Cavs eye turnaround
UVa looks to start second half of season on a strong note
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
October 14, 2006

Like Maryland, the ACC Football Championship Tour Bus is invading Charlottesville today to help generate excitement and fanfare for the league’s championship game in Jacksonville, Fla.

It may turn out to be the closest Virginia’s football team gets to the title game.

The Cavaliers’ slim chances of winning the ACC’s Coastal Division would likely leave with the entourage if Maryland posts its first victory in Scott Stadium since 1990.

Those concerns are of little importance for Virginia (2-4, 1-1 ACC). Historians would have to go back to 1988 to find the last Cavalier team that opened 2-4. At this point, the Cavaliers hopes remain with trying to keep the small flicker of advancing to a bowl game for the fifth straight season from fading out.

“Coming into my senior year, I didn’t expect anything like this,” said cornerback Marcus Hamilton. “We wanted to compete to win and compete for a championship, and things just haven’t panned out. But we can’t fold yet. We have six more games left and hopefully we can turn this thing around and get bowl eligible.”

To do that, Virginia would need to win four of its last six games, and likely get some help. The ACC has eight bowl tie-ins, but nine teams appear on track to win at least six games.

But first thing’s first.

Virginia coach Al Groh’s only mission, for now, is beating Maryland. That, the coach said, would not be easy.

The Terps (3-2, 0-1 ACC), who lost 27-23 last weekend at Georgia Tech, feature the fifth-best tailback in the ACC in Lance Ball (78.4 ypg), one of the league’s best passing defenses and one of the deadliest special teams units.

“The key thing that we have noticed about Maryland is that, really, pretty much from the second half of the West Virginia game on, is the improvement in their execution,” Groh said. “It really went from half to half. From the start of the second half through the following game and certainly through Georgia Tech game, the execution in all three phases has really spiked up.”

Despite giving up 432 yards in a 10-point loss to East Carolina, Virginia’s defense still ranks in the upper-half of the country in most every statistical category.

Opponents are averaging only 20.3 points per game against Virginia, but Groh said that’s far from noteworthy when their offensive counterparts are scoring just 16.8 points a game.

“You’ve got to play good defense to be able to win, but clearly, however many it takes, you have to be able to outscore the other team,” Groh said. “When you can’t, you’re going to have struggles regardless of how the other phases of your team are doing.”

Virginia wide receiver Deyon Williams said the pieces are there offensively. It is just a matter of getting back to basics: running the football with authority and catching passes to take pressure of redshirt freshman quarterback Jameel Sewell.

And then, of course, there is the mental factor.

“Everyone knows Virginia football is a football program that wins and is strong and every time you see them on the field, they will put up a fight,” Williams said. “We have to get that mentality back and get everybody to see what we are.”

Those positive traits were missing when Virginia played Maryland last year. The Terps had 570 yards of total offense and scored 21 points in the fourth quarter en route to a 45-33 victory in College Park, Md.

“They beat us pretty bad last year,” Hamilton said. “They were pretty much able to do what they wanted to. They ran the ball well. They passed the ball well.

“We just have to control the game.”

While Hamilton admits that the rivalry is not quite up to par with that of the in-state battle with Virginia Tech, playing Maryland is a close second. Tempers flare. Words are exchanged. Bragging rights are won.

“I think if you can’t get up for this game and get excited for this game, we will have trouble for the rest of the year,” Hamilton said.

 

Mines doing whatever it takes
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
October 14, 2006

Much, if not all, of the talk during the past three weeks concerning pass-catchers at Virginia surrounded wide receiver Deyon Williams.

And for good reason - he was returning with a metal screw in his right foot stemming from surgery to repair a stress fracture.

Meanwhile, senior Fontel Mines went about his business in typical fashion.

Show up to practice. Run really fast. Catch passes. Try to be a leader despite being mired in a senior season that would make most sick to their stomach.

Like scores of former wideouts at UVa, Mines holds hope of catching on in the NFL someday. The odds are against him.

Even still, Mines has remained a constant crutch for Virginia coach Al Groh.

“He is truly a guy who will do whatever it is he can to help the team,” the coach said this week.

Groh even admitted that Mines, who sports 17 receptions for 164 yards, pops into his office at the McCue Center from time to time.

What does Mines say?

“What else can I do to help?” Groh recounted of Mines’ words.

To some degree, it shocked Virginia’s coach.

“That was his only question,” Groh said. “It wasn’t, ‘How can I get the ball more?’”

Of course, Mines would love the ball more. That’s only natural. But more importantly, the Richmond native just wants to win and knows time is running out.

“It’s not all about the stats and the numbers and catching 10 balls a game,” Mines said, “although that would be great. It’s about the little things you do to help the team to get better.

“It’s about the overall team.”

 

Long, Cavs need to get fired up
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports writer
October 14, 2006

Last season, Maryland picked on Chris Long all day long. Now, it’s Long’s turn to reciprocate.

Coach Ralph Friedgen’s Terrapins will swagger into Charlottesville this afternoon with the intent of pounding a hapless Virginia football team into the plush Scott Stadium turf.

Maryland, which tends to take this border war a lot more seriously than the Cavaliers have in recent years, believes in physical football.

