Promise to media puts Groh on defense
UVa coach Al Groh says he didn't want to tip his hand by revealing Ahmad Brooks' status.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

Virginia football coach Al Groh said he decided to withhold information about the status of rehabilitating linebacker Ahmad Brooks after watching an interview with Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban at 4:30 a.m. on the NFL Network.

Brooks made his season's debut Saturday against Maryland without the advance notice that Groh had promised to the media in a teleconference Sept. 15.

"When he's ready to play, we're going to tell everybody," Groh said that day. "I'm going to tell the team, I'm going to tell the coaches. If he's ready to play, I'll tell you guys [in the media], 'He's ready to play. No doubt about it.' "

On a teleconference Sunday afternoon, Groh was asked if he remembered making that statement.

"Sure do," Groh said. "I also remember telling you last week what Nick Saban said. Saban said when he called up [Carolina] coach John Fox to tell him what was going on that he would call up the reporters and tell them, too."

In effect, by telling reporters, Saban felt like he would telling the opposing coach.

So, did Groh change his policy after hearing what Saban said?

"I don't really think it's relevant," Groh said.

"I think you misled us, so I think it is relevant," a reporter from Roanoke said.

"Well, you're welcome to your opinion on it," Groh responded.

"I think you deceived us," the reporter continued.

"Look, my responsibility is to do the most important thing that I can do to give our team the best chance to win," Groh said. "OK? If I think that telling the opponent what we're going to do is helpful to our winning, then I'll tell them that."

"Then don't make a statement like that to us in the first place," the reporter said.

"That's fine," Groh concluded.

Maryland offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe said Saturday that the Terrapins had heard Brooks would play and, since they knew outside linebacker Jermaine Dias had been hurt against Duke, the Terps had guessed that Brooks might take his place on the outside.

That was without Groh mentioning once that Dias was hurt. Dias did not make the trip.

"I know we [scheme] for particular players," Groh said Sunday. "One of the things we say every week is to define who -- and secondly what -- would cause you to lose without special attention.

"There are certain players, if you don't give them special attention, then those players are going to be too much to handle."

Without Groh tipping his hand, Maryland didn't have much trouble handling Brooks, who assisted on two tackles as the Terrapins rolled up 570 yards in a 45-33 victory at Byrd Stadium.

Not everybody takes the Groh-Saban approach.

Wake Forest said Thursday that Cory Randolph had replaced Benjamin Mauk as the Deacons' No. 1 quarterback. Clemson couldn't stop Randolph from passing for three touchdowns and running for a fourth in a 31-27 Wake upset win.

Groh offered little insight on the availability of Dias and injured linemen D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Brian Barthelmes for the Cavaliers' game this Saturday at Boston College.

Brooks turned an ankle Saturday but said he did not believe that injury would sideline him.

"He did all right," Groh said Saturday. "When you see guys [in the NFL] who hold out and report late to camp or guys who come into the season under the same circumstances that Ahmad did, it's not a coincidence that those guys end up getting some type of injury.

"That's the value of training camp. While he was healed [after offseason surgery], that doesn't necessarily mean that he's really ready to be back on his game. That's been the point all along here."

1. Run the ball successfully | Grade: C-minus

Wali Lundy started at tailback for the second game in a row but had five carries, one after the first quarter and none in the second half. Redshirt freshman Cedric Peerman did not carry the ball until the fourth quarter; he had a 16-yard run on his first carry, the Cavaliers' longest running play.

2. Neutralize Maryland's kicking game | Grade: C

UVa managed to neutralize Terrapins' Adam Podlesh, but not the way the Cavaliers would have wanted. Podlesh punted only twice because Maryland picked up 33 first downs.

3. Win the turnover battle | Grade: A

For the first time all season, UVa did not have a turnover. The Cavaliers intercepted Sam Hollenbach twice, scoring a defensive touchdown on Chris Cook's interception return.

 

Will Cavs need an 'Emotional Rescue?'
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
October 3, 2005

The lights at Virginia’s Scott Stadium were burning well into the night Sunday.

Many Cavalier fans might have guessed that Al Groh was putting his team through a late-night practice session following a tough 45-33 loss at Maryland on Saturday.

The bright skies, however, had little to do with Virginia’s football team. Instead, preparations were being made for the Rolling Stones concert on Thursday night.

Following Saturday’s loss, it’s obvious that music is the least of Groh’s concerns.

Virginia (3-1, 1-1) allowed 570 yards of total offense, 33 first downs and 21 points in the final 15 minutes of the game to a Maryland team that entered the contest without a home win this year.

Perhaps the Rolling Stones could be just what the Cavaliers, now ranked No. 25 in the coaches’ poll and unranked in the Associated Press poll, need when they review the game tape today at the McCue Center. The well-acclaimed band did, in fact, have a song and an album entitled “Emotional Rescue.”

Virginia quarterback Marques Hagans, who passed for 270 yards, rushed for two touchdowns and almost single-handedly salvaged the game, tried to shift the blame from his team’s defensive performance.

