White: Spirit Of '84 Returns
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 09/11/2009
By Jeff White

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The season ended in Atlanta with a historic victory, a 27-24 win over Purdue that attached an exclamation point to the first bowl appearance in University of Virginia history.
The Cavaliers exited 1984 with an 8-2-2 record, and a tradition began. A football program that for years had been an afterthought -- or worse -- would finish with a losing record only once in the next 16 seasons under coach George Welsh.
"That was the turning point," Welsh said this week.
Welsh, who retired after the 2000 season, and members of the '84 team will be honored Saturday at halftime of the UVa-TCU game at Scott Stadium.
That 1984 would one day carry such historical significance for UVa football was anything but certain on Sept. 8 of that year.
Virginia opened the season, its third under Welsh, against third-ranked Clemson that day. About 10 months earlier, the Wahoos had lost 48-0 to Virginia Tech in the 1983 regular-season finale at Scott Stadium, and now they were humbled again, on the same field.
Clemson 55, UVa 0.
The 'Hoos had finished 6-5 in 1983 -- only their second winning season in more than a decade -- and were expected to be better in '84. Not only was the roster stocked with talented players such as Barry Word, Jim Dowbrowski, Ron Mattes, Bob Olderman, Charles McDaniel and Lester Lyles, but Welsh had a tremendous staff.
His assistants in '84 included two men who are now ACC head coaches: N.C. State's Tom O'Brien and Boston College's Frank Spaziani.
O'Brien coached the Cavaliers' offensive guards and centers; Spaziani, the defensive backs. The other assistants were Ed Henry (defensive ends), Ken Mack (running backs), Art Markos (defensive line), Bob Petchel (wide receivers), Tom Sherman (quarterbacks), Tony Whittlesey (linebackers) and Danny Wilmer (offensive tackles and tight ends).
With Welsh, who would be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004, in charge, Virginia clearly had all the ingredients needed for a successful season. But the loss to the Tigers raised doubts among fans and, more important, UVa players.
"That devastated the team," Welsh recalled. "That loss was tough to come out of psychologically."
But the Cavaliers proved to be as resilient as they were talented. They rebounded from the Clemson debacle to hammer VMI 35-7, then whipped Navy, Welsh's alma mater and previous employer, 21-9 in Annapolis.
Then came a trip to Blacksburg, where Tech fans were still incensed about comments made by McDaniel, a linebacker who even then didn't mince words. They threw bottles, among other things, at him in Lane Stadium.
"It was a very hostile environment," McDaniel recalled this week. "It was a situation where you were clearly in the enemy's den, and to come out of there with a win was huge."
The Cavaliers came in having lost four straight to the Hokies, two by shutout, and a fifth consecutive defeat appeared likely after three quarters.
UVa trailed 23-13. But one of the most memorable plays in the series' history -- a 33-yard completion from quarterback Don Majkowski to freshman wide receiver John Ford on fourth-and-inches from Tech's 34 -- ignited Virginia's comeback.
The Hokies missed a 51-yard field-goal attempt on the game's final play, and the 'Hoos celebrated a 26-23 victory.
McDaniel said: "That was a huge, huge win for the players, for the staff and for the school, and it was further evidence that we were on the way."
"That year was the start of turning the program around, and that was a pivotal game," Majkowski told the Newport News Daily Press in 2005.
The Cavaliers' ascent stalled when they tied No. 20 Georgia Tech 20-20, but they followed that by crushing Wake Forest 28-9. Then came a trip to Morgantown, W.Va., to face the nation's 12th-ranked team.
Many observers predicted a blowout, and they were correct. But it wasn't what they expected. UVa shocked the Mountaineers 27-7.
"We were pretty good at that point," Welsh said, "but we caught them at the right time. They had just beaten Penn State the week before" -- after losing 25 straight in that series -- "and when we got there the day before, [newspapers] were still writing about it. I think they underestimated us."
The Cavaliers didn't overlook their next opponent, N.C. State. Virginia destroyed the Wolfpack 45-0 at Scott Stadium. That win moved the Wahoos into The Associated Press' Top 20 for the first time in 32 years, at No. 19, but they departed after tying North Carolina 24-24 in Chapel Hill.
"More ties than a soccer team," Welsh said, shaking his head.
The regular-season finale went worse, as UVa lost 45-34 to No. 18 Maryland in Charlottesville. But a trip to Atlanta loomed for the Cavaliers, who had accepted an invitation to the Peach Bowl. It's difficult now to appreciate the excitement that surrounded the program as the New Year's Eve game approached.
Bowl appearances were routine for other schools, but not for UVa.
"It was such a big deal for all of us," McDaniel said, "for the fans, the University and definitely the athletes and the staff. It had never been done before."
McDaniel started as a true freshman on Welsh's first UVa team, which went 2-9 in 1982. He originally committed to North Carolina but changed his mind after meeting the Cavaliers' new coach.
"George Welsh was the reason many of us chose to come to Virginia," McDaniel said. "He wasn't a great salesman, he was just brutally honest, and you looked at his past history. If you can take Navy to four bowls in five years, and you can finish in the Top 20, you can sure as hell do it at Virginia."
The 1982 season was rough -- "It took Welsh a year to purge the system of players who didn't get it or didn't care or didn't have the ability to do it," said McDaniel -- but UVa's success the next season laid the foundation for the breakthrough in '84.
"That third year, we knew we had the pieces in place," McDaniel said. "Now, we started off like hell, but we came back ... It wasn't a rah-rah team, but it was a team that believed in the mission, believed in the philosophy."
In the Peach Bowl, then played outdoors at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Jim Everett threw three touchdown passes in the first half, and Purdue went into the break ahead 24-14. But the Cavaliers' defense, led by cornerback Ray Daly, stiffened, and their offense took control.
Majkowski scored on a 1-yard run early in the third quarter, and Kenny Stadlin tied the game at 24-24 with 12:59 left.
Stadlin's 22-yarder with 7:17 remaining proved to be the game-winner, and when the time expired, a party began that lasted well into the next day.
"It was a special time," McDaniel said. "I think if you ask most people, that bowl game is still the greatest bowl game in the history of Virginia athletics, because of what it meant. It was the first time, I think, that Virginia became known as a football school, or certainly one that was on the map."

