Cavaliers take Groh's words to heart
Virginia notes
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

CHARLOTTESVILLE - For the second day in a row, Virginia football coach Al Groh declined to say what he told his defensive unit Saturday night, although none of his players felt a tirade was unjustified.

According to ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews, Groh said that starting defensive positions would be subject to tryouts Monday night. "He said that he would be looking at people and find out who really wants to play," UVa senior Marcus Weeks said Monday. "You have to take that to heart. You have to step your game up if you want to play."

Previously unbeaten and sixth-ranked Virginia visited then-No. 7 Florida State on Saturday night and was trounced, 36-3.

"I think Coach Groh is looking for that never to happen again," said Weeks, who was a running back before moving to safety this year. "He's going to give people a chance to keep their jobs and, if he feels they're not stepping up to the challenge, then he's going to find somebody who is."

Weeks had 11 tackles against Florida State, tying him for the team lead with linebacker Ahmad Brooks, but he didn't rule out the possibility that he could lose his job.

"I couldn't live with that," he said, "but, if that's what happens to me, if somebody goes out and has a better practice and coach puts him in front of me, tomorrow I'm going to come with a better attitude and try and get my position back."

Groh's only comments Monday on the sideline situation again pertained to the messenger.

"First of all, the TV guy doesn't belong there," said Groh, reiterating what he had said on a conference call Sunday. "I'm going to get him the hell out of there from now on. Whatever I said to the team is between me and the team."

Matter of timing

When asked about perceptions that Virginia may have been the victim of a weak schedule, Groh conceded that Florida State had opened with Miami but pointed out that FSU's three most recent opponents before Saturday night (Clemson, North Carolina and Syracuse) were the same teams that UVa had played in a slightly different order.

In fact, Virginia handled Syracuse much more easily in Charlottesville, 31-10, than Florida State did at the Carrier Dome in a game that was decided in the final seconds, 17-13. Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said Sunday that the Seminoles might have been able to trap UVa by playing so poorly at Syracuse.

"Had I been Bobby, I would have felt, 'I'm glad I'm not them,'" said Groh referring to the Cavaliers.

Groh backs Blackstock

One-time freshman All-American Darryl Blackstock, an outside linebacker, did not have a solo tackle Saturday and has only 2 1/2 sacks after the first six games, but an apparent decline in productivity does not concern Groh.

Groh said he was reminded of a news conference conducted by his former boss with the New York Giants, Bill Parcells, when Parcells was asked what was wrong with Lawrence Taylor.

"What's wrong with [Taylor] was, the other team decided they weren't going to let him be a factor," Groh said. "You can do that a little bit better with an outside guy than an inside guy. They're only on one side of the field.

"I just think that it's a statistical issue [with Blackstock]. He's doing what I want him to do. It's a non-issue, really."

Sticking to blocking

The Cavaliers' top offensive lineman, left guard Elton Brown, said Monday that he will play Saturday against Duke. Brown sprained his left knee when he attempted to run after catching a deflected pass. Brown was credited with a reception for minus-3 yards.

"He's always telling me, 'Coach, I can return punts. Coach, I can pass,'" Groh said. "I told him yesterday, 'I bet you're glad your receiving days are over.'"

Groh was optimistic about the status of Brown and quarterback Marques Hagans, who sat out the fourth quarter after taking a helmet to the hip.

"Regardless of what medical jargon that goes with it, both of them were less uncomfortable [Sunday] than I would have thought, given their circumstances Saturday night," Groh said.

Quote-unquote

Groh, once the head coach of the New York Jets, on the mononucleosis that has sidelined freshman defensive end Chris Long for three games: "Seldom do you lose a player in the NFL to mononucleosis. It must be an age-group thing."

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Oct 19, 2004

READY FOR MORE: The football team's biggest and best offensive lineman walked slowly into the University Hall press room yesterday afternoon.

Elton Brown wore a brace on his left knee but said he plans to play this weekend against ACC foe Duke at Durham, N.C. No.14-ranked Virginia (2-1, 5-1) plays Duke (0-3, 1-5) at 1 p.m. Saturday. The game won't be televised.

"Just a little banged up," said Brown, a 6-6, 338-pound senior from Hampton.

Brown hurt his knee while being tackled in the third quarter Saturday night against Florida State in Tallahassee. He had tried to run after catching the deflection of a Marques Hagans pass. An FSU defender "put his helmet on my knee," Brown said.

Also injured in U.Va.'s 36-3 loss was Hagans, who like Brown is a Hampton High graduate. Hagans, whose hip was sore after the game, is expected to be available at Wallace Wade Stadium, too.

