Cavs get 2nd shot
Virginia hopes to pass its latest primetime test
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
October 19, 2006

Little kids playing in their backyards don’t have the luxury of instant replay.

Instead, they often elect to scream for a “do-over.”

It has not been mentioned by the coaching staff or slapped on the bulletin boards at the McCue Center, but Virginia coach Al Groh knows his program has that kind of chance tonight against North Carolina (1-5, 0-3 ACC).

While the Cavaliers’ (2-5, 1-2 ACC) poor result at Georgia Tech earlier this season on ESPN’s weekly Thursday night game cannot be erased, the team still feels like it has a second chance to make a first impression.

On paper, it looks like Virginia couldn’t find a better opponent on its remaining five-game schedule to help it state its case. UNC enters on a three-game losing streak and ranks 11th in the ACC in scoring offense and last in scoring defense.

UVa is also coming on fresh off its best offensive performance of the season. Redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell, making his fourth career start at quarterback, led the Cavaliers to three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) and 428 yards of total offense. Yet despite all the success, Maryland took advantage of four second-half breaks to beat UVa, 28-26, after spotting the Cavs a 20-point lead.

A healthy loss indeed, but Groh knows the show must go on.

“Our whole mentality is to prepare for [North Carolina’s] best game of the season,” Groh said. “While we perhaps played our best game of the season last week, in the end result it wasn’t good enough. It was still the best that we did, it could have been good enough but it wasn’t.

“Our perspective is that from all the feel-good things that came out of last week, all that pop psychology only goes so far. Just because we feel good about it doesn’t mean we are going to win. That’s over and done with. If we play better, we’ll win. If we don’t play better, we won’t.”

Virginia, losers of four of its last five games, has the history books on its side. The Cavaliers have not lost to at Scott Stadium to the Tar Heels since 1981.

Don’t tell that to Groh.

“People have asked me about how many games in a row Virginia has won in Charlottesville, first of all, Coach [George] Welsh won all those games. I didn’t. Give all the credit to him,” Groh said of the dominance of UNC. “Secondly, none of us were around for any of them - players, coaches, whatever - so it really has no carryover whatsoever, unless you are trying to whip up some type of cause for your team.”

UNC coach John Bunting has a cause - with a 25-41 record at UNC, his job may be on the line - and his team has to make the adjustment to the short week to get prepared, a process Virginia dealt with earlier in the season.

“The emphasis in this very short week is, let’s go up and have some fun, let’s get excited about playing on national television,” Bunting said. “We’re looking forward to the second half and playing with a lot more consistency: it’s the word I’ve used all season, and it’s what we need. There is a great opportunity here.”

Having beaten Virginia last year in an ugly game - UNC won 7-5 - Bunting hopes it translates into confidence.

“We did some good things offensively to control the football some,” Bunting recounted. “We had a big win here, the baseball score everybody remembers. It got us going somewhat in the second half. It gave us a chance to set things up to possibly go to a bowl. We fell just short of that. In my mind, that is exactly where we are at this second half.”

UNC would need to win five of its last six games to have any shot at a bowl game. Virginia can relate. Even with a win tonight, the Cavaliers would have to win three of the final four games against stiff competition (N.C. State, Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech).

For now, Virginia would just settle for a win. Despite starting so many underclassmen, morale victories can only carry a team so far.

“That can’t be our scapegoat to say, ‘Oh, man, we are young, we have time.’ We have to do it right now,” Sewell said. “And that’s what we are working on doing.

“It’s going to be a good test but I think we are going to be able to do it and pull it off.”

EXTRA POINTS: UVa is currently a six-point favorite. … UNC holds a 56-50-4 advantage in the series that dates back to 1892. The rivalry is considered the South’s oldest and trails only a handful nationally. … Since 1940, the winning team in the UNC-UVa series has outrushed the opposition 51 of 63 times.

 

UNC-UVa has plenty of intrigue
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress staff writer
October 19, 2006

Critics would argue that tonight’s ACC slam-dance between host Virginia and North Carolina isn’t worthy of ESPN’s primetime spot.

Oh contraire. While the two old crusty rivals’ records might not qualify as must see TV, there’s plenty of drama set to unfold at Scott Stadium this evening.

Storylines

Tar Heels’ coach John Bunting is fighting for his coaching life, attempting to breathe life into a program that has nearly flat-lined thus far. Cavaliers’ coach Al Groh is anxious to see if his team can continue to show signs of improvement as he attempts to salvage the season.

If that’s not enough, then there’s The Streak.