Start Of Something Big
At halftime of Saturday's football game between UVa and TCU at Scott Stadium, members of Virginia's 1984 team will be recognized.
That was the first team in school history to advance to a bowl game, and coach George Welsh's standouts included Don Majkowski, John Ford, Charles McDaniel, Ron Mattes, Bob Olderman, Jim Dombrowski, Lester Lyles, Kenny Stadlin, Barry Word and Howard "Beaver" Petty.
Here's how the season unfolded:
Date Opponent Score
Sept. 8 No. 3 Clemson L, 55-0
Sept. 15 VMI W, 35-7
Sept. 22 at Navy W, 21-9
Sept. 29 at Virginia Tech W, 26-23
Oct. 6 at Duke W, 38-10
Oct. 13 No. 20 Georgia Tech T, 20-20
Oct. 20 Wake Forest W, 28-9
Nov. 3 at No. 12 West Virginia W, 27-7
Nov. 10 N.C. State W, 45-0
Nov. 17 at North Carolina T, 24-24
Nov. 24 No. 18 Maryland L, 45-34
*Dec. 31 Purdue W, 27-24
*Peach Bowl in Atlanta


 

White: Big Test Awaits Barker
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 09/11/2009
By Jeff White

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Will Barker can make some money Saturday at Scott Stadium. If he's successful, his payday won't come until after the next NFL draft, but a rare opportunity awaits UVa's starting right offensive tackle.
Barker's assignment is straightforward -- keep Jerry Hughes from getting to the quarterback -- but it won't be easy.
Hughes, a 6-3, 257-pound senior at Texas Christian University, might be the top defensive end in college football.
He led the nation with 15 sacks and was named an All-American last season. Hughes starts at left end, which means he'll be trying to get through or around the 6-7, 320-pound Barker in No. 16 TCU's opener.
"He's definitely one of the better ends I've gone against, if not the best," said Barker, a four-year starter. "He's a hell of a player."
And if Barker limits Hughes' impact on the game? The NFL will notice. About a half-dozen scouts are expected to be at the stadium Saturday, and they'll be watching Barker and Hughes closely.
"Both will be on teams' lists," Cavaliers coach Al Groh said. "This will be one of those games that for each player will give him an opportunity to [increase his stock]."
Groh cited Eugene Monroe's performance against Georgia Tech last season. Monroe, then UVa's starting left tackle, dominated his battles with the Yellow Jackets' outstanding defensive ends, Michael Johnson and Derrick Morgan.
That's one reason Monroe became the eighth player selected in this year's NFL draft. Johnson was taken in the third round.
"Certainly the way Eugene performed in that game enabled him to solidify his draft status," Groh said. "That is, the scouts could look at him and say, 'OK, he's blocked a certain amount of players, but they are never going be to NFL pass-rushers. Here is a guy who is touted as an NFL pass-rusher, and [Monroe] really dealt with him.'"
Inconsistency has been a problem for Barker, who has yet to earn All-ACC recognition, but he distinguished himself in Atlanta last year, too. In fact, the ACC honored Barker, not Monroe, as its offensive lineman of the week after UVa's upset of No. 21 Georgia Tech.
Barker did not allow a sack and helped Virginia total 270 yards passing and 126 rushing.
He's now Virginia's most experienced lineman. He knows NFL scouts are watching. He knows, too, that his team needs him to play well week in and week out. If Barker does that, the money will follow.
"The team comes first," he said.
Hughes, who's from Sugar Land, Texas, was a star running back in high school, and speed remains his trademark.
"He brings a lot of that explosiveness off the edge that players are not used to seeing," Groh said, but Hughes has other assets.
"He comes off the edge with speed to start with, but he converts it into a lot of power when he gets cut off," Groh said.
To simulate Hughes' speed, Groh has run defensive backs at Barker in pass-blocking drills this week. The big redhead from Bryn Mawr, Pa., faces the real thing Saturday.
"It's a challenge, and I welcome it," Barker said. "For my own sake, it's kind of a meter of where I am and how good I am."



 

Coaches Will Put Friendship Aside Saturday
Sept. 11, 2009
10:58 a.m.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- On the Mountain West football coaches' teleconference Tuesday, Texas Christian's Gary Patterson said that he and Al Groh are good friends.

Two days later, Groh elaborated on their relationship. UVa (0-1) and No. 16 TCU meet Saturday at Scott Stadium.

TCU, like Virginia, has a contract with Nike, and "we first got together at a Nike event," Groh said. "Gary's a real football guy. We've enjoyed talking football together."

At some Nike functions, Groh said, "you can tell the fellas that are there that want to leave football back where they came from." And then there are the coaches, Patterson and Groh included, who are happy to talk shop.

"Now, he's a very fun, engaging guy," Groh said. "He plays the guitar and goes scuba diving. He does a lot of interesting things, but he's still a football guy at heart, and we've appreciated that and learned some things from talking to him."

This is Patterson's ninth season at TCU, where his record is 73-27. The Horned Frogs have won 11 games in four of the past six seasons.

"We can see in playing his team that there's a real plan for how they put their team together and how they try to construct the game to integrate all three units," Groh said. "They really maximize their situation. How many teams in the country consistently win 10 games?"

-- Jeff White







Checking In With Men's Lacrosse
Sept. 11, 2009
9:25 a.m.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Steele Stanwick will start on attack, and Chris Bocklet is making a strong case to join his classmate in the first group. But it's still early in fall practice, and men's lacrosse coach Dom Starsia isn't close to settling on a starting attack.

His options there are sophomores Stanwick and Bocklet, senior Tim Fuchs and freshmen Matt White, Connor English, Nick O'Reilly and Matt Cockerton.

"Some day, one or two of them are going to be middies, but not today," said Starsia, whose team has an intrasquad scrimmage Friday. "Not until we figure this out.

"My guess would be that we're going to go into the season probably with four attackmen ready to play."

In 2009, three of the Cavaliers' top four attackmen -- Danny Glading, Garrett Billings and Gavin Gill -- were seniors. Stanwick started and scored 58 points, on 36 goals and 22 assists.

"Stanwick is the leader of the group right now," Starsia said. "He's the quarterback."

Bocklet was a heralded recruit who, because of the Wahoos' glut of veteran attackmen, rarely played in 2009.