Of the then-No.6 Cavaliers' performance at FSU, Brown said, "It's disappointing, but it's over. It's Monday. We're preparing for Duke now."

OUT OF BOUNDS? Coach Al Groh was furious to learn that an ESPN sideline reporter had told viewers about the stern message Groh delivered to his defensive unit in the second half at FSU. Groh reportedly told his defenders no one's job was safe and that they'd have to try out again this week.

Asked about the incident yesterday, Groh said, "First of all, the TV guy doesn't belong there. I'm going to get him the hell out of there from now on. They don't belong in the bench area. And whatever I said to the team is between me and the team."

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES: Heading into the game at Doak Campbell Stadium, U.Va. ranked first among ACC teams in kickoff returns, and Florida State ranked last in kickoff coverage.

In their game against Clemson on Sept. 25, the Seminoles had surrendered two kickoff returns for touchdowns to Justin Miller. Virginia, however, totaled only 50 yards on three kickoff returns Saturday night, and none of the returns was longer than 17 yards.

"That was an advantage that we thought we had," U.Va. senior Marquis Weeks said, "and it didn't turn out that way at all."

In the latest ACC statistics, Weeks' average of 30.6 yards per kickoff return ranks third, behind Miller (34.3) and Duke's Chris Davis (31.3).

MEDICAL UPDATE: Sophomore wideout Fontel Mines, who hasn't played since breaking his right collarbone in the Sept. 4 opener against Temple, is listed on the depth chart for the first time since sustaining that injury. Mines, a Hermitage High graduate, started against the Owls.

Still missing from the two-deep is sophomore Jason Snelling, Virginia's No.1 fullback and one of the team's most-feared weapons on offense. The former L.C. Bird High star hasn't played since Oct. 7, when he sprained his right ankle in the first quarter against Clemson.

Snelling's absence hindered U.Va. against the Tigers, and he was missed Saturday night, too.

"The way things were going yesterday," Groh said Sunday night, "I don't think Jason would have made a significant difference . . . but from an overall standpoint, I think it does make a difference. He's one of our most talented players. . . . When he leaves, a set of plays sort of leaves with him."

THE FIRST OF MANY? Redshirt freshman Jonathan Stupar, perhaps the heir apparent to Heath Miller as U.Va.'s top pass-catching tight end, made his college debut at Florida State. He entered the game in the fourth quarter and caught one pass for 13 yards.

Stupar broke his foot in training camp in August.

"I think it was unfortunate for him with the timing that his injury occurred," said Miller, who had nine receptions for 110 yards against FSU, "but it's good to have him back, and I'm sure he's anxious and happy to be back."

IN THE CREASE: Fall lacrosse ended Saturday afternoon with a scrimmage in which U.Va. whipped visiting Ohio State 14-4.

Senior Joe Yevoli, a fixture on attack for Virginia since entering the program, was held out of most drills this fall because of a back injury, which bothered him last season.

"I don't think he's going to be 100 percent come springtime," Cavaliers coach Dom Starsia said yesterday, "but hopefully he'll feel better than he did last year. Right now, the plan is for him to play in'05, unless we get there and he's incapacitated."

Of his newcomers, Starsia said, "The freshman class is clearly the most athletic in the program: the biggest, strongest and fastest."

The freshmen most likely to play prominent roles in 2005, Starsia said, are midfielders Will Barrow and Jack Riley, attackman Ben Rubeor and long-stick middie Mike Timms. - Jeff White

U.Va. passes midterm but fails FSU test
The mid-term grades are in, and the Cavaliers are doing well. But not as well as before Saturday night.
BY DAVE JOHNSON
247-4649
Published October 19, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Virginia went into Saturday night's showdown at Florida State with a No. 6 ranking in both polls and a firm belief that its time had arrived. But in one of the most significant moments in the program's 116-year history, the Cavaliers were barely competitive.

The Seminoles' 36-3 victory represents the second-worst defeat of the 45-game Al Groh Era, second only to FSU's 43-7 win in 2001. A victory would have established Virginia as a legitimate contender for the national title. Instead, the Cavs were every bit as out of their league as Temple and North Carolina were against them in September.

Groh has no say in the scheduled order of his team's games - that's determined by the ACC office - but such a radical rise in competition did Virginia (5-1, 2-1 ACC) no favors. U.Va.'s first five opponents - Temple, North Carolina, Akron, Syracuse and Clemson - are a combined 10-21 against Division I-A competition.

The Cavs' closest call in those games was a 20-point win over the Tigers on Oct. 7.

