Cavs try to end Byrd streak
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
October 1, 2005

Eleven wins, no losses.

That was the goal for all 117 Division I-A football teams when the season started. Only 26 schools can stake that claim entering today's schedule.

While Virginia (3-0, 1-0 ACC) is one of the unbeaten programs, they can look at 11-0 and see something different - a history lesson. Since 1940, UVa has opened 11 different seasons by winning its first three games and in every one of those years the Cavaliers have won their fourth game.

For that positive trend to continue, the 19th-ranked Cavaliers will need to buck another recent trend today at noon. That tendency? Poor play at Maryland's Byrd Stadium under coach Al Groh.

The Terrapins (2-2, 1-1) dominated Virginia in 2001 and 2003, winning the home games by a total of 30 points. UVa has not won at Maryland since the Terrapin program was turned over to Ralph Friedgen in 2000.

That's an advantage that Coach Friedgen hopes will stay intact.

"I hope it holds true," Maryland's coach said this week.

If it doesn't, Maryland could be well on its way to a second straight losing season. The Terrapins still have to play road games at Florida State, North Carolina and North Carolina State. They also host Virginia Tech and Boston College.

Given that schedule, Friedgen knows the magnitude of today's game, which just happens to serve as Maryland's homecoming.

"If we were fortunate to get a win [against Virginia], I think it would give our young guys the confidence for the rest of the season," Friedgen said. "That's why I think it's an important game."

Freidgen's team is expected to provide Virginia with its toughest challenge to date, although they have yet to win a home game. They lost to Clemson and West Virginia.

"It's the most talented team that we've played in many different areas," Groh said. "They have a lot of big-play players."

Like Maryland, Virginia needs the win, and it would prove that the Cavs can be what Groh calls "road warriors." Virginia has won six of its last 12 road games, which inludes a 2-5 record in its last seven ACC road games.

Without winning games outside of Charlottesville, "the best you can finish is 4-4," Groh said. "It would be hard to get in the championship game at 4-4."

While Byrd Stadium, which holds 51,500, does not create the distractions of a road game at Florida State or even Virginia Tech, the Cavaliers have a number of starters playing in their first ACC road game.

"We're trying to condition the team to be able to dismiss all the extraneous events that go with any game," Groh said. "That is, we think that if a team is of the mentality that they are counting on the home crowd to make them play better than what they are, then they are looking for artificial stimulation and if you think you're going to play better at home just because you're at [Scott Stadium], then I guess inherently you believe that you're not going to play as well on the road, because you don't have that stimulation."

If Virginia needs an emotional boost today, it could come in the form of Ahmad Brooks. The junior linebacker made the trip to Maryland with the team and could make his season debut. Last year against Maryland, Brooks intercepted a pair of passes in Virginia's 16-0 win.

The playing status of three other starters - left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson (knee), center Brian Barthelmes (ankle) and linebacker Jermaine Dias (knee) - is unknown.

 

From pudgy kid to college lineman
At 16, Branden Albert didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. Now, he's starting for Virginia. And he credits it all to his personal probation officer.
BY DARRYL SLATER
247-4641
October 1, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The pudgy 16-year-old walked into his brother's apartment in Glen Burnie, Md., for the first time and immediately reached for the phone book.

THE KID WAS HOMESICK ALREADY, AND HE WANTED TO LOOK UP THE AIRPORT SO HE COULD RESEARCH FLIGHTS HOME TO ROCHESTER, N.Y.

He wanted a way out. It was a reflex for this self-described lazy kid who'd do anything - eat junk food, play video games - to skirt schoolwork. He already had failed ninth grade twice before his mother sent him here to live with his older brother, a parole and probation officer.

"If you don't put that phonebook up," his brother threatened, "I'm gonna put you up."

That's when Branden Albert stopped looking for ways out.

He subjected himself to his brother, Ashley Sims, who sat Albert down at the dining-room table every night and forced him to do homework. At Sims' insistence, Albert started playing football, too. He trimmed his weight from 340 to 310 pounds. He played offensive tackle at Glen Burnie High and became one of the nation's top linemen.

Now, Albert is a true freshman at Virginia and will be the Cavaliers' starting left guard at noon today when they play at Maryland. Albert this week was also named Atlantic Coast Conference co-Rookie of the Week.