Carolina hasn’t won in Scott Stadium since 1981, the year before George Welsh did for Virginia football what Lee Ioccoca did for Chrysler. Even Mack Brown couldn’t do it. The closest he came was in 1996 when the sixth-ranked Heels watched their BCS dreams evaporate when Antwan Harris returned an interception 95 yards to stun UNC.

For those who are counting, it’s a dozen straight at Scott for the Wahoos, although Groh said earlier this week that none of those previous wins matter.

“First of all, Coach Welsh won those games, I didn’t, so give all the credit to him,” said Groh, who is coaching in his second Thursday night game this season.

It is the second quick turnaround game in less than a month. Last time, the Cavs were embarrassed with their performance in Atlanta as they were humbled by Georgia Tech. The stumbled and sputtered and gave up big plays.

Baby steps

While the current Virginia team won’t be mistaken for a typical primetime team, it has taken baby steps, week by week. Some fans don’t care to recognize it, but as predicted here some time ago, redshirt freshman quarterback Jameel Sewell had to experience the normal beatdown that all rookie quarterbacks must endure before they get better.

A young offensive line has had to mature in order to put some spark in the running game. The defense, which features only two seniors on its entire two-deep (there’s only six on the entire team’s two deep) had to get on the same page.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity [of showcasing his team’s improvement],” Groh said earlier this week. “I haven’t brought it up, but I’ve overheard the conversation of some players that probably, as the result of some of the things they did last Saturday, they wouldn’t have been making those statements a few weeks ago.”

Redemption

For one of those few UVa seniors, cornerback Marcus Hamilton, tonight is a chance for redemption.

“The last time we were the only game in town, we didn’t put on a good showing,” Hamilton said. “It’s important to prove to ourselves that

we’ve gotten better from the last Thursday night game. We pretty much didn’t play well at all [at Georgia Tech] ... there’s nothing we did good in that game, and it was pretty embarrassing.

“We have another opportunity to come out and show that we’re not that same team, and that we have improved and prove to ourselves that we’re able to win some games in this conference,” Hamilton said.

There’s no question that Sewell has made giant strides in the less-than-a-month span between Georgia Tech and now. He’s more decisive, more comfortable, more confident, more in control. He’s less hesitant to bolt for big first downs when pass plays break down and he’s even got a little option added to the offense compliments of coordinator Mike Groh.

While Virginia lost a game last week to Maryland that the Cavs had no business losing, it was easy to see improvements in several areas. Statistically, there’s also evidence that things are better in most departments than four weeks ago.

Here’s a breakdown of then and now:

Scoring offense: 12.0 ppg then/18.4 now; rushing offense: 51.0 then/92.0 now; passing offense: 174.0 then/167.43 now; total offense: 225.0 then/259.43 now.

Scoring defense: 22.3 then/21.43 now; rushing defense 138.0 then/125.71 now; passing defense 156.0 then/173.43 now.

In addition, UVa has jumped from ranked 44th in total defense then to No. 37 nationally now, and leaped from 86th nationally in turnover margin to No. 67.

Enough stats already. But you get the picture.

The coaches knew this was going to take time, that a lot of players were going to have to learn on the fly.

Tonight, we’ll see if they can take it to another level. They outplayed Maryland for the most part last Saturday and lost, which hurts more than getting pummeled. Tonight, we’ll see if this team has learned how to win.

“We’re expecting [Carolina’s] best game of the season,” said Groh. “We perhaps played our best game of the season last week and it wasn’t good enough. It could have been, but it wasn’t. We need to play better than we did last week.”

Meanwhile, Bunting has his own problems. He has never coached in a short week at UNC and has had only a few days to rally his players from last week’s 37-20 home loss to South Florida, a program that didn’t even exist until the mid ’90s.

“That old ‘C’ word is probably one of the things we’re struggling with right now,” the beleaguered coach said of the Heels’ confidence - or rather lack of it. “We’ve got to pump some air in these guys.”

It didn’t help any that Carolina’s best defensive player, senior linebacker Larry Edwards, suffered a broken collarbone last week and is out for the rest of the season.

While Bunting is trying to correct things on the field, he’s attempted to ignore the rantings of Tar Heel fans off it.

According to reports, many of the 44,000 fans left Kenan Stadium (capacity 60,000) at halftime last week when UNC trailed 20-10. The ones who managed to stick around to the end, reportedly chastised Bunting and his assistant coaches as they exited the field, some screaming for Bunting to resign on the spot.

To his credit, Bunting said the only thing he was concerned with was getting his team ready to play Virginia, a team his Heels beat in a 7-5 sleeper in Chapel Hill last October.