There was certainly nothing approaching Florida State, whose only loss came a month ago at No. 3 Miami.

"That played a little role in it," safety Marquis Weeks said. "But you have to step up to the challenge. They played their best game of the season and we played our worst game of the season."

Here are the marks:

QUARTERBACKS

Al Groh originally said tight end Heath Miller was the only Virginia player to distinguish himself against Florida State. He later added Marques Hagans to that list. Given the obstacles - no running game behind him, zero protection from his line - Hagans had a pretty solid night by completing 20-of-30 passes for 214 yards. He entered hitting on 70 percent of his throws and was fourth nationally in pass efficiency. So far, Hagans should be considered a leading candidate for ACC Offensive Player of the Year.

RUNNING BACKS

Before Saturday night, that score would have been an A, if not an A+. The Cavs went into Saturday night averaging 275 rushing yards per game. But against the best defense it will face this season, the Cavs managed 20 yards on 29 carries. The longest gain: 12 yards. Of Virginia's first five opponents, each is ranked among the bottom third of Division I-A's 117 teams in rushing defense. The best, statistically speaking, is Temple at No. 80. With Maryland, Miami, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech remaining, the road will stay tough.

RECEIVERS

Miller (23 catches) is the best tight end in college football, and he was terrific Saturday night in Tallahassee. Deyon Williams (15) is Hagans' best size-speed wideout and Michael McGrew has dependable hands. But the Cavs are in bad need of depth.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Again, that's an A or A+ prior to Saturday. After wearing down Clemson nine days earlier, Virginia's line was worn out by the third quarter at Florida State. Hagans was sacked four times and backup Christian Olsen was nailed once. This is one of the biggest and most-experienced lines the Cavs have ever had. RG Elton Brown, who is questionable for Duke with an injured left knee, is pro material. But they have to produce against the better defenses for this team to finish strong.

DEFENSIVE LINE

This unit took a huge blow when end Chris Canty, who was having an All-American caliber season, went down with a season-ending knee injury against Syracuse. Since then, the line hasn't pressured the quarterback. NT Andrew Hoffman and DE Brennan Schmidt are solid, but neither is a playmaker. Kwakou Robinson doesn't need to be another Canty, but he must improve his play for this team to play in a bowl game that matters.

LINEBACKERS

U.Va. touts its quartet of Ahmad Brooks, Kai Parham, Darryl Blackstock and Dennis Haley as the nation's best. It's normally a good group, but it wasn't Saturday night. The linebackers are the playmakers in the 3-4 defense, and Florida State averaged 7 yards a play.

Through five games, the linebackers had eight of Virginia's 11 sacks. But they did nothing to make life uncomfortable for FSU's Wyatt Sexton, a sophomore making the third start of his career.

SECONDARY

Sexton hit on 20-of-26 passes for 275 yards. CBs Tony Franklin and Marcus Hamilton each had a horrid night - Franklin missed a couple of key tackles, and Hamilton was burned in single coverage on Sexton's touchdown pass to Chauncey Stovall. Safeties Weeks and Jermaine Hardy did little to help with run support. The Cavs shut down Clemson's Charlie Whitehurst, a dangerous passer, but this woeful performance hurts.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Connor Hughes, Mr. Automatic in 2003, missed a 42-yard field goal Saturday night that would have put Virginia ahead 3-0. He's 7-of-11 on the season, not quite the numbers he produced (23-of-25) as a sophomore. Sean Johnson is averaging 31.4 yards per punt and the Cavs remain last in the league in net average at 28.2.

Virginia had scored touchdowns on kickoff and punt returns in its first five games but did nothing to help the field position battle Saturday night.

COACHING

Groh and his staff did a solid job of getting this team focused against the Temples and Akrons, which isn't as easy as it sounds. When it finally faced some adversity against Clemson, Virginia responded. But the coaching staff did not have the Cavs ready to play at Florida State. The old saying goes, "Don't let a game beat you twice." There's no danger of that Saturday at Duke (1-5, 0-3), whose only victory this season came against Division I-AA The Citadel. But Virginia closes against four teams with a combined record of 17-7. Groh still has some coaching to do.
 

Roof passes one-year mark
By BRYAN STRICKLAND : The Herald-Sun
bstrickland@heraldsun.com; 419-6671
Oct 18, 2004 : 11:44 pm ET

DURHAM -- Today marks the one-year anniversary of Ted Roof's elevation to Duke's head coaching job.

But rather than lighting candles in celebration, Roof planned to burn the midnight oil.

"I think I'll spend it watching film," Roof said. "How many years did you say it's been?"

