Groh back to drawing board
Cavs have quick turnaround before facing UNC on Thursday night
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
October 16, 2006

The positives could stretch from Scott Stadium to Crozet and back.

While they serve as a silver lining on a disappointing 28-26 loss to Maryland, the players’ faces told the real story. The heart-felt agony.

Branden Albert was shocked. Clint Sintim said he was stunned. Chris Long looked like a ticking time bomb.

“We kind of gave it away,” Long said.

Yes, Virginia was one play, just one big play, whether it was early or late, from a registering much-needed win against a school that it shares a border with. That play, however, was never made by a student wearing orange and blue.

To their credit, the Terrapins (4-2, 1-1 ACC) made their share of them. In fact, they managed to score all of their points in the second half to rally for a win that pushed Virginia (2-5, 1-2 ACC) into a further state of confusion.

The same Virginia program that was ranked 19th in the country when it arrived in College Park, Md., last year, is now left looking for answers yet again.

But what was the most important question?

How could a team like Maryland, one that looked so helpless on offense and defense for the opening half, wind up dancing around the visitor’s locker room at game’s end chanting “Hoo-Hoo-Hoo,” when it trailed by 20 at halftime?

Virginia did its part to be a gracious host.

Emmanuel Byers muffed a punt inside Virginia’s 5 and kicking specialist Chris Gould dinked a 16-yard punt in the third quarter.

“We clearly helped them on two plays, the fumble recovery and very short punt, and made it easy for them to get back in the game,” UVa coach Al Groh said. “We clearly emphasized on a number of occasions at halftime to avoid all those situations to let the other team get back into the game.”

The meltdown ruined a perfectly good offensive performance for a team that hasn’t enjoyed that luxury too often. Rookie quarterback Jameel Sewell threw for 243 yards on 13 completions, two of which went for lengthy touchdowns to Kevin Ogletree.

Perhaps that was why Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen enjoyed the win so much.

“When you’ve coached 36 years, you’ve got a lot of these [comebacks] … but you know, this one is pretty special to me, just because of what these kids have been going through and the fact that they were able to continue to hang in there,” said Friedgen, who won at UVa for the first time in his six years at Maryland. “You know, after a while, as a coach, you start saying ‘Hey, they’re not listening. They don’t hear me.’ And when they respond like this, you know, it felt like the message finally got through. I’ve worked harder this year than I have in any year of my life. You know, Al and I were talking before the game. He was telling me he’s doing the same thing. He said, ‘You know’ - and I got to thinking, he was probably right - ‘we busted our butts early in our careers so we wouldn’t have to work this hard when we were 60.’ Somehow it’s not working out that way.”

Yes, Groh is headed back to the drawing board. He might be running, in fact.

For the second time this season, Virginia plays on Thursday night - this time the Cavaliers host North Carolina - in front of what was supposed to be a national audience. With the Tar Heels stumbling out of the blocks (they are 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the ACC), that appears iffy.

Regardless, expect Virginia to play a complete game, having learned its lesson against Maryland.

“It’s a football game,” Long said. “It’s 60 minutes. It’s not 30. I don’t think anybody forgot that. We were ready to play in the second half. We just didn’t play well.”

 

Sports Focus: U.Va. Football
Seeking foot remedy? With Gould struggling, expect more time for Weigand against UNC
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Oct 16, 2006
UNC AT U.VA.
THURSDAY: 7:45 p.m. ON THE AIR: TV: ESPN Radio: WRVA (1140), 6:30 p.m.

CHARLOTTESVILLE Look for Chris Gould's workload to be reduced and Ryan Weigand's to increase when Virginia meets North Carolina in an ACC football game Thursday night at Scott Stadium.

Gould, a junior, has done virtually all the punting for the Cavaliers this season, in addition to handling kickoffs and, in every game except one, field goals and extra points.

U.Va.'s coaching staff likes Gould's moxie, but he struggled Saturday against Maryland -- most memorably on a 16-yard punt late in the third quarter -- and has been inconsistent all season. Sixth-year coach Al Groh indicated last night that Weigand may get the call when the Wahoos (1-2, 2-5) take on the Tar Heels (0-3, 1-5).

Weigand joined Virginia's program in the summer of 2005 after transferring from a junior college in Pasadena, Calif. He backed up Gould last season but didn't play. He's punted once this season, for 37 yards in the opener at Pittsburgh.