"I was a pudgy fat boy who didn't know what to do with his life," Albert said. "It's amazing what four years of guidance can do." Susan Albert was wary of her son growing up in their rough Rochester neighborhood. "It wasn't a safe place to be," she said.

And with Branden's academic troubles, she figured Sims could rid the kid of his laziness. "I knew he'd be more strict with him than I would," she said.

Sims, now 32, and Albert, who turns 21 on Nov. 4, refer to each other as brothers, though they have different fathers. Albert said his dad, John Albert, was around regularly until he was 13. They talk sporadically now.

When Albert moved in, Sims shared a two-bedroom apartment in Glen Burnie with his wife, Adrienne, and 1-year-old daughter, Camille. Sims had just started working as a parole and probation officer in Washington, D.C. Before that, he was a guard at a detention center.

So the discipline came quickly. Albert was still technically a freshman when he arrived. He reluctantly accepted the dining-room study halls. "I used to think that it was embarrassing," Albert said, "that it was for little kids."

None of this came easily - especially with Albert's video-game addiction. "That was another battle we had that almost ended up in tears and fights and broken joysticks," Sims said.

Taking night and summer classes in addition to his regular schedule at Glen Burnie, Albert finished his freshman, sophomore and junior years in one calendar year, Sims said. He completed his senior year on time and graduated with a 2.7 grade point average, Sims said.

By that time, Albert had developed into a promising lineman. Except for a brief and unpleasant Pop Warner stint, Albert never played organized football before moving to Maryland. He preferred basketball instead. Even when Sims brought Albert with him every summer to the University of Maryland, where Sims earned a letter in 1996 as a defensive end.

Sure, Albert had football potential. Long after Sims left campus on those summer afternoons, there was Albert, the only 11-year-old running through drills with the Terrapins. Albert certainly had football size, a product of his maternal grandmother and grandfather, who was 6-foot-9 and 400 pounds. They worked as loggers outside of Rochester. Both of them.

"Ashley told him he couldn't come here and not play football," Adrienne said.

Said Albert: "That first year I played football, I was terrible."

But he lost 30 pounds the next summer, went to Maryland's camp and played AAU basketball. Suddenly, the pudgy 16-year-old was a nimble 6-foot-7, 310-pound senior tackle.

Virginia signed him, but he scored too poorly on the SAT to qualify. So Albert spent last fall at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, where he finally qualified after taking the SAT about 15 to 20 times, Sims said.

U.Va. coaches, who liked Albert's footwork from his basketball days, slotted him at left guard when he arrived this summer. (Guards often to have to pull off the line, running into the open field as lead blockers.)

When starter Brian Barthelmes moved to center, Albert beat out upperclassmen Ian-Yates Cunningham, Gordie Sammis and Jeff Schrad for the starting job - even though Albert admitted he didn't know the differences between playing tackle and guard when he arrived. Fellow true freshman Eugene Monroe was the nation's No. 1 high school offensive lineman, but he was already at right guard.

The accolades have come quickly for Albert, who is old and physically mature for a true freshman.

Defensive end Chris Long: "Branden Albert is one of the best offensive linemen I've faced."

U.Va. coach Al Groh: "At no point since he's been here has anything ever been too much for him."

Perhaps because of his brother's discipline, Albert remains somewhat self-deprecating. "I think I'm out there, a big body just trying to block somebody," he said. "I don't think I'm good at all."

Don't tell that to Sims, who this summer challenged Albert to a 1-on-1 blocking showdown - like he used to do when teaching the pudgy kid "swim" moves. Albert plowed his brother backward into the kitchen island, sliding the thing across the floor.

Albert has changed his habits, too, swearing off soda and ridding his room at U.Va. of video games.

But shortly after Albert won the starting job two weeks into training camp, he called Sims, who made sure to offer his brother some reaffirming advice: "That's why you don't stop working."

Gator warnings posted for Tech, UVa
In-state quarterbacks garnering attention
By Doug Doughty
THE ROANOKE TIMES

While Virginia Tech waits on 6-5 Doneal Mack from Statesville, N.C., the uncommitted senior with whom the Hokies are most actively involved, men’s basketball coach Seth Greenberg and his staff have been making inroads with some of the top juniors in the mid-Atlantic area.

Vistors for the Hokies’ home football game next Saturday with Marshall will include a pair of juniors in 6-8, 225-pound Julian Vaughn from South Lakes High School in Reston and 6-9 Augustus Gilchrist from Friendly High School in Fort Washington, Md.