It has been a long year in some ways for Roof, who was named interim head coach in place of Carl Franks on Oct. 19, 2003 -- one day after the Blue Devils fell behind Wake Forest 42-0 at halftime of their homecoming game.

Roof went 2-3 as interim coach, helping Duke end its record ACC losing streak at 30 and its losing streak against North Carolina at 13.

Those performances helped Roof shed the interim label, but the Blue Devils lost a lot of top players in the offseason and have lost a lot of games this season. They'll enter Saturday's home game against No. 14 Virginia at 1-5.

"This time last year, we had just lost our head coach, and he took over the job,' sophomore cornerback John Talley said. "Everybody was enthused that he had the job, and everybody wanted him to be the head coach for this upcoming year.

"It's been a letdown from what we expected, but I think we've got a pretty good future ahead. This is just the beginning of the process. We're going to become better in the future, but it would have been nice if it would have happened sooner."

Roof, who is now 3-8 as head coach, was asked if the job had been a bigger challenge than he anticipated.

"It always is, isn't it? I think that's true with anything," he said.

"Lack of challenge certainly hasn't been a problem."

Back in the running

Even though running back Cedric Dargan didn't emerge from many holes in Saturday's 24-7 loss at Georgia Tech, Dargan did emerge healthy and hopeful.

Playing for the first time since the season opener, Dargan carried the ball 20 times for 31 yards against the Yellow Jackets.

"I know it's going to take time for me to get back into the groove of things," said Dargan, who had missed four games with a nerve problem in his right leg. "Being out four weeks, you don't get that contact that you're used to getting.

"It felt great. I had no problems with it the whole day, so that was good news."

Dargan's numbers weren't close to the ones he posted in his last game, when he piled up 114 yards -- mostly in the first half -- in the season opener at Navy.

Dargan, was, however, facing a defense that had held Maryland to seven rushing yards the previous week.

"He gave us a shot in the arm, but he hadn't played in a while,' Roof said. "I thought he did some good things, and what you saw was that he got off to a little bit of a shaky start, but then as the game wore on, he got better and got back with it.

"There's a difference between practice shape and game shape, and hopefully we made some strides as far as getting him back in game shape for this week's game."

Williams gets second start

Sophomore Alex Williams has overtaken junior Malcolm Ruff as one of Duke's starting outside linebackers.

Williams, who was rated as the 27th-best prospect in the state of Georgia by Rivals100.com out of West Laurens High School, has started the last two games and recorded five tackles in each.

Ruff is still playing a significant role, playing 45 snaps at Georgia Tech.

"Alex can make some plays in space, while Malcolm is a big, physical kid,' Roof said. "They're both doing some good things, but we need some more consistency out of that position."

Williams' promotion marks the only time all season that a Duke defender has cracked the starting lineup for a reason other than injury.

Things stay the same at Florida State
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
October 19, 2004

For Virginia, it was the wrong place at the wrong time.

Doak Campbell Stadium was one big ambush just waiting on the sixth-ranked Cavaliers last Saturday night. Florida State coach Bobby Bowden called it a trap.

He was right.

After his Seminoles had barely escaped Syracuse with a 17-13 win the week before, national college football analysts began to declare FSU’s dynasty over. The Seminoles had lost it, they said. No way they would dominate the new ACC.

Looks can be deceiving

Certainly it appeared that way. Former UVa coach George Welsh said that from his view, it wasn’t the same Florida State that built the dynasty.

ACC Commissioner John Swofford bought into it. Minutes before kickoff last Saturday night, Swofford spoke with glee about the league boasting three teams among the top seven in the nation and how this was a sample of what the new ACC would feature.

All those assumptions couldn’t have come at a better time for Bowden. If his team had played without focus the week before, all the chatter certainly put everything back in perspective.

Virginia coach Al Groh had to try to make sense of it all on Monday when discussing the loss and the future with state media at his weekly press conference.

“Had I been Bobby, I would have thought, ‘I’m glad I’m not them,’” Groh said.

Former FSU defensive end Roland Seymour called several Seminoles at 6 a.m. Saturday and left this message: “You have to take pride ... all these people now think they are going to come to your house and whup you all. Remember, they are still Virginia and we’re still Florida State.”

“We took that to heart,” said Seminoles defensive end Travis Johnson, who gave Virginia’s offensive line problems most of the evening as did linebacker Ernie Sims, who is wearing seven new tomahawk decals on his helmet today, an unheard of number from one game.

“That never happened around here,” said FSU defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews, who said that Sims’ performance was probably the best by a Seminole defensive player in more than five years.