“We just weren’t able to outscore them and that’s why they beat us,” Hagans said. “Maryland played a great game on defense and we did not execute on a couple plays [offensively], but there’s no room to make excuses. They scored more points than we did, so we lost. We will go back to the drawing board and get ready for next week.

“All we are going to do is stick together and learn from our mistakes and get ready for next week.”

Hagans made it sound simple. The upcoming schedule is anything but.

UVa plays Saturday at Boston College (4-1, 1-1) and with another road loss, the Cavaliers would be staring at a losing record in the ACC as Florida State (4-0, 2-0) comes to Charlottesville on Oct. 15.

As tough as those two games appear to be, Groh said his program is “not looking at stretches.”

“It sounds like the same ole’ tune but that is what it is for us - it always will be,” Groh said. “Each week is its own week and each week is its own game. They are not part of stretches. They are individual games and individual challenges.”

 

Cavs try to put loss behind them
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 3, 2005

Sundays are usually a day of rest for the Virginia football team. UVa head coach Al Groh suggests to his players that they try to get a little space from football.

That advice might be even more appropriate after Maryland manhandled the Cavaliers 45-33 on Saturday.

The Terps gained 570 yards of offense, the most against a Groh-coached UVa defense. In the last five years, only once has Virginia allowed more than the 45 points Maryland put up Saturday (N.C. State beat UVa 51-37 in 2003).

And now for the hard part - putting it behind them.

“It’s the same old tune and it always will be. Each week is its own week; each game is its own game,” Groh said. “They’re not part of stretches. They’re individual games and there are individual challenges with each one that comes up.”

Virginia’s upcoming schedule is peppered with plenty of challenges. UVa (3-1, 1-1 ACC), which dropped out of the polls, travels to play No. 18 Boston College this Saturday and follows that up with No. 4 Florida State at home on Oct. 15.

The Cavaliers’ schedule also includes late-season games at home against No. 24 Georgia Tech and No. 3 Virginia Tech and at No. 9 Miami.

The players know now is no time to dwell on what happened at College Park.

“Right now, emotions are a little high,” UVa senior offensive tackle Brad Butler said after the game. “But after a couple hours, it’s something that we have to let go. … If we hold onto things and let it get to us, it will affect us again next week.”

That is easier said than done, especially considering the similarities between Maryland and Boston College up front. Maryland’s offensive line physically dominated Virginia’s defensive front on Saturday. The Terps, who entered the game ninth in the ACC with 119.5 rushing yards per game, ran for 250 yards.

Boston College’s line is just as physically imposing, starting three offensive linemen who stand over 6 feet, 7 inches tall. The shortest of the bunch, 6-foot-2 right guard Josh Beekman, is 325 pounds.

“There are very few NFL teams that can roll out that many guys,” Groh said.

It would help if Virginia got some of its injured players back. Inside linebacker Ahmad Brooks made his first appearance of the season Saturday at outside linebacker, filling in for the injured Jermaine Dias (knee). Brooks sprained his ankle in the third quarter after a relatively quiet day and did not return.

Left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson (left knee) had his 42-game starting streak snapped. Groh said Sunday that it was determined early in the week that Ferguson would not play.

Center Brian Barthelmes (left leg) suited up but was not able to do enough during warm-ups for the coaching staff to let him get on the field.

Tailback Wali Lundy, meanwhile, is still not 100 percent after suffering a foot sprain a month ago against Western Michigan. He had five carries for 18 yards Saturday.

“He feels a lot better today,” Groh said in a teleconference Sunday, “so hopefully that is a positive sign.”

After Saturday, any positive news would be welcome.
 

Cavs try to fill holes
Defense's problems in loss at Maryland could be costly against BC
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Oct 3, 2005

Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen offered a simple explanation for the Virginia Cavaliers' victory over his team last season.

"They just ran the ball down our throats," Friedgen said after U.Va. rushed for 295 yards in its 16-0 victory at Scott Stadium.

The Terrapins responded in kind two days ago, rushing for 250 yards in a 45-33 win over then-No. 19 Virginia in College Park, Md. But Maryland also tormented the Wahoos with its passing game, as junior Sam Hollenbach threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns. On an afternoon when the Terps (2-1 ACC, 3-2 overall) picked up a staggering 33 first downs and amassed 570 yards of offense, they had 25 plays that gained 10 yards or more.

Nobody associated with the U.Va. program expected the Cavaliers (1-1, 3-1) to give up so many yards Saturday. Then again, as sophomore defensive end Chris Long pointed out after the game, "Anything's possible if you play badly like that."

For fifth-year coach Al Groh, the game marked only the third time his team has lost after scoring at least 33 points. Virginia fell 51-37 at N.C. State in 2003 and 37-34 in overtime to Fresno State in last year's MPC Computers Bowl.

Defensive coordinator Al Golden's unit scored a touchdown against Maryland, on true freshman cornerback Chris Cook's 30-yard interception return in the second quarter. By game's end, though, the defense's countless breakdowns had overshadowed that highlight.

"We can't expect our offense to keep us in ballgames," Long said. "We have to make plays . . . and today we let the offense down as a defense. But we're a close team. There's no hard feelings on either side."

Junior wideout Deyon Williams, who had five catches for 62 yards, agreed.