But Bunting’s record of 25-41 overall and

16-27 in the ACC has Heel supporters howling.

Groh, no stranger to harsh criticism himself this season, said this week that while the coaching profession isn’t exactly a buddy-buddy business in most cases, that he feels empathy for the personable and likeable Bunting.

Perhaps the winning coach in tonight’s clash might be the only one in the world who feels bad for the loser.

 

6 burning questions
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
October 19, 2006

1. Should fans expect some offensive fireworks or a baseball-type score for the second year in a row?
Last year’s game was a snoozer. North Carolina scored the lone touchdown and gave Virginia two of its points on a safety. Boring.
Virginia offensive Branden Albert said, “That was a soccer score.”
Well put. Expect that game to be a distant memory. North Carolina has allowed an average of 35.7 points per game, one of the highest totals in the country, and love to turn the ball over.
Even Division I-AA foe Furman moved the ball at will against the Tar Heels, a team that must now play without senior linebacker Larry Edwards (broken collarbone). UNC coach John Bunting is just hoping for a new start.
“We’re unhappy, frustrated - you name it - with the first half of the season,” Bunting said. “But we can’t do anything about that. I’m looking forward to the second half, to playing better and with a lot more consistency.”
That’s only a wish, not a promise. Expect Virginia to enjoy offensive success, and even the hapless Tar Heels should be able to scratch out a few scores from their kicking game, if nowhere else.

2. Can Jameel Sewell build off an impressive performance against Maryland?
The signal-caller enjoyed the best game of his career against Maryland. The redshirt freshman threw for 243 yards and ran for another 92 as he proved to UVa coach Al Groh that his “light” was coming on.
“It’s not one big light. It’s a little bit more like a string of Christmas lights,” Groh said. “For it to really glow, it’s a lot of lights that have to come on. Certainly, he demonstrated that a number of them did.”
Give credit to positive preaching from Groh. Sewell certainly does.
“He told me, ‘It’s like you’re looking at a crime scene,’” Sewell said. “You have to see what they’re doing before the ball is snapped.
“That helped me a whole lot, and made things a lot easier for me.”

3. Can Virginia’s special teams contribute to a victory?
Al Groh certainly hopes so. At this point, however, Groh would probably settle for baby steps.
While North Carolina boasts one of the ACC’s best special teams units, the Cavaliers have struggled.
Virginia’s Chris Gould is 8 for 13 on field goals, well below the standards set by former standout Connor Hughes, and has struggled mightily to remain consistent in the punting game. He has also handled the kickoff duties.
“It seems like one of the three has been inconsistent for me every week,” Gould said.
Groh has hinted that junior Ryan Weigand might overtake Gould as the starting punter. That’s fine with Gould. That could allow him to focus on placekicking for the remainder of the season.
Tony Franklin looked solid returning kickoffs last week, but the punt-return team cost the Cavaliers a touchdown in the third quarter.
Expect to see Mike Brown returning punts from here on out.

4. Is Marcus Hamilton going to set the school record for interceptions in a career?
It’s not likely to happen tonight, but don’t be shocked if a North Carolina pass lands in the cornerback’s hands.
Hamilton, a senior, has a way of being in the right place at the right time, and UNC has thrown its share of interceptions.
Hamilton, who was named a Draddy Trophy semifinalist this week, needs three interceptions to tie Keith McMean’s program record of 17. For now, Hamilton just wants a win.
“I don’t know for sure what the record is,” Hamilton said. “I kind of had an idea that the record was 17. It would be nice to have, but if not, that’s what it is.”

5. Will Scott Stadium become an electric environment with the college football world watching?
History certainly says so. And ESPN certainly hopes so. Virginia has produced some of its more memorable wins at Scott Stadium on Thursday nights.
Remember the win over Texas. Remember the first victory over Florida State.
Remember two years ago when Virginia slapped Clemson around, 30-10, on Thursday night on ESPN. The atmosphere was truly amazing. Al Groh certainly remembers it.
“I remember very clearly two years ago, we played Clemson here on a Thursday night,” Groh recounted. “There have been some games over these 5 1/2 years where we have had just great environments in the stadium, with teams that people would classify as longer-term rivals for the school than Clemson, but I don’t remember any game that we have played where there was more electricity in the night than that Thursday night game.
“Part of it is the whole Thursday night deal, it’s the same with Monday Night Football. Anybody that’s involved with it, player, coach, and obviously fans, it seems to raise the level of everything. We’re hoping to show the whole country that again on Thursday night.”
That, of course, was when UVa had a winning record. The Cavaliers are now off to their worst start in 20 years. The players have a chance to make a statement tonight. And so do the fans.

