Sewell was at his worst throwing the screens and quick hitches that are a staple of Groh's playbook. His passes sailed over heads and landed at feet.

"A mental thing," Sewell said.

Sewell was at his best, such as it was, throwing downfield, and his 16-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Kevin Ogletree spared Virginia the embarrassment of a shutout.

The first time Sewell cut loose, on a deep route early in the third quarter, Fontel Mines failed to make what would have been a semi-difficult catch near the sideline. Mines is a senior; he should make those plays. Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson is a junior. He makes those plays, witness his touchdown catches of 58 and 66 yards.

Johnson's first score gave the Yellow Jackets (3-1, 1-0) a 17-0 lead 1:08 before halftime and erased any suspense. The Cavaliers scoring 17 points? It was unfathomable.

Why, 17 would be a season-high, and don't bank on Virginia cracking that number next week at mighty Duke. Still, the Cavaliers should beat the Blue Devils, and then East Carolina.

That would leave them 3-3 entering the season's decisive stretch: consecutive home games against Maryland, North Carolina and North Carolina State. Subsequent tests against Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech appear, at present, unwinnable.

Two of the best quarterbacks in Virginia history observed Thursday's drubbing from the sideline: Don Majkowski, a real estate broker in Atlanta, and Matt Schaub, the Atlanta Falcons' backup to Michael Vick. Suffice to say both were blessed with more gifted teammates during their college days.

"There are a lot of areas we need to step up," Groh said. "It's not just the quarterback position."

The most pressing issue is the offensive line, where pass-protection and run-blocking -- the Cavaliers rushed for 51 yards Thursday and have yet to crack 70 this season -- are lacking. By midway through the first quarter, Snelling was barking at linemen about missed assignments.

Keep in mind, Georgia Tech's is not a defense for the ages. No, this was just a straight-up, no-frills public flogging.

It may not be the last of 2006.
 

Rambled and wrecked
Jackets jam Virginia's offense for an easy win
By Doug Doughty

ATLANTA -- Redshirt freshman quarterback Jameel Sewell wasn't the answer Thursday night for Virginia's football team.

There may not be an answer.

The Cavaliers needed a fumble recovery, a facemask penalty and a fourth-down completion to put together their only touchdown drive in a 24-7 loss to Georgia Tech.

Virginia, which has scored four touchdowns in four games, dropped to 1-3 for the first time since 1986. The Cavs had a season-low 166 yards in total offense.

"We've got a lot of areas where we need to step up and it's not just the quarterback position," UVa coach Al Groh said.

Sewell was 15-of-31 for 115 yards in his starting debut and you won't see as many bounce passes at Virginia's John Paul Jones Arena this winter.

He finally began to demonstrate a little confidence in the fourth quarter when he connected with Kevin Ogletree on a 16-yard touchdown pass with 12:23 left, one play after Ogletree had dropped a pass in the other corner of the end zone.

"The first half didn't go well at all for me," said Sewell, who was 3-for-9 at that point. "I was extremely disappointed. I didn't want to show it. I wanted to come back the next half and make some positive things happen."

He had no explanation for all of the low passes.

"I wasn't too nervous," he said. "I had no fear. It became kind of a mental thing after a while. It works on your mind."

Sewell was the third different starting quarterback in three games for the Cavaliers, who benched 71.9-percent passer Kevin McCabe after he was intercepted twice in a 17-10 home loss to Western Michigan on Saturday.

In its previous three games, Virginia had used three quarterbacks twice and two quarterbacks in the other game. Sewell went the distance Thursday night.

"It was the kind of environment where big games are going to be played, so it's probably a pretty good place to start," Groh said. "He's got quite a few things to learn, but he's not going to learn them over there on the bench."

Following his touchdown pass, Sewell was intercepted on UVa's final two possessions. In the 20 series that Sewell has played over three games, UVa has scored once.

Virginia did some good things defensively but was victimized on touchdown passes of 58 and 66 yards from Reggie Ball to preseason ACC player of the year Calvin Johnson.

Few teams had contained Johnson as successfully as UVa, which came into play Thursday with three consecutive wins over the Jackets, including a 31-10 triumph here in 2004, when Marcus Hamilton had two end-zone picks.

Hamilton returned to action Thursday after an injured shoulder kept him out of the Western Michigan game, but he was the victim when Johnson's second touchdown catch made it 24-0 with 10:59 left in the third quarter.

Johnson finished with six catches for 165 yards. He accounted for nearly half of the total offense for Georgia Tech, which finished with 335 yards.

"I just know that he's a real good player and has been since he's been in the league," Groh said. "I'm sure he'll continue to be as long as he continues to be in this league. Hopefully, that won't be too long."

Johnson's first touchdown, with 1:08 remaining in the first half, came on Georgia Tech's first possession after an apparent Virginia first down was overturned on review.

"I bet [Oklahoma coach] Bob Stoops wishes he had that replay official," said Groh, referring to a controversial call at the end of last Saturday's Oklahoma-Oregon game. "To be there 10-0 was a pretty good spot for us at that point."

It was the sixth "one-play touchdown" given up by Virginia this season, to borrow a term used by Groh after a 38-13 loss at Pittsburgh, where the Cavaliers allowed four of them.