Vaughn, from the same school that produced former Duke All-American Grant Hill, averaged 12.8 points and 8.0 rebounds as a sophomore and also blocked 87 shots. He shot 53.4 percent from the field, 66.4 percent from the free-throw line and demonstrated the ability to go outside (7-of-18 on 3-pointers).

Interestingly enough, Tech is facing some of the same opposition for Mack as Virginia is getting for 6-6 Jonathan Mitchell from Mount Vernon, Pa., who visited UVa last weekend. Both players have been offered by UVa, Florida and Marquette, among others.

Mack, who played at Independence High School in Charlotte, N.C., as a junior in 2003-2004, transferred to Statesville Christian prior to the 2004-2005 season and was reclassified as a junior. Rivals.com has Mack rated as the No. 15 shooting guard in the country.

The Hokies feel that Mack’s decision will come down to Tech and Florida. Nobody has ever said that Florida is the team to beat for Mitchell, but he still has a visit upcoming to Gainesville, Fla., next week for Midnight Madness.

A rival ACC coach recently predicted that Virginia would get Mitchell, but, since Mitchell didn’t commit on his visit, it’s sensible to assume that UVa’s competition is formidable.

Don’t rule out Marquette, whose coach, Tom Crean, has a reputation as an outstanding recruiter. The Golden Eagles took a commitment this week from Lazar Haywood, a 6-5 wing player from Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Mass., who had indicated he might visit Virginia.

Another player who had been linked with the Cavaliers, 6-7 Wellington Smith from Summit, N.J., has committed to West Virginia. Smith is taking an extra year of high school at Blair Academy in Blairsville, N.J.

This weekend, the Cavaliers are entertaining Solomon Tat, a 6-5 Nigerian by way of Stockbridge, Ga., Community Christian. Tat is rated the No. 21 shooting guard in the country by rivals.com. Earlier this week, 6-8 Jamil Tucker from Gary, Ind., was on campus.

NOBODY SHOULD BE surprised that quarterback Donny Kirby now has a Division I-A scholarship offer after transferring from Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake to Landstown High School in Virginia Beach – home of the reigning Group AAA Division 6 state champions.

Kirby, with preseason All-Americans Percy Harvin and Damon McDaniel among his targets, already has thrown 14 touchdown passes and is averaging more than 200 passing yards per game despite playing time has been limited by all of the lopsided games Landstown plays.

Kirby (6-2, 190) has the academics to have received a scholarship from Division I-AA Yale, and he has picked up a I-A offer from East Carolina and is hearing from Alabama and Maryland, according to rivals.com.

VISITORS TO VIRGINIA for the Cavaliers’ game last Saturday with Duke included 2007 quarterback targets Peter Lalich from West Springfield and Tyrod Taylor from Hampton High School.

The only Hampton product currently in the UVa program is the Cavaliers’ starting quarterback, Marques Hagans, a 2000 Hampton graduate who spent the 2000-2001 school year at Fork Union Military Academy and then was redshirted as a freshman at UVa.

Virginia’s relations with Hampton coach Mike Smith have cooled in recent years. Smith said recently that he was not aware that Taylor had been invited to any Virginia games, although a UVa source said subsequently that Taylor had a standing invitation.

Internet services are reporting that Taylor has a scholarship offer from the Cavaliers, as does Lalich.

ROANOKE SPORTSWRITER Randy King, better known for his knowledge of junky cars than he is for his recruiting expertise, says that Virginia Tech is waiting for an announcement next Thursday from 6-6, 290-pound Aaron Brown, an offensive lineman from Cincinnati who wants to take a look at Purdue this weekend before making up his mind.

SPEAKING OF THE MEDIA, the latest in the media impasse in Charlottesville is that the Newport News Daily Press is modifying its midweek coverage because it did not see any upgrade in player accessibility at Virginia coach Al Groh’s Tuesday teleconference.

Among those requested players who did not show Tuesday were Ahmad Brooks, Wali Lundy, D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Deyon Williams, Michael Johnson and Marcus Hamilton. Attendees included Marques Hagans, Brennan Schmidt, Brad Butler, Branden Albert, Chris Long and Chris Cook.

Groh not only moved his news conference to Tuesdays this year, but player interviews were moved up from 2:45 to 1 p.m., when it is far more likely that players will be in class. A lot of the problems would be alleviated if Virginia moved its news conferences back to Monday, but people question my motives. You see, Tuesday was always bowling day.