6. Will the Cavaliers continue to show signs of life with their running game?
All signs point to yes. North Carolina is miserable against the run. Through six games, the Tar Heels ranks 113th nationally in rushing defense, having given up more than 200 yards per game.
Give Virginia some credit too. The Cavaliers struggled early in the season to move the chains on the ground, but considerable advances on the offensive line and with the ball-carriers has Virginia slowly climbing up the national charts.
Last week, in fact, Virginia gained 181 yards on the ground as Sewell wisely elected to scramble and tailback Jason Snelling fought for extra yardage.

 

UNC's Taylor coming home
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
October 19, 2006

John Shuman, the head coach of the Fork Union postgraduate football team, could ramble on for hours about memories from his time manning the sidelines.

Some stories would be about teams, really good teams, in fact, that he has coached. Some tales would involve players, an obvious thing considering the talent he has tutored through the years.

And from time to time, Shuman recounts individual plays.

Take a game against Virginia Tech’s jayvee squad, for example.

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, hoping to get a look at Mike Imoh in action, brought the tailback to Fluvanna County to face FUMA.

What Beamer walked away talking about, however, was an opposing player: linebacker Kareen Taylor.

“Kareen hit Imoh so hard in that game he bent his back backwards,” Shuman recounted earlier this week. “Then Beamer came up to me and said that was one of the hardest hits he’s ever seen.”

Taylor, now the starting strong safety at North Carolina, was that kind of player at FUMA. In 2001, his first season under Shuman, Taylor registered 17 sacks. He followed it up with 21 a season later.

“He was a guy who would come to me and say, ‘Coach, put me close to the ball.’ That’s what I did,” Shuman said. “I put him around the ball and he was all over the field at about 1,000 miles an hour.”

Tonight, Taylor plays his final collegiate game in his home state (he played high school football for Hopewell High).

“It is a little exciting,” Taylor said on Monday. “I guess you could say it is my Homecoming. This is the last chance for some of the people who haven’t seen me play in Virginia to see me play live.”

Taylor has enjoyed great success against Virginia.

Last season, as UVa was attempting to drive late in Chapel Hill, N.C., for a game-winning field goal, Taylor altered those plans.

Former Cavalier quarterback Marques Hagans, also a FUMA product, scrambled on third down from the UNC 38 with five minutes left only to find Taylor standing in his way.

The end result? Hagans went to the ground. Taylor celebrated a sack. UNC held on for a 7-5 win, a score that Taylor admits is a little strange.

“That was a baseball score,” Taylor said, “but it was a good game for our defense.”

Shuman still stays in contact with Taylor. The Tar Heel defensive back says he gets phone calls from his former coach and visits with him during football camps.

Through it all, Shuman has remained someone for Taylor to lean on for support.

“Some of the coaches there at Fork Union, they come and go, but Coach Shuman was always there,” Taylor said. “Coach Shuman is a good coach and I look up to him. I have nothing but love for him and I get the same back from him.”

Taylor has visions of playing in the NFL - he leads UNC with 27 tackles and has the team’s lone interception this year - but he has a back-up plan.

“If I do go to the league, I go, but right now I am on pace to get my degree,” Taylor said. “I am not pressed on [playing professional football]. Whatever happens happens. I am going to give it a shot, but if I don’t make it I will not be down about it.”

Taylor might not be willing to accept that possibility had he not spent time at Fork Union. To say the least, his time there changed him.

“The hardest thing to me at Fork Union was just always doing something and going to bed early,” Taylor said. “You couldn’t do the things that you normally do. You are on a tight schedule.

“For some guys that is hard, but for me it made me who I am today.”

It’s stories like that which keep Shuman punching his time card day-in and day-out at Fork Union.

“Kareen is a first-class kid,” Shuman said. “He’s just a great guy.”

 

Wahoo Memories
By Drew Hansen / Daily Progress staff writer
October 19, 2006

Mike Abrams

AGE: 27

HOMETOWN: Aiken, S.C.

PLAYING WEIGHT: 225 pounds in 2001

CURRENT WEIGHT: 235 pounds

HEIGHT: 6-foot-4

PERSONAL: Married to wife Karene for 3.5 years. Their first child is due in February.

PRESENT OCCUPATION: Abrams is an orthopedic sales representative in Columbia, S.C.

WHILE AT VIRGINIA: Abrams was a second-team All-ACC selection at punter his fourth year with the Cavaliers in 2001.

Abrams averaged 42.4 yards on 127 career punts in two seasons as the Cavs’ starter.