"We still see some of the same things reoccurring," Groh said. "We're giving up deep balls in the secondary that dramatically change the game and give up unnecessary before-the-snap penalties, which puts you behind the eight-ball with a young quarterback who needs all the help he can get."
 

Cavs clotheslined
UVa can't overcome big deficit in ACC opener
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
September 22, 2006

ATLANTA - Completely healthy, Calvin Johnson is one of the best wide receivers in the country.

When bothered by a leg bruise, Johnson is just as dangerous. Or at least it appeared that way on Thursday night.

Johnson caught six passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns as Georgia Tech beat Virginia, 24-7, at Bobby Dodd Stadium to spoil Jameel Sewell’s first start as Virginia’s quarterback.

“Obviously, disappointing,” said UVa coach Al Groh. “It certainly looks as if Georgia Tech has the making of what’s necessary to put together a real good season. They have excellent quarterback play and an explosive wide receiver.”

Despite barely practicing all week with a bruised leg, Johnson caught the two longest touchdown passes of his career, including one from quarterback Reggie Ball late in the first half that gave the Yellow Jackets a 17-0 lead at the break.

“I don’t think that he was 100 percent,” Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey said of his wideout. “I think that he was less than 100, but he obviously had a great night.”

With the win, Georgia Tech improves to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the ACC. For the first time since 1986, Virginia stands at 1-3 overall.

The Cavaliers are 0-1 in league play.

If not for a fourth-quarter touchdown - Sewell connected with wideout Kevin Ogletree on a 16-yard strike with 12:23 left in the game - Virginia might have been blanked, an obvious goal for Georgia Tech.

“If we hadn’t had the turnover and given them the short field there and a penalty on top of that, I think we would have had them shutout,” Gailey said. “I know that’s what our guys were saying at halftime - they wanted to try to get that.”

Gailey’s defense can take pride in the final stats.

Virginia mustered only nine first downs, one of which came by virtue of a Georgia Tech penalty, and finished with 166 yards of total offense.

“I was proud of our defense and the way that we stuck it to them,” Gailey said. “They ran a little bit outside, but nothing inside and they harassed [Sewell] all night.”

Georgia Tech’s offense was not perfect - the Yellow Jackets finished with only 14 first downs - but Ball connected with Johnson on touchdown passes that went 58 and 66 yards, respectively.

The first Ball-to-Johnson strike came after it appeared that Virginia would be able to run out the clock before halftime.

Virginia tailback Jason Snelling appeared to scamper for a first down, but after officials reviewed the play, it was overturned with 1:29 left. Georgia Tech scored on the first play from scrimmage after Johnson beat the man-to-man coverage provided by Virginia’s Jamaal Jackson.

Groh said he did not see Snelling’s knee hit the ground, but only because he did not have a good “vantage” point.

“Obviously, it was a points play. At that stage, we were not being very productive on offense. To be there at 10-0 [at halftime] was a pretty good spot to sit,” Groh said.

“We tried to conduct that previous series to try and keep the Georgia Tech offense from getting back out onto the field. It appeared that we had done that, but we have no complaints. That’s what the system is for and the system works.”

Groh pointed out that at least one coach in the country would have applauded the call.

“I am sure [Oklahoma coach] Bob Stoops would like to have that replay official.”

Sewell, who finished 15 of 31 for 115 yards and threw two interceptions, hopes the offense can build off the second-half performance, despite the final result.

“I felt like the first half didn’t go well at all for me. I was extremely disappointed,” Sewell said. “I couldn’t show it, but I came back [in the second half] and tried to make some things happen.”

Virginia returns to action on Sept. 30 against Duke in Durham, N.C., while Georgia Tech plays at Virginia Tech the same day.

 

It's Sewell's show from here on out
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
September 22, 2006

ATLANTA -- So long Christian Olsen and Kevin McCabe, it has been nice knowing you. It’s safe to say that Olsen can begin sending out resumes for that modeling career he spoke about. And McCabe, plagued by a short history of throwing passes to the wrong-colored jersey, appears destined to the sidelines for the remainder of his career.

Virginia’s quarterback controversy is over.

When redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell played the entire second half in last Saturday’s upset loss to Western Michigan and was elevated to starter’s status for Thursday night’s trip to Georgia Tech, it was clear that Team Groh - head coach Al Groh and offensive coordinator Mike Groh - had settled on putting the Cavaliers’ immediate future in the hands of the Richmond quarterback.

The glimmer man

While Thursday night’s 24-7 loss at Grant Field wasn’t anything to e-mail home about, Sewell at least gave Wahoo fans a glimmer of hope.

Taking over an offense that has coughed and sputtered in UVa’s worst start (1-3) since 1986, Sewell struggled as expected in the rookie’s first career start against an aggressive Yellow Jacket defense. The rookie suffered the necessary beatdown that most every young quarterback must endure while learning on the fly.

“Young quarterbacks have to go through some things and work their way through,” said Al Groh. “He didn’t get off to a very positive start, but he seemed to handle that well. Part of being a quarterback is to work yourself through some difficult situations. He seemed to do that and was unflustered by his lack of success.”