"He's shown the poise of being a second-year kid," Starsia said. "He's shooting the lights out and playing a forceful confidence the [first-year] kids haven't shown."

With such a young attack, UVa will need increased production from the midfield, and Starsia loves what he's seen at that position thus far.

"My early impressions are, we got five powerful kids working in and out of the first group," he said.

Those would be the Bratton twins (juniors Shamel and Rhamel), senior Brian Carroll, junior John Haldy and freshman Chris LaPierre.

The 6-2, 229-pound LaPierre is "a freaking horse," Starsia said. "I haven't seen a middie this big who can run this well, maybe ever."

LaPierre, who was one of New Jersey's top football players in 2008, is versatile enough to play defensive middie, and he could take some faceoffs.

"We're looking for ways to get him on the field," Starsia said.

-- Jeff White

 

On closer examination - Doug Doughty

Ever since Al Groh announced Aug. 31 that Vic Hall would be playing quarterback and returning punts for Virginia’s football team, I’ve been meaning to crunch the numbers.

“Every time a ball is punted to us, the game is on the line,” Groh said, “so we're going to have the best player back there who is available.”

Is Hall the best player punt returner that UVa available? That’s hard to say. Hall has done virtually all of the Cavaliers’ punt returning since the start of the 2007 season.
Maybe there’s nobody else available, but is Hall even a good punt returner?

Early on, he was. He was terrific, in fact. But not lately.

Hall’s first punt return, against Duke in the second game of the 2007 season, went for 67 yards. Three weeks later, he had a 45-yard punt return against Pittsburgh.

His first five punt returns went for 147 yards, a 29.6-yard average.

Since then, Hall has had 37 returns for 202 yards, a 5.5-yard average. His longest return over that time is 16 yards.

Of course, nobody is going to average 29.6 yards on punt returns over the course of a career, but 5.5 yards per return is nothing special.

UVa ranked 69th in Division I-A in punt-return yardage last year.

I was going to bring up the matter of Hall’s game-turning fumble inside the UVa 10-yard line last week against William and Mary, but the statistics indicate he is not a chronic fumbler.

He lost fumbles on punt returns in consecutive games against Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh during the 2007 season but fumbled only once on a punt return last year, and that was recovered by the Cavaliers.

A bigger issue was the punts he didn’t return. Often, Hall was lined up too deep and balls routinely would bounce 15 and 20 yards past him.

If there is a percentage that might reflect that, it would be percentage of punts returned.

Over the past two seasons, opponents attempted 135 punts and Hall returned 39. That’s a percentage of 28.9. On the flip side, Virginia attempted 145 punts and opponents returned 71, a 49.0 percentage.

Forgive me for getting caught up in the numbers, but if the Cavaliers wanted Hall to concentrate on his quarterbacking duties, I’m not sure they’d be giving up a lot in the return game.
 

Saturday, September 12, 2009
TCU makes its first of two treks into ACC land in its season opener.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

Two football coaches, one theme song.

That's one of the few apparent similarities between Virginia and 16th-ranked Texas Christian, which makes its first visit to Scott Stadium today for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.

Both head coaches, UVa's Al Groh and the TCU's Gary Patterson, have been known to play rock music at their practices.

One of the selections at TCU's first practice Aug. 17 was "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty.

In a subsequent news conference, Groh was asked his opinion of Patterson's choice.

"I play it every day," Groh said. "On the way to work. Same song."

Then, Groh recited the lyrics:

"You can stand me up before the gates of hell and I won't back down. I will hold my ground."

If Virginia can't improve on its performance in a 26-14 season-opening loss to William and Mary, another Tom Petty song might be more appropriate.

"Free Fallin.'"

There's a third song on the same 1989 Petty album, Full Moon Fever, that might sum up TCU's mission this season.

"Runnin' Down a Dream."

The Horned Frogs have most of the pieces intact from a 2008 team that finished 11-1 last season and is the preseason choice for first place in the Mountain West Conference.

That's the same conference that has been lobbying for an automatic BCS bid since Utah's 31-17 victory over No. 4 Alabama in last January's Sugar Bowl.

Utah earlier had handed TCU its only loss of the season, a 13-10 squeaker in Salt Lake City.

Groh has said of the Horned Frogs: "They certainly would be one of the favorites in this conference [the ACC] if they were in this conference. They're very legitimate."

Groh's statement at the ACC Football Kickoff in Greensboro, N.C., raised a few eyebrows.

"They're averaging 10 or 11 wins a year over the last five or six years," Groh said. "When you're No. 1 in the country on defense and 12th on offense, you're pretty good.

"This is a team that, on the East Coast, won't bring a lot of hype with them but is a really good team. I'm really impressed and really respectful of how they play."

Virginia is one of two ACC teams that Texas Christian will visit over the span of 15 days. The Horned Frogs play at Clemson on Sept. 26; however, the Tigers won't be required to play at TCU.

The Cavaliers will go to Fort Worth, Texas, in 2012.

"We're always looking for home-and-homes," Patterson said, "and Virginia was somebody that was available that would do a home-and-home. With a lot of the teams we play, like for the Clemson game, we'll get paid a lot of money and go there one time.

"I was excited about it, not that I was excited about playing Virginia, but just to be able to go to the East Coast and get in front of more TV sets. That's the biggest thing. We've talked about the Mountain West and exposure. The East has a lot more TV sets.

"You're always still building a reputation, and Virginia and Clemson are two pretty historic programs."

An opening developed on Virginia's schedule when Army asked out of a game originally slated for Charlottesville this season.

TCU isn't the first Mountain West team to play home-and-home with Virginia. Most recently, UVa edged visiting Wyoming in overtime in 2006, 13-12, before dropping the 2007 season opener in Laramie, 23-3.

Groh said he was not involved in arranging the series, which was set up by the TCU athletic director and assistant athletic director, according to Patterson.

Danny Morrison resigned as TCU athletic director after being named president of the Carolina Panthers earlier this month. Taking over as interim athletic director was former associate Davis Babb, who was the athletic director at VMI for seven years in the 1990s.

The trip to Charlottesville will represent a homecoming for a second member of the TCU travelling party. Eddie Williamson, the head football coach at VMI from 1985-88, is in his ninth season as the Horned Frogs' offensive-line coach and has been TCU's assistant head coach since 2002.
 