Need an edge

The feeling in Tallahassee is that there’s just as much talent on this Florida State squad as the others through the years, but this particular group was almost like the actor who asked, “What’s my motivation?”

“These guys need to be poked,” said a veteran FSU beat writer.

Bowden knew his boys had it in ‘em. He just had to push the right buttons.

Groh knew it, too. He was hoping this wouldn’t be the week the Seminoles put it all together.

For Virginia, it was a Murphy’s Law night. Pretty much all that could go wrong, did. From the early blocked punt, to untimely penalties on third down, a missed field goal, shall we go on?

He knew that FSU’s defensive scheme could present problems. The Seminoles crowd the box with as many as nine players in order to shut down running games and Florida State did just that.

Groh also knew that while he had some pretty good talent on the field, it wasn’t nearly as much as FSU had accumulated.

“The critical issues in the game besides some obvious game circumstance things, were on an overall basis, Florida State is a faster, deeper team,” Groh said. “Seldom are there more than three or four plays on defense where there’s not another defensive line in there. Seldom are there more than three or four players offensively where there’s not another set of receivers in there.”

Historically, that has been Bowden’s big advantage as his teams have ruled over the ACC. Incredible depth allows the Seminoles to simply wear down other teams as the game progresses. Somewhere in the third quarter, the other team tires and Florida State is fresh.

“If you took the jersey numbers off all of them, you couldn’t tell much difference,” Groh said. “You wouldn’t know who’s in there. They don’t get very tired because they don’t play very many plays.”

In fact, FSU played 12 different defensive linemen in the first half alone. There aren’t many - if any - teams in the nation who can do that without significant drop off.

“There was about three or four different guys out there,” said UVa right offensive guard Elton Brown of the number of fresh faces he saw in the first half. “They have them to play with, so why not play them? It keeps their guys fresh.

“You can’t tell any difference, either,” Brown said. “They’re all fast, athletic, physical, well-coached. If you took the names off the jerseys, it wouldn’t make a difference. That’s how good they are.”

Bottom line, there’s still a talent gap between Tallahassee and Charlottesville.

“Oh yeah, I would think so,” Groh said Monday. “However Coach Bowden has been building his depth and recruiting to this particular system for 25 or 28 years, whatever the case may be.

“It’s like [Bill] Parcells says, ‘If you ask me to cook the meal, then you ought to let me buy the groceries.’ Well, they’ve gone to the grocery store 28 or 29 times. The pantry is pretty full. We’ve gone to the grocery store three or four times. I like the groceries, but there’s still a few more places on the shelf.”

So, that’s the challenge ahead of Groh’s program. In order to catch FSU and Miami, the Cavaliers must add more talent. More big-time receivers, defensive backs, defensive linemen.

But that will take care of itself if Virginia finishes this season the way it started.

The Cavs can still get back in the ACC race if they run the table.

However, first they must deal with Duke, then Maryland, then regroup for the stretch run, something they have been very proficient at doing the past two seasons. Like Yogi said ...

FSU loss now a thing of the past for UVa
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
October 19, 2004

After every contest this season Virginia coach Al Groh has stressed the importance of looking at every game as just one game.
Whether it be celebrating the wins or learning from the losses, the coach has maintained the same tone and relayed the same message.
With five regular-season games left including Saturday’s contest at Duke, Groh knows that his team must stay focused because the season marches forward for his 14th-ranked Cavaliers.
“I think it’s good to forget about those wins after 24 hours because if you keep looking back, they are sure to catch you [and] it is necessary to put the losses behind you, but valuable not to forget them,” Groh said.
His players agree.
“It is a very disappointing loss but it happened Saturday. We are ready to move on,” said offensive lineman Elton Brown. “We are ready to get after it. We are just ready to play ball on Saturday. We are getting prepared for Duke now.”
Brown said he is confident that his teammates will build from the experience of losing at Florida State.
“The team as a collective whole, we all know, that it wasn’t our best effort out there on Saturday, but the thing about this team [is that] we always like to bounce back,” Brown said. “This is the first time we’ve had to face adversity this season. Maybe it’s a good thing. We’ll see how the guys respond, but I think we have a lot of tough guys on this team.”

Bouncing back. Brown told reporters before practice on Monday that he expected to play against Duke.
Late in the third quarter against Florida State, Brown left the game with an injury to his left knee. The play occurred in odd fashion.
Brown caught a tipped pass thrown by quarterback Marques Hagans and headed up field only to be tackled for a 3-yard loss.
“He put his helmet right on my knee,” Brown said of the defender who tackled him. “It is part of the game. It’s just a little banged up.”
Hagans, who left the game with a sore hip, is also expected to play against Duke. Groh said that both players were moving better than expected considering the type of injuries they suffered.

