Wallace wavers on UVa commitment
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
September 29, 2006

It looks like the Virginia men’s basketball team may not be getting “the best athlete on the planet” after all.

On Thursday, Monty Wallace, the father of UVa basketball recruit Eric Wallace, told The Daily Progress that his son has reopened his recruitment.

Wallace, a 6-foot-7 jumping jack from Kernersville, N.C., who is now attending Hargrave Military Academy, had verbally committed to Virginia in June.

“He just wanted to go on a couple more visits, just to make sure,” said Monty Wallace in a telephone interview. “Virginia is still in the mix. We’re definitely still going to consider Virginia. We just want to make sure that’s where he wants to go.”

While Wallace’s father was painting a positive picture for Wahoo Nation, the chances of him still winding up in Charlottesville don’t seem good.

One source told The Daily Progress that the Virginia coaching staff was peeved with the way Eric Wallace handled the situation. While several people surrounding Wallace had known of his decision for some time, he failed to inform UVa - which has spent several months recruiting him - until one of its coaching staff members walked into the Hargrave gym on Wednesday.

“I guess anytime you have a decommit situation, it’s never going to be pleasing,” Monty Wallace said, “but I can’t tell you whether [the Virginia coaching staff] was mad or not.”

The source said Wallace’s main reason for reopening his recruitment was because a cousin, a former college basketball player, told him that he had a better chance of making it to the NBA from another school.

“What kid doesn’t have dreams of being in the NBA, NFL or whatever?” Monty Wallace said. “When you’re a top-caliber kid, it’s always in your mind to make the NBA, but first and foremost, you have to choose the right college for you. That has to be his first thought.”

There’s certainly no doubting Wallace’s talent. The high school senior blew away spectators at Virginia’s Elite Camp in June.

“He runs and jumps like a fifth-year NBA pro,” said Five Star founder Howard Garfinkel after Wallace attended his camp. “He’s the best athlete on the planet. You can’t be a better athlete than him.”

In an interview during the summer, Wallace, who is close friends with Stromile Swift of the Memphis Grizzlies, talked about his dreams of playing in the NBA.

“I think about it every day,” he said. “You see the stuff that you want, and you’re close to somebody who has it. It creates a hunger in you that’s undeniable.”

A factor working against Wallace ever playing for coach Dave Leitao is the chance there may not be a scholarship available by the time he decides he wants in. Presently, Virginia has just one for its 2007 class, having taken verbal commitments from guards Sam Zeglinski and Jeff Jones.

“Anytime you reopen your recruitment process, you’re going to take a risk as to who still has scholarships,” Monty Wallace said. “Of course that comes into play. Right now it [is] just a chance we [have] to take. Hopefully it will work out for the best. He could definitely still wind up in Charlottesville. It’s not out of the question.”

Wallace said he was “not prepared” to release the list of other schools that his son was considering.

Before committing to Virginia, Wallace flirted with the likes of Florida, North Carolina and Connecticut.

Dunks

In other recruiting news, Solomon Alabi, a 7-1 high school senior from Florida (via Nigeria), has committed to Florida State. Alabi had visited Virginia on Sept. 9 … Patrick Patterson, a much-sought-after senior forward from West Virginia, will take an official visit to UVa in late October.

 

Virginia's secondary turnaround
Virginia's defensive backfield wants to step it up
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
September 29, 2006

His stomach was growling. He needed a quick fix but being a senior, a leader, a captain, Marcus Hamilton knew he had better wait.

Just like he feels about interceptions, Virginia’s top cornerback wanted to get his hands on some chicken wings.

And of all people, Hamilton’s feeding frenzy was halted to wait on a rookie.

That rookie? Jameel Sewell. The reason? The Cavaliers’ redshirt freshman had to go to the training room to get stitches in his leg.

Hamilton agrees that it was one of the freakiest accidents in Virginia football history - during the preseason practice period, Sewell got one of his flip-flops caught in a bicycle chain on a short trip to the team hotel. Even in that awkward moment, Hamilton patiently waited alone in a local eatery. He knew his actions would mean more to Sewell.