A year-old wound

The Terps will feature three running backs (Josh Allen, Lance Ball, and Keon Lattimore) that have combined to rush for 3,662 yards during their careers. For Virginia’s defense, it must have seemed like 1,000 of that came in last year’s meeting in College Park, when Maryland just ran the Wahoos into the dirt.

In that embarrassing UVa defensive performance, Maryland scored 45 points (21 in the fourth quarter) and piled up 570 yards. Ball ran all over the Cavaliers, gaining 163 yards and scoring twice in the final period.

Battling a mammoth

While Long was not to blame for the loss, it was probably his worst day as a Cavalier. Then a sophomore and still learning his way, Long was pitted against massive Maryland left offensive tackle (he has since moved to right tackle) Jared Gaither, who, at 6-foot-9, 320 pounds (yeah, right), is as easily identifiable from the stands as Mount Olympia.

Ball ran behind Gaither, who in turn smothered the smaller Virginia defensive end, for most of the afternoon. Nothing the Cavaliers did seemed to matter. It was like trying to stop an avalanche.

Even Virginia coach Al Groh commented on that episode during his press conference this week, when he said that Long was engulfed by Gaither’s ‘mammothness,’ and that it would be a relief for Long this week that Gaither has moved to the other side of center, which may be bad news for Long’s bookend, Jeffrey Fitzgerald.

A line in the sand

After seeing the fire in Long’s eyes after last Saturday night’s putrid team performance at East Carolina, it might be a safe bet that things will change this afternoon. Long, who may have played the best game of his life (or at least his junior season) against ECU, was disgusted with the loss.

“I’m a big believer in ‘You are what you put forth on the field,’ and that ‘the scoreboard is all that matters,’” Long said. “No matter how the points got there, no matter what the situation, our identity is that scoreboard.

“To me, right now we’re average. If you like being average there’s something wrong with you.”

In a time when disgruntled fans are down on the program, the offense is struggling to smell the end zone, the defense isn’t getting the job done, the special teams aren’t so special and the coaching is being called into question on a daily basis, some wonder if this bunch of Cavaliers are even average.

Former Wahoos, who helped build this program from the ashes of so many failed efforts from the ’50s to the early ’80s, are wondering just what happened. Why don’t these Cavaliers play harder, play with more fire, more emotion. Why can’t they defend their home stadium, which has traditionally been nearly impregnable since the George Welsh years began?

One former Cavalier star said he understood this team is young, but ended his statement with one question: “Why don’t they show more guts?”

Well, if that’s going to happen, today is a good time to start. The Cavaliers are 2-4, their worst start since 1988, when that team reversed its fortunes.

Maryland (3-2) is the first of a three-game home stretch that also includes North Carolina (1-4) next Thursday night when the whole football world will be watching, and N.C. State (3-2), which was only 1-2 and left for dead a few weeks ago after losing to Akron and Southern Miss.

If there’s anybody on this football team that should be able to get his teammates cranked up it’s Long. He’s not a raving maniac by nature. But he’s tried the cold, calculated, business-like approach and we’ve all seen what kind of results that brought for this football team.

“We came into the season thinking our identity as a team was a business-like kind of get-things-done team,” Long said. “Go out there and take care of our business and we would be fine. So far, we’ve been feeding off execution, but you’ve got to realize that sometimes you’ve got to play with emotion.

“But it looks like we’re going to need a spark. I don’t know where it should come from.”

I do.

No. 91 in your game program and No. 1 in your hearts, none other than Chris Long his own self. He’s one of the captains, and if anyone can incite his teammates to play like their hair is on fire, it’s Long, who is one of the leaders of this team.

Long could use some help, though. Guys such as Marcus Hamilton and Deyon Williams and Jason Snelling, who have spent the last several years of their lives investing blood, sweat and tears into carrying on the legacy of the Dombrowskis and Moores and Majkowskis and Farriors and Barbers and Slades of the Wahoo world understand what today’s game is all about.

It’s this team’s line in the sand.

Win it and Virginia is 2-1 in the ACC, 3-4 overall, with Carolina coming to town. Lose and things will only get worse.

While we’re on the topic of emotion, it might not be bad to see a little bit of that from the coaching staff. There’s nothing written that coaches have to be unemotional robots spitting out play calls from the sidelines.

Football is a game of emotion, and, even though Virginia’s fans might not be happy with the current set of circumstances, they can make a difference.

One mother, who is very close to the football program, sent a message to this columnist on Friday (no, not my mother) and asked that I deliver her request to the fans. I don’t normally do that sort of thing, but for this lady, I would do most anything.

She asked for energy from the crowd. It’s really Virginia’s first serious home stretch of the season and she believes that the Cavalier players will get a jolt of energy from the crowd. We’ve seen that happen before.

Now, how can you say no to a mother?

While emotion is a good thing from fans, coaches and players, that will only take you so far. Emotion won’t stop Gaither and Ball and Wilson and Hollenbach from driving railroad stakes down the Cavaliers’ collective throats.

Only performance will take care of that issue. Long and Fitzgerald will have to take care of that on their own and hope that a young offensive line and a young quarterback come of age today before it is too late.