"The issues [with Weigand] have been get-off time and consistency," Groh said. "When he hits one of his good ones, you say, 'He's ready for the [NFL].' Then the next one might come off and you say, 'Who's that impostor?' "

Gould, who's made 8 of 13 field goal attempts this season, averaged 34.8 yards on four punts in U.Va.'s 28-26 loss to Maryland at Scott Stadium. His 16-yarder gave the Terrapins the ball on the U.Va. 31-yard line, and they needed only six plays to score the touchdown that pulled them to 20-14.

That punt was among the second-half gifts Virginia showered on Maryland, which trailed 20-0 at intermission. Others included a punt that Emmanuel Byers muffed the Terps recovered at U.Va.'s 1-yard line -- and a pass by quarterback Jameel Sewell that Maryland's Erin Henderson intercepted and returned 45 yards for what proved to be the winning touchdown.

"On both sides of the ball, we did a lot of positive things, enough to win," Groh said. In the end, though, mistakes outweighed those positives, leading Groh to stress this point to his players at practice yesterday: "It takes a lot of good plays to win a game, but not very many bad plays to lose it."

Virginia got the ball first in the second half and quickly moved to the Maryland 30. On third and 1, however, tailback Jason Snelling was dropped for a 2-yard loss. Groh then sent out Gould, who'd connected from 26 and 25 yards in the first half, to attempt a career-long 50-yarder.

Gould's kick didn't reach the goalposts.

"Probably if I had to do it again [the choice] would be to take a shot [at a pass] on third down and then go for it on fourth down," Groh said. "I've given that one a lot of reflection, obviously . . . [The 2-yard loss on third down] kind of shook my confidence in going for it on the fourth down."

The collapse against Maryland could shake the confidence of Groh's players, who never have experienced such struggles at U.Va. Junior defensive end Chris Long, a team captain, vowed not to let that happen.

"I told my teammates I love them," Long said Saturday night, "and we're all going to hang tight, and we're going to come back and try to build on the good things that we saw today."

The loss to Maryland "just shows we're not quite there yet," Long said. "We have the pieces. People are going to doubt us -- there's reason to -- from the outside, but on the inside, we're not doubting ourselves."

For the second time this season, U.Va. has only five days to get ready for a Thursday night game.

"It's not going to be easy, but we have no choice," said Sewell, who had a hand in all three U.Va. touchdowns against Maryland.

NOTE: University of North Carolina linebacker Larry Edwardsbroke his collarbone in Saturday's 37-20 loss to South Florida and likely will miss the rest of the season. Edwards leads the Tar Heels with42 tackles.

 

Cavs pick themselves up, look to Thursday
By B y Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Instead of berating his Virginia football team after a 28-26 loss to Maryland, coach Al Groh took a more practical approach.

With only five days to prepare for the Cavaliers' next game, he didn't have much choice.

Virginia (2-5, 1-2 ACC) plays its second Thursday game in a month when it entertains North Carolina (1-5, 0-4) in a matchup that will be televised by ESPN at 7:45 p.m.

North Carolina hasn't won at Scott Stadium since 1981, but Maryland hadn't won there since 1991 and that didn't prevent the Terrapins from overcoming a 20-0 halftime deficit.

"I think it has absolutely no relevance," Groh said of the Cavaliers' home winning streak against the Tar Heels. "It's a matter of who plays better."

Sometimes, it is.

You could make the case that the Cavaliers played better than the Terrapins on Saturday. If nothing else, UVa outgained Maryland 424-345.

"It takes a lot good plays to win a game," Groh said, "but not many bad ones [to lose]. Four plays, basically, caused us to lose the game."

He was referring to a fumbled punt that Maryland recovered at the UVa 1-yard line, a 16-yard Chris Gould punt, a 56-yard run by Keon Lattimore and an interception that Erin Henderson returned 45 yards for a touchdown.

"It's kind of the same script over and over," said Groh, whose team has yielded a school-record four interception returns for touchdowns, all coming in losses.

Virginia's only offensive play of more than 30 yards in its first five games was a 34-yard screen pass. Saturday, the Cavs had plays of 51, 44, 38 and 36 yards -- three for scores.

Virginia also got a 58-yard interception return by cornerback Marcus Hamilton, the 14th pick of Hamilton's career, moving him into fourth place on UVa's all-time list.