Finding the scoreboard

Sewell shook off the rocky start and averted Virginia’s first shutout since 2001 when he found sophomore wide receiver Kevin Ogletree behind Georgia Tech safety Djay Jones on a 16-yard scoring strike with 12:23 to play in the game.

Sewell showed some signs of life with five straight completions that led to a missed Noah Greenbaum field goal attempt on UVa’s last possession of the third quarter. Then, thanks to Tech’s generosity on a fumbled option play and an ensuing facemask penalty, Sewell threw his first career TD pass to Ogletree on the first possession of the fourth quarter.

Little gains

Yeah, so what. A loss is a loss, especially when the Ramblin’ Wreck didn’t break a sweat in moving to 3-1 on the season.

Baby steps. That’s what this season is all about as the rebuilt Cavaliers continue to add and subtract working parts in order of trying to find something that works.

With an inept running game, due mostly to an offensive line that hasn’t gotten its act together, Virginia has had to look for offense where it can find some.

Call it buzzard’s luck. Can’t kill anything. Can’t find anything dead.

But that may change under the direction of Mr. Sewell.

Now in the starring role, the rookie quarterback should make strides as he gets more saddle time. In a short week, he has shaken off some of the nerves and learned more of the offense. He put some zip on several passes, including two that sailed through Fontel Mines’ mitts and another through Ogletree’s.

If Virginia can’t run it, then it will be up to Sewell to throw it and throw it and throw it some more. That may be the only way to eventually discourage opposing defenses from blitzing the daylights out of him.

Then, there’s that running ability that Sewell has, a quickness that helped separate him from the other Wahoo QB candidates.

For the record, he was 15 of 31 on passes against the Jackets for 115 yards and a score. He also had two picked off, which has sent other candidates to the bench. But Sewell’s miscues came when it didn’t matter any more, at the end of the game.

“A quarterback has to have a short memory and he came back to play his best as the game went on,” said Groh. “He’s got quite a few things to learn, but he’s not going to learn them over there on the bench.”

Along the way, he threw it to nine different receivers, including finally discovering that this offense does have a tight end when he finally found one of them, Tom Santi, for eight yards with 9:21 left in the game.

All in good time. Baby steps.

As debuts go, it could have been better. But it could have been worse. Heck, it had been much worse the past three weekends.

At least now it appears the quarterback musical chairs is a thing of the past. Virginia can focus on making the rookie a better player from week to week and hope that the Cavaliers defense can contribute to the cause by stopping opponents or forcing turnovers.

Young quarterbacks need repetition in order to recognize defensive coverages and where the blitzes may be coming from, so that they can throw to the area vacated by the blitzing linebacker or defensive back.

It’s all part of the growth of a quarterback, something they all must experience. And experience is something that

Sewell will get a lot of the remainder of the season.

 

One small step for Virginia's O-line
By Ray Glier / Special to The Daily Progress
September 22, 2006

ATLANTA - It didn’t look like much at the time, but it might mean something later.

For two fourth-quarter series Thursday night against a fast and furious Georgia Tech defense, one of the best units in the ACC, the Virginia offensive line allowed freshman quarterback Jameel Sewell to set his feet.

What followed were some passes downfield with touch, some passes with some feel, and even some zip. Sewell threw his first career touchdown pass during one of those fourth-quarter series, and, while it didn’t mean much in a one-sided 24-7 loss, the line can wrap its arms around the quarterback’s brief success in what was a dreadful loss.

That’s how it is right now for UVa’s offensive line. It has been beat up for four games and it has to grasp for anything positive.

“We have who we have,” said head coach Al Groh. “It’s going to be up to some of them to step up. You can only use the inexperienced tag for so long.

“We’re not getting the kind of push on the run that we need to take the burden off the quarterback.”

The starting lineup was reshuffled with left tackle Eugene Monroe replaced by sophomore Zak Stair. Once upon a time, Monroe was rated as one of the best high school offensive lineman in the country, but he has lost his job, and it is not clear whether the dislocated knee he suffered in spring drills is holding him back.

Monroe said he did not consider himself benched, per se, only that the coaches have decided to use a tackle rotation. He did not play until the second series of the third quarter.

“It’s not a sign of anything,” Monroe said when asked if his not starting was a sign the coaches were going to shake things up to get production.

Virginia rushed for just 66 yards mostly because they could not block the swarm of fast Tech defenders to the ball. Tailback Jason Snelling would take a handoff and look for a crease, but the Yellow Jackets had a defender flying in from the backside to wrap up Snelling from behind.

It happened over and over and it seemed to be a fault in the UVa scheme, rather than blockers up front.

Besides the touchdown, there was another small victory. UVa’s line stopped sticking a thumb in its own eye with penalties. There were five false starts against Western Michigan in a 17-10 loss last week, but just two Thursday night.

“One is unacceptable,” Monroe said. “You can’t move five yards backward without the ball even being snapped. We’ve got to go back to the drawing board and get some things fixed.”


 

Hamilton's stay on sidelines short-lived
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
September 22, 2006

ATLANTA - Virginia cornerback Marcus Hamilton returned to action against Georgia Tech to make the 24th start of his career. The senior missed Virginia’s game last week against Western Michigan and UVa coach Al Groh said he was “questionable” as late as Tuesday. Hamilton, who made a tackle on Georgia Tech’s first offensive play, has now played in 41 career games.