 

Maryland @ Virginia: 6 Burning Questions
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
October 14, 2006

1) Will Virginia fans make Scott Stadium a hostile environment despite the 2-4 record attached to their Cavaliers?
Virginia’s players certainly hope so. None of those players envisioned opening the first half of the season with four losses, but they know three of those losses came on the road.
The Cavaliers play four of their next five at Scott Stadium, where the program has dominated under coach Al Groh (Virginia is 26-8 at home since Groh arrived).
It should help that the opponent is Maryland, a program that Cavalier fans love to hate.
But cornerback Marcus Hamilton knows the negative perception of his team can ruin the season.
“The school paper is saying stuff and the fans are going to say what they want to say,” Hamilton said. “But they are not out here in practice, and they are not playing in the games, so they really can’t say much.
“Having the crowd cheer and our families being there, will help us … I think.”

2) How important will the more subtle factors of the game be?
In this game, they are huge. From stealing a yard here and there to landing on a fumble that gets coughed up, something minor may end up major. Al Groh knows this.
“You get a lot of your points from your passing game, but with special teams, field position or runbacks and the turnovers that you can create, that’s where points come from,” Groh said. “When those three things are minimized or lacking, then scoring becomes a struggle, and when scoring is a struggle you are always at risk, whether you are going to end up with enough or not.
“Whether enough means 14 points, or enough means 29 points, it’s always an issue.”

3) Can Virginia avoid a repeat of last year’s horrid performance?
Last season, Maryland embarrassed Virginia’s run defense during its 45-33 win in College Park, Md. While rotating two or three basic running plays, the Terps churned out 250 yards on the ground. Maryland junior tailback Lance Ball led the attack with 17 carries for 163 yards.
A performance of that magnitude is not expected, but the Cavaliers, who rank 44th nationally in rushing defense, must improve from last week’s performance at East Carolina. That becomes an easier task with added motivation from last year’s results.
“We really pride ourselves on stopping the run, so we use that memory as fuel,” said sophomore safety Byron Glaspy.

4) Can both teams block out tough losses suffered last week?
There were positives for both programs last weekend. Virginia’s players learned they needed to play with more energy and excitement after falling 31-21 at East Carolina.
“We need a little bit more fire to us,” said UVa wide receiver Deyon Williams. “We get hit in the mouth, and we have to learn how to respond.”
Williams’ childhood friend, Maryland cornerback Josh Wilson, has publicly called the Terps’ 27-23 defeat at Georgia Tech a “healthy loss.” The players and their coach, Ralph Friedgen, have remained upbeat despite the disappointment of being so close to an upset win.
“I can’t expect the kids to stay in there fighting if I don’t,” Friedgen told reporters. “What kind of message would that send? So I’m here for the duration.”

5) What kind of role will special teams play in today’s tilt?
Virginia has no chance to win if Maryland dominates on special teams. That’s a given. Just ask Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets, a huge favorite last week, scored the opening touchdown only to have the game tied 20 seconds later on a 100-yard kickoff return by Maryland’s Josh Wilson.
Maryland kicker Dan Ennis added three field goals during the game, including a 46-yarder, helping Terps fans forget three previous misses this season that all went wide left.
And we haven’t even talked about Maryland’s All-World punter Adam Podlesh. The senior has averaged more than 42 yards per kick in each of the Terps’ five contests this year. Field position can swing with one swift kick off Podlesh’s boot.
The same can’t be said about Virginia’s kicking game, not yet at least.
UVa junior Chris Gould is 6 for 10 on field-goal attempts and has relied on healthy bounces to post a healthy net average of 37 yards on his 40 punts.
“The net punting is pretty good, in fact, the net punting is up there fairly high in the national numbers, but that’s because these balls happen to roll the right way,” Groh pointed out. “Some of these 29-yard punts are turning into 42-yarders. If the ball rolled the other way they would be 16-yarders. That’s not a pleasant thought.”

6) Could Virginia actually have the edge at quarterback today?
Sounds crazy, right? It might not be so far-fetched. Jameel Sewell has yet to start a home game, and the redshirt freshman has matured greatly since the last time he made his Scott Stadium debut against Western Michigan.
Even still, if Virginia has an advantage at signal-caller it may have more to do with the opponent. Maryland is one play away from a quarterback controversy. Starter Sam Hollenbach, who has thrown 20 interceptions and 18 touchdowns in his career, was decent against Georgia Tech but was sacked five times, including twice on the final two plays of the game.
Friedgen praised back-up Jordan Steffy this week and hinted that a change could be in the making.
“I do see Jordan getting better,” Friedgen said of the sophomore. “I’m hoping he’ll continue to get better and practice better. The better he practices, the better chances he has of playing.”

 

Wahoo Memories
By Drew Hansen / Daily Progress staff writer
October 14, 2006

AGE: 27

HOMETOWN: Williamsburg

PLAYING WEIGHT: 260 pounds in 2001

CURRENT WEIGHT: 260 pounds

HEIGHT: 6-foot-7

PERSONAL: Married to wife Erica for 2.5 years. The couple had their first child, William Hunter, on May 15. The family resides in Jacksonville, Fla.

