A rough outing for Cavaliers
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
October 10, 2005

Many called it treacherous. Others called it sloppy. The grand consensus? It was downright nasty. And, of course, the weather was bad too.

A season that started with promise for the nationally ranked Virginia football team took a detour in an eight-day period. Back-to-back losses to Maryland (45-33) and Boston College (28-17) left the Cavaliers unranked, 3-2 overall and situated behind the eight ball in terms of competing for a spot in the first-ever Atlantic Coast Conference title game.

Playing in a bowl game for a fourth straight year also seems like a stretch.

With a remaining schedule that includes home games with No. 3 Virginia Tech and No. 4 Florida State (Saturday at 7:45 p.m.) and a road game at No. 7 Miami, it’s easy to see why the Cavaliers face an uphill battle.

UVa (3-2, 1-2 ACC) must win three games now just to be eligible to play in a bowl game. While they should beat lowly Temple, the upcoming contests at North Carolina on Oct. 22 and against visiting Georgia Tech on Nov. 12 have suddenly grown in magnitude in terms of making a fourth consecutive bowl appearance.

If that wasn’t hard enough to handle, Al Groh’s program must now battle through the negativity of a chop-block that UVa tackle Brad Butler laid on the right knee of Boston College defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka in Saturday’s loss in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

On Sunday, Boston College coach Tom O’Brien, a former assistant coach at UVa, said that he would ask officials at the ACC office to review the “late hit” on Kiwanuka so they could let him know “if that’s the way we’re going to play football in [the ACC].”

O’Brien said he didn’t “want to prejudge what the ACC should do. I just think it’s a situation they need to look into.”

The play in question occurred during the third quarter after UVa quarterback Marques Hagans had completed a pass downfield. The score was deadlocked at 7 and the outcome appeared to be hanging in the balance at the time.

Butler chop-blocked Mathias near or after the whistle. Al Washington, one of the Eagles’ defensive linemen, watched the play, retaliated by jumping on Butler and was ejected from the game. A play later, Boston College linebacker Brian Toal delivered a blow to Butler that drew a 15-yard personal foul penalty.

Virginia went on to score on the ensuing play, taking its first and only lead of the game at 14-7, but the play itself was shown not once but a handful of times on the large televisions at Alumni Stadium, something that ACC officials do not condone on a controversial play.

Groh declined to comment on the play in depth on Saturday, and said on Sunday that it wasn’t until late in the afternoon that he watched the actual play. Why? It did not “show up on the coaches’ copy,” Groh said. To see the play, Groh had to watch ABC’s play-by-play.

During a teleconference with reporters on Sunday, Groh emphatically said that he was not “condoning” or “justifying” the actions of Butler, but stressed that the actions should be analyzed by officials only after watching the activities of the entire game.

“This was a very intense competition over the course of the game with two highly motivated players playing very, very hard,” Groh said. “This was just one of a number of plays in the game on either side in which maybe there was a little more exuberance than necessary. [Butler’s chop-block] has to be viewed ... relative to other incidents that did not get national television exposure.”

Butler, who jumped up and down in celebration after Kiwanuka was thrown out of the game in the fourth quarter for delivering a hit that dislodged his helmet, declined to talk about the play after Virginia’s loss.

“As far as in the past, I play hard and I play through the whistle,” Butler said. “That is how every offensive lineman plays.”

Groh admitted on Sunday that he had talked to the senior from Lynchburg, but the discussion will remain a mystery until the paperwork has run its course.

Has Groh thought about suspending Butler for his actions for Saturday’s game with Florida State or in UVa’s only non-conference game against Temple?

“Let’s say there are a number of offices that have an interest in the circumstances with whom I’ve had conversations,” Groh said. “So I don’t think I’m in a position to unilaterally speak about it or decide about it.”

O’Brien indicated that the necessary measures have been made to send footage of the play to Tommy Hunt, the ACC’s supervisor of officials, but he planned to move forward from it - instead prepping his team for a battle on Saturday with Wake Forest.

“I’m over it. I’m finished with it,” O’Brien proclaimed. “What I need is interpreted is if that’s the way we’re going to play football.”

In the end, the play proved to be just enough to get Boston College and its supporters into a slow-moving game that was played through a steady rainfall.

“Yeah, it got us angry,” said Boston College QB Quinton Porter, who torched UVa for 301 yards passing. “It’s the last time anybody takes a cheap shot on us.”

It is unknown if Kiwanuka, the Big East Player of the Year in 2004 and the ACC preseason Player of the Year this year, will play against Wake Forest.