Working overtime
As usual, Virginia punter Chris Gould was a busy man. As Virginia’s offense stalled in the first half - the Cavaliers gained 54 yards on 23 offensive plays - Gould was forced to punt six times for an average of 39.5 yards. Gould’s long in the opening half went for 52 yards.
It was at Georgia Tech two years ago that Gould was thrust into action with only four games left in the season. The junior has handled all but one punt since that game.

First thing’s first
Georgia Tech wideout Calvin Johnson did something late in the first half that he had never done against Virginia: he scored a touchdown. Johnson, who was a game-time
decision with a bruised leg, caught a 58-yard touchdown on a pass from Reggie Ball with 1:08 left in the first half. He later had a 66-yard touchdown catch.
Johnson, a junior, entered the game with nine receptions for 149 yards in two career games against UVa.

Coin toss
Virginia rookie Darnell Carter was a special guest at the coin toss before the game. The true freshman earned the honor after being named the Player of the Week for the scout team during preparations for the Western Michigan game. Carter took the place of co-captain and backup quarterback Christian Olsen. The move, Groh said, was Olsen’s idea. Joining Carter at the 50-yard line were Hamilton, defensive end Chris Long and wideout Deyon Williams, who was in uniform but did not play.

Under center
Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell became the third Cavalier to start a game this season. The redshirt freshman joins Olsen, who started two games, and Kevin McCabe, the starter against Western Michigan. … It marked the first time since 2003 that Virginia has started three quarterbacks in a season. That year, the Cavaliers had Matt Schaub, Anthony Martinez and Marques Hagans under center at the start of at least one game.

Throwback Thursday
Georgia Tech wore special “throwback” uniforms against Virginia that were reminiscent of those worn by the Yellow Jackets in the early 1970s.
“Throwback” meant something different in the first quarter. Georgia Tech quarterback Reggie Ball handed off to fullback Mike Cox only to have the ball thrown back to him for a 17-yard gain. It was the first reception of the year for Ball, who caught two passes for 29 yards last season.

Just for kicks
Among the pregame festivities, Georgia Tech honored its former All-Americans. The most notable was former quarterback Joe Hamilton, a runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. Another honoree, former kicker Scott Sisson, drew a few boos from Virginia’s faithful in attendance. In 1990 and 1991, Sisson kicked game-winning field goals against UVa. Entering the game, Georgia Tech had kicked 18 field goals against Virginia since 1990.

Extra points …
… Virginia failed to score in the first quarter for the second time this season. On the year, the Cavaliers have now been outscored 24-10 in the opening quarter. Georgia Tech has outscored its first four opponents 35-6 in the opening quarter.

… Sophomore Andrew Pearman returned two punts in the first quarter for just 4 yards. If that wasn’t bad enough, Pearman muffed a would-be fair catch in the second quarter. Luckily, Ryan Best jumped on the loose ball at the UVa 1. Pearman was pulled in favor of Emmanuel Byers on the next Cavalier return.

… Virginia made a change on in its starting offensive line for the contest. Zak Stair started in place of fellow sophomore Eugene Monroe. It marked the first start of Stair’s career.

… Among the faces on Virginia’s sidelines were former linebacker Chris Slade and former quarterback Matt Schaub, who is now with the Atlanta Falcons.

… Virginia finished the first half with just two first downs.

… Cornerback Vic Hall played for the first time this season as a member of Virginia’s defense. The speedy redshirt freshman had previously seen action only on special teams.

... With Georgia Tech’s win, the Yellow Jackets broke a three-game losing streak in the series and tied the advantage in the all-time series at 14-14-1. The two teams tied in 1984.

… The victory for Georgia Tech was the first-ever for quarterback Reggie Ball against UVa. In fact, no player in Georgia Tech’s program had ever beaten Virginia.

… The Cavaliers lost their ACC opener for the first time since 2002. That year, Virginia lost at Florida State. That, ironically, was the last time UVa opened league play away from home.

 

Former stars see Cavs struggle
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

ATLANTA -- To get some idea of how far Virginia has fallen offensively, all it took was a look down the Cavaliers sideline.

To coach Al Groh's left were ex-Cavaliers Matt Schaub, the 2002 ACC player of the year, and Don Majkowski, a recent inductee into the Green Bay Packers hall of fame.

Majkowski, who directed UVa to a 1984 Peach Bowl championship in Atlanta, last played for the Cavaliers in 1986 but looked fit enough to take the field for the Cavaliers on Thursday night.

Anything would have been an improvement on a Virginia offense that had two first-half first downs in the first start for redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell.

Also taking in the action from the sideline was Chris Slade, the school's all-time sack leader. Slade, who played professionally with New England when Groh was a Patriots assistant, is in business in Atlanta.

Schaub is in his third season with the Atlanta Falcons as Michael Vick's backup.

For starters

Sophomore Zak Stair made the first start of his career, taking the place of Eugene Monroe at left offensive tackle. Monroe rotated in during the game, with Stair spelling Will Barker at right tackle.

Monroe was rated the No. 1 prospect in the country by SuperPrep in 2005 but had his spring practice ended by a dislocated kneecap and has struggled in the aftermath of offseason surgery.