As one teammate put it, “that’s Marcus Hamilton just being Marcus Hamilton.”

From day to day and play to play, this 22-year-old always looks at the glass as half-full.

That’s the way Hamilton looks at Virginia’s current predicament. Starting the season 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the ACC is far from ideal, but with a showdown at Duke (0-3, 0-2) looming on Saturday, Hamilton knows life must go on.

That would be hard for the average player to do. Hamilton watched a homecoming loss to Western Michigan from the sidelines with a shoulder injury and returned only to be beaten for a second-half touchdown by Georgia Tech All-American wideout Calvin Johnson.

“I feel like it is my responsibility to try to turn things around and walk around with a positive attitude and say that things aren’t completely over,” Hamilton said on Tuesday. “We can turn this around if everybody keeps fighting. That’s what I am trying to do to help the team out.”

As the only senior starter on Virginia’s defense, Hamilton has seen his share of long faces among the youngsters in the locker room.

“Anytime you lose, as a competitor, you are going to be down and out about it,” Hamilton said. “I just don’t want it to linger around and stick in the back of guys’ minds that we are 1-3. Hopefully, they can put that behind them and go out here in Durham and get a victory.”

Hamilton admitted that improvements must be made throughout the secondary. While UVa ranks 45th in pass defense, the unit has given up five touchdown passes, including four that went at least 58 yards. Only seven programs in the country are worse than the Cavaliers in pass-efficiency defense.

“It bothers me a lot that we are playing so good on defense stopping the run but yet on the back end we are giving up a lot of deep balls,” Hamilton said. “We have to keep watching film and see what we are doing in making those mistakes.”

Virginia coach Al Groh said the problem lies in “individual breakdowns in the secondary.” Those would be explainable if opponents had run intricate pass plays. Groh said that has not been the case.

“They haven’t been complex patterns. In almost all of the cases they have been quite elementary patterns,” Groh added. “They’ve been pretty straight forward. We have either misplayed the pattern or misplayed the ball.”

Can it be corrected? Hamilton certainly thinks so.

“I still feel like the secondary is one of the strongest parts of this team. There is nothing that is going to change my mind on that,” Hamilton said. “We just need to continue to watch film and get better and eliminate those big plays. If we can do that, I think we will be fine.”

It would help, Hamilton said, if Virginia could force turnovers. So far this season, Virginia has only two interceptions and Duke’s starting quarterback, Thaddeus Lewis, has not thrown a pick in his last 62 passing attempts.

“We just need to make plays on the ball,” said Hamilton, who has one interception this year and 11 for his career. “We need to be aggressive and take chances but let them be smart chances, not just gambling but being in the position to make a play and when the ball is in the air go aggressively for the ball.”

 

Cavs take hit in hoops recruiting
One opts for Florida State, and another is uncertain he wants to play for U.Va.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Sep 29, 2006

The recruiting news hasn't been good for the University of Virginia men's basketball team this week. Solomon Alabi, a 7-1 center, picked Florida State over his other finalists, U.Va. and Arizona, and 6-6 forward Eric Wallace told Virginia's coaching staff that he's not sure he wants to come to Charlottesville.

Wallace, who's from the Winston-Salem, N.C., area, committed to U.Va. in June. He enrolled this summer at Hargrave Military Academy, where he's a 12th-grader and plays on the postgraduate team.

People close to Wallace have urged him to consider other schools, telling him he rushed into his commitment to U.Va., according to Hargrave postgraduate coach Kevin Keatts. Among the schools Wallace likes is Florida, but it's not clear if the interest is mutual.

The NCAA's early-signing period opens in November.

"To me, Virginia is still at the top of his list," Keatts said yesterday. "I would not be surprised if when all is said and done he signs with Virginia."

The Cavaliers continue to recruit another Hargrave player, 6-8, 215-pound Mike Scott, a graduate of Chesapeake's Deep Creek High. Scott signed with Temple last fall but was released from his letter of intent after John Chaney retired as the Owls' coach. - Jeff White
 

ACC NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Sep 29, 2006

AND THEN THERE WERE TWO: Of the 12 teams in the ACC, 10 have at least one loss. That one of the unbeaten teams is Virginia Tech (2-0, 4-0) is no surprise. That the other is Wake Forest (1-0, 4-0) qualifies as news.