“He’s sore. I won’t know [if he can play] for a couple days,” O’Brien said. “I’m going to wait to see Tuesday and see how he is.”

News and notes. Early lines had Florida State a favorite of a surprising margin of just seven points. … Virginia has won 18 of its last 20 home games. … Groh said the decision to use sophomore Theirrien Davis on kickoff returns and not Michael Johnson was due to Johnson’s inability to work with the kick return unit last week in practice as he nursed an undisclosed injury. … Virginia senior Brian Barthelmes will return to his duties as the team’s center when he is healthy to do so, according to Groh. Barthelmes played “about 30 plays” on Saturday at right guard, but that was because on an unspecified injury that starting right tackle, Marshal Ausberry, is playing through. … UVa punter Chris Gould finished with an average of 41.4 yards per kick against Boston College. That’s newsworthy because it marks just the first time since the Cavaliers’ season-opening win over Western Michigan that Gould’s average was better than the opposing kicker. Virginia’s final team punting stats were tarnished, however, when Gould’s punt attempt in the third quarter was blocked. As a result, UVa averaged 34.5 yards per punt against BC. The Cavaliers currently rank 81st out of 117 teams in the country in net punting.

 

O'Brien filing report on block
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

Boston College football coach Tom O'Brien said Sunday he was preparing a report for the ACC office on the incident involving Virginia offensive tackle Brad Butler. But he was not necessarily recommending sanctions against Butler.

It was BC's position Saturday that Butler's chop block in the third quarter had prompted the retaliation that resulted in the ejection of Eagles' defensive linemen Alvin Washington on that play and Mathias Kiwanuka later in the game.

"I'm not going to prejudge what the ACC should do," O'Brien said Sunday. "I just think that it's a situation that they need to look into and decide if that's the way we're going to play football in the conference.

"I'm over with it. I'm finished with it and it's gone now. If Virginia feels they should do something or the conference feels they should do something, that's fine. As far as Boston College is concerned, as I said [Saturday], I was embarrassed with how we reacted.

"I think we did a very poor job and that reflects upon me and this football team. Once the incident was over, we almost tried to escalate it. We lost our poise a little bit and it could have cost us the football game."

O'Brien said he was informed by ACC officials that Washington and Kiwanuka will be eligible for the Eagles' game Saturday with Wake Forest. UVa, already without injured All-ACC offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, could ill afford to lose Butler.

"A lot of people are interested in the incident, as am I," Virginia head coach Al Groh said during his Sunday teleconference. "I did not see it on the field. And, until 25 minutes ago, I had not seen it myself. It does not show up on the coaches' copy. All it does is show up on the television copy."

Apparently, it was not the first time Butler had cut-block Kiwanuka.

"On a play two plays earlier, Brad was blocking Mathias and cut-blocked him to finish the play -- in full view of the umpire," Groh said. "And, there was no offense taken [by the official], although I'm sure the player did not like it.

"There are a number of offices that have interest in the circumstance. Look, I want to make perfectly clear: I'm not condoning or justifying any action, other than to say that the thing has to be viewed relative to other circumstances that did not receive national television exposure."

Another change

Groh had enough confidence in his young cornerbacks to move co-captain Tony Franklin to safety during the preseason, but a broken leg sustained by true freshman Chris Cook could prompt some re-evaluation.

Groh confessed to some fleeting thoughts about returning Franklin to corner, "but we'll have to see if fleeting turns into non-fleeting," Groh said. "Certainly, that would have to be something that you would quickly think of, but we have to make sure we don't weaken another spot."

In basketball

Virginia recruiting target Solomon Tat will announce his college choice at 6 p.m. today, according to his coach at Community Christian School in Stockbridge, Ga.

Coach Linzy Davis speculated last weekend that Tat would commit to Virginia, and said Sunday that an announcement had been postponed because weekend sports sections would be filled with football.

Tat, a 6-foot-5 guard who played with the Cavaliers' Tunji Soroye on Nigerian junior teams, publicly has narrowed his choices to UVa and Georgia.

"I can tell you that Georgia knows [about the announcement] and they're going to do everything they can before Monday to show him that they're the best place and 'don't leave home,' " said Davis, who doesn't expect the Cavaliers to stand back.

"You've got to believe that Virginia wants everything to be solid when Solomon announces."

Hold Boston College under 200 yards on the ground | Grade: C

The Eagles rushed for 196 yards and probably would have gotten to 200 if time of possession was more even (Virginia had more than a 5-minute edge). Back-up BC tailback Andre Callender had runs of 57 and 35 yards.