Virginia's options at tackle have been limited since three-game 2005 starter Eddie Pinigis left the team during preseason practice. Pinigis, who said he felt he no longer figured in Groh's plans, is a starter for NCAA Division I-AA Liberty.

A new face

For the second game in a row, former starting quarterback Christian Olsen did not join his fellow UVa captains for the coin toss. This week, he was replaced by true freshman linebacker Darnell Carter.

Groh said Olsen came to him before the second game and volunteered to give up his spot in the coin toss to the top scout team performer from the previous week. Last week, it was wide receiver Simon Manka.

Groh said it was a "very classy" act on the part of Olsen, "who's got to have some disappointment in his circumstances."

Review costly

Trailing 10-0 after a respectable defensive performance, Virginia looked as if it might kill the clock when Jason Snelling rambled for a 19-yard gain late in the second quarter. However, as the players were rushing to the line of scrimmage, officials stopped play for a review.

The replay showed that Snelling's knee had hit the ground 8 yards before the first-down marker and UVa was forced to punt. As Virginia players were looking at the bench and trying to make sure of their defensive calls, Reggie Ball hit Calvin Johnson for a 58-yard touchdown pass.

On further review

Three different quarterbacks in three consecutive games was not as rare a phenomenon as Virginia thought. The UVa sports information office initially said it was a first since 1981, but it happened as recently as 2003 with Matt Schaub, Anthony Martinez and Marques Hagans.

Throwback Thursday

Georgia Tech celebrated Throwback Thursday with everything from 1970s vintage mustard-and-white uniforms to a taped pregame musical serenade that included the Doobie Brothers, the Jackson Five, the Temptations and Grand Funk Railroad.

Up next

The Cavaliers travel to Duke (0-3) on Sept. 30 for a noon television game against a Blue Devils team that has lost 11 straight games dating back to last season. Duke, which has been shut out twice in three games, expects to have the services of freshman quarterback Thaddeus Lewis after a concussion knocked him out of action in a 36-0 loss at Virginia Tech last weekend.
 

An offensive wreck
Groh makes changes, but Georgia Tech rolls as the Cavs' struggles continue
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Sep 22, 2006

ATLANTA -- An ESPN audience, and a crowd of 51,081 at Bobby Dodd Stadium, witnessed last night what spectators at Scott Stadium saw the past two Saturdays: an offense that's shaping up as the University of Virginia's worst in nearly 30 years.

In the Cavaliers' ACC opener, sixth-year coach Al Groh tried a new starting quarterback, redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell, hoping to enliven a moribund attack.

The move didn't produce the desired effort. U.Va., which came in averaging 12 points, fell 24-7 to Coastal Division rival Georgia Tech on a crisp late-summer night.

The Cavaliers (0-1, 1-3) totaled only 166 yards, their fewest in Groh's tenure. They picked up nine first downs, most after the outcome had long since been decided.

"We still have quite a few things to get through in this process," Groh said, "in getting a number of these players to perform like college players."

The continuing struggles of Virginia's offensive line didn't help Sewell, a Hermitage High graduate, against the Yellow Jackets' swaggering defense. He didn't help himself by throwing two fourth-quarter interceptions.

Those mistakes aside, Sewell gained confidence in the second half and completed several sharp passes. The 6-2, 219-pound left-hander finished 15 of 31 for 115 yards and one touchdown. He gained 30 yards on eight carries -- Sewell was Virginia's leading rusher and was sacked once.

"Young quarterbacks have to go through some things and work their way through things," Groh said. "He didn't get off to a very positive start tonight, but he seemed to handle that well."

Sewell's TD pass, the first of his career, was a 16-yarder to sophomore wideout Kevin Ogletree with 12:23 left in the fourth quarter, and it came after the Cavaliers had fallen behind 24-0. That capped a drive set up by U.Va. linebacker Jermaine Dias' fumble recovery at the Yellow Jackets' 29-yard line.

Later in the final quarter, Virginia blew a chance to further reduce its deficit when reserve tailback Michael Johnson lost a fumble inside the Tech 40.

Georgia Tech, which had dropped three consecutive to U.Va., entered as a 17-point favorite and led 17-0 at the break. The Jackets improved to 1-0, 3-1.

In the first four games of the 1978 season, U.Va. totaled 30 points. Through four games this season, the Cavaliers have scored 43, and they're averaging a mere 210.3 yards.

Virginia is 1-3 for the first time since 1986. The Cavaliers finished 3-8 that season, and a similar record seems likely this year, barring dramatic improvement.

Not all of the responsibility for the defeat fell on U.Va.'s offense. Its defense had numerous breakdowns. The Cavaliers, who surrendered two long touchdown passes in their season-opening loss at Pittsburgh, got burned twice on Reggie Ball-to-Calvin Johnson throws last night.

Johnson, perhaps the finest wide receiver in college football, hurt his leg last weekend and wasn't cleared to play until warmups last night. He finished last night with six catches for 165 yards and two touchdowns -- one of 58 yards and the other of 66.

Virginia never came close to matching those highlights. In the first half, U.Va. managed two first downs and 54 yards. Sewell was 3 for 9 for 22 yards and badly underthrew four of his passes.