The Demon Deacons, who host Division I-AA Liberty (3-1) tomorrow afternoon, are favored to start 5-0 for the first time since 1987. This is their first four-game winning streak in 14 years.

"It's a good feeling," Wake coach Jim Grobe said. "It's fun to win. But we know that the toughest part of the schedule is in front of us."

Still to come for the Deacons, whom the media picked to finish last in the Atlantic Division, are games against Clemson, Boston College, Florida State and Virginia Tech.

Former Virginia assistant Danny Rocco is in his first season as Liberty's coach. Rocco played and coached at Wake.

UNWAVERING ADMIRATION: N.C. State (1-0, 2-2), which is off this weekend, hosts Florida State (1-1, 3-1) on Oct. 5. The Seminoles aren't as formidable as they were in their early years as ACC members, but you'll never get Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato to admit that publicly.

"If they're wearing a helmet with a spear on it, they're awfully, awfully good," said Amato, a former FSU assistant.

BLOWOUT: The Clemson Tigers' 52-7 win over North Carolina last weekend was their most one-sided ACC victory since 1984, when they humbled Virginia 55-0.

Clemson (2-1, 3-1), which has lost several defensive standouts to season-ending injuries, probably is playing as well as any team in the ACC.

"I really like how our team has responded to date," Tigers coach Tommy Bowden said. "I just wish it was the end of the year, so we could call it quits."

Clemson entertains Louisiana Tech (1-2) tomorrow night at Death Valley. Tigers tailback James Davis (92.2) is the ACC's second-leading rusher, behind Virginia Tech's Branden Ore (99.8).

BOMBS AWAY: In 2005, the longest pass play Virginia allowed covered 57 yards. Through four games this season, the Cavaliers have generally played good defense, but they've surrendered passes that gained 58, 66, 72 and 78 yards -- all for touchdowns.

"That's what games are about: big plays," U.Va. defensive end Chris Long said. "You can't just discount them and draw from the positives."

WELCOME BREAK: Had Duke had a game last weekend, quarterback Thaddeus Lewis would not have been able to play, coach Ted Roof said. Lewis suffered a concussion Sept. 16 on a late hit by Virginia Tech's Aaron Rouse.

Lewis has since recovered, though, and will start tomorrow afternoon when Duke (0-2, 0-3) entertains Virginia (0-1, 1-3) at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Lewis, a true freshman, has completed 38 of 62 passes for 463 yards and one touchdown. He hasn't been intercepted. Duke, in fact, is one of only four teams in Division I-A not to have had a pass picked off this season.

DAVID AND GOLIATH: In a series that began in 1913, Boston College (3-1) and Division I-AA Maine (2-1) are about to meet for the first time since 1967. The Eagles host the Black Bears tomorrow afternoon.

"They're going to be excited to come here, and they're not going to be awed by coming to Boston College after going to Nebraska last year," BC coach Tom O'Brien said.

In front of 77,469 fans at the Cornhuskers' Memorial Stadium, Maine battled Nebraska gamely before falling 25-7.

STATE OF THE LEAGUE: ACC-bashing is popular these days, with only one team from the conference -- No.11 Virginia Tech -- ranked among the nation's top 15 in the latest Associated Press poll.

"Every league is going to have up years and down years," Miami coach Larry Coker said. "Is it as good now as it's ever been? It was probably better last year, but we'll see. It's still early in the year." -- Jeff White
 

Want some offensive linemen? How about recruiting some
Jury still out on new assistants
Doug Doughty

As much as I’d like not to be held accountable for what I say or write, there are occasions when some of my opinions need revisiting.

One of the major issues surrounding Virginia’s football program in the offseason was attrition, both among players with remaining eligibility and within the coaching staff.

To anyone who would listen, I felt that player losses would have much more impact than the coaching changes. Along the same lines, I felt that it was unreasonable to blame Al Groh for the departure of four assistant coaches when three of them were named head coaches and a fourth (Mark D’Onofrio) took a coordinator’s position under his best friend (Al Golden).