Handling the noise. Despite playing in front of the second-largest crowd in Doak Campbell history, Groh said that the noise did not seem to hinder his team.
Groh indicated that one of the reasons for the success was the home game that his team played against Clemson.
“I didn’t think anything that we could have artificially manufactured during practice last week would have been any louder or as loud as what we had experienced just the Thursday night before, shy of putting another 20,000 seats in Scott Stadium to get it up to 82,000,” Groh said. “That is the only way we would have approximated the same decibel level as Florida State. I thought we were well conditioned for it.”

Not seeing red. Ian Yates-Cunningham has not played in a game this season, but as soon as he is ready to help the team you can count on Groh using the sophomore lineman.
“If he can help us win [we will not redshirt him],” Groh said. “That’s where we’re going to stay with the roster all the way through. Every season is very valuable in itself. It really is. At any time any player who can help us win and achieve something [is healthy] we are going to use them.”

Extra points. Virginia was ranked No. 15 in the Bowl Championship Series standings when it was released on Monday. … Fullback Jason Snelling (ankle) is not listed on the depth chart for the Duke game. … Groh said on his call-in show Monday night that Chris Canty has left Virginia since he has already received his degree. Canty is rehabbing his knee in Charlotte, N.C., at his parents’ home. … Groh told reporters that true freshman Chris Long (mononucleosis) has not returned to practice yet.

Duke up next for Virginia
By Jim Furlong / Daily Progress correspondent
October 19, 2004

DURHAM, N.C. - A Duke football player said many Blue Devils were “very surprised” when Virginia suffered a 36-3 loss Saturday night at Florida State.

The 14th-ranked Cavaliers (5-1) aim to recover this Saturday when they invade Wallace Wade Stadium for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Duke (1-5).

“I talked to a lot of my teammates before [last] Saturday’s game,” Duke junior defensive end Justin Kitchen said Monday afternoon. “I didn’t hear too many people talking about Florida State. More people talked about what Virginia was going to do.

“I think Florida State came out and got a little respect back. I don’t now exactly what [happened to the Cavaliers], but I think they will be ready to rebound on Saturday.”

Kitchens said he expects UVa’s performance to resemble the Al Groh team that started 5-0.

“I honestly don’t think it will be an anger thing,” said Kitchens, when asked if he thought the Cavaliers were eager to redeem themselves. “I think it will be a concentration thing. I think Virginia will be ready to play. I don’t think they will try to verlook us.”

Duke coach Ted Roof is more interested in trying to improve his team’s offense, which ranks No. 117 in the country, than devote his time to wondering about the Cavaliers’ mood.

“I am sure that Al and their coaches will have them ready to play,” Roof said. “As far as their attitude, we have some things we have to get cleaned up here. I don’t have a whole lot of time to spend on their attitude. We are going to spend it on our attitude; to get it where we need it.”

The Blue Devils, after starting Roof’s first full season as the head coach with high hopes, are winless in the ACC (0-3) and have not beaten a Division I opponent.

Duke has 10 offensive touchdowns in six games.

The lone victory came Oct. 2, beating The Citadel 28-10 at home.

Last Saturday in Atlanta, Duke’s offense was limited to 184 yards during a 24-7 setback at Georgia Tech.

Among the 11 ACC teams, Duke ranks last in total offense (averaging 244.7 yards per game, which is 63 yards less than 10th-place Clemson). Roof’s squad is also last in the league for scoring offense (17.5 points) and passing (130 yards a game).

Sophomore quarterback Mike Schneider, who showed courage against Georgia’s Tech’s steady pass rush, is averaging only 84.3 yards per game total offense.

Duke wide receivers have caught one touchdown pass. The Blue Devils have scored only 37 second-half points this season, and have a league-low 76 first downs.

With four new starters on the offensive line, the Blue Devils are averaging 3.1 yards per rush. The team’s top ground gainer, freshman tailback Justin Boyle, totals 208 yards on 41 carries, but that includes a 83-yard TD run against The Citadel.

Schneider, who has made five starts, has thrown for a combined 487 yards, but only two interceptions on 83 attempts.

“We don’t need to wholeheartedly change what we do,” Roof said. “We just have to do it better. ... We need more consistency: fundamentals, ball security, blocking, tackling, [quarterback] protection. All the stuff that goes into winning and losing.”

When Roof reviewed the ACC team statistics, he spoke about what Groh’s program is achieving.