Virginia looks for turnaround against TCU
By Michael Phillips
Published: September 12, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- He's got interchangeable parts at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver.

And today, for the second straight game, Al Groh will continue to mix and match his Mr. Potato Head offense in search of the right look.

Especially at quarterback, where three candidates continue to fight for the job, Groh insists that it's not about trickery -- he just wants somebody to play well.

"Until we can find the consistent level of execution we need, we'll have to continue the search," he said. "Would we like it to be otherwise? I'm sure we would."

The margin of error will be slim against No. 16 Texas Christian, which would like to make a nationally televised statement to the BCS committee.

Also complicating the quarterback search is a hip injury to Vic Hall, which will likely sideline him for today's game.

That leaves senior Jameel Sewell (Hermitage High School) and junior Marc Verica as the remaining contenders.

Sewell is a hybrid runner/passer, while Verica is more of a true pocket quarterback. Hall plays a similar game as Sewell, including a nifty touchdown run last week -- though he said that he was ultimately disappointed because of the loss.

"It doesn't matter. We didn't win the game," he said. "If one of us dies, we all die. Mistakes overshadow plays like that."

At running back, Mikell Simpson and Torrey Mack will continue to alternate for a second week, with neither getting many opportunities last week. And a young group of four receivers will continue to swap in and out as well.

But it's quarterback that draws the most attention, and Groh said that he's not afraid to rotate them in and out, using their various styles to his advantage depending on the game.

"Until one steps up and shows that this is the guy you can ride -- which hasn't been the case so far -- we feel it will be necessary to use however many to get the position to play well enough," the coach said. "We're not trying to pull any magic tricks or be secretive with it -- we're just looking for execution."

That execution was noticeably lacking last week in a loss to William and Mary. The team coughed up seven turnovers, mostly on botched fundamentals.

Verica dismissed the thought that it was too hard to split practice time between three signal callers.

"We'll try to get those things ironed out, and I think we're improving every day," he said. "We'll just keep our heads up and stick together and things will work out."

Hall added that even when he's not taking the snap in practice, he's getting a "mental rep" by watching the play develop from the sideline.

Of course, things look different in a game, and the job will be a tall one again for the Cavs quarterbacks against the TCU defense, which regularly plays with as many as five defensive backs on the field.

As to what it will take to become the starter, Groh circles back to execution again -- saying that he'll be happy to coronate a starter when the tape shows that he should.

Until then, U.Va.'s offense remains a collection of parts awaiting assembly.

Three keys for U.Va.

Three keys for U.Va.
1. No big plays. TCU is out to prove a point to BCS voters in a rare nationally-televised game. Expect them to go for the throat early against a Virginia secondary that was fragile last week.
2. Vic's in the hall . If Hall can't play at quarterback, Jameel Sewell will have to carry the load as the team's run/pass quarterback option. He'd better be prepared to take a beating from the Horned Frogs defense.
3. No slippery fingers . If U.Va. turns over the ball as often as it did last week, it's going to be a long day for the Hoos. Ball protection equals time of possession, which will be crucial to victory.
 

TCU set for any changes by U.Va.
By Stefan Stevenson
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
September 12, 2009

One of the most anticipated seasons in TCU football history finally gets under way in Charlottesville today.

When the 16th-ranked Horned Frogs meet the Cavaliers (0-1) at 2:30 p.m. at Scott Stadium, there will be all sorts of intriguing storylines.

Will the slightly revamped offense show itself today?

Will All-America defensive end Jerry Hughes handle the wave of blockers surely coming his way?

And if Hughes is double-teamed, will another lineman — say, right defensive end Wayne Daniels — be able to take advantage?

How will the secondary, which may be without starting strong safety Colin Jones, fare against a few speedy Virginia receivers?

And finally, will Virginia's embarrassing loss at home to William and Mary last week be a detriment to the Frogs' intensity?

That last plot line is easy: Not a chance.

Gary Patterson, in his ninth season as TCU's head coach, is well-versed in season openers. His players, who have been practicing since Aug. 10, are bursting at the seams to finally face someone other than themselves.

"The first game is always a release," senior offensive lineman Marshall Newhouse said. "You've been banging on your teammates and you're ready to hit someone else."

Virginia had seven turnovers (four fumbles, three interceptions) in last week's loss, but Patterson isn't expecting those gifts today.

"We can't worry about Virginia," Patterson said. "We worry about TCU. We go play and we play hard, we'll have a chance to win. If we don't, we won't. The key word is 'chance.'"

For Hughes, who led the nation last year with 15 sacks.

"It's been a while since we've been out on the field, so we're all just eager to play football again," Hughes said.

Third-year starting quarterback Andy Dalton is excited about the passing-game possibilities with first-year co-offensive coordinators Justin Fuente and Garrett Anderson. Patterson has said he wants the Frogs to utilize receivers Jimmy Young and Jeremy Kerley with a more dynamic, pass-friendly offense.

"We've got so many guys who can make big plays," Dalton said. "My job is just to get them the ball. If I can do that, it will be fun to see what they can do with it."

Virginia used three quarterbacks last week, but Patterson said he expects to see a different offensive game plan today, one that may feature two-back sets or two tight ends instead of the spread formation the Cavaliers used last week.

"We've been repping their stuff," said Patterson, who has won his last six openers. "Whatever they've got, hopefully we'll have an answer for it."

They've been working toward this moment for a month now. Focus shouldn't be a problem.

 

Cavs' tough task: Get 'O' off ground
By Norm Wood
247-4642
September 12, 2009

As Virginia coach Al Groh sat Monday and rattled off the impressive statistics accumulated by Texas Christian last season, his words sounded like the makings of a horror story for a U.Va. offense that couldn't effectively move the ball on the ground against William and Mary.

The best way to describe U.Va.'s running efforts in the second half of last Saturday's 26-14 loss to W&M is non-existent. The Cavaliers (0-1) debuted the running game portion of offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon's spread offense by amassing 39 carries for 131 yards — an average of just 3.4 yards per carry.

Scary numbers for a team about to face a TCU defense that was first in the nation last season in rushing defense (47 yards per game), first in total defense (218 yards per game) and second in scoring defense (11.3 points per game).