I still refuse to believe that their exit was any sort of statement on Groh or the way he runs a staff, although I can’t imagine that he’s the easiest guy to work for, especially in times like these.

But, with the Cavaliers off to their worst start (1-3) in 20 years, I think it’s safe to say that some of the areas under new supervision are not producing at previous levels.

>> Under Mike Groh, who replaced Ron Prince as offensive coordinator, the Cavaliers rank 116th out of 119 Division I-A teams in total offense and 117th in rushing offense. Their 166 yards in total offense at Georgia Tech was a low since the 1982 season.

>>Al Groh hired Dave Borbely to succeed Prince as offensive-line coach because of the similarities between Virginia’s running game and the one with which Borbely was associated at Colorado. However, there has been no resemblance between this Cavalier offensive line and its predecessors.

>> In his final year as UVa defensive coordinator, Al Golden, took over the defensive backs, an area he had not previously coached. The Cavaliers did not give up a pass completion of more than 57 yards. This year, with veteran Steve Bernstein stepping in and everybody back, UVa already has allowed four touchdown passes of 58 yards or more.

>> Al Groh has taken on a greater role with the linebackers because new linebackers coach Bobby Diaco also has special teams. The linebackers have been fine, but the special teams have been nothing special. Have you noticed how every kickoff return goes to the right? (“They did last year, too,” Groh pointed out).

The fourth new assistant coach Mike London has done a commendable job as defensive coordinator but I don’t imagine it hurts that he worked at Virginia previously from 2001-2004, personally coaching some of the players when he was defensive-line coach and interacting with most of the rest in his role as recruiting coordinator.

So, it’s easy to look at three of the new coaches and one of the promoted coaches (Mike Groh) and say that their units have not lived up to expectations, but I’m not sure that says something about whether they’re good or bad coaches.

Maybe it’s because she’s been married to me for 27 years, but my wife tells me that it all comes down to recruiting. SEC roundtable member Gene McBurney, whose daughter is a freshman at UVa, says his daughter’s roommate says Virginia needs more offensive linemen.

Ya think?

According to my rough calculations, Virginia has 11 recruited scholarship offensive linemen in its program, one of whom, B.J. Cabbell, is being redshirted. Three others – D.J. Bell, Gordie Sammis and Patrick Slebonick – hardly play.

Virginia is trying to get through the season with seven offensive linemen, one of whom, Eugene Monroe, had offseason surgery for a dislocated kneecap and is far from peak form. Sure, Elton Brown and D’Brickashaw Ferguson set a lofty standard for offensive-line play, but what’s wrong with a little depth?

It would have helped if Groh had made nice-nice with former starting tackle Eddie Pinigis before sending him down U.S. 29 to Liberty, but Groh doesn’t do warm and fuzzy very well.

When Virginia’s secondary play was unacceptable in Groh’s first couple of seasons, the Cavaliers went after defensive backs, but you almost wonder if they overdid it.

By my accounts, UVa has 13 recruited scholarship defensive backs for four starting spots, and that doesn’t count walk-ons like Byron Glaspy, who starts at safety, or Ryan Best, a regular contributor in 2005 who has virtually disappeared from sight this year Both are on scholarship now, as is a third walk-on, Ben Parziale, from Jefferson Forest.

Of the 16 seniors in high school who have committed to UVa, only one, Brad Hallick from Pottsville, Pa., is an offensive lineman. Throw in the three 2006 signees who are at Hargrave Military Academy and that yields a second offensive lineman, Billy Cuffee, but that still makes only three offensive linemen in the bottom two classes.

I don’t care who’s doing the coaching – Ron Prince, Dave Borbely or hey, even, Curt Newsome – that’s not enough.

AS OF 4 P.M., Hargrave Military Academy postgraduate basketball coach Kevin Keatts had not responded to three phone messages and it can only be assumed that he didn’t want to talk about Eric Wallace, although media gadfly Jeff White says he has spoken to Keatts.

(White rises at 5 a.m., so he’s adept at catching unsuspecting interview targets before they’re awake or functional.)