 

Groh would prefer a win at Maryland for once
The UVa coach has faced the Terps twice on their home field and left upset on both occasions. Talk up the game on the message board.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

1. Run the ball successfully. Two weeks ago, West Virginia rushed for 301 yards in a 31-19 victory at Maryland. Last week, the Terps held the ACC's top rushing attack to 111 yards in a 22-12 victory at Wake Forest.


2. Neutralize Maryland's kicking game. Virginia sophomore Chris Gould is averaging 36.6 yards per punt -- not good enough to rank among the ACC's top 10 -- but UVa is seventh in the ACC in net punting, only two spots behind Maryland. UVa's Connor Hughes was the preseason ACC place-kicker, but Maryland's Dan Ennis is 9-for-9 on field goals.


3. Win the turnover battle. Virginia, plagued by five interceptions in the first two games, has improved from 114th to 75th in Division I in turnover margin. Maryland is 93rd, mostly because it has forced only four turnovers in four games.

Reporters rarely have seen Virginia football coach Al Groh as angry as he was following a 27-17 loss at Maryland in 2003.

That was the night Maryland assistant coach James Franklin wandered into the middle of UVa's pregame drills, drawing words from Groh and incurring a penalty that was assessed on the opening kickoff.

Afterward, Groh was seething mostly about the Cavaliers' inability to contain Maryland's Josh Allen, who ran for 257 yards, including an 80-yard TD romp when it appeared he had been stopped at the line of scrimmage.

Groh was so upset by the inability of cornerback Muffin Curry to "wrap up" on the play that, when Virginia submitted its All-ACC nominations one day later, Curry was omitted.

Curry went on to lead the ACC in interceptions that year and, despite his diminutive stature, had a knack for big plays that probably merited all-conference consideration. In hindsight, Groh might admit that.

"I don't think that losing a game gives you an excuse to be a jerk under any circumstances," said Groh following a 37-34 loss to Fresno State in the MPC Computers Bowl last December, "but, internally, I'm an angry loser."

Virginia has not won at Maryland in either of its visits to Byrd Stadium under Groh, including a 41-21 loss to the Terps in 2001 when Maryland blocked two punts.

The Roanoke Times headlines after that game were "Groh fuming after loss," and "Coach furious over Virginia's mistakes." On the flip side, Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen was steaming after a 48-13 loss to Virginia in 2002.

"I'm crushed," Friedgen said after that game. "How many times do you have a chance like we had tonight to win a conference championship and maybe go to a BCS bowl? That door was open for us. It bothers me. It bothers me a lot."

Neither Maryland (2-2, 1-1 ACC) nor 19th-ranked Virginia (3-0, 1-0) has been the subject of much BCS speculation heading into today's noon kickoff in College Park, Md., but the Terps are the best team Virginia has faced, Groh contends.

The Cavaliers beat Maryland nine straight times between 1992-2000, including four games in College Park, but the home team has won all four meetings since Groh and Friedgen returned as head coaches to their respective alma maters.

"It really shouldn't make any difference, either when the series originated, or who's won more games at home or on the road," Groh said. "If you do a good job preparing for the issues that are at hand and you play better, then you win -- home or away.

"I'm not offering this as an explanation, I've got questions, too, but perhaps the emotional swings of the players accounts for those types of swings in performance. I don't really know."

Virginia has not been overly impressive in beating Western Michigan, Syracuse (on the road) and Duke, but the Cavaliers have been installed as 312-point favorites over the Terps, who have beaten Navy and Wake Forest, sandwiched around home losses to Clemson and West Virginia.

The Cavaliers could receive a lift from junior linebacker Ahmad Brooks, who did not play in UVa's first three games but practiced Thursday in hopes that he might be able to go today.

Groh has not told the media that Brooks will play -- "When he's ready to play, we're going to tell everybody," Groh promised two weeks ago -- but he could say it was a game-time decision.

A similar scenario unfolded last week, when Groh said he did not know that right offensive tackle Brad Butler would be able to play. Not only did Butler start at right tackle, but when regular left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson was hurt, Butler played the last three quarters on the other side.

The media never knew Butler was injured in the first place.