“If you look at the ACC statistics, Virginia leads the ACC in every offensive category,” Roof said. “So we have a tremendous challenge ... as far as how we match up? That is why you play the game - to go find out.

“You don’t play the game on paper or in the newspaper, you play on the field.”

The Cavaliers are averaging league-highs of 35.8 points and 457.8 yards per game, which is 58 yards more than second-place Wake Forest.

Roof complimented UVa running backs Wali Lundy and Alvin Pearman, who have a combined 15 touchdowns, but he offered more praise for quarterback Marques Hagans, who has completed a league-best 69.3 percent of his passes.

“When Hagans runs around, everybody has problems tackling that guy,” Roof said. “Even if you have good [pass] coverage, he can escape and create things with his movement, his legs ... On some plays this year, he has been back there running around forever.”

Hagans leads all ACC players in total offense, averaging 226.2 yards per game.
 

Barber is having a great year
Ronde's 2 defensive TDs paces the Bucs in scoring
By Chris Harry | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted October 19, 2004

ST. LOUIS -- How bad is the Tampa Bay offense struggling?

Cornerback Ronde Barber leads the team in touchdowns.

In a season that has started miserably for a club less than two years removed from a world championship, Barber has been one of the bright spots for the Buccaneers (1-5).

Barber's 18-yard return of a Deuce McAllister fumble last week at New Orleans helped push Tampa Bay to its first victory of the season. It was Barber's second fumble return for a score this season (which is two more touchdowns than the Bucs have rushing in 2004, by the way).

"Hey, I'm just doing my job," said Barber, whose eight returns for scores (playoffs included) are a team a record. "If you look at the board, they list our job description on defense. It says, 'Score and get the ball back for our offense.' I take that literally."

Maybe the offense will one day return the favor for a change, but for now Coach Jon Gruden has had to lean mightily on the No. 4-ranked defense in the NFL.

Sound familiar?

"It's plays like that one last week that win you games," Gruden said. "And the last few years, Ronde Barber has made a lot of those."

"He's one of my favorite guys," Gruden said. "He's just a good-looking guy. He's opportunistic. He's a team captain. He's a stud."

Roof sticking to plan
Duke's offense still sputtering
By J.P. GIGLIO, Staff Writer

DURHAM -- Duke football changed on this day last year.

Head coach Carl Franks was fired and assistant Ted Roof was named the interim coach with five games left. Roof changed practice, changed the offense, changed just about everything about the Blue Devils' 2003 season.

Duke won two of the final five games and Roof won the head coaching job.

"How long did you say it's been?" Roof joked Monday.

It seems longer to Roof, whose Devils are off to a 1-5 start with the worst-rated offense in the country. Duke plays No. 14 Virginia on Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium.

But Roof said he won't make wholesale changes heading into Duke's final five games of the 2004 season.

He said the offensive game plan, hatched by respected coordinator Marty Galbraith, will remain.

Roof called Galbraith's short-passing, motion-heavy offense a "good fit" for Duke, despite the poor numbers it has produced this season.

Duke ranks 11th in the ACC and 117th (last) in the country in total offense with an average of 244.7 yards per game, according to the ACC. The 10th-rated team in the league, Clemson, averages 307.5.

"As far as it being the system or not, I think we're fine," Roof said. "I think the system has enough flexibility. We need to do what we do and do it better."

In the offseason, Roof hired Galbraith, a former NFL and N.C. State assistant, to design Duke's offense. Galbraith, known for a creative passing scheme at State and Marshall, hasn't been able to bring the same success to Duke.

The Devils average 130.0 passing yards per game, which ranks 113th nationally. The passing game, which relies on turning short passes into bigger gains, has been stifled by a lack of protection from an inexperienced offensive line.

Duke has allowed 17 sacks this season, including five in Saturday's 24-7 loss to Georgia Tech. Right tackle Christian Mitchell is the only returning starter on Duke's offensive line.

"We lost four starters," junior left tackle Jim Moravchik said. "There's going to be some drawbacks."

Roof spurred the Devils to success last season with a run-oriented attack as Chris Douglas produced 652 yards on 127 carries in the final five games.

But with a new line and Douglas now with New York Giants, that hasn't been an option this season.

Duke's best runner, Cedric Dargan, missed four games with nerve damage to his lower right leg. He returned against Georgia Tech but managed only 30 yards on 21 carries.

"It's a whole new system," Moravchik said. "We have the players for it, but it takes time getting used to it."