"If a team starts pointing fingers, you're going to have a disaster, a massacre," said Williams, who is emerging as an all-ACC candidate. "That's not what you want.

"Everybody on our team, it's like we're all brothers. If we play like brothers and act like brothers, things will come out better."

Groh echoed those comments Saturday, saying it's "important that the team remain together and not become fragmented internally or externally as the result of a game like this."

U.Va., which is idle Oct. 29, isn't a lock to win again until Nov.5, when Temple visits Scott Stadium. Between now and then, Virginia must play 18th-ranked Boston College (1-1, 4-1) Saturday in Chestnut Hill, Mass., fourth-ranked Florida State (2-0, 4-0) Oct. 15 in Charlottesville and surging North Carolina (1-1, 2-2) Oct. 22 in Chapel Hill.

The Cavaliers' immediate concern, of course, is shoring up their defense. Boston College entered its game with Ball State two days ago as the ACC leader in total offense. The Eagles won 38-0. There may not be a team in Division I-A with a bigger offensive line than BC, whose coach, Tom O'Brien, is a former U.Va. assistant.

The Eagles' starting tackles are 6-9, 321-pound Jeremy Trueblood and 6-7, 320-pound Gosder Cherilus. The guards are 6-8, 315-pound James Marten and 6-2, 325-pound Josh Beekman. The shrimp of the group is center Patrick Ross, who stands 6-4 but weighs a mere 298 pounds.

 

Terps' receivers a hit as blockers
Friedgen praises physical effort in win over Virginia
By Heather A. Dinich
sun reporter
Originally published October 3, 2005

COLLEGE PARK // Every week this season, Maryland coaches have stressed the importance of blocking to their wide receivers.

"It's something that doesn't always get done," coach Ralph Friedgen said.

"It's been a hard thing for us to get them to do for a long time."

Not only did receiver Danny Melendez block on Saturday, but the lanky, 6-foot-2 senior also knocked one Virginia defender flat on his back. It was that kind of technique and effort from the unit that Friedgen credited to be a significant factor in Maryland's most potent offensive performance in a year.

After the Terps' 45-33 win against the previously undefeated and No. 19-ranked Cavaliers, Friedgen called his receivers "the most improved group of players on the team." Their blocking, he said, helped pave the way for Maryland's season-high 250 yards on the ground.

"Their blocking for the running game, without question in my mind, was the best blocking we've ever had since I've been here from wide receivers," said Friedgen, who is in his fifth season as head coach. "It was the best we've been associated with. You have to give credit to Coach [Bryan] Bossard and especially the wide-outs."

That's exactly what senior receiver Jo Jo Walker did.

"Coach Bossard has been a blessing for us and has helped our receiver corps get better every week," said Walker, who caught six passes for 69 yards and rushed for 23 yards on four carries out of passing formations against Virginia. "We just want to go out there and play with our hearts for him."

Bossard joined the team in March after three years as the receivers coach at Delaware. He took over for James Franklin, who is now the receivers coach of the Green Bay Packers. Some within the program have noticed a better connection between Bossard and the older receivers, like Walker and senior Derrick Fenner.

Regardless of whether it's a new chemistry between coach and player, or an increased desire on the part of the athletes themselves, there's no question Maryland's passing game has taken a quantum leap from where it finished last year - with 16 interceptions and eight touchdowns. The Terps ranked ninth in the Atlantic Coast Conference in passing offense in 2004 with an average of 178.5 yards per game. Under the direction of quarterback Sam Hollenbach, Maryland is now third in passing offense and second in pass efficiency.

"As far as last year and today," said Hollenbach, "I'm just more concerned about playing within the system and being somebody the guys can look to as a leader on the field."

Apparently, they do.

"We know that we are going to get hit anyway, so we have to make the catch and make Sam look good," Walker said. "He makes us look good; It goes hand in hand."

Four receivers totaled at least 50 yards against Virginia, which entered the game with the fifth-best pass defense in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Melendez led all receivers in the game with a career-high 125 yards and one touchdown on nine receptions.

"It's a credit to the offensive linemen," said Melendez, whose 10-yard touchdown reception on third-and-nine in the first quarter gave Maryland a 7-0 lead. "It all starts with them. They did a great job of protecting Sam [Hollenbach], and we did our job executing."

Tight end Vernon Davis has been Hollenbach's top target this season, and now has 19 receptions for 411 yards. His apparent 47-yard touchdown was called back after instant replay showed he stepped out of bounds at the 28-yard line.

Two plays later, though, Davis caught a 24-yard touchdown pass to give Maryland a 21-17 lead late in the second quarter. Davis caught four passes for 59 yards.

Senior Derrick Fenner caught three passes for 57 yards, including a 44-yard reception with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Three plays later, running back Lance Ball scored on a 14-yard run, and Maryland took the lead at 31-26.

Friedgen said aholding call on Fenner in the second quarter was "a tough one to make," but added he didn't have the view the official did.

"Fenner blocked the guy pretty good," Friedgen said. "We've been working very hard since spring practice on doing it the right way. It just hasn't been one of the things they've done very well, but they did it well Saturday."