PRESENT OCCUPATION: Luzar, who just retired from the NFL after being cut by the New England Patriots on Sept. 1, is preparing to open his own handmade furniture business in Jacksonville.

WHILE AT VIRGINIA: Luzar played in 43 games for the Cavaliers between 1998 and 2001. He became the first tight end in Virginia history to start 12 games in the regular season his senior year. Luzar finished with school records for most career receptions (53) and yards (598) without a touchdown upon his graduation in 2001.

A studio art major, Luzar was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in November 2001 with wooden sculptures he created with a chain saw.

SINCE LEAVING VIRGINIA: Luzar was selected in the fourth round by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2002 Draft. He saw action in 23 games in ’02 and ’03, making one start and four career receptions for 35 yards. He held on as a practice-squad payer in 2004 and then made the rounds at some preseason camps the past two years before calling it a career.

“I just couldn’t find a job,” Luzar said. “I haven’t played in a couple years. I wouldn’t be retired if I could help it.”

FAVORITE CAVALIER MEMORY: “My senior year versus Georgia Tech, we ran the hook-and-ladder on two plays in a row to win. Alvin Pearman scored on a pitch [from Billy McMullen] to win the game.

WORST CAVALIER MEMORY: “Losing to Duke [in 1999]. They beat us on three straight big throws. That was pretty bad.

“I actually met the guy who had the winning catch in that game last season at Patriots training camp. It was Ben Watson who came up and asked me if I remembered the game. I told him I did. He said he transferred to Georgia. It’s funny, because I was wondering how a guy from Duke got into the NFL.”

DEFINING NFL MOMENT: “Watching [Jaguars] tight end Kyle Brady drive his motorcycle into the locker room naked in my second year.”

 

Cavs change their tune
Instead of dwelling on poor start, players recall Music City win
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Oct 14, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Remember Nashville.

That's become a rallying cry for senior wide receiver Deyon Williams and other veterans on the struggling University of Virginia football team, which meets ACC foe Maryland today at Scott Stadium.

After ending the 2005 regular season with two straight defeats -- one a 52-14 embarrassment to Virginia Tech U.Va. headed to Tennessee to face Minnesota in the Music City Bowl. The Cavaliers appeared to be in turmoil.

Four of coach Al Groh's assistants had taken other jobs after the regular season, including coordinators Al Golden and Ron Prince.

Starters Ahmad Brooks (linebacker) and Tony Franklin (safety) had been left off the traveling squad because of off-the-field issues. Then, on the eve of the bowl, starting nose tackle Kwakou Robinson was declared academically ineligible and sent home from Nashville.

None of that kept the Wahoos from rallying to beat the Golden Gophers 34-31. And now, 10 months later, with U.Va.'s season slipping away, Williams has invoked the Music City in conversations with his teammates.

"I told them,'Remember last year. We had to overcome some things in that bowl game, and we need people to step up like we did last year,'" Williams, one of the Cavaliers captains, said this week. "I know it's a totally different team, but the whole team we have now, except for the freshmen that just got here, was there to see us operate and see how we accomplished our goal. And a lot of those guys are playing in the games now, and they've got to just overcome a lot of the adversity that's going on now."

Virginia (1-1, 2-4), off to its worst start since 1988, hopes the recent trend in this series continues today. Since Al Groh and Ralph Friedgen returned to coach at their respective alma maters, U.Va. has won at Scott Stadium, and the Terrapins have triumphed at Byrd Stadium.

None of the five games has been close. In College Park, Friedgen's Terps prevailed 41-21 in 2001, 27-17 in'03 and 45-33 last season. Groh's Cavaliers won at home 48-13 in 2002 and 16-0 in'04.

"We've struggled playing down in Charlottesville," Friedgen said. "I think it's one of the tougher places to play. They get great support, and their kids really play well down there.

"I'm hoping we can break that trend, but I'm concerned about it."

He's also concerned about U.Va.'s quarterback, redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell, who's set to make his fourth start today.

"I think he's getting better and better with every play," Friedgen said. "I think he's a very athletic kid, which helps, because sometimes when you're athletic you can turn a bad play into a good play."

Sewell's potential is impossible to miss. So far, however, U.Va.'s offense has sputtered more than it has hummed, whether senior Christian Olsen or junior Kevin McCabe or Sewell has been at quarterback.

Among ACC teams, Virginia ranks 11th in scoring offense, rushing offense, total offense and passing offense. Only winless Duke trails U.Va. in those categories.

"You've got to play good defense to be able to win," Groh said, "so I'm not saying anything that dispels that notion. But clearly -- however many it takes -- you have to be able to outscore the other team. When you can't do that, you're going to have struggles, regardless of how well the other phases of your team are doing."

This is the first of three straight home games for the Cavaliers, who host North Carolina on Thursday night and N.C. State on Oct. 28. They haven't played at Scott Stadium since Sept. 16, when they lost 17-10 to Western Michigan. Overall, however, they've won 16 of their past 20 games in Charlottesville.

"I think it will help us a little bit to get our bearings, playing in front of a home crowd," sophomore safety Byron Glaspy said.