An honorable-mention All-America selection by Football News after his junior season, Abrams helped the Cavs finish fifth in the nation in 2000 in net-punt average (39.6 yards).

SINCE LEAVING VIRGINIA: Abrams got a tryout with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002 but was not retained.

Abrams, a psychology major, then jumped into a position with Johnson & Johnson with the help of former Virginia placekicker David Greene before transitioning to his current job.

Outside of his current gig, Abrams is looking into a partnership with former UVa tight end Billy Baber in an athletics team sports apparel sales business.

“I’m going to try and work it in in South Carolina,” Abrams said. “Just a little side action.”

FAVORITE CAVALIER MEMORY: “The Oahu Bowl trip to Hawaii,” Abrams said. “It was George Welsh’s last game. We spent Christmas in Hawaii. It was my fourth year (Abrams competed in 2001 as a graduate student) and it was my last trip with a great group of guys.

“We really didn’t have a whole lot of commitments outside of practice so we hit the town and went to the beaches.

“It was really a tight-knit fraternity and it was our final time to get together and hangout as a part of the team and university.”

WORST CAVALIER MEMORY: “I had two 10-yard punts versus Clemson my fourth year.”

ON THE CAVS’ CURRENT STRUGGLES: “They’re young and experiencing some growing pains. … Hopefully they can turn these struggles into positives. I think all the coaching turnover could have hurt them. But once these younger guys are upperclassmen, hopefully things will work out. It’s just a pattern of regrowth.”

FAVORITE HANGOUT: “The Buddhist Biker Bar. Is it still there?”

 

UNC-Virginia: must-miss TV?
Matchup is malodorous, but tonight's winner could find reason for optimism
BY JEFF WHITE

TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Oct 19, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- ESPN can't be thrilled about televising a college football game that matches teams with a combined record of 3-10, but a deal is a deal.

The network committed before the season to broadcasting the Virginia-North Carolina game. And so Kirk Herbstreit and Co. will be at Scott Stadium tonight for the 111th meeting between teams in a series that dates to 1892.

For the first time since 1978, each enters with a losing record. U.Va. (1-2, 2-5), which was picked to finish fourth in the Coastal Division, has beaten only Wyoming and winless Duke. UNC (0-3, 1-5), picked to finish fifth in the Coastal, has beaten only Division I-AA Furman.

The Tar Heels rank 11th among ACC teams in scoring offense and last in scoring defense, and they'll play tonight without their leading tackler, linebacker Larry Edwards, who fractured his collarbone last weekend.

"I think everyone associated with the program is unhappy and frustrated and you name it with the first half [of the season]," Carolina coach John Bunting told reporters. "Can't do anything about that at this point, and we're looking forward to the second half and playing better and playing with a lot more consistency."

Neither Bunting nor his counterpart at Virginia, Al Groh, is especially popular with his school's fans these days. In six seasons as coach at his alma mater, Bunt- ing has a 25-41 record, and he's no lock to return in 2007.

Groh's job is more secure -- in August of2005 he received a new contract that runs through December 2010 -- but support for this U.Va. alumnus is rapidly diminishing. In six seasons under Groh, the Cavaliers are 39-31, and they appear headed toward their worst finish since 1986.

All of which adds some compelling storylines to an otherwise uninspiring matchup. A victory tonight at Scott Stadium -- where the Tar Heels last won in 1981 -- might not save Bunting's job, but it would hush some of his critics for at least a week. Likewise, a U.Va. win would provide more evidence that a team dominated by underclassmen might not go quietly in the second half of the season.

The Cavaliers are coming off a 28-26 loss to visiting Maryland in which they blew a 20-point halftime lead. As much as the collapse disappointed U.Va.'s players and coaches, it didn't obscure the progress made by the team, especially on offense. Redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell looked nothing like the nervous quarterback who'd made his first start Sept. 21 at Georgia Tech, where U.Va. lost 24-7 in an ESPN Thursday night game.

U.Va.'s players "have a good reason to feel positive about themselves," Groh said. "Not happy, but positive."

Sewell and sophomore wide receiver Kevin Ogletree had career games against the Terrapins. Sewell passed for 243 yards and two touchdowns -- both to Ogletree -- and rushed for 92 yards and another TD. Ogletree finished with 133 yards on three catches.

Asked if the light has come on for Sewell, Groh said, "It's not one big light. It's a little bit more like a string of Christmas tree lights. For it to really glow, there's a lot of lights that have to come on. And certainly he demonstrated [against Maryland] that a number of them did . . . We'd like to keep this trend going for a little bit longer than just one shot."