Tech effectively sealed its victory with a quick-strike touchdown in the final 75 seconds of the opening half.

After forcing U.Va. to punt, Tech took over on its 42-yard line. The Jackets had no timeouts left, but they didn't need any. On first down, Ball hit Johnson, who'd raced past safety Jamaal Jackson, on a post pattern, and the 6-4 junior continued untouched to the end zone.

The Yellow Jackets sputtered on the game's first series, but their offense hummed when they got the ball back. Tech met little resistance as it moved 84 yards for a touchdown, the final 6 coming on a run by Ball. Earlier in the drive, Ball had caught a pass for a 16-yard gain on a trick play.

U.Va. went three-and-out on its first possession, and Sewell wasn't close on either of his pass attempts. On second throw, he overthrew sophomore wideout Andrew Pearman. On third down, Sewell underthrew senior wideout Fontel Mines, and Chris Gould came on for the first of his eight punts.

The Cavaliers' second possession stalled, too, as the Yellow Jackets' linemen overwhelmed their offensive counterparts. Georgia Tech posted four tackles for loss on Virginia's first two possessions.

 

Cavs' season sinks toward the abyss
BOB LIPPER
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST Sep 22, 2006

ATLANTA Well, at least there's Duke.

Isn't there?

Maybe?

Dontcha think?

Ah, but there are no sure things for Virginia's Cavaliers these days. They're 1-3 now -- and a meager looking 1-3, if you want to know the truth. Duke in Durham, Duke in C'ville, Duke in Mike Krzyzewski's backyard -- whatever the setting, you're normally talking freebie for any bunch in orange and blue.

Duke a week from Saturday on the road?

No automatic. Not this season.

The final from Grant Field last night was U.Va. not-seriously-competitive, Team It's Owned in Recent Years lots-better. Officially, it went down as a 24-7 win for Georgia Tech. Unofficially, the Cavs are in danger of slip-sliding toward oblivion (where, to be honest, they likely wouldn't be alone in the muddled and befuddled ACC).

This baby was over with a capital-O a tad over a minute before halftime. That's when all-galaxy Tech wideout Calvin Johnson got two strides on U.Va. safety Jamaal Jackson. During Reggie Ball's 0-3 past against the Cavs, there was always the possibility he'd unsaddle this gift horse.

But not on this night. Tech's Mr. Erratic quarterback hit Johnson in stride for a see-ya-later 17-0 lead -- the betting-line spread for a matchup whose creative tension was reduced to discovering whether Jameel Sewell would lose his head figuratively or literally against the Jackets.

This wasn't precisely the recommended environment (boisterous) or defense (nasty) you'd wish on a rookie quarterback, but Cavaliers coach Al Groh probably figured he had no choice. Christian Olsen? Flubbed trial run at Pitt, hasn't gotten out of first gear. Kevin McCabe? Two picks against Western Michigan, looks safer holding a clipboard.

Jameel Sewell? What the heck. He's got a little shake in his legs. He's got a live arm. He came out of Hermitage High with a glossy resume. He looked, well, OK during his relief-effort audition against Western Michigan last Saturday.

He was -- let's be kind here -- a bit underwhelming last night.

Sewell's first pass -- it was Virginia's second snap of the evening -- sailed high and wide of Andrew Pearman. His second pass reached Fontel Mines on one bounce. His third pass slipped from his hand. He later bounced another pass to Mines on first down from U.Va.'s 1. He skidded another pass to Mines on third down from the 1.

Maybe Sewell thought he was throwing to somebody in the mines and not someone named Fontel Mines. Whatever the case, he finished the first half an unthreatening 3-for-9 for 22 yards and didn't show much swivel in his hips, either. He settled down some in the second half -- but it was 24-0 by then. Plus, he also tacked on two interceptions. On balance, not what you'd hope to stake a season's turnaround on.

Then again, when you'd like to bill your product as Tight End U. (thanks for the memories, Heath Miller), and you've got a couple of sure-handed lugs like Tom Santi and Jonathan Stupar, wouldn't you think you might rescue your callow QB with a few quick pops over the middle to the largest targets in your portfolio?

Sewell, though, never threw to those guys till the fourth period (once). Or wasn't reminded they exist. Or required their blocking to keep from getting maimed.

Blend those shortcomings with an O-line that couldn't pry open creases for Jason Snelling, and you can understand why this U.Va. edition ranks last or next to last in the ACC in every meaningful offensive category. Tell me it's early. I'll tell you this is a bunch that's had Wyoming and Western Michigan at home and can't make any more headway than a dinghy plowing into a typhoon.

Duke? These guys better get it done against Duke.

 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Sep 22, 2006

THREE'S A CROWD: Last night in Atlanta, redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell became the third quarterback to start for Virginia in the past three games. Not since 2003 had the Cavaliers used three different starting QBs in a three-game span.

Matt Schaub started the opener against Duke that season and suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out of the next two games. Anthony Martinez started game No. 2, against South Carolina, and Marques Hagans took the first snap a week later versus Western Michigan.

Senior Christian Olsen started Virginia's first two games this season. Junior Kevin McCabe started last weekend against Western Michigan.