 

Patriots' junior White best of Roanoke minds
Roberts no-show after Tech loss
Doug Doughty

The Roanoke-area football prospect getting the most attention from recruiters this year might be a junior.

Dominique White, a 6-foot-3, 270-pound defensive lineman from Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, already has been to three football games at Virginia Tech and has a standing invitation from Virginia.

White has family ties to Virginia through his cousin, John St. Clair, who was an All-America center for the Cavaliers and is in his seventh National Football League year. St. Clair, a graduate of Roanoke’s William Fleming High School, is a back-up offensive tackle for the Chicago Bears after earlier stints in St. Louis and Chicago.

Like his cousin, White was an offensive lineman until this year, starting last year at tackle. He is starting on defense for the first time this year and sharing time on offense.

White is a yes-sir, no-sir kind of kid who said he had a 2.5 grade-point average after his sophomore year. (“This year, I’m shooting for a 3.0,” he said in a phone interview).

He says he was “mostly” a Virginia fan when he was growing up, owing to his family connections. He’s open to any and all overtures at this point, although an invitation from Boston College to take an unofficial visit for a game this season might be a little difficult to pull off.

ROANOKE TALK-SHOW host Greg Roberts, a regular at SEC Roundtable functions for the last six months, was an unexpected no-show Friday at Parker’s Seafood.

“Greg said he had to take his wife to the bank,” Roberts associate Justin Ditmore said.

In Roberts’ absence, Ditmore and former Virginia Tech wrestler Ellsworth Snyder were left to analyze the Hokies’ 22-3 loss at Boston College on Thursday night.

The general consensus of the group was that Tech’s offensive line couldn’t protect for quarterback Sean Glennon and couldn’t open holes for tailback Branden Ore, but that’s been the case all season. It could have been a given before the season.

What nobody could explain was the apparent shift in defensive philosophy, from a team that intimidated teams with its all-out blitzes to a team that never seems to get to the quarterback. In all likelihood, it has something to do with personnel, but nobody has given me the inside story.

Maybe Roberts found out something at the bank.

WHAT MIGHT HAVE made the Tech-BC game worse for Hokies’ fans were the repeated Cadillac ads showing former Virginia running back Tiki Barber on the ESPN broadcast. What might have gotten under the skin of some UVa fans was the play of Eagles’ freshman Mark Herzlich, who originally committed to the Cavaliers in 2005 and then decommitted.

THE LATEST ON Virginia basketball recruiting target Eric Wallace from Kernersville, N.C., and Hargrave Military Academy is that he is trying to line up a visit to Ohio State, which last year signed the No. 1 class in the country and the No. 1 prospect, center Greg Oden.

An article on the rivals.com site devoted to Ohio State quotes Wallace’s father, Monty, as saying that his son remains interested in Virginia and Florida but that Ohio State and Louisville probably would top his list.

Virginia might be in better shape with one of Wallace’s Hargrave teammates, 6-8 Mike Scott, and various sources are linking the Cavaliers with Tomas Kwiatkowski, a 7-foot Polish exchange student now at Lee Academy in Maine.

ROANOKE RESTAURATEUR Henry Caldwell, bucking for an upcoming Roundtable visit to Henry’s Memphis BBQ, reports that North Carolina State beat out his beloved Tennessee Vols for coveted Marietta, Ga., frontcourt player J.J. Hickson.

Hickson, rated the No. 15 prospect in the 2007 class by rivals.com, represented the first big “get” for new Wolfpack coach Sidney Lowe. Georgetown was the other team in Hickson’s final three.

All was not lost for the Hoyas, who signed Washington, D.C., combo guard Chris Wright, who decommitted to N.C. State after coach Herb Sendek left for Arizona State. Virginia and Virginia Tech were among the schools that tried to get involved with Wright when he reopened his recruiting.

Sendek didn’t get Wright to follow him to Arizona State, but he did land 6-2 Seattle point guard Jamelle McMillan, whose father, Nate, played at N.C. State and serves as head coach of the Portland Trailblazers. Sendek also got Duke transfer Eric Boateng, whom he describes as a “lightning rod” for his ASU revival.

State, Clemson and Georgia Tech all had offered the younger McMillan.
 

Terps paying price for costly mistakes
Real success foreign to football team
By Heather A. Dinich
Sun reporter
October 14, 2006

College Park -- Maryland quarterback Sam Hollenbach wore a faded blue Gator Bowl hat around the football building before practice Tuesday, a fitting reminder of just how long it's been since the Terps have tasted true success, and who is left on the roster to remember it.

Hollenbach was a redshirt freshman in 2003 and has yet to play in a bowl game, let alone contribute to the kind of win that can change a season. Like most of his teammates, Hollenbach has instead watched several upsets roll off his fingertips the past two seasons, and witnessed the most costly errors unfold at the most inopportune times.

"We're one play away from being on top of the world," he said, "and then just being down in the lowest valley."