U.Va. has won three of its past four meetings with UNC. The loss during that span came last season at Kenan Stadium. A week after knocking off No. 4 Florida State 26-21 in Charlottesville, the Wahoos lost 7-5 in Chapel Hill.

"That's a soccer score," U.Va. offensive guard Branden Albert said Tuesday, clearly disgusted at the memory. "That was a very frustrating game."

 

Heels could help cure Cavs' woes
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

If there was any booing at Scott Stadium following Virginia's 28-26 loss to Maryland, it was barely audible.

If there was any finger-pointing, it was done behind close doors.

UVa coach Al Groh never has tried to portray himself as a good loser, but, with North Carolina coming to Charlottesville only five days later, what choice did he have?

"Every week, I listen to players doing interviews [on the radio] and they talk about how their coach has a 24-hour rule," said Groh of the period during which a team should dwell on a victory or a loss. "When you've got 48 hours less to get ready for the game, you don't even have a 24-hour rule. You've got about a 10-minute rule."

The Cavaliers weren't trying to put a "happy face" on the Maryland loss.

"For all the feel-good feelings coming out of last week, all that pop psychology only goes so far," Groh said. "Just because we feel good about it doesn't mean we're going to win. That's over and done with. If we play better, we'll win. If we don't play better, we won't."

The reality is that Virginia (2-5 overall, 1-2 ACC) has lost four of its last five games, blowing a 20-point halftime lead Saturday against the Terps.

It doesn't matter that North Carolina, the Cavs' opponent for tonight's 7:45 ESPN-televised matchup, has not won at Scott Stadium since 1981.

"First of all, coach [George] Welsh won all those games," Groh said. "I didn't. So, all the credit goes to him. Secondly, none of us were around for any of them -- players, coaches and whatnot -- so it really doesn't have any carryover."

Groh didn't have to be so humble. Of Virginia's 12 straight victories over Carolina in Charlottesville, two have occurred under Groh, including a 56-24 triumph in 2004 that was UVa's largest margin of victory over the Tar Heels since 1912.

Some of UVa's most memorable comebacks have come at North Carolina's expense, but tonight's affair lacks some of the drama that has surrounded previous matchups.

It is the first time in 28 years that both teams have entered the game with losing records.

The Tar Heels (1-5, 0-3) have lost three games in a row since beating Division I-AA Furman, 45-42, for their lone victory. In its two road games, Carolina has been outscored 79-14.

Like Virginia, Carolina is coached by an alum, John Bunting, whose team has not had a winning season since going 8-5 in 2001 -- his first season. No ACC football coach has a more tenuous hold on his job.

Bunting said Carolina fans have every right to be frustrated.

"Frustrated to the point where they think things are going right? No," he said earlier this week. "Program not going in the right direction? No. The program's going in the right direction. So many great things happening."

In his sixth season at Carolina, Bunting is 17-29. Over the same period, Groh is 39-31 at Virginia, although the Cavaliers are 6-10 over the last 16 games. A fifth straight bowl appearance is highly unlikely.

Unlike Carolina, which has several key seniors, Virginia has been starting only three players in their final season of eligibility -- tailback Jason Snelling, wide receiver Fontel Mines and Marcus Hamilton. A fourth senior, wide receiver Deyon Williams, is working back into the rotation after missing the first four games following foot surgery.

From a motivation standpoint, it helps both teams that they'll be playing on national TV. In a previous Thursday night appearance, UVa lost at Georgia Tech 24-7 on Sept. 21.

"It's important to prove to ourselves that we have gotten better," Hamilton said. "We were the featured game and we didn't play well at all. It was pretty much embarrassing, so we have another opportunity [today] to come out and show that we aren't that same team."

1. Don't allow an interception return for a touchdown. Sounds pretty simple, but the Cavaliers already have allowed four this season -- a school record. UVa allowed one of those in 2005.

2. Win the turnover battle. North Carolina is 116th out of 119 Division I-A teams in turnover margin. Virginia is 67th in that category and has recovered only three fumbles by the opposition in seven games.

3. Avoid kicking-game mistakes. Virginia probably would have beaten Maryland last week if the Cavaliers hadn't fumbled a punt on their own 1-yard line or set up a short field for the Terps with a 16-yard punt.
 

Hamilton adds to pickoff prowess
While last weekend's interception was the 14th of his UVa career, it came with an unprecedented long return.
Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Under more than a few scenarios, a first-half interception by Virginia cornerback Marcus Hamilton would have ranked as one of the most spectacular plays in last Saturday's UVa-Maryland football game.

After the Cavaliers blew a 20-point halftime lead and lost 28-26, nobody mentioned it.