In any case, Wallace apparently has decided to re-open his recruiting, which doesn’t come at a good time for Virginia, which must have thought it had the 3-4 spot covered. Most players of Wallace’s playing style and national rankings aren’t likely to add a school at this point.

Hopefully, Keatts will have responded in time to make Friday’s Notebook Plus. Otherwise, he can expect publication of a “candid” photo to rival the recent Notebook Plus shot of Hargrave football coach Robert Prunty attacking a plate of barbecued wings.

 

N.C. State aims to keep students from urinating in stadium seats
ELIZABETH DUNBAR
Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. - The student sections at college football games are usually a little unruly, but student leaders at North Carolina State University just want the urinating to stop.

And the problem isn't just a rowdy bunch of intoxicated fans. Students say efforts aimed at preventing overcrowding in the student section at Carter-Finley Stadium led some fans, worried about being allowed back to their seats, to stay put during the Wolfpack's upset win last weekend against Boston College.

"They didn't want to leave the section to go to the bathroom," said student body president Will Quick. Complaints about urinating and vomiting in the stands soon followed.

N.C. State uses an online ticketing system that allows students to print their tickets at home. They enter the stadium by scanning a bar code on the ticket, but enter their assigned seating section by showing the ticket to an usher. Quick said many students make copies of the tickets for the main student section so that they can sit with their friends, who may be assigned to a less favorable section.

And so when staff and police officers announced the section was full during last weekend's 17-15 win against the Eagles, some students opted to remain in the stands - no matter what.

"It was a bad image for N.C. State and for students," said Quick, adding that he was especially disappointed that it happened during Parents' Weekend. "We're not all like that."

John Dailey, assistant director for the campus police, said officers have worked hard to assist event staff in preventing overcrowding.

"It had been closed off because of safety reasons," Dailey said. "If I were a student and had a legitimate ticket, I would be upset too."

A remedy is already in the works for N.C. State's game against Florida State on Oct. 5.

"The plan now is to add a hand stamp to designate where a student is eligible, so it's not something you can pass off to someone," said Dick Christy, N.C. State's interim associate athletic director, who oversees ticketing and marketing. He said the plan will likely be finalized Friday or Monday.

Students would need the combination of the hand stamp and the ticket to enter their assigned section, Christy said.

Quick said the first student ticket-holders who show up at the games will get a stamp that assigns them to the main student section. Those who arrive later will be given end zone or upper level seats, he said.

Not everyone is convinced the hand-stamping will ease the problems.

Brian Simorka, a senior and board member of the student Wolfpack Club, said he's seen athletics event staff try a variety of methods to manage the student section. There will always be fans who come to football games drunk and unruly, he said.

"It's really hard to control all that. I think they do the best job they possibly can with the circumstances," he said.

 

Dilweg sees some potential
By Frank Dacenzo : The Herald-Sun
fdacenzo@heraldsun.com
Sep 28, 2006 : 11:57 pm ET

DURHAM -- Anthony Dilweg will be on the sideline Saturday for the Virginia-Duke football game wondering what you and I are wondering -- can Duke win a game?

The Blue Devils and Dilweg know each other, which is kind of nice. What's not so nice is that Dilweg cannot suit up, read Virginia's defense and throw passes into the teeth of the Cavaliers' secondary the way he did 18 years ago at Wade Stadium when he threw for 391 yards and three touchdowns as Duke held off UVa 38-34.

Dilweg knows Duke, believe me. He wasn't the 1988 ACC player of the year by default.

He threw with intelligence and he brought adventure to every snap. Duke finished 7-3-1 his senior season and if not for a phantom fifth defensive back that an official at Carter-Finley Stadium said he saw, the Blue Devils would have played Iowa in the Peach Bowl.

Now Dilweg is president of The Dilweg Co. in Durham and is in his eighth season as the sideline reporter on the Duke Radio Network. Duke's record with Dilweg and a microphone is 12-70, 6-51 ACC. He was there for the collapse of Carl Franks on Oct. 18, 2003, when Wake Forest kept the score down in a 42-13 rout of the Blue Devils. And Dilweg has been there for all of Ted Roof's games.