With only 12 seniors on this year's roster, the number of players who have contributed to big wins has dwindled significantly, while the majority know little more than what it feels like to finish 5-6 - twice. As Maryland (3-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) prepares to take on Virginia (2-4, 1-1) at 3:30 p.m. today in Charlottesville, the Terps are still baffled by a string of damaging errors dating to 2005 that have prevented the program from returning to the postseason. The only explanation coaches and players have been able to offer is that most of them simply haven't been there before.

"I think that's a big factor," coach Ralph Friedgen said. "That's part of the confidence thing, because we haven't had it. There's a difference between knowing you can and thinking you can. We're still on the thinking-you-can side right now. Until that happens, it's not going to change."

How close are they?

"Five yards," said fullback Tim Cesa, referring to Maryland's fourth quarter at Georgia Tech last week, in which the Terps blew a lead and couldn't score on the final drive from the 5-yard line. "We were there. We're right there. I don't know if the pressure is getting to us. Nobody wants another season like we've had the last couple of years. Yeah, it's building up. Nobody likes to lose. Everybody's tired of it. It built up last year.

"Georgia Tech definitely was a reminder of the way it's been around here. Nobody wants that. People are getting a little fed up with it, but it's all of our responsibility. Talking and complaining about it isn't going to do anything. We have to go out there and win."

Friedgen said he understands their frustration, and that he hasn't worked harder in nearly 40 years of coaching.

"This team has worked extremely hard from the beginning of winter workouts, at 5 o'clock in the morning till now," he said. "In every game, I can't say it's a lack of effort. You keep trying and trying the hardest you can, and something seems to happen to prevent you from pushing through. ... I want to see them get one of these games and realize what the hard work is for."

Maryland's last big win was a 20-17 victory over Florida State - then ranked No. 5 - in 2004, but the Terps finished 5-6 that season. Last year, the Terps led the Seminoles at halftime, 21-14, but fell behind 35-27 in the fourth quarter. Terps quarterback Joel Statham was sacked with 52 seconds left, and Maryland's chance to tie the game went down with him.

There was also the Clemson game last year, in which Maryland led the 25th-ranked Tigers, 24-14, heading into the fourth quarter but lost, 28-24. There was last season's West Virginia game, when the Terps trailed 7-6 before allowing 24 fourth-quarter points in a 31-19 loss.

Then last weekend at Georgia Tech, Maryland was beating a ranked team for three quarters before losing, 27-23.

"It's really frustrating because it wasn't just that game," Hollenbach said. "It's something we've been struggling with a little bit, dating back into last year where it's mistakes that really are killers. They're just at the wrong time; our momentum is completely reversed. It makes everything harder for us."

This weekend isn't going to be much easier.

Maryland hasn't won at Virginia since 1990, and the Cavaliers are in the midst of a disappointing season that has fans calling for the firing of coach Al Groh. Those intangibles could be factors.

"We're playing Virginia down there and we're going to get their best shot," guard Donnie Woods said. "There's something always dangerous about a wounded animal. We have to go down there and play a great game. We haven't won down there in forever, so it's going to be huge for us."

Cesa agreed.

Added Cesa: "The guys here, are we veterans? Yeah, most of us are upperclassmen, but we still haven't had that taste of what it's like to win that big game," Cesa said. "It's definitely a concern. This is the ACC. They're all going to be close. Virginia is going to be the same way. Even though they're having a down year, they're going to play us just as hard as Georgia Tech did.

"There's not a jinx or anything, but it's a hump we gotta get over," he said. "I think once it happens, whenever it is, it's going to be smooth sailing from there."

Virginia happy to play host to Maryland
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 14, 2006

Something about the Maryland Terrapins brings out the best of the Cavaliers when they're at home. The opposite is true on the road.
It's a trend Virginia (2-4, 1-1 ACC) hopes continues today when it seeks a much-needed win against the Terrapins at Scott Stadium.

"We have had probably two of our best played games here in this series and we've had three of the games where we were really disappointed in our level of play (on the road)," Virginia coach Al Groh said.

"Clearly it works both ways. I'm sure Maryland is saying that they had three games where they really got done what they planned to do and two games where they can't understand why it didn't go better."

Since Groh became Virginia's head coach in 2001, the home team has won every contest in the series. The games haven't been close either.

Virginia has dominated the games in Charlottesville, ending Maryland's eight-game winning streak in 2002 with a 48-13 thrashing and notching the fourth shutout of the Groh era with a 16-0 win in 2004.

Maryland's home success in the series has been equally impressive. The Terps (3-2, 0-1 ACC) scored 17 unanswered fourth-quarter points in 2001 on their way to a 41-21 victory and got a career-high 257 rushing yards from Josh Allen in a 27-17 win in 2003.

In last year's 45-33 win in College Park, the Terrapins racked up 570 yards of total offense, the most a Virginia defense has given up in Groh's tenure.

"It was just one of those games where everyone put everything together," Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen said.

Maryland did most of its damage in last year's game out of a shotgun formation where the quarterback has the option of handing it off, running it himself or passing. West Virginia and Florida have had great success running similar offenses.

It confounded Virginia last year, just like it has a lot of teams.

"It's an en vogue play these days," Groh said. "On defense, we're all trying to catch up to it a little bit. ? If there was a typical way to defend it, then these offenses wouldn't be running roughshod with it right now."