 

Cavs struggle when playing at Maryland
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 1, 2005

Maryland’s 0-2 record at home this season is perplexing. Terps coach Ralph Friedgen couldn’t put a finger on why his team has watched fourth quarter leads against Clemson and West Virginia slip away at Byrd Stadium.

Virginia might be even more confused. The Terrapins always seem to be world beaters whenever the Cavaliers come to town.

UVa (3-0, 1-0 ACC) will try to change that luck when it travels to play new division crossover rival Maryland today at noon.

The 19th-ranked Cavaliers have lost their last two games in College Park. Badly.

Maryland (2-2, 1-1) won 41-21 in 2001, racking up almost 500 yards of total offense. In 2003, Terps tailback Josh Allen ran for 257 yards in a 27-17 Thursday night win that featured a pre-game scuffle after UVa coach Al Groh and then-Maryland wide receivers coach James Franklin exchanged words prior to the game.

Virginia has had equal success in its last two home games against Maryland, winning 48-13 in 2002 and 16-0 last year.

For two pretty evenly matched programs, there has been a decided homefield advantage lately.

“I just think when you play a road game, you’ve got to eliminate the small mistakes,” UVa right tackle Brad Butler said. “If we go up there and have too many turnovers and we have too many penalties like we have in years past, we’re probably going to lose that game. Sometimes you can get away with it at home. But when you’re on the road, you have to be perfect.”

Virginia was less than perfect against Syracuse on the road two weeks ago, committing three turnovers, but escaped with a win on a last-second Connor Hughes field goal.

“I think it gives you confidence when you go out on your first road game and win in a tough environment,” Butler said.

Confidence or not, the Cavaliers may have some issues heading into today’s game.

It remains unknown if linebacker Ahmad Brooks (right knee) will make his first appearance of the season. Left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson (left knee) and center Brian Barthelmes (leg) might be game-time decisions. Those two have started 73 games in their careers. Their backups, Eddie Pinigis and Jordy Lipsey, have zero starts between them.

The patchwork line did well last week, though. Quarterback Marques Hagans was not sacked once Pinigis and Lipsey entered the game and Virginia scored 28 points on its first four possessions of the second half in a 38-7 rout of Duke.

Most of the Cavaliers’ success came through the air. Hagans completed 13 of 21 passes for 174 yards despite several drops. He also had a career high four touchdown passes and no interceptions.

“I think the balance (impresses me the most),” Hagans said. “The ability to run the ball and pass the ball and not be so much one or the other. We can do both.”

Maryland, despite its two home losses, has several players who are having outstanding seasons.

Terps quarterback Sam Hollenbach leads the ACC in total offense with 247.2 yards per game. Linebacker D’Qwell Jackson leads the ACC with 14.5 tackles per game. (“It’s hard not to notice the guy,” Hagans said.) And Maryland possesses two of the best kickers in the league, punter Adam Podlesh, who leads the ACC with a 45.4-yard average, and kicker Dan Ennis, who is 9-for-9 on field goal attempts this season.

But the biggest weapon the Terrapins have might be tight end Vernon Davis, a 6-foot-3, 253-pound future NFLer who has 15 receptions for 352 yards and two touchdowns.

“He’s one of those unique players,” UVa head coach Al Groh said. “You can go season to season and not see one like Vernon, with the combination of size, speed, and ball skills that he’s got.”

Maryland also represents the biggest physical test Virginia has faced this season, a step up in competition from a weak early-season schedule that consisted of Western Michigan, Syracuse and Duke, who are a combined 4-7.

“This is going to be the most athletic team we’ve faced,” UVa defensive end Chris Long said. “But we’re excited about that. We’re excited about a quote-unquote really tough team. I think it’s going to be a great test.”

 

U.Va. to toil on enemy soil
Cavaliers are 0-2 at Maryland since Terps named Friedgen coach
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Oct 1, 2005

At noon today, border rivals Virginia and Maryland meet in football for the 70th time. This ACC game is at Byrd Stadium. If the site were Scott Stadium, U.Va. fans would have considerably more reason for optimism.

The Terrapins haven't won in Charlottesville since 1990. Under fifth-year coach Ralph Friedgen, however, the Terps are 2-0 against Virginia in College Park, and neither game was close.

"I hope it holds true," Friedgen said of the home-field advantage in this series.