Rush for more than 200 yards | Grade: C+

The Cavaliers rushed for 155 yards -- the fourth time in the last five games that they have failed to gain 200 -- but their almost 4-yard-per-carry average surpassed the 2-yard-per-carry average given up by a BC defense that entered the game ranked second in Division I-A against the run.

Hold BC under 100 yards in the fourth quarter | Grade: C

The Eagles had 19 offensive plays in the fourth quarter for a total of 124 yards (6.5 average). That's an improvement from the 179 yards Maryland racked up in the fourth quarter in Virginia's loss last week. But in their three wins, the Cavaliers haven't allowed more than 76 yards in the final frame.

 

Schaub proves he can play, for all the good it does him
Published October 10 2005

David Teel

ATLANTA -- You can see it coming. Four in the morning, sports talk radio, and Don from Decatur is on line three.

"The Falcons gotta trade Michael Vick," he'll preach to his fellow insomniacs. "Or move him to tailback or wideout. Anything to keep that Matt Schaub at quarterback."

Two seasons removed from the University of Virginia, Schaub wasn't good enough Sunday to beat the ailing and desperate world champion Patriots. But in the first meaningful start of his pro career, he certainly was good enough to induce intriguing, if patently absurd, notions.

With Vick in street clothes after spraining his right knee last week, Schaub rallied Atlanta from a 15-point, fourth-quarter deficit, only to be foiled by two clutch performers for the ages: Tom Brady and Adam Vinatieri.

Brady directed a last-minute drive, and Vinatieri kicked a 29-yard field goal with 17 seconds remaining to give New England a 31-28 victory at the Georgia Dome. The Patriots (3-2) avoided their first two-game losing streak since 2002; Brady improved to 21-2 in games decided by a touchdown or less, and Vinatieri produced his 19th game-winning kick.

"When you're playing Tom Brady and that group, you have to be right on," Falcons coach Jim Mora said. "We were not."

Atlanta's chances of being "right on" appeared nil Sunday morning when Mora and Vick concluded that Vick was unable to play. After all, Schaub had started only a pointless, late-season game last year against New Orleans, which the Falcons lost. Moreover, when Vick missed the first 11 games of 2003 with a leg injury, Atlanta went 2-9 without him.

But Schaub earned the No. 2 job behind Vick last season as a rookie for a reason: He reads defenses quickly and throws a high-trajectory ball ideal for a deep passing game.

Of course he can't run like Vick. No quarterback can. And his comparatively lead feet hurt the Falcons (3-2) on occasion Sunday. But the coaching staff's confidence in him was clear from the outset as Atlanta threw deep early and often, much more often than with the often scatter-armed Vick at the controls.

To wit: In the Falcons' first four games this season, Vick completed six passes of 20 yards or more. Schaub completed four Sunday and would have had more if not for drops by Michael Jenkins and Dez White.

Schaub's three touchdown passes bettered Vick's pro high by one, and his 298 passing yards were more than Vick has posted in all but one of his starts (he threw for 337 in 2002 against Detroit).

None of this is to suggest than our buddy Decatur Don is onto something. The Falcons have made the playoffs in each of Vick's two years as a starter and last season advanced to the NFC championship game. Schaub has one quality start, at home, against a defense robbed by injury and illness of Super Bowl staples such as Richard Seymour, Tedy Bruschi, Ted Johnson and Rodney Harrison.

So don't get any ideas. The Virginia Cavalier is not about to displace the Virginia Tech Hokie. Tom DeLay has a better chance of winning an ethics medal.

That said, Atlanta need not panic when Vick absorbs the inevitable shots that come when a quarterback strays from the pocket.

"I'm happy with the way I performed," Schaub said. "I thought I came out and made some good decisions and gave us a chance."

Especially in the second and fourth quarters. Schaub passed for 150 yards in the second period as the Falcons cut a 14-0 deficit to 14-13 at halftime. In the fourth, Schaub threw scoring passes of 25 and 14 yards, the latter drawing Atlanta within 28-26. He then found Brian Finneran for the tying 2-point conversion.

Alas, 3:52 remained, more than enough time for Brady, a two-time Super Bowl MVP whom Vick calls his favorite quarterback. Brady matched Schaub's three touchdown passes and finished with 350 yards. He completed his first 10 second-half attempts for 170 yards.

"The guy's going to the Hall of Fame," Mora said. "We might as well induct him now."

Neither Schaub nor anyone else presently in an NFL uniform is likely to match Brady's three Super Bowl rings or 18 fourth-quarter comebacks. But there are similarities: Both were afterthought draft choices, Schaub in the third round, Brady in the sixth. Both are tall and rangy, throw with touch and understand the game's nuances.