U.Va. had just one 1,000-yard rusher in Groh's first eight seasons as coach, and it didn't appear on opening week as if the vaunted spread offense provides the right elements to pave the way for another 1,000-yard back in his ninth season. U.Va.'s offense produced only 268 yards against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent and turned the ball over seven times.

"Given the overall offensive production, I'd be reluctant to put the gold star on anybody that played (on offense)," said Groh, who added that he and his coaching staff broke from custom after the W&M game and didn't select an offensive player of the game. "Clearly, we need a higher level of execution. We have been pointing out at every position throughout the course of the (early part of the week), 'Look, if we'd have just executed this play as has been instructed, the result would've been a lot better.' "

In the second half, U.Va. ran the ball 16 times — 14 times by quarterbacks Jameel Sewell and Marc Verica; mostly on scrambles — for 19 yards. Not a single one of those second-half rushes came from Mikell Simpson or Torrey Mack, the top two running backs on the depth chart. Running back Dominique Wallace had two second-half carries for 7 yards.

After running the ball 11 times in the first 20 minutes of the second half, U.Va. abandoned the running game for the most part in the final 10 minutes — despite trailing by just two points until the final 2:39. Still, the fourth quarter reliance on the passing game was by design.

"At that time, we decided what we wanted to do — we were not getting the push and the movement that we wanted out of the running game," Groh said. "We wanted to try to major in the passing game."

Groh went on to describe how turnovers and poor execution sabotaged the passing game, but those aren't the kinds of rushing results against an FCS team that inspire much confidence heading into today's game against TCU, which will be playing its opener.

Last season, TCU's defensive numbers were bolstered by big efforts against Oklahoma, which finished 20th in the nation in rushing offense with 199 yards per game and was held to 25 yards by TCU, and Stanford, which finished 19th in rushing offense with 200 yards per game and mustered just 71 against TCU.

While U.Va.'s running game was hampered against W&M by starting quarterback Vic Hall's first-half hip injury that limited him to punt return duty in the second half and has him doubtful for today's game, it doesn't explain the reluctance to use the running backs — unless Simpson and Mack were also injured, which didn't seem to be the case.

Both players had several snaps in the second half, and neither player was on U.Va.'s injury list that was released Thursday. Simpson and Mack weren't made available to media Monday at the game week press conference.

U.Va.'s rushing efforts against W&M were actually in line with what Brandon did in his six seasons as Bowling Green's coach — his last stop before coming to U.Va. At Bowling Green, his teams averaged 37.3 carries for 157.1 yards per game.

In August, Brandon stressed the importance of needing a mobile quarterback to run his spread offense.

With Hall and Sewell (13 carries for 40 yards and a touchdown against W&M), Brandon has the mobility he seeks. Hall led U.Va. last weekend with eight carries for 54 yards and a touchdown — all coming before his injury. Brandon may not have the running backs to supplement his mobile quarterbacks.

Since bursting on to the scene in 2007, when he had 570 yards rushing (5 per carry) and 402 yards receiving as a injury fill-in, Simpson has taken a step back. He had just 262 yards rushing (3 per carry) last season as Cedric Peerman's backup. Mack is a promising, but unproven, redshirt freshman, and Wallace is a true freshman.

All of which begs the question: With Hall still hurting, and Simpson, Mack and Wallace representing underutilized entities, does Sewell have what it takes to spark U.Va.'s running game on his own? TCU's defense will provide some of the answers.

 

UVa’s spread attack fails first test, braces for TCU
By Jay Jenkins
Media General News Service
Published: September 12, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE — There was hope. There was hype.

Unfortunately, Virginia’s newly installed spread offense did not live up to the label attached during spring practice and training camp.

Stumbling out of the gate, the Cavaliers (0-1) were plagued by seven turnovers and an inability to move the ball down the field with proficiency.

On its way to a 26-14 loss to William & Mary, Virginia’s spread and the three quarterbacks entrusted to operate it managed to move the chains just 12 times.

The Cavaliers, who host No. 16 Texas Christian (0-0) today at 3:30 p.m., also had just three offensive drives that lasted more than five plays, a flaw that must be corrected in the high-tempo offense.

While the amount of turnovers caught Virginia coach Al Groh off guard, the “learning curve” with the spread offense was expected.

“I know that a lot of the teams that are majoring in this system are Big 12 teams. This style of offense has prolificated throughout high school football — lots of teams are running it,” Groh said. “Texas is an area where it’s very abundant — in fact, the coaches there at North Texas achieved tremendous success in high school in it, and went directly to the job at North Texas.

“Many of the quarterbacks who are playing in the Big 12 in these systems have been in this system now literally for eight, nine years, because it’s what they played in high school, and then they came and redshirted for a year, and now at Kansas and Missouri for example, the three previous three or four years, both those teams had great success after switching to this offense.”

Todd Reesing, the signal-caller at Kansas, ranks No. 16 in passing efficiency and the Jayhawks are 11th in total offense. Missouri’s Blaine Gibbert is No. 14 in passing efficiency after one game as the heir apparent to Chase Daniel.

“Those quarterbacks chose their schools and were recruited by those schools principally because they knew this offense almost before the coaches did,” Groh said. “I think that probably the learning curve is probably a little bit more significant or a little bit more extreme for (Virginia’s) players than if they were players that had a long-term background in it.”

Groh noted in the preseason that different teams operate the spread with different desired plans of attacks.

Some teams run. Some teams pass. Some teams offer a combination.

Virginia fell into the latter category against William & Mary, whether it was by design or based on the numbers shining on the new-look scoreboard.

The Cavaliers finished with 39 carries for just 131 net yards, a number that was skewed by the loss of 20 yards, respectively, by quarterbacks Jameel Sewell and Marc Verica.

Through the air, Virginia’s trio attempted 36 passes and completed just 18 for a woeful figure of 137 yards. The operation finished with just an average of just 4.2 per pass.

Sewell threw three interceptions, but led the quarterbacks with 80 yards passing as he completed 9 of 17 attempts.

Verica, the third to play in the rotation, had 50 yards through the air on 7-for-11 passing.

Vic Hall, the starter in the opener, managed just seven yards passing and completed just two attempts.