Virginia, in five seasons under Al Groh, gradually has improved its play away from home. The Cavaliers went 3-2 on the road last season, and one of those vic- tories came at Georgia Tech, where they had last won in 1994. In its second game this season, U.Va. edged Syracuse 27-24 at the Carrier Dome, one of the toughest places in Division I-A for a visiting team to play.

A win today would be another breakthrough for the 19th-ranked Cavaliers (1-0, 3-0), who still must travel to Boston College, North Carolina and Miami (Fla.) this season.

The Terrapins (1-1, 2-2) have several of the ACC's premier players, including linebacker D'Qwell Jackson, tight end Vernon Davis and punter Adam Podlesh.

"This will certainly be our most stringent test to date," Groh said. "It's the most talented team that we've played, in many different areas. They have a lot of big-play players."

Since returning to his alma mater, Groh has worked to build a program whose players aren't fazed by games in enemy territory.

"We're trying to condition the team to be able to dismiss all the extraneous events that go with any game," he said.

"That is, we think that if a team is of the mentality that they're counting on the home crowd to make them play better than what they are, then they're looking for artificial stimulation. And if you think you're going to play better at home just because you're at home, then I guess inherently you believe that you're not going to play as well on the road, because you don't have that stimulation."

U.Va.'s health is a major story line in this game. Two starting offensive linemen -- left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson (knee) and center Brian Barthelmes (ankle) -- are doubtful because of injuries suffered last weekend against Duke. Tailback Wali Lundy is expected to play, but he has yet to show the burst he had before spraining his foot in the Sept. 3 opener.

Inside linebacker Ahmad Brooks, who hasn't played since he had knee surgery in March, could make his 2005 debut today. When Groh spoke with reporters on a teleconference Thursday, he indicated that no decision had been made about the availability of Ferguson, Barthelmes and Brooks, who was a Butkus Award finalist in 2004.

Another starter, outside linebacker Jermaine Dias, hurt his knee against Duke and isn't expected to play today. His backups are true freshmen Aaron Clark and Olu Hall, who has primarily been used as a pass-rusher in U.Va.'s nickel defense.

Much has been said and written about the significance of the Maryland-Virginia game and how the outcome affects each program's recruiting efforts and profile in the Washington area.

"I don't know about all that," said U.Va. defensive end Brennan Schmidt, a McLean resident who graduated from DeMatha High in Hyattsville, Md.

"That's not really my area, but [the game is] important to us. That's all I really care about -- is just winning and bringing this back home to us."

 

Terps hope homecoming brings home victory
With 0-2 record at Byrd Stadium, Maryland awaits No. 19 Virginia and star QB Hagans
By Heather A. Dinich
Sun reporter
Originally published October 1, 2005

College Park // He tried to explain it to them, the magnitude of today's homecoming game, the storied rivalry between the programs in bordering states and their coaches.

Blank faces stared back at Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen.
While the young squad might not grasp the history between Maryland and Virginia, it seems to understand the future implications of a loss to - or a win against - the No. 19-ranked Cavaliers (3-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) at noon today.

The 2-2 Terps are 0-2 in Byrd Stadium, and 1-1 in the ACC. The toughest part of the schedule has yet to come, with Virginia Tech, Florida State and Boston College looming in the latter half of the season.

Maryland showed improvement last Saturday in a 22-12 win over Wake Forest, but if the Terps are going to reverse last year's 5-6 season, they're going to have to knock off a team of Virginia's caliber or better somewhere along the way.

"It's definitely time to win one at Byrd and get the winning tradition back in Maryland football and at home," senior safety Milton Harris said. "You don't want to start off losing your first couple of games at home ... There's no better time than this weekend to start the winning tradition."

It's not going to be easy - not against one of the most productive offenses in the conference. Senior Marques Hagans, a versatile quarterback who threw four touchdowns in last weekend's 38-7 win over Duke, also had one 100-yard rushing game this season, and will test the Terps' entire defense.

Hagans threw for 114 yards in the Cavaliers' 16-0 win over Maryland in Charlottesville last year. For many Terps, that's as far back as the history goes. It might be enough.

"We want some payback," said sophomore running back Keon Lattimore, whose career-high 76 yards rushing against Wake Forest and solid week of practice might have moved him into the starting role today. "We went down there last year, they beat us. They shut us out. We've got them here at home. It's an opportunity to end their rank."

The best quarterback Maryland has faced this season was Clemson's Charlie Whitehurst, who completed 18 of his 22 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns in the Tigers' 28-24 win.