Hamilton's interception was his fourth of the season and the 14th of his career, but what set it apart was his 59-yard return.

"Marcus is pretty pumped about that," coach Al Groh said. "He's been kind of bragging about his running skills."

Somebody had to.

On Tuesday, a reporter asked Hamilton, "Did they point out to you that your return the other day was longer than all your previous returns combined?"

Said Hamilton: "I don't know who 'they' is, but, some of the guys were joking about it on the sidelines with me."

Hamilton had returned his first 13 interceptions for a total of 55 yards, but he's had some big ones, most notably a game-saving pick at the end of UVa's 34-31 Music City Bowl victory over Minnesota.

For years, Virginia fans have griped about the way Cavalier defensive backs have run with their backs to the ball. Hamilton has been an exception, displaying a knack for knowing when to turn his head.

"I'm not sure that our philosophy has changed," said Hamilton, who has had three different secondary coaches in his last three seasons. "I think it depends on who the person is and what their mentality is. We've always been taught, if you're in position, to turn and look for the ball."

On Saturday, there was a gap between Hamilton and the intended Maryland receiver.

"I guess I was just reading the quarterback," Hamilton said. "When he released the ball, I knew it wasn't going to go over my head. As it was coming down, I felt I at least was in position to tip it. I wasn't really playing the man as much as I was the ball."

Some cornerbacks don't want quarterbacks to throw their way. Hamilton seems to welcome it.

"He's developed a good knack of being able to keep his patience and not having to be all over the receiver," Groh said. "He's not saying, 'Oh, geez, this guy's running deep, I've got to go back there and plaster myself on him,' because the ball probably would have been thrown somewhere else in the first place.

"It's almost like he's inviting the throws."

Hamilton's first career interception came in his 16th college game. His last 12 interceptions have come over the span of 22 games and allowed him to move into a share of fourth place with Kevin Cook on UVa's all-time list.

Hamilton couldn't tell you who holds the record [Keith McMeans] or what it is for sure, "but, somehow, the No. 17 sticks in my mind," he said.

McMeans had 17 from 1987-90, Pat Chester had 16 from 1978-82 and Ronde Barber had 15 from 1994-96.

"It's just nice being somewhere on that list," said Hamilton, who faces a North Carolina passing attack tonight that has been intercepted an ACC-high 12 times.

What would be nicer for UVa is if Hamilton's interceptions had led to a few more victories.

Each of Hamilton's first four years, one of which resulted in a successful hardship appeal, ended with a bowl trip. At 2-5, those hopes are fleeting this year.

"I'm still having fun," he said. "It's competition. That's motivation enough. It's important that we finish the season better than we started. If we can finish the season on a roll and have some momentum for next year, it will be a successful season based on how it started."
 

Tiki Barber considers hanging up cleats
By TOM CANAVAN
AP Sports Writer

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Walking away from the never-ending pain of professional football after this season for a career in front of a television camera might save Tiki Barber's body. It also would likely mean a significant pay cut for the popular New York Giants running back.

The 31-year-old Barber, who leads the NFL in rushing with 533 yards, created a stir over the past two days by saying he is leaning toward retiring after this season.

"I've been considering it for a few years now," Barber said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "It comes a point where your body just doesn't want to take it any more, you see other opportunities out there. I'm excited about the rest of my life as well as I am about this football season. So we'll see what happens."

Barber would be leaving a lot on the table - $8.3 million - the amount he would earn over the final two years of his contract.

At training camp in July, Barber spoke about the possibility of retiring, saying he was interested in working in television, writing books and getting involved in the financial field.

He seemed to leave the door wide open for a return next season, however. He closed it a lot the past two days.

Mark Lepselter, Barber's agent, said that the 10-year veteran has been "beaten up" this past season and gotten "bored of the monotony of the NFL."

Lepselter has been talking to broadcast networks about his client's future for a while, adding that Barber plans on being involved in both news and sports. He believes Barber will match his current salary, although industry observers disagree.

Barber has worked on several television shows, including "Fox & Friends" on Fox News.

Fox Sports President Ed Goren said a lot of networks will be interested in hiring Barber.

"There are two things about Tiki," Goren said. "He is TV savvy, and he is already experienced. His interests are so broad when it comes time to start a second career, the TV career will be more than sports."

Barber and his brother Ronde already have a weekly radio show on Sirius, "The Barber Shop."

George Gardner, director of strategic communications for the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University, said Barber is an ideal prospect for a television slot.

"He (Barber) is one of those unique packages," Gardner said. "He is popular, articulate, credible, well-liked and one of those all-time good guys. He is very marketable in New York right now."