"Matt's been confident since he showed up here," Finneran said. "He's had control of the huddle in practice and training camp and in the games he's been in. When his contract's up (after next season) it's going to be interesting to see what happens with that guy."
 

Block hurt Butler's, U.Va's reputation
Bayless Parsley

When an offensive lineman gets two starters from the opposing defense ejected from the game, it usually can't hurt your chances to win.

Especially when one of those starters is the preseason ACC Player of the Year ... and he anchors the second best rush defense in America.

Games like Saturday's at Boston College are the reason that I don't bet on sports. B.C. lost defensive tackle Alvin Washington and everybody's All-American defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka early in the third quarter -- but proceeded to play its best football of the day from that point on.

The Eagles attributed the turnaround to one play.

Brad Butler's late chop-block on Kiwanuka's injured leg lit a fire under the rain-soaked crowd at Alumni Stadium. When the Eagles fell behind 14-7, the fire got so hot that Katrina herself wouldn't have put it out.

It wasn't until Deyon Williams' 23-yard touchdown catch that Boston College showed up to play. In the four ensuing B.C. possessions, quarterback Quinton Porter drove his team into the end zone three times.

Virginia's only response after the Williams catch was a 37-yard field goal by Connor Hughes.

Execution down the stretch -- that was the difference between winning and losing.

"We got the ball back [following Williams' touchdown catch]; we scored," Boston College head coach Tom O'Brien said. "We blocked a punt; we scored. I think that the whole game changed right at that point in our favor."

O'Brien continued by waving a finger in the general direction of Brad Butler.

"That was not the way that we want to play and act on the football field, but I think [Butler's chop-block] rejuvenated the stadium and got our football team going."

For a minute, it seemed like Butler's stunt would help his team take control. It gave Virginia new life deep in B.C. territory, after a failed third-down conversion. It incited Washington to retaliate, which got him tossed. It gave the Cavaliers the lead, their first of the afternoon. And it even threw Kiwanuka off his game -- B.C.'s all-time sack leader threw a jab into Butler's face on the next Virginia drive, earning an ejection of his own.

It's always the one who retaliates, isn't it?

"I'm not the one to speak of losing my composure today," Kiwanuka said.

Who should have spoken on that topic, in Kiwanuka's mind, was Butler. He's the one who probably will never shake the reputation he now has for being a headhunter.

We don't have microphones in the huddles, and we don't have cameras in the piles. We know that football is at its nastiest on the line of scrimmage. And it's almost impossible that Kiwanuka did nothing to incite Butler's late hit.

But it's all immaterial, because stuff like this happens at Miami. It happens at Florida State.

It does not happen at Virginia.

Not until Saturday at least -- which surprised the Boston College students even more than me.

"Everyone here knows that U.Va. is a dope school," said a B.C. senior I talked to after the game. "Now, I think you guys are a bunch of scumbags."

I guess my dad was right all those years. Perception is reality.

"I play hard, and I play through the whistle," Butler said. "I have no comment on [the chop-block]. The refs didn't call a penalty on me on that play."

They didn't have to. I know what I saw.

And I don't care if Butler has "no comment" for the rest of the season. That won't change the right way to play the game.

What was so confusing, so disheartening about the episode was the incredibly inaccurate portrait it painted of Butler. He has done nothing but play the right way since 2002, his first year as a Cavalier. But one lapse in judgment could mean a lifetime labeled as a dirty player.

Neither Al Groh nor any of Butler's teammates accepted the invitation to condemn their left tackle after the game. They know their teammate hasn't built his reputation by making bush league plays, and they've got too much respect for him to throw him to the wolves now.

But I'm sure if they could, they'd all tell you the same thing. Butler lost his cool. And now, a good player and good person will have to live with one mistake for the rest of his career.

Perception is reality, and there's nothing anyone can do to change it.

 

U.Va. is weighing punishing Butler
Littlepage says officials are studying blind-slide block against Kiwanuka
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Oct 10, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The University of Virginia may decide to discipline football player Brad Butler for the blind-side block he delivered Saturday afternoon against Boston College defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka -- an apparent cheap shot that drew national attention -- but the school wasn't ready to do so yesterday.

Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said last night that U.Va. officials are "trying to thoroughly review all elements of the play," which occurred early in the third quarter of BC's 28-17 victory at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

Numerous U.Va. alumni unhappy with Butler's conduct have contacted university officials. Suspending or reprimanding Butler, an offensive tackle, is "a possibility," Littlepage said. "I wouldn't be able to say that definitively, again because of the incomplete nature of what we have at our disposal."