"Whenever you have a play that looks the same and you can do three or four different things out of it," sophomore linebacker Jon Copper said, "that's obviously going to be a hard play to defend."

Most of the players who racked up that gaudy yardage are back for Maryland. Sam Hollenbach, who threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns, returns at quarterback. Tailbacks Lance Ball and Keon Lattimore, who ran for a combined 221 yards last season, return in the backfield.

But Virginia players aren't convinced that Maryland's scheme was the reason for its success last year.

"Really, you've just got to play better," said defensive end Chris Long, who was overwhelmed by Maryland's 6-foot-9, 350-pound tackle Jared Gaither last season. "We didn't play well against them last year. I know everyone wants a different answer, but that's pretty much it. It's very simple to me."

Motivation shouldn't be a problem for a Virginia defense coming off its worst defensive performance of the year in a 31-21 loss at East Carolina last week. The Pirates gained 304 first-half yards to build a 24-7 lead and finished with nearly a two-to-one advantage in time of possession.

This was the same Virginia defense that had not allowed an opponent to gain more than 400 yards in any of its first five games.

"I don't think anybody was really happy," Copper said. "We're looking forward to the challenge and looking forward to just doing what we do."


 

Terps Need Breakthrough
Maryland Seeks Its First Victory at Virginia Since 1990
By Marc Carig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 14, 2006; Page E01

In November 1990, Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen was still in his first tenure as Georgia Tech's offensive coordinator, helping to lead the Ramblin' Wreck to a national championship that season. Virginia Coach Al Groh was busy as the New York Giants linebackers coach, helping Bill Parcells steer the New York Giants toward a victory in Super Bowl XXV.

In November 1990, much like many of his teammates, Maryland cornerback Josh Wilson had just started grade school. It would be six more years until he would even meet his best friend, Virginia wide receiver Deyon Williams. Maryland linebacker Erin Henderson was still years away from playing his first AAU basketball game with his friend, Virginia guard Branden Albert.

In November 1990, Maryland traveled south to Scott Stadium and beat Virginia to earn a trip to the Independence Bowl.

While plenty has changed since then, the Terrapins have spent this week preoccupied with the one thing that hasn't: They haven't won there since.

Maryland meets Virginia today in the 71st meeting between the inter-state rivals since the series began in 1919 with an eye on ending a losing streak at Scott Stadium that still baffles Friedgen.

"If I knew the answer, I'd do something about it," Friedgen said. "It's kind of worked out that way, and I hope we break the trend. Hopefully, we go down there and play well for a change."

Virginia's picturesque home field, lined by neat brick walls and white classical columns, has been a house of horrors for the Terrapins.

"The last two times down there, we've been in a fog," Friedgen said.

In 2004, Maryland turned over the ball three times in a 16-0 loss. Two years before that, during Friedgen's first trip to Charlottesville, the then-No. 18 Terrapins missed a chance to stay in the hunt for an ACC title, falling hard, 48-13.

In 2000 -- before Friedgen and Groh had returned to coach their alma maters -- future NFL running back LaMont Jordan in the backfield wasn't enough as the Terrapins fell 31-23 after the Cavaliers jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter.

"I don't know if you could put your finger on it," Maryland quarterback Sam Hollenbach said about his team's struggles at Virginia. "It's a very competitive environment. When we go down there, it's kind of a war. You've got to be ready for a long game."

This season should be no different.

While the rivalry's profile isn't as high -- neither team is ranked in the top 25 and the game won't be televised for the first time in years -- there's plenty at stake for both programs.

Groh could certainly use a victory against his rivals, especially as his team enters with a 2-4 record that has put the coach under the microscope. Fans are grumbling, venting their frustration with Groh through call-in radio shows and Web sites, especially after unimpressive losses to Western Michigan and East Carolina.

In a move that conceded a rebuilding season, Groh has chosen to stick with red-shirt freshman quarterback Jameel Sewell, and the Cavaliers are enduring the growing pains.

"Everything's in cycles," Friedgen said. "I think they've got a young team. They've had a change in quarterback. I've been there. I know what they're doing."

But the 3-2 Terrapins, who are trying to break a two-year bowl drought, could use a victory as well.

The second-half of Maryland's schedule presents difficult road tests at Clemson and Boston College. Florida State, Miami and one-loss Wake Forest await as well. Any victory before that difficult stretch would make a bowl appearance a much more manageable task.

"This is crucial for us," Maryland safety Christian Varner said.

The Terps also must prove they can win on the road, a feat they haven't pulled off since an overtime victory at North Carolina. A vulnerable Virginia team could provide an opportunity to erase that trend.

But even though much of Maryland's roster was still on training wheels in November 1990, they are keenly aware of history.

"We know we're going to get Virginia's best shot," Varner said. "No matter what they've done against any other team, they're going to come out and it's going to be like the Super Bowl. They can't stand us, and we can't stand them."

That part, it seems, hasn't changed much either.