Long plays weren't Virginia's problem Saturday. Short plays were.

The Cavs settled for a 25-yard field goal on the final play of the first half after they were unable to capitalize on a first-and-goal at the Maryland 4.

Two other drives stalled when Virginia was unable to pick up a first down on third-and-1, which may have accounted for Groh's decisions to punt on fourth-and-1 plays from the Maryland 44 and the UVa 38.

Virginia's short-yardage woes "came up for discussion" Sunday, Groh said.

On several of the plays, Virginia went wide with 5-foot-11, 232-pound tailback Jason Snelling, who also was forced to fall on the ball when a Jameel Sewell option pitch went awry on a second-and-2 call.

"There are no plays designed to go east and west," Groh said. "But, there was a lot more [defensive] penetration than was the case on a lot of other plays."

Of the three units most frequently mentioned by coaches, it was the special teams that had Groh contemplating changes Sunday.

Ryan Weigand, the loser to Gould in a preseason punting competition, could get a longer look in practice this week. Groh also indicated that Gould's shanked punt may have entered into a decision not to try a field goal of about 32 yards on fourth-and-4 with just over five minutes left.

Gould is 6-for-6 on field goals this year but he doesn't have the same track record on clutch kicks as his All-ACC predecessor Connor Hughes.

"It was definitely factored in; it was more my confidence issue" than Gould's, said Groh, whose team wound up having to go for two points after a TD with 2:37 left. "Perhaps last year we might have kicked it in that situation."

Have at least on offensive play of 35 yards or more: A

Quarterback Jameel Sewell had a 36-yard touchdown run and had pass completions of 51, 44 and 38 yards -- all to sophomore wide receiver Kevin Ogletree, two for touchdowns. They were UVa's four longest offensive plays of the season.

Hold Maryland under 350 yards: B-

OK, the Cavaliers limited Maryland to 345 yards, but Virginia couldn't get a big stop when it needed one in the closing minutes and also gave up a 56-yard touchdown run by Keon Lattimore.

Neutralize the punting game: D-

Virginia coach Al Groh said the game hinged on four plays, two on special teams -- a fumble by Cavaliers punt returner Emmanuel Byers at the UVa 1 and a shanked 16-yard punt by Chris Gould that set up Maryland's second touchdown.
 

Special teams fail Cavaliers
Virginia learns the hard way that, despite many good plays, a few bad ones can cost a team a game.
BY DARRYL SLATER
247-4641
October 16, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Less than 24 hours after its worst collapse in six years, Virginia reconvened and reviewed the most important plays - the good, bad, ugly and uglier - from Saturday's 28-26 loss to Maryland.

Coach Al Groh's message to his team: "It takes a lot of good plays to win a game but not many bad ones to lose it."

That much was evident Saturday, as the Cavaliers bungled away a 20-0 halftime lead in a critical ACC game. "We knew we needed this win very badly," sophomore cornerback Mike Brown said afterward.

Had they not collapsed, the Cavaliers would've been 3-4 rather than 2-5. They reasonably could've thought about finishing 6-6 by beating their next two inconsistent opponents (North Carolina and North Carolina State) and stealing a game from one of the ACC's So-Called Big Three (Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech all have looked mortal this season).

Instead, Virginia fans must ponder this: Two years ago today, the Cavaliers were ranked No. 6 in the country after starting 5-0 - albeit against a weak schedule. Two years ago today, Virginia lost 36-3 at Florida State. Since losing that day, Virginia is 12-13.

That's not to say Saturday didn't include highlights for Virginia.

On its first drive, the offense marched 80 yards in nine plays for a touchdown. Before Saturday, Virginia's average drive lasted 4.9 plays and 17.8 yards. The Cavaliers had 11 touchdown drives before Saturday - for an average length of 34 yards.

On 10 of Maryland's 11 drives, Virginia's defense gave up an average of 5.2 plays and 22.2 yards.

OFFENSE

A breakout game for redshirt freshman quarterback Jameel Sewell: 13-of-21 passing for 243 yards and two touchdowns, nine rushes for 96 yards and a touchdown - if you take away Maryland's only sack, which dropped Sewell for a loss of 4. Sewell's deep passes, his purported strength, looked crisp as Virginia gained a season-high 424 yards.