BACK IN BLUE: In addition to Dargan, receiver Senterrio Landrum (knee), safety Brian Greene (hand) and defensive end Patrick Bailey (hand) returned to Duke's lineup Saturday.

ACC Unveils New Football Division Names, Logo
Tuesday, October 19, 2004;

Conference expansion means many things: new schools, new rivalries, new divisions and, as it turns out, a new logo.

The ACC -- which this year added Miami and Virginia Tech, and next year welcomes Boston College -- yesterday unveiled its new seal and new names for the two football divisions that will be used for the first time next year.

The logo follows the concept the conference has used for years -- a graphic of the Eastern Seaboard -- but it now extends north to New England to accommodate the Eagles.

The divisional alignments were determined last fall, when the conference officially invited Boston College as its 12th member, but had only been known as Division A and Division B to this point.

Now, they have catchy nicknames. The Atlantic Division will consist of Maryland, Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina State and Wake Forest. The Coastal Division will be Virginia, Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina and Virginia Tech.

Each team will play the other teams in its division every year, and also face a "permanent partner" from the opposite division annually. For instance, Maryland and Virginia are in opposite divisions, but will meet every year because they are permanent partners. The other partnerships: Virginia Tech-Boston College, Georgia Tech-Clemson, Miami-Florida State, North Carolina-N.C. State, Duke-Wake Forest.

The champions of each division will meet next season in the conference's first football championship game, to be held in Jacksonville, Fla. The divisions won't be used for basketball.

Groh Puts Defensive Starters On Notice
By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, October 19, 2004; Page D03

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Oct. 18 -- As his team looks to regain solid footing after failing spectacularly in its showdown with Florida State, Virginia Coach Al Groh has told his starting defenders they will have to earn back their jobs in practice this week.

The Cavaliers (5-1, 2-1 ACC) had trouble in almost every facet in Saturday's 36-3 loss in Tallahassee, a defeat that knocked them from sixth to 14th in the national rankings and stands as their most lopsided since the Seminoles beat them, 43-7, three years ago. But for a team and a head coach that pride themselves on stout defense, allowing a season-high 470 yards was especially tough to swallow.

Groh declined to discuss with reporters what he told the team Saturday night, but senior safety Marquis Weeks said the message is clear heading into this week's game at Duke (1-5, 0-3).

"When the head coach says that he's looking at people and he's going to find out who wants to really play . . . you have to take that to heart," Weeks said before Monday's practice. "That's nothing to play around with. . . . Your position on the team is never solidified. If someone starts playing better than you, you can at any time lose your job, but just the way we lost and some of the mistakes we made, it's going to be more of a focus."

Virginia has more depth this season than in past years, but at most defensive positions, the starters seem well entrenched. Senior inside linebacker Rich Bedesem, a former starter, and freshman cornerback Philip Brown are the only backups who pose an obvious threat to the starters in front of them.

Nowhere to Run

In their first five games, the Cavaliers amassed rushing totals of 286, 299, 326, 225 and 239 yards. Against Florida State, they netted 20 yards on 29 carries.

"They're not the number one rushing defense in the ACC for nothing," right guard Elton Brown said.

The Seminoles are even better than that; ranked fifth in the nation last week, they are now down to 58 rushing yards allowed per game, the best in Division I-A.

The biggest issue, Groh said, is that Florida State's cornerbacks are so good they allow the safeties to creep down near the line of scrimmage instead of staying back to guard against deep passes.

"There's a traffic problem in there," Groh said. "But that's not the first time that's occurred. That's historically the case. Miami, which has always been a good running team, had little to no production against the same defense running the ball. So there was a pretty good indicator there that it might be a little stiff."

The Hurricanes needed 32 rushes to gain 109 yards in their season-opening overtime win against FSU. . . .

The second-half injuries that knocked Brown (knee) and quarterback Marques Hagans (hip) out of Saturday's game likely will not keep them from playing at Duke.

Groh said he won't know for sure until the players go through a few days of practice, but Sunday afternoon "both of them were less uncomfortable than, given their circumstances on Saturday night, I thought would have been reasonable to expect."

Brown wore a brace on his left knee when he met with reporters Monday, but he said he'll be out there against the Blue Devils. . . .

Groh wasn't pleased with what he called the "unnecessary" low block FSU center David Castillo threw against Virginia nose tackle Andrew Hoffman on Saturday. "I wouldn't condone it," Groh said.

Hoffman was several yards behind the play -- though still pursuing the ball carrier -- when Castillo dove and hit his right knee from the side. Hoffman was able to return to the game. . . . Virginia is 15th in the inaugural Bowl Championship Series ranking released Monday.