Harris said he expects Hagans to be the secondary's biggest test.

"It's really tough to defend a quarterback who can hurt you with more than his arm," Harris said. "Even if we have the receivers covered, he's always a threat to take off and run the ball."

The Terps hope to keep Hagans in the pocket, where he might have trouble seeing over an offensive line that averages 302 pounds and has paved the way for an average of nearly 400 yards per game.

Virginia, which has racked up 32 points a game, is also second in the ACC in rushing offense with an average of 189.7 yards per game. Senior tailback Wali Lundy, who has had a slow start this season because of a foot injury he sustained in the season opener against Western Michigan, has scored five touchdowns in three games against Maryland.

The Terps' defense, though, is coming off what Friedgen considered to be its best performance. Maryland held Wake Forest, the ACC's top rushing team, to a season-low 111 yards. Still, Maryland is last in the conference in rushing defense, allowing opponents an average of 193 yards per game.

Virginia, however, is holding opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing per game. Last year, the Cavaliers held Maryland to 51 yards on the ground - not an uncommon number for this year's offense. The Terps rushed for 50 yards against West Virginia and 56 against Clemson.

"It's been frustrating, but we show signs that we can be really good," fullback Ricardo Dickerson said. "That's the thing that keeps us going. It's not like we're just a terrible offense and can't do nothing. We do some good things and we do some bad things. It's always going to be like that. A lot of teams are stacking the box on us, making it hard for us to run."

Earlier this week, Friedgen was asked if Virginia has the toughest run defense he's seen yet.

"The funny thing about it is, they're very good against the run," he said, laughing. "But they're fifth in the conference."

And the top three - Boston College, Virginia Tech and Florida State - are all still on his schedule.
 

A Need for Double Coverage
Terps Recognize Hagans As Threat to Pass, Run
By Dan Steinberg
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 1, 2005; Page E01

Milton Harris has gotten a first-hand look at Marques Hagans two years in a row; during Maryland's home win over Virginia in 2003, and when Virginia returned the favor last year in Charlottesville.

Harris, though, has been watching Hagans far longer, since the former was a senior at DuVal High in Lanham and the latter -- now Virginia's starting quarterback -- was a prep school star at Fork Union Military Academy. Harris's close friend and former high school teammate Caleb Cranke also played for Fork Union, and Cranke couldn't stop talking about his team's quarterback. Harris finally saw a Fork Union game tape, and then he understood.


Virginia quarterback Marques Hagans is coming off of a four-touchdown, no-interception effort against Duke, which improved Virginia to 3-0. (Andrew Shurtleff - AP)

Virginia at Maryland
Where: Byrd Stadium, College Park. | When: Noon. | TV: WDCA-20. Radio: WMAL-630, WTNT-570, WJFK-1300, WFMD-930, WHFS-FM-105.7. | Tickets: Sold out.

Byrd Watching

Virginia had won nine straight in this series before Ralph Friedgen and Al Groh took control of their alma maters nearly five years ago. Since then, the teams have split four games, with the home team winning convincingly each time. If Maryland holds serve today, it would provide a huge lift for a team that has uncharacteristically struggled at Byrd Stadium this fall. After losing three games at home in Friedgen's first four seasons, the Terps enter today's game with an 0-2 home mark. "They're buying season tickets -- we've got to put on a good show for them," Maryland guard Andrew Crummey said.

Three Is the Magic Number

Both teams have used three tailbacks, with varying degrees of success. Virginia senior Wali Lundy, who ran for 107 yards and two touchdowns in last year's win over the Terps, sprained his foot in the season opener against Western Michigan and has played sparingly. Lundy's absence, though, opened the door to two more backs: freshman Cedric Peerman leads Virginia with 178 rushing yards and is third in the ACC in all-purpose yards, while fleet-footed junior Michael Johnson had a 70-yard run against Syracuse and a 68-yard kickoff return against Duke. Maryland's three backs -- Lance Ball, Keon Lattimore and Mario Merrills -- have each had their moments, and a hot streak by any of the three could end the rotation. Against Wake Forest, for example, Lattimore was the only back to carry the ball in the fourth quarter; he finished with a career-high 76 yards.