DEFENSE

Subtract running back Keon Lattimore's 56-yard touchdown run, and Virginia allowed 4.7 yards per play, equaling its season average. That was the biggest play, by 30 yards, that the Cavaliers surrendered. Maryland's other offensive touchdowns came on drives of 1 and 31 yards. This after East Carolina's only second-half touchdown last week came on a fake field goal.

SPECIAL TEAMS

The reason for those short fields? Special-teams gaffes. Emmanuel Byers' dropped punt return caused the 1-yard drive. At ECU, with about 11:30 left, Byers extinguished Virginia's second-to-last drive - the Cavaliers trailed 24-14 - by dropping a pass on third down and 5 from ECU's 49.

Chris Gould punted four times Saturday. One went 30 yards, another wobbled 16 and set up Maryland's 31-yard touchdown drive. Groh is leaning toward junior Ryan Weigand as his punter heading into Thursday's game against North Carolina.

COACHING

Groh decided to go for the end zone on fourth down and 4 at Maryland's 15 with 5:05 left in the game. Sewell overthrew wide receiver Deyon Williams as Williams curled toward the left side of the end zone, keeping Maryland's lead at 28-20.

Virginia initially had first and 10 at Maryland's 21. Then: incomplete pass, incomplete pass, 6-yard scramble by Sewell, incomplete pass on fourth down. Groh said he opted for the three goal-line plays that the Cavaliers practiced the most last week. "What is disappointing is that for all the practice time that they got, there was some spotty execution on all three plays," he said.

The communication was spotty, at best, between Groh, first-year special-teams coordinator Bob Diaco and their punt returners. Groh wanted Brown in the game when Byers dropped the punt. But Brown said the coaches never told him that. «

OVERALL VS. MARYLAND: D-

SEASON AVERAGE: F
 

Gaither big part of rally vs. UVa.
Originally published October 16, 2006

Early last week, Virginia coach Al Groh invented the word "mammothness" to describe Jared Gaither - Maryland's 6-foot-9, 350-pound offensive tackle - to the local media in Charlottesville.

Last year, Gaither took the majority of his snaps at left tackle and was matched up against Virginia defensive end Chris Long. He manhandled Long and helped pave the way for the Terps' 570 yards of total offense in their 45-33 win over the Cavaliers. Because Gaither was moved to right tackle this season, senior Stephon Heyer was going head-to-head with Long on Saturday - until Terps coach Ralph Friedgen replaced him with Gaither and put Dane Randolph in at right tackle.

"I thought that helped us a bit," Friedgen said. "I thought Long was having a very good game."

It's unclear if that move indicated a loss of confidence in Heyer among the coaches, but the senior has struggled at times in the past two games. Randolph and reserve Jaimie Thomas each played eight snaps, and Friedgen used just seven linemen over 62 plays. He said Thomas would have played more but hurt his ankle.

"Would I like to play more guys?" Friedgen said. "Sure, but I'd like to win football games more."

• Note // Friedgen said he hasn't determined if defensive end Barrod Heggs will play against North Carolina State. Friedgen said Heggs, who earned his first start at Georgia Tech, was suspended for the game against Virginia but did not say why.
 

It seemed too good to be true, and it was
Barney Breen-Portnoy, Cavalier Daily Senior Associate Editor

For one half, it appeared as if this lost season was on the verge of resurrection. For two quarters, Virginia's offense ran efficiently and the defense performed consistently. For 30 minutes, it seemed as if the Cavaliers were on the verge of pulling themselves out of laughingstock status and into contention in a muddled ACC Coastal Division race.

But it was not to be. Like a mirage in a sun-stricken desert, the hope engendered by Virginia's success in the first half was shattered by reality in the second half, as the Cavaliers allowed Maryland to score 28 unanswered points en route to a stunning come-from-behind win on Virginia's home turf.

Virginia's performance in the first half seemed too good to be true, and it was. Only a cursory glance at the statistics is required to see the complete picture of this sad tale of two halves.

Offensively, Virginia posted 31 fewer yards rushing and 55 fewer passing yards in the second half than it did in the first half. But perhaps most tellingly, the Cavaliers converted on only one of six third-down opportunities in the second half.

Defensively, the Cavaliers also sagged a bit in the second half. After a first half in which Virginia's defense held the Terrapins to three punts, an interception and a missed field goal, the second half saw Maryland score three offensive touchdowns.