On the ground, a majority of Virginia’s runs came from the quarterbacks as Sewell carried 13 times and Hall managed eight rushes before a hip injury limited him offensively.

“We certainly didn’t anticipate that, and I didn’t have a full sense of that during the course of the game, although clearly it was apparent that the quarterbacks had quite a few carries and were fairly effective in doing it,” Groh said. “The fact that both touchdowns came on excellent runs by the quarterbacks does point out their capability of doing such, but we don’t want it to evolve into where they’re the primary runners, no.”
 

Cavs won't hop Horned Frogs
September 12, 2009 12:36 am
The Cavaliers can't afford to have the kind of turnovers Jameel Sewell had last week.
BY TAFT COGHILL JR.

When Virginia opened its season against William & Mary last Saturday, it was supposed to be a much easier game than the 2008 season-opener against Southern California.

The Cavaliers weren't defeated by 45 points like they were against the Trojans, but the 26-14 setback to the Division I-AA Tribe was even more embarrassing.

It doesn't get any easier for Virginia (0-1).

That's because No. 16 Texas Christian is visiting Scott Stadium today at 3:30 p.m.

"Clearly the competition is going to step up dramatically this week," Cavaliers head coach Al Groh said.

That means Virginia will need to improve upon its dismal showing last Saturday, when it committed seven turnovers.

The Cavaliers have shown an ability to bounce back from humiliating losses before, including a 31-0 win over Maryland that followed a 31-3 beating from Duke last season.

"We understand we're going to get Virginia's best shot," Texas Christian head coach Gary Patterson said.

Still, the Horned Frogs (11-2 in 2008) aren't the Terrapins.

They're opening their season today, but if last year's statistics are any indication, the Cavaliers will be tested.

Texas Christian finished 2008 with the No. 1-ranked defense in the country for the third time in nine years.

The unit was ranked No. 1 in rushing defense (47.1 yards per game) and No. 2 in points allowed (11.3).

The Horned Frogs were also in the top 10 in the nation in time of possession and turnover margin.

"When they get [the ball], they keep it and they end up scoring with it," Groh said. "When the other team has it, they take it away quickly and don't give up many points."

Texas Christian can certainly score points.

Its offense averaged 33.2 points per game last year and 421.3 yards per contest.

The Horned Frogs' speed could pose a problem for Virginia.

"Talking to people who were in the Mountain West Conference, they said to us 'They are the fastest team that we play and they are getting faster,'" Groh said.

The Cavaliers could use some of that speed. It would also help if they could settle on a quarterback.

An injury to starter Vic Hall could help Groh decide on a signal-caller. He used three last week and all struggled.

Hall suffered a hip injury in the game and was limited in the second half. He's listed as doubtful on Virginia's weekly injury report.

That means Jameel Sewell (three interceptions against William & Mary) or Marc Verica may start against the Horned Frogs.

"We have to prepare for one offense," Patterson said. "Each quarterback has his own strength, but you can't make your kids worry about that. We just have to stop what they do."

The Cavaliers are hoping their one-game experience this season can give them an edge against the Horned Frogs. But it may work against them.

It's the first time in Groh's nine seasons that Virginia is playing its second game against an opponent playing its first.

That means Texas Christian spent all offseason studying the Cavaliers.

Patterson is leery because TCU could be lethargic against a program it has no connection to.

"When we play Texas or Oklahoma, everyone knows someone on the other side," Patterson said. "We have to find a way to hate somebody for three hours."

 

No. 19 Duke Edges No. 16 UVa In Double OT, 1-0
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 09/11/2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The 16th-ranked Virginia men's soccer team was edged by No. 19 Duke, 1-0, in double overtime on Friday night at Klöckner Stadium. Daniel Tweed-Kent scored the game-winner in the 101st minute to give the Blue Devils the win in the ACC opener for both teams.

"The only thing missing tonight was winning the game," Virginia head coach George Gelnovatch said. "Duke was a tough team to deal with and we had chances in the last 15 minutes to win the game."

Virginia out-shot the Blue Devils, 14-8, and held a 5-4 advantage in corner kicks. The Cavaliers' best scoring opportunities came in the last third of the second half, as Ahkeel Rodney (Elmont, N.Y.), Jimmy Simpson (Warrenton, Va.), Neil Barlow (Herndon, Va.) and Tony Tchani (Norfolk, Va.) all had close-range shots in the waning minutes of regulation.

Two of Simpson's shots, in the 74th and 79th minutes, were saved by Duke goalkeeper James Belshaw, while Barlow's shot in the 76th minute missed just wide.

In the second overtime, Duke's goal was the result of a flurry of three shots in succession. Ryan Finley shot a ball that was deflected by a Virginia defender, and Cole Grossman gathered the ball at the top of the box and fired a shot on goal. That shot was saved by UVa goalkeeper Diego Restrepo, but the rebound was knocked in by Tweed-Kent.

It was Tweed-Kent's first goal of the year and Grossman's third assist.

Restrepo finished with one save, while Belshaw had three for Duke.

Friday night's crowd of 4,692 was a season high.

Virginia is back in action on Tuesday (Sept. 15) night, when they host Mount St. Mary's in non-conference action. Kick-off from Belson Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 

Cavaliers and Mountaineers Play to 1-1 Draw
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 09/11/2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE – The No. 16 Cavalier women’s soccer team played its second consecutive draw, tying No. 15 West Virginia 1-1 Friday night before a crowd of 2,794 at Klöckner Stadium. Virginia moves to 3-1-2 on the season with the result, while the Mountaineers go to 2-1-3.

The teams played a scoreless first half with the Mountaineers getting the better of the shots, 6-2, before the break. In the second half, the Cavaliers came out strong, getting several chances before finally breaking through in the 65th minute. Maggie Kistner (St. Louis, Mo.) sent a cross to the far post, where Sinead Farrelly (Havertown, Pa.) sent a header over the keeper and inside the far post for her third goal of the season. The Mountaineers equalized in the 85th minute on a frantic flurry in front of goal. Meghan Lewis’ shot hit the far post and came to Bry McCarthy. McCarthy’s attempt also hit the post, but bounced right back to her, where she finished her chance to tie the game. Neither team could find the game-winner in the two overtime periods.