 

Maryland at Virginia
Saturday, October 14, 2006; Page E10

Hanging On
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ever since the start of training camp, Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen has harped on his team to take better care of the football, attributing the struggles of the last two years to costly turnovers. But through five games this season, the Terrapins have once again been overly generous with the football. Maryland is tied for 114th in the nation in turnover margin (-1.40). Only Wyoming, North Carolina and Arkansas are worse. The Terps have committed 13 turnovers while forcing just six.

If the Shoe Fits
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deyon Williams expects to be at 90 percent speed today, which doesn't sound all that impressive until you consider the contraptions burdening his right foot, recovering from a fracture. He wears an orthotic pad, a metal plate and clam-shell shaped brace in his shoe. The padding, which weights about 1 1/2 pounds, forces him to wear a size 12 1/2 on his right foot, but his usual size 12 on the left. Since his return, Williams has caught a touchdown pass and also been vocal about the team's demeanor. "We hear the talk about we have a lot of young guys," he said. "But that talk is getting old. Right now, a lot of the guys that are playing, they were here last year, and they had some pretty good players in front of them. They should know what it takes to play on this level."

Running Away With It
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Terrapins have allowed 169.4 yards per game, which ranks 99th in the nation and 11th in the ACC. But a major part of those breakdowns has come when dealing with running quarterbacks. West Virginia quarterback Patrick White rushed for 85 yards against the Terrapins, and Georgia Tech's Reggie Ball went for 84 yards and a touchdown against the Terps last week. Maryland faces another athletic signal caller today in Virginia's Jameel Sewell.

Great Scott
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Cavaliers' play on the field may not have offered much hope of late, but they get good news today. After a scheduling quirk forced them to play three straight road games -- at Georgia Tech, Duke and East Carolina -- they return to Scott Stadium today, a venue at which they're 16-4 in the last 20 games. The Cavs are 26-8 at home under Coach Al Groh.
 

Close to the breaking point?
Virginia Tech has all of its weaknesses exposed in Thursday night's loss at Boston College.
BY NORM WOOD
247-4642
October 14, 2006

Thursday night's game at Boston College was going to be an opportunity for Virginia Tech to show it wasn't just another decent, but undistinguished, college football program. The Hokies were supposed to prove they could still be considered among the nation's elite.

Instead, many of the same problems that plagued them in last year's ACC championship game and Gator Bowl seem to be growing larger: lack of poise, dumb penalties and poor play on offense. After an unsightly 22-3 loss against BC, Tech (4-2, 2-2 ACC) is less clear on what its future holds than it was before the game. It appears a bowl trip to San Francisco, Nashville, Charlotte or Boise seems more likely than a return trip to Jacksonville, Fla., for the ACC championship game and a possible berth in a Bowl Championship Series game.

"I think we're bending," safety Aaron Rouse said. "I think we're bending to the edge, but we haven't broken yet. I think we're very close (to breaking), but again, we just need to go out there and play. We need to pull together. We need everybody to be leaders. Stop relying on one or two people. Everybody hold their own weight."

Tech's players only have to look at themselves to find the biggest reason for their failure against BC. They were guilty of committing an ugly list of sins: four turnovers, nine penalties for 88 yards lost (including a season high four 15-yard personal foul infractions), a season low 33 rushing yards and only 3-of-14 on third down conversions.

Tech's turnovers led to 13 of BC's points. The Eagles (5-1, 2-1) started all four of those post-turnover drives with less than 55 yards between them and the end zone.

The most troubling aspect of the BC loss had to be Tech's continued inability to keep its cool and play in control. Tech has been penalized 12 times this season for personal fouls and roughing the kicker or passer penalties, including two offsetting penalties.

It's an alarming lack of discipline for a team that's ahead of the pace it set last season (23 such penalties in 13 games). It also doesn't say much for the effectiveness of coach Frank Beamer's new discipline system, where he fines players and makes them run wind sprints for egregious penalties. Beamer started the policy after the last games of the 2005-06 season. Tech's players mouthed off constantly to referees during the ACC Championship game, and in the Gator Bowl quarterback Marcus Vick stomped on the leg of Louisville's Elvis Dumervil. Gator Bowl referee Steve Usecheck later said the Hokies' behavior was brutal.

The anemic running game may have hurt Tech the most in the red zone. Tech went inside BC's 20-yard line twice, and came away with only three points. Tailback Branden Ore, who had 19 carries for 71 yards, ran the ball twice inside the red zone and gained no yards.

All of the problems contributed to the Hokies' first loss in a conference game away from home since joining the ACC in 2004. Tech had a nine-game ACC road winning streak before Thursday night. The loss was also Tech's first on Thursday night since 1995, when it lost 20-14 to BC.

Tech is in the midst of its first two-game losing streak since the end of the '03 season when it finished by losing three straight on the way to an 8-5 record. Beamer spoke to his team after Thursday's game and addressed how they should approach the rest of the season.

"He said, basically, it's two ways we could go from here," said quarterback Sean Glennon, who was 23-of-34 passing for 148 yards, two interceptions, lost a fumble and was sacked three times. "We can either call it a season, pack our bags and just play to play, or we can say, 'Hey, it's only two losses.' A lot of teams already have two losses ... and we can try to win out the season and make the most of it, come together and show everyone what we're all about. Obviously, any guy that's not for the latter probably shouldn't be part of this team."