The most significant defensive lapse occurred when Maryland running back Keon Lattimore burst around the edge and took it to the house for a 56-yard touchdown run that gave the Terrapins a 21-20 lead with just over nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

What cost Virginia the most, however, were two second-half gaffes committed by the special teams unit. The Cavaliers were in control of the game with a 20-0 lead when Emmanuel Byers fumbled a punt, giving Maryland new life as the Terrapins found themselves with a first-and-goal situation at Virginia's one-yard line. Lance Ball gained that one yard on the next play to put Maryland on the scoreboard.

With just over a minute remaining in the third quarter, Virginia's special teams failed again. Chris Gould shanked a 16-yard punt that gave Maryland great starting field position at Virginia's 31-yard line. Six plays later, Virginia's lead was narrowed to 20-14 as Maryland quarterback Sam Hollenbach ran the ball in for a touchdown.

Three bright spots for Virginia could be found in the play of sophomore wide receiver Kevin Ogletree and redshirt freshman quarterback Jameel Sewell, as well as the effort put forth by the offensive line to open holes for the running game.

Ogletree continued to show why he has become Virginia's main go-to receiver as he hauled in two touchdown receptions.

In the first half, Sewell looked the best he has all season, both in passing and running the ball. He showed his mobility early in the first quarter as he scampered 36 yards for a touchdown run. It was only the second game this season that Virginia has scored first.

Sewell showed a lot of promise as he threw for 243 yards and two touchdown passes. But there were also numerous occasions where he displayed how much work he has left to do. He telegraphed several passes throughout the day and Maryland's defense finally made him pay for it in the fourth quarter. Terrapins linebacker Erin Henderson jumped in front of Virginia tight end Jonathan Stupar to pick off a Sewell pass and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown that gave the Terrapins a 28-20 lead with eight minutes remaining in the game.

Virginia posted its best rushing numbers of the year (181 yards), led by Sewell who scrambled for 92 yards and tailback Jason Snelling, who totaled 81 yards on 21 carries.

The Cavaliers have to put this bitter loss behind them quickly, as North Carolina comes into Scott Stadium for a nationally televised contest between two struggling teams trying to salvage anything positive from otherwise dreary seasons. As embarrassing as some of Virginia's losses have been this season, none would compare to a home defeat at the hands of a terrible Tar Heels squad on ESPN.

It is too late for Virginia to dream of reaching bowl eligibility (the Cavaliers would have to win four of their final five games for that to happen), but it is not too late for the program to regain some respectability. Virginia needs at least another win, if not two or three, to prevent this season from being a total wash.

The pain from Saturday's loss will not be erased easily. But to keep this season from becoming an unmitigated disaster, Virginia must win Thursday night under the lights at Scott Stadium.

 

AD Says Groh Will Stay at U-Va.
By Adam Kilgore
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 16, 2006; Page E05

The growing number of fans wishing for Al Groh to be dismissed as the coach of the Virginia football team will have to wait at least one year.

"Al will be our head coach," Virginia Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said yesterday in an e-mail when asked if Groh would be the coach next season. "Many believed, given the number of players that were drafted/graduated, that this would be a rebuilding" year.

Groh, in his sixth season at Virginia, has led the Cavaliers to a 2-5 record, their worst start since 1986, when they started 2-6 and finished 3-8. Groh's worst previous season was his first, when Virginia finished 5-7. The latest loss came Saturday, a heartbreaker in which Virginia led 20-0 at halftime before losing, 28-26, to Maryland at home.

Barring a shocking string of upsets, this season will be worse and snap a streak of four straight bowl games for Virginia. The Cavaliers have suffered damaging losses to Mid-American Conference opponent Western Michigan and East Carolina of Conference USA this season.

Groh said in spring practice he expected this season to be a rebuilding process. The Cavaliers had lost starting inside linebackers Kai Parham and Ahmad Brooks, tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, quarterback Marques Hagans, running back Wali Lundy, defensive end Brennan Schmidt and a handful of others. Of the players who could be considered stars last season, only defensive end Chris Long and wide receiver Deyon Williams returned.

The dearth of established players has led to abysmal offensive production under first-year offensive coordinator Mike Groh, Al's son. The offense ranks 109th in total yards per game out of 119 Division I-A teams.

Groh is 39-31 at Virginia. The Cavaliers will play North Carolina at home on Thursday night at 7:45 on ESPN.