“I thought we wasted the first half,” said Swanson. “That was the worst 45 minutes we have played all season. We came out in the second half and got back to playing our game and it showed. But against a team as good as West Virginia, you have to play for all 90 minutes, or 110 minutes in this case. I thought those wasted 45 minutes in the first half hurt us and we were fortunate not to be down at the half.”

West Virginia outshot the Cavaliers 15-11 in the contest, the first team to outshoot Virginia this year. The Mountaineers also had an 8-4 corner kick advantage. Chantel Jones (Midlothian, Va.) made a season-high six saves in net for Virginia, while Kerri Butler made three saves for West Virginia.

The Cavaliers conclude play in the 2009 Virginia Nike Soccer Classic on Sunday when they host Seton Hall at 2 p.m. The Pirates lost 1-0 in double overtime to Dartmouth in the first game of the tournament on Friday.

VIRGINIA 1, WEST VIRGINIA 1

#15 West Virginia (2-1-3) 0 1 0 0 1
#16 Virginia (3-1-2) 0 1 0 0 1

Scoring Summary
UVa. Sinead Farrelly 3 (Maggie Kistner 1) 65’
WVU. Bry McCarthy 2 (unassisted) 85’

Shots: UVa 11, WVU 15
Corners: UVa 4, WVU 8
Saves: UVa 6 (Jones 6), WVU 3 (Butler 3)
Fouls: UVa 7, WVU 11

Weather: 75 degrees, clear
Attendance: 2794

Game Notes: Fourth largest crowd in school history for a women’s game played prior to a men’s soccer game … Maggie Kistner becomes the 14th different Cavalier to record a point this season … The Cavaliers had their sixth different starting lineup this season in as many games.
 

WVU salvages draw with Virginia
By Whitey Reid
Published: September 12, 2009

With less than six minutes to go in Virginia’s game against West Virginia at Klockner Stadium on Friday night, a game of pinball broke out.

When it was over, No. 15 UVa had a disappointing 1-1 tie after a goal by the Mountaineers’ Bry McCarthy.

The pinball started when a shot by West Virginia defender Meghan Lewis hit the far left post. The ball ricocheted off of diving Virginia goalie Chantel Jones and caromed right to McCarthy. She promptly fired a shot off the far right post.

After Virginia was unable to clear the ball, McCarthy blasted home a shot over a sprawling Jones.

Jones said she couldn’t ever recall consecutive shots banging off the posts. But what really frustrated her was not being able to smother the ball following Lewis’ shot.

“I don’t understand how it bounced off so far — I guess I was flexing my abs or something,” joked Jones, forcing a smile.

Jones refused to blame her defenders for not clearing the ball.

“I feel like we kind of stopped when it hit off the post, [but] most people freeze,” she said. “It’s natural. They just got to it faster.”

The game was a rematch of last season’s NCAA tournament second-round game between the schools that Virginia won, 3-2.

UVa players were noticeably dejected at not being able to hold on for the win. However, coach Steve Swanson said his team didn’t deserve to.

“To be honest, I felt like we were fortunate to get a draw,” said Swanson, whose team hosts Seton Hall on Sunday afternoon. “We really wasted the first 45 minutes. I think that was the worst half of our season. You have to give West Virginia a lot of credit. All the things we talked about before the game we just didn’t accomplish.

“I think once we did that in the second half, you saw the change…I thought we were better. But against a team like this you have to play 90 minutes — 110 minutes today.”

In the first half, Virginia (3-1-2) was outshot, 6-2. No. 16 West Virginia (2-1-3) held a 5-1 edge in corner kicks.

After the intermission, just like Swanson said, UVa awoke. In the 65th minute, Sinead Farrelly headed in a cross from Maggie Kistner for a 1-0 lead.

“I saw it and just ran in and was able to put it in over the goalie,” Farrelly said. “I was just lucky. It was like slow-mo — a good feeling.

“After we scored, I think we thought we had it, but we kind of lost it after that. We’re bummed because we could have beat them.”

After the Mountaineers scored the equalizer, Jones showed great leadership. The sophomore, who spent last season playing for the United States under-20 team, pulled the entire team together near the top of the box and gave a pep talk.

“When someone scores that close to the end of the game, I felt like we were going to get frazzled and start freaking out,” she said. “I didn’t want that to happen because that’s when they score again.”

Luckily, the Mountaineers didn’t. West Virginia had the better of play in the overtime session but couldn’t convert on a couple of chances from in close.

“It would have been a great win,” Jones said. “It’s always disappointing, especially when you tie, because we had it. It was just a little lapse and they countered on it. We just have to move on and focus on Sunday.”
 

Sixth-Ranked Virginia Cruises Past Kent State, 8-2
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 09/11/2009

KENT, Ohio - The sixth-ranked Virginia field hockey team (5-0) cruised to an 8-2 victory over Kent State Friday at Murphy-Mellis Field in Kent, Ohio. UVa's eight goals are the most in a single game under head coach Michele Madison.
The last time the Cavaliers scored eight goals in a game was on Oct. 6, 2004, an 8-0 victory over Longwood at home.
For the second time this season, freshman Tara Puffenberger, a native of Dallas, Pa., scored twice in a game. Senior Traci Ragukas also contributed two scores and an assist.
Junior Haley Carpenter tallied her first goal of the season while Paige Selenski, Michelle Vittese and Britt Knouse rounded out the scoring. Selenski, Vittese and Knouse also contributed assists in the winning effort.
The Cavaliers outshot the Golden Flashes 29-5 and also had an 8-2 advantage on penalty corners. Kent State goalkeeper Caroline Suitch finished with 13 saves.
Puffenberger started the scoring 9:11 into the game with an unassisted goal off her own shot deflection. Kent State responded five minutes later when Debbie Bell tied the game at 15:04 from the left side. She was assisted by teammate Rachel Miller.
The Cavaliers took the lead again a minute and a half later when Ragukas recorded her first goal of the day. She scored from approximately two yards out and was assisted by Knouse.
The Golden Flashes again were quick to respond. Bell tied the game at two on a KSU penalty corner, sending the ball past UVa starter Adrienne Ostroff. Junior goalkeeper Kim Kastuk would enter the contest near the 20 minute mark and played the remainder of the game.
From that point, the Virginia offense took over and scored six unanswered goals. Puffenberger's second of the game at 21:01 proved to be the game-winner. Two of UVa's eight scores came off penalty corners.
The Cavaliers play at Ohio University at 1 p.m. Sunday in Athens, Ohio.
 