SHAKE IT UP: Five days after his team's ugly loss to Western Michigan at Scott Stadium, Virginia coach Al Groh changed his starting lineup last night.

Sophomore Zak Stair got his first start, replacing sophomore Eugene Monroe at left offensive tackle. Monroe, considered the jewel of the Cavaliers' 2005 recruiting class, had struggled since returning from April surgery on his left kneecap.

Also, senior Noah Greenbaum, not junior Chris Gould, handled extra points and field goals, jobs Gould had handled the first three games.

Greenbaum, a Collegiate graduate, missed a 47-yard field goal late in the third quarter, but made a PAT in the fourth.

Gould punted and kicked off.

In the secondary, senior cornerback Marcus Hamilton reclaimed his starting job. Hamilton missed the Western Michigan game with a shoulder injury, and sophomore Mike Brown started in his place.

RETURN IMMINENT? Senior wideout Deyon Williams, who was expected to contend for all-ACC honors this season, missed the Cavaliers' first three games with an injury. He didn't play last night, but Williams was in full uniform and went through warm-ups on a limited basis.

Williams had surgery Aug. 11 to repair a stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot. He was in street clothes for U.Va.'s game last weekend.

TIEBREAKER: With its loss last night, U.Va.'s record in ESPN's Thursday night games dropped to 4-5. The Cavaliers' first such game was in 1991, also against Georgia Tech, which won 24-21.

BACK IN THE DAY: Groh and Georgia Tech's head man, Chan Gailey, haven't always been coaching rivals. In 1979, they were assistants on Ken Hatfield's staff as the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Groh was the Falcons' defensive coordinator, and Gailey was a defensive assistant.

Gailey's associate head coach, defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta, is a 1981 graduate of U.Va. He lettered three times at defensive back for the Cavaliers but said games against his alma mater don't have special meaning for him.

"No, I think you have to approach every game you're coaching the same way," Tenuta said.

ANY ELIGIBILITY LEFT? On the visitors' sideline last night were two of the finest quarterbacks in U.Va. history: Schaub and Don Majkowski. Schaub plays for the Atlanta Falcons. Joining them was another former Virginia great, defensive end Chris Slade. Majkowski and Slade live in the Atlanta area.

NO NEED: Through four games, only one true freshman has played for Virginia: nose tackle Nate Collins. Collins may yet be joined by a classmate or two, but this figures to be a season in which Groh redshirts most of his newcomers.

"The issue this year is some of the very promising young players that we have happen to be at positions that we're pretty well-stocked at and at which the players are doing fairly well," Groh said. "That minimizes the possibility of that."

Three true freshmen were listed on U.Va.'s travel roster last night: Collins, inside linebacker Darnell Carter and defensive end Sean Gottschalk, a Deep Run High graduate. As a reward for his scout-team performance in practice, Carter was one of the four Wahoos who took part in the pregame coin toss.

GROOVY, BABY: As part of what the school called "Throwback Thursday," Tech's players donned uniforms similar to those the team wore in the early 1970s, featuring gold jerseys, white pants and white helmets.

The new look didn't do much for Gailey.

"It's a uniform," he said early in the week. "We've got a job to do and a game to play. It's fun for the fans and for marketing, but fun is not the word I would use [for the team]. We've got to make sure it's not a distraction."

UP NEXT: The Cavaliers (0-1, 1-3) play the second of three straight road games Sept. 30 in Durham, N.C. U.Va. meets Duke at noon at Wallace Wade Stadium. Virginia visits East Carolina on Oct. 7.

Lincoln Financial Sports will televise the game between Coastal Division foes U.Va. and Duke. The Blue Devils (0-2, 0-3) are off this weekend.

U.Va. has won six straight over Duke and leads the series 30-27. - Jeff White
 

C.J., Jackets leave Virginia behind
Johnson plays with bum leg, hauls in 2 TDs
By MIKE KNOBLER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/22/06

Calvin Johnson went to bed Wednesday night doubting he'd be able to play on Thursday.

Johnson hadn't been able to run full-speed, with his left quadriceps so tight and sore it hurt every time he tried to push off down the field. It wasn't until pregame warmups Thursday night that Georgia Tech's All-America receiver finally felt good enough to give it a go.

After that, the pain was all Virginia's.

Johnson caught the two longest touchdown passes of his career and set a career high for receiving yards in Tech's 24-7 victory at Bobby Dodd Stadium. He caught a 58-yard touchdown pass a minute before halftime and a 66-yarder four minutes into the second half and finished with six catches for 165 yards.

"I don't think he was 100 percent," Tech coach Chan Gailey said, begging the unanswerable question of what a healthy Calvin Johnson could have done to the Cavaliers' defense.

"Once my adrenaline started rushing, I didn't have to worry about it," Johnson said. "I didn't feel no pain or nothing like that. It was all good."

Johnson credited his recovery to icing and stretching and five days of prayers since he hurt his leg Saturday against Troy. He credited his touchdown catches to good play-calling by the coaches and accurate passing from Reggie Ball.

"He's been doing it the past two weeks," Johnson said. "I believe he's going to keep on doing it."