Sure, Dilweg played for Steve Spurrier when innovation was re-discovered in royal blue, and Dilweg was the perfect ingredient to orchestrate an attack that persistently produced points. Dilweg helped engineer a 31-26 win at Tennessee in his second game as a starter. He led a 31-point attack at Georgia Tech, 43 at N.C. State and 35 in his final game, a win over North Carolina when Spurrier was banned by ACC commissioner Gene Corrigan for remarks about that fifth DB.

Dilweg chooses his words delicately about the fate of Duke.

"I am absolutely convinced Duke can win six to eight games a year," Dilweg said.

Sounds crazy, doesn't it?

"The thing that challenges Duke is all about using brain power, being innovative, bold and creative," Dilweg said. "A lot of people fear failure, and any successful program has that. It's one thing to talk about doing it, and it's another to go and do it."

Today's kids likely know little about Dilweg and his swashbuckling afternoons that so often were filled with pass after pass. Dilweg's first two games totaled 62 points and his last two 78, with Duke winning three and tying one. If Duke had a QB like Dilweg, he'd be on the cover of magazines and bowl-bound.

"I'll take Anthony as my quarterback anywhere and anytime and against anybody," said Johnny Moore, owner of the Duke Radio Network. "Anthony played the game and learned a lot under Spurrier and [former Packers coach Lindy Infante], and he sees things and explains them."

Dilweg shows up for the broadcasts a realist. He knows Duke's familiarity with the underdog role and how rare it is when the Blue Devils can celebrate an ACC win emotionally.

"But it keeps me connected [to football], and there's always hope," Dilweg said. "The setbacks are hard, but what bothers you most is if you aren't seeing progress. It's a unique perspective. I see the heart, the soul and the attitude on the sidelines."

Dilweg peers deeper than most of us at today's players. He sees insight, direction and intensity that can lead to success off the field as well as on it.

"In the business world, it's what you look for," Dilweg said. "The most fun is seeing these freshmen come in -- and we've had two good recruiting classes -- and how they're working with the coaching staff. It's about going beyond the game. I've talked to at least a half-dozen graduates who've been beaten but have never quit, and that can transform into success in the business world. Every kid who comes in thinks he can change the program around. But by the junior year, you can get caught up in the misery.

"A few will ask me what was it like under Spurrier. Well, we got a lot of yards and it was fun."

 

Tight end production down with struggling Qbs, line
Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 28, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Virginia prides itself on being Tight End U. You wouldn't be able to tell from the number of receptions the tight ends had at Georgia Tech.
Despite a talented trio that includes Tom Santi, Jonathan Stupar and John Phillips, Santi was the only tight end to catch a pass last Thursday. It went for eight yards.

While Santi has 16 receptions for 124 yards this year, Stupar, who led UVa's tight ends with 24 catches for 319 yards last year, has just four receptions this season. Phillips has not caught a pass.

Certainly, UVa's uncertainty at quarterback has contributed to the lack of production by the tight ends. The struggle of the offensive line also has.

"One of the things that they understand real well is that if the quarterback is under siege, nobody's going to get the ball anyway," Virginia head coach Al Groh said. "So it doesn't make much difference if they're out in the pattern. They've been very unselfish about it and they've understood what was necessary.

"They were a good aid at Georgia Tech. The quarterback wasn't perfect, but he was under less duress than he has been in previous games."

So how can UVa get more production from that position?

"You take them out of protection more," Groh said. "Who knows if that is a good news (or) bad news deal?"

Let 'er rip

Jameel Sewell's overall numbers weren't too impressive against Georgia Tech. The redshirt freshman quarterback was 15-for-32 with two interceptions and a touchdown. Progress can't be completely measured in numbers, though.

Sewell struggled in the first half, trying to aim too much and often skipping throws to receivers.

"I didn't feel nervous," Sewell said. "Maybe it was kind of an unconscious nervousness that was flowing through me. ? I guess it was just too much excitement."

In the second half, Sewell let loose on a couple throws and looked much better. Though he still only had 93 yards through the air, his receivers dropped several passes, including a long ball Sewell put on the money to Fontel Mines and what would have been a touchdown pass to Kevin Ogletree.