Butler's cut block, low and from behind, on Kiwanuka, who was already nursing a sore ankle, outraged Alvin Washington. The BC defensive tackle dived on Butler and was promptly ejected for his action. Kiwanuka, an All-America candidate, was thrown out later in the third quarter after punching Butler in the head.

In addition to ejecting Washington at the 12:40 mark, the game of- ficials penalized each team for a personal foul. But the play-by-play handed out after the game didn't specify which players were penalized, and it's not clear if Butler was the Cavalier cited.

On a teleconference with reporters last night, U.Va. coach Al Groh said a "lot of people are interested in the incident, as am I. I did not see it on the field yesterday, and until 25 minutes ago, I had not seen the play myself. That is, it does not show up on the coaches' copy [of the game videotape]."

Groh said he'd spoken with Butler and received an explanation from the senior from Lynchburg. "I'll kind of hold that till this thing plays itself out," Groh said. "But suffice it to say, this was just one of a number of plays in the game on the part of either side in which maybe there was a little more exuberance than necessary."

Boston College coach Tom O'Brien holds a teleconference each Sunday, too. Like Groh, O'Brien fielded numerous questions about the incident.

"I'm over it. I'm finished with it," O'Brien said. "If Virginia feels it should do something or the conference feels it should do something, that's fine."

O'Brien said that BC, which joined the ACC in July, would send a videotape of the play to the conference office for review.

"I'm not going to prejudge what the ACC should do," said O'Brien, who spent 15 years as a U.Va. assistant before moving to BC. "I just think it's a situation they need to look into and decide if that's the way we're going to play football in this conference."

Groh said: "I want to be perfectly clear, I'm not condoning or justifying any particular action, other than to say the thing has to be viewed by those people who choose to make judgment on it relative to other similar incidents that occurred in the game that did not get national television exposure."


 

Groh saying little on Butler's block
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 10, 2005

Al Groh has gathered the facts. He’s seen the tape. He’s talked to Virginia offensive tackle Brad Butler.

He’s just not commenting on what exactly will happen next regarding Butler’s late chop block against Boston College defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka on Saturday. Not yet, anyway.

“I’ve got Brad’s explanation for it,” Groh said on his Sunday teleconference. “I’ll kind of hold that until this thing kind of plays itself out. I don’t want to speak before the fact.”

The play in question came in the third quarter of the Eagles’ 28-17 win over Virginia (3-2, 1-2 ACC). After an incomplete pass by UVa quarterback Marques Hagans, Butler chop blocked Kiwanuka on his injured right ankle from behind well after the whistle. Butler’s action looked deliberate, coming as Kiwanuka was letting up and favoring the ankle.

“I’m not justifying the event, I’m explaining it,” Groh said. “This was a very intense competition throughout the course of the entire game with two high-motor players competing very hard …

“Suffice it to say, this was just one of a number of plays in the game on either side where maybe there was a little more exuberance than necessary.”

Eagles defensive tackle Alvin Washington immediately jumped on Butler from behind and pushed his head into the ground before being ejected. Kiwanuka was ejected two series later for a borderline punch to Butler’s jaw as the two were locked up at the end of a play.

Butler’s late block was shown several times on the scoreboard, inciting the crowd. ABC showed it over and over on its telecast, with commentator Brent Musburger calling for Butler’s ejection.

After the game, BC players credited the incident for lighting a fuse under the team.

Butler did not comment on the play after the game, other than to say, “I play hard and I play through the whistle.” Reached by phone on Sunday, he did not want to comment on the play until later this week.

According to The Associated Press, Boston College head coach Tom O’Brien has asked the ACC to look at the play to see if the conference can tell him “if that’s the way we’re going to play football in this league.”

“I don’t want to prejudge what the ACC should do,” O’Brien said. “I just think it’s a situation they need to look into.”

The ACC could suspend Butler if it sees fit. During last basketball season, Wake Forest guard Chris Paul was suspended for one game by the school for punching N.C. State’s Julius Hodge below the belt late in the season.

Prior to the suspension, Wake Forest athletic officials had consulted ACC commissioner John Swofford, who praised the Demon Deacons for “taking a strong stand against this kind of inappropriate behavior.”

Groh, who did not see the play live but rather later on tape, would not comment on whether or not Virginia would suspend Butler. He did say he wanted ACC officials to view the play in the context of the game.

“I want to make perfectly clear,” Groh said, “I’m not condoning or justifying any particular action, other than to say that the thing has to be viewed … relative to other similar incidents that occurred in the game that did not get national television exposure.”