Tech needs him to. Now that the Yellow Jackets finally snapped their five-game losing streak to teams from Virginia, the big question is: Can Tech make it two in a row against teams from the Commonwealth? Georgia Tech (3-1, 1-0 ACC) and No. 11 Virginia Tech (3-0, 2-0), the only Coastal Division teams without an ACC loss, play next week at Blacksburg, Va.

It's unlikely the Hokies will make the mistakes against Johnson the Cavaliers made Thursday night.

On his first touchdown catch, Johnson saw the defensive back covering him line up wide. When the nickel back on his side blitzed, Johnson ran right by defensive back Jamaal Jackson. The ball arrived long before the other safety, Byron Glaspy, could get over to help.

"I just ran up the hash, and Reggie threw a perfect ball," Johnson said. "Reggie made that play complete."

"The first one I couldn't have thrown any better," said Ball, who completed 10 of 19 passes for 205 yards.

At halftime, Johnson told the coaches Virginia's cornerbacks were biting on hitches.

"Coach [Nix] said he'd put in a little hitch and go," Johnson said. "He did it, and we ran it, and it was a touchdown."

That was Tech's fourth play of the second half and made it 24-0.

Virginia's offense still hadn't crossed midfield.

Tech's defense was so good — or Virginia's offense was so bad — the entire Cavaliers team managed just 1 more yard of offense than Johnson's 165 yards receiving. Virginia got two first downs the entire first half.

Virginia (1-3, 0-1) is off to its worst start since the 1986 team also went 1-3 en route to a 3-8 season. Virginia has lost 11 of its last 20 games.

This year's Cavaliers have yet to score more than 13 points in a game; this year's Yellow Jackets have yet to allow more than 14.

Redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell completed 15 of 31 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown in his first start, but he also threw interceptions to Jahi Word-Daniels and Djay Jones.

The Cavaliers' lone scoring drive went just 28 yards after Tashard Choice couldn't hold onto a pitch from Ball on the final play of the third quarter.

"If we hadn't had the turnover and given them the short field there and a [15-yard] penalty on top of that, I think we would have had them shut out," Gailey said. "I know that's what our guys were saying at halftime, they wanted to try to get that."

Tech wore the white helmets, gold shirts, white pants and black shoes of its 1970 uniform for a game billed as "Throwback Thursday." The Jackets even threw a throwback pass. Ball handed to fullback Mike Cox, who threw back to Ball for a 17-yard gain. That set up Ball's 6-yard touchdown run.

Travis Bell kicked a 47-yard field goal, one yard shy of his career long.

But the star of the night was Johnson, who said he and his teammates are playing the way they want heading into their showdown at Virginia Tech.

"We're putting points on the board," he said. "No defense is stopping us. We're real confident right now."

 

Cavaliers play as expected at Ga. Tech: Poorly
Barney Breen-Portnoy, Cavalier Daily Senior Associate Editor

ATLANTA -- Well, that played out about as expected. Virginia's offense struggled mightily and Georgia Tech won handily. There were legitimate reasons that the Cavaliers came into the game as 17-point underdogs.

Football can be very uncomplicated sometimes.

One Virginia fan in the crowd was seen on the jumbotron showing his exasperation following Calvin Johnson's second touchdown by putting a paper bag over his head that read "Shame".

To describe Virginia's first half offense as atrocious would be giving it too much credit. The Cavaliers notched only two first downs and 54 yards of total offense. You're not going to beat a solid Georgia Tech team on the road putting up those kinds of numbers.

While quarterback Jameel Sewell will receive much of the scrutiny for Virginia's poor offensive performance, it was not entirely his fault. Virginia's weaknesses on its offensive line were only accentuated by the aggressive nature of Georgia Tech's talented defense. Any of Virginia's quarterbacks would have struggled due to the lack of protection provided by the line.

Virginia's wide receivers also dropped several catchable passes that could have at least made the margin of defeat smaller.

It was also not Sewell's fault that the coaching staff decided to give him his collegiate starting debut on the road against a strong opponent on national television.

Sewell looked out-of-sync from the first offensive series. After tailback Jason Snelling was tackled for a loss of two yards on first down, Sewell attempted to pass on the next two snaps, badly missing his intended receiver each time. That would become a recurring theme throughout the evening.

"It wasn't that I was nervous," Sewell said the poor throws. "I had no fear. I guess it was kind of a mental thing."

Sewell did right the ship a bit in the second half. Virginia's offense was still entirely mediocre, but there was at least a moment or two where it looked functional as it put up 112 yards and seven points. Sewell gave Virginia fans a reason to back away from the edge of the cliff when he hit Kevin Ogletree for a 17-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter. That at least showed that Virginia might be able to beat Duke next week, which was beginning to look doubtful after the way the Cavaliers played in the first half.

For better or for worse, by keeping Sewell in for the entire game, Groh made clear that the redshirt freshman will be Virginia's starting quarterback this season. Virginia fans will have to learn to accept the mistakes he makes as he hopefully matures into an effective Division I quarterback.

Right before the second half, the Georgia Tech jumbotron showed a clip from the SNL "Cowbell" skit featuring Will Farrell and Christopher Walken.

That got me thinking. Virginia's offense has a fever. The question is this. Is Jameel Sewell the equivalent of "more cowbell"?