Sewell has always been a natural passer in practice, according to coaches. What he showed in the second half was more of what they see on a day-to-day basis.

Groh said Sewell looked good in the second half "on all the balls that (weren't) your little gimme throws, but the balls that really are required for a quarterback to stand out."

Big play = long day

After Calvin Johnson's performance last Thursday, the Virginia secondary has now given up four touchdown passes longer than 50 yards in four games.

"They haven't been complex patterns," Groh said. "They've been pretty straightforward. We've either just misplayed the pattern or misplayed the ball."

Aside from the two big plays at Georgia Tech, the defense did not play poorly. Those two plays accounted for 124 of Georgia Tech's 335 yards.

"It bothers me a lot," said cornerback Marcus Hamilton, who was burned on Johnson's second touchdown grab up the right sideline. "We've played so good on defense stopping the run and yet on the backend, we're giving up deep balls.

Virginia's pass defense ranks 45th in the nation and is fifth in the ACC, giving up 174.5 yards per game.


 

No guarantees for struggling Cavaliers
Virginia will look to notch their second win of the season, first in the ACC, Saturday afternoon against Blue Devils
Aaron Perryman, Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

After losing 24-7 to a solid Georgia Tech team last Thursday, the Cavaliers head down to Durham, N.C. tomorrow to play a win less Duke football team in what would normally be seen as an easy victory. However, this time, the normally stronger Cavaliers are struggling just like their Blue Devil counterparts, who are coming off a bye-week.

While Virginia does have the edge in wins with a record of 1-3, Virginia coach Al Groh sees Duke as an equal match-up this time around.

"There are a lot of similarities between the two teams," Groh said. "I think it's a pretty even match-up and given that Duke has had a lot more time to rest and prepare, as well as the fact that they're at home is probably an advantage for them."

Despite the fact that both teams are struggling, both teams are solid in run defense. However, their pass defenses have been sub-par.

"Both teams have done relatively well on defense against the run," Groh said. "Both teams have probably given up more long passes than they would like to have given up, which has negated some of the good work against the run that both teams have been able to do."

Statistically, the Blue Devils rank sixth in the ACC in rush defense, giving up 88 yards per game on the ground. Virginia ranks ninth, giving up 129.8 yards a game. As for pass defense, the Cavaliers have the edge over the Blue Devils. Virginia ranks fifth, at 174.5 yards per game, and Duke ranks 11th, at 223.7 yards per game.

The offensive woes of the Cavaliers have been well-documented. They haven't scored above 13 points so far this season and rank dead last in the conference for total offense. Duke actually ranks just above the Cavaliers in that category but has had an even harder time than the Cavaliers when it comes to producing points, getting shut out twice this season, once by Virginia Tech and once by I-AA Richmond at home.

For the Cavaliers, this game is a must-win in the midst of a season that features no future opponent as weak as the Blue Devils. This sense of urgency is felt throughout the team.

"You have to play every game like it's the Super Bowl when you're 1-3," junior defensive end Chris Long said.

A win Saturday could also boost the confidences of some of the players.

"When you're 1-3, you want to win as bad as ever," Long said. "This is a game that is necessary to win because a lot of guys would benefit not just from a win but also from a sound performance in execution and doing the things that we know we can do."

The players still don't consider this a rebuilding year and believe that it is up to them to turn the season around.

"As a player, you never accept a rebuilding year," Long said. "Most teams have the tools to compete for their conference championship. It's really just about execution. It's on us at this point. In the end, if this is to be turned around, it's a players' thing to do. The players have to take it upon themselves to make the plays."

The quarterback controversy earlier this season seems to have now fizzled out. Redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell will once again get the start under center after starting against Georgia Tech and starting in the second half against Western Michigan. After a shaky first half against the Yellow Jackets, Sewell wasn't benched by the coaching staff and he performed better in the second half, engineering a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to avoid the shutout.

"I just feel that my confidence level has gone up knowing that I was able to somewhat bounce back from a bad first half of play against Georgia Tech," Sewell said.

Virginia takes the field at noon tomorrow in Durham and the game will be televised on Lincoln-Raycom television.