Injury Forecast

Cloudy, with continued fog. Virginia left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson and center Brian Barthelmes left the Duke game because of injuries, and during a teleconference Thursday, Groh said they will be game-time decisions. He also refused to say whether either had been practicing this week. Groh was similarly vague about standout linebacker Ahmad Brooks, who has yet to play after offseason knee surgery. Maryland is without several players who suffered preseason injuries, but Friedgen said the team is as healthy as it's been all season.

The First Drive

Maryland has been competitive in each of its four games without having scored a touchdown on its first drive, but the Terps' opening possession today could nevertheless serve as a barometer. For one thing, three of Maryland's opening drives have ended with field goals from inside the opponents' 10-yard line, and an early strike could dim the memory of those missed opportunities. It could also offer a salve to the wound opened last year in Charlottesville, when the Terps were shut out for just the second time in the Friedgen era. Virginia has appeared vulnerable to fast starts; lowly Western Michigan got a field goal on its opening drive against the Cavs, and Syracuse -- which boasts the nation's 104th-best offense -- began with a touchdown.


Notable Number
242
Average rushing yards for the winning team in Maryland and Virginia's last four meetings. The Terps haven't gained more than 210 yards on the ground in any game since Sept. 25. 2004; the Cavs have surpassed 210 rushing yards six times during that span.

"What he's doing now, it's like nothing new to me," said Harris, now Maryland's starting strong safety. "He's an athlete. He's a great athlete who can make plays."

And while Hagans has not been consistently brilliant in Virginia's 3-0 start, he has certainly made plays. In a season-opening win against Western Michigan, he passed for a career-high 252 yards. In a last-second win at Syracuse he was Virginia's leading rusher, gaining a career-high 110 yards on 14 carries, including one 26-yarder that helped set up the Cavs' go-ahead field goal. Last Saturday against Duke, Hagans played his best game of the season, throwing a career-high four touchdowns and, for the first time this year, zero interceptions.

The fifth-year senior is being asked to throw more this year -- "if you watched the games, you certainly would come to that conclusion," always-expansive Virginia Coach Al Groh said -- and has bumped his average passing performance from 169 yards a game last year to 190 yards this year.

"So now you've got a double problem," Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen said. "In past years they had a very good line and good backs and they ran the ball first and then threw it. Now, they're kind of mixing it up and giving [Hagans] the ability to scramble and create plays."

Still, his run-heavy showing against Syracuse might prove particularly worrisome for a Maryland team that has already lived through unpleasant encounters with mobile quarterbacks. Navy's elusive Lamar Owens gained 122 yards against the Terps despite missing time because of a hand cramp. West Virginia backup Pat White rushed for 62 yards against Maryland, including a 33-yard scramble on a broken play that led to the Mountaineers' back-breaking touchdown. So how do the Terps feel about facing another quarterback with similar potential?

"It pretty much [stinks], that's all you can say," junior nose tackle Conrad Bolston said. "I'd rather have a 280-pound guy that just sits in the pocket. Ask anybody on the defense, they'll probably tell you the same thing."

To stop Hagans, coaches and players said, the Terps must do what they failed to do against West Virginia: win battles at the line of scrimmage to free up their linebackers, not stray from their assignments and not lose outside containment. They must also reprise the ball-swarming effort that surfaced last week against Wake Forest, preventing broken tackles and causing four much-needed fumbles. The first-half Wake Forest fumble that cornerback Josh Wilson returned for a touchdown was jarred loose by Harris, the third Maryland player in on the tackle.

"I thought they played like our defense of old," said Friedgen, who had been pleading for such group efforts in prior weeks.

Virginia will also likely take a few chances downfield; wide receiver Deyon Williams (Suitland) is coming off a career week in which he caught two touchdowns, and Groh said this year's liberated passing offense is more aggressive than last year's. Hagans's ability to keep plays alive -- "evadability," Friedgen called it -- could offer a further test to Maryland's pass defense, which ranks first in the ACC partly because opponents have been content to keep the ball on the ground.

"You're going to have to cover longer than you normally would, because when you get pressure on [Hagans] he can create and buy time for his receivers to get open," Harris said. "There's no telling how long you may have to cover a receiver. That's going to present a challenge in itself."

And yet Maryland's defense is finally playing with a confidence reminiscent of seasons past, and the Terps said that, too, would be deployed against Virginia's quarterback.

"We finally got our swagger, we finally got a rhythm going," linebacker D'Qwell Jackson said. "If you've got any kind of pride, or any kind of competitiveness, you've got to get up for this game."