Cavaliers Make History in Four-Set Loss to No. 8 UCLA
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 09/11/2009

LINCOLN, Neb. – For the first time in program history, the Virginia volleyball team took one set from a top-10 nationally ranked opponent, but it wasn’t enough as the Cavaliers fell to No. 8 UCLA, 3-1 (17-25, 25-23, 14-25, 16-25), on Friday evening in the second day of the Ameritas Players Challenge at the University of Nebraska. Virginia falls to 4-4 on the season, while UCLA improves to 7-1.

“We’ve had spurts of brilliant play in our first two matches,” head coach Lee Maes said. “Our expectation is not to win just one set, but to sustain a level of effort, focus and discipline that will allow us to have a chance to win the match. We know that if we continue improving our passing that we are very difficult team to defend. Our focus will always continue to be more consistent siding out and the results will often take care of themselves.”

Senior Lauren Dickson led Virginia with 15 kills and junior AJ Cushman collected a career-high 21 digs and landed a match-high four aces. Freshman Rachel Gray dished out 35 assists, while sophomore Hillary Trebels – making her first collegiate start – led the team with a personal-best four blocks.

Three Bruins paced UCLA’s attack, led by Kaitlin Sather’s 13 kills and 13 digs. Lainey Gera led the defense with 16 digs and Lauren Cook distributed 44 helpers. Amanda Gill contributed 10 kills and a match-high eight blocks.

UCLA scored 10 of the 13 points midway through the opening frame to take control of the set and eventually won, 25-17.

The Cavaliers regrouped in the second set, stringing together a five-point run to lead the Bruins by a score of 11-4. UCLA answered with a five-point streak of its own, though, cutting Virginia’s advantage to one, 13-12. Virginia fought off the Bruins’ attempt to take the lead, allowing UCLA to even the score at 22 all, but a kill from Dickson kept Virginia ahead. An attack error by the Bruins gave Virginia its first set point opportunity, at 24-22, but a kill from UCLA prolonged the game. Farrar came up huge for the Cavaliers on the ensuing rally, knocking down a set from Gray to secure the Cavaliers its first victory over a top-10 team, 25-23.

The Bruins responded in the third frame, using a 7-0 run midway through the game to put the set out of reach for the Cavaliers. Virginia fell behind 19-7 before UCLA strung together another five points to cruise to a 25-14 victory.

An 8-1 run in favor of UCLA put the Bruins a head 12-8 in the fourth frame, before a 7-1 run by UCLA made the score 21-11. Dickson landed a kill to get things going for the Cavaliers, though, and a four-point run from Virginia forced the Bruins to call a timeout. The rally wouldn’t be enough for the Cavaliers though, as the Bruins went on to win the set, 25-16, and match, 3-1.

Virginia will conclude the tournament with a match against BYU on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.
 

UVa Classic Kicks Off Men's Tennis Season
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 09/11/2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The Virginia men's tennis team kicked off the 2009-10 season by hosting the eighth annual UVa Classic at the Snyder Tennis Center. Players from 17 players are competing in the event, which runs through Sunday.
The Cavaliers had four players advance in the two A singles flights. In Flight A1, top-seeded Sanam Singh (Chandigarh, India) cruised to a 6-4, 6-1 win over A. Vodislav of William & Mary. Drew Courtney (Clifton, Va.) topped Rob Lowe of NC State 6-2, 6-3 in his opener. In the A2 Flight, No. 2 seed Lee Singer (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) topped J. Robinson of James Madison 6-2, 6-1 in the first round, while first-year Jarmere Jenkins (College Park, Ga.) won his collegiate debut 6-4, 6-4 over C. Gee of Davidson.
In Flight B, a pair of Cavaliers advanced on day one. Top-seeded Santiago Villegas rallied for a three-set win over Prandecki of NC State and Milo Johnson (Tulsa, Okla.) topped Orre of William & Mary in straight sets. Brian Fang (Hacienda Heights, Calif.) won his collegiate debut in Flight D.
In A1 Doubles, the top-seeded team of Singh and Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) won 8-1 over Lowe and Prandecki of NC State. Courtney and Singer won their debut in Flight A2, topping Vodislav and Orre of William & Mary 8-2. In Flight C, Fang and Dino Dell'Orto (Hong Kong, China) won their opener 8-2 over Braig and Pandit of William & Mary.
The tournament continues Saturday with play beginning at 9 a.m.
Complete brackets available by clicking on the link above.
 

Women's Tennis Opens Season at W&M Invitational
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 09/11/2009

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- The Virginia women's tennis team began the 2009-10 season Friday as play began at the William & Mary Invitational. Seven Cavaliers saw action in the first event of the season.
In the A singles flight, three Cavaliers bounced back from falling in their opening match to reach the backdraw semifinal. Lindsey Hardenbergh (Fairfax Station, Va.) lost a close first round match to No. 36 ranked Michaela Kissel of Marshall, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, but rallied to blank Ana Bara of VCU 6-0, 6-0 in the backdraw quarterfinals. Jennifer Stevens (Miami, Fla.) bounced back from a opening round loss to Elizaveta Zaytseva of Winthrop to top Erin Clark of Richmond in the backdraw.First-year Erin Vierra (Norwell, Mass.) lost her collegiate debut to No. 98 ranked Yevgeniya Stupak of East Tennessee State 7-5, 2-6, 6-2, but rallied with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Lauren Sabacinski of William & Mary in the backdraw.
Three other Cavaliers made their collegiate debut on the day. That group was led by Hana Tomljanovic, who won a pair of matches to reach the semifinals of Flight B. Maria Fuccillo (Rockville, Md.) won her debut, but lost in the quarterfinals of Flight D. Riley Blanks (Shaker Heights, Ohio) won her debut in Flight E before falling in the quarterfinals.
In doubles, top-seeded Stevens and Tomljanovic won their opener in Flight A to advance to the quarterfinals. In Flight B, the top-seeded team of Fuccillo and Neela Vaez (Perrysburg, Ohio) also won their opener.
The tournament continues Saturday and runs through Sunday.