However, Gardner doubted Barber would make half as much as he is getting paid to carry the ball. He noted that a television sports analyst on a national level might start at around $750,000.

Richard Liebner, the N.S. Bienstock Inc. agent who represented CBS anchor Dan Rather, agreed with that assessment.

"He has all the potential in the world to be a successful broadcaster," Liebner said in a telephone call from his New York office. "They are not going to pay him $4 million. That's a lot of money. We don't know how much he'll earn. He has so much style and he is so well spoken."

Sports economist Andrew Zimbalist of Smith College in Northampton, Mass., believes Barber will be successful in any television field, whether as talk show host or a sports analyst.

"He'll be able to parlay this into anywhere from $1 million to $10 million a year, but I think it will be closer to $1 million," Zimbalist said in a telephone interview.

Brian Socolow, a sports attorney at Loeb & Loeb law firm in New York City, said there are economic pros and cons to Barber retiring after this season.

"The risk that he runs is that he might not have the same national exposure that he gets on a weekly basis playing for the New York Giants," said Socolow, whose firm represents athletes such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michelle Kwan. "However, he has done well on other platforms and that could lead to new opportunities beyond the media."

Socolow said that if Barber got involved in Hollywood and business he could earn more than $4 million annually.

Barber did not know if anything would change his mind about retiring.

"I think the biggest thing is, and I recognize this, most players get kicked out of the NFL," Barber said. "They don't go out on their own terms. Being someone who takes a lot of pride in what I do, I kind of want to go out on my own terms."

 

U.Va. play calling is coming along
dslater@dailypress.com 247-4641
October 19, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Jameel Sewell walked toward the line of scrimmage, leaned forward and stuck his hands between Jordy Lipsey's legs.

Sewell looked, scanning Maryland's defense.

Sewell listened, hearing Virginia's offensive linemen identify the Terrapins' likely attack.

Sewell liked what he heard - mostly because it helped with what he saw. A redshirt freshman quarterback making his fourth start, Sewell got more help from his line Saturday in Virginia's 28-26 loss to Maryland. The line, with just one player who consistently started last season, aided Sewell in identifying blitzes, which let him know if he'd have to look for his "hot" receiver on a short route.

After a slow start - 51 rushing yards per game in the season's first four - the line is improving. Virginia rushed for 106, 153 and 153 yards in it past three games.

The Cavaliers have a chance to gain similar yardage at 7:45 tonight, when they play North Carolina at Scott Stadium. The Tar Heels are ranked last in the ACC - and 113th in the nation - in rushing defense (207.8 yards per game).

Virginia coach Al Groh and first-year offensive line coach Dave Borbely have emphasized the need for communication among the linemen.

"I think we were tentative in the beginning to make the calls," said tight end Tom Santi, who Virginia has often kept on the line this season for extra protection. He said linemen didn't want to speak up, for fear they might identify the wrong defensive front or blitz.

Virginia's most experienced lineman was sophomore left guard Branden Albert, who started every game last season but sat out spring practices to focus on academics. "I know I had a lot of catching up to do," he said.

Even in the season opener at Pittsburgh, "I was still not too sure of myself," Albert said. Neither were sophomore left tackle Eugene Monroe, redshirt freshman right tackle Will Barker, junior right guard Ian-Yates Cunningham and Lipsey, a junior center.

Groh noticed a difference from past lines, especially the talkative 2004 combination of right guard Elton Brown, left guard Brian Barthelmes and right tackle Brad Butler. "It sounded like a presidential debate up there," Groh said. It showed. Virginia in '04 led the ACC and ranked ninth nationally in rushing.

Even the seemingly stable parts of this year's line needed some tweaking.

Albert never played guard before he arrived at Virginia and had to improve his run blocking. Monroe, the former No. 1 offensive-line recruit in the nation, had surgery after dislocating his knee in spring practices. His knee still is stiff, limiting his movement, and Groh said he'd likely need the entire season to fully recover. After three games, Zak Stair replaced Monroe as the starter.

Albert is just beginning to show similarities to Brown, with his ability to pull off the line as a run blocker. Neither Stair nor Monroe are capable yet of fully replacing All-American D'Brickashaw Ferguson.

Sewell might be pleased with the line's improvement, happy to hear more chatter. But Groh has seen, and heard, more from previous lines. "What (Sewell) can compare it to," he said, "is kinda the basic quiet that existed up there for a while."

Thursday night matchup: Collapsing Cavs vs. Terrible Tar Heels
HANK KURZ JR.
Associated Press

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - It probably looked better on paper.

Most games played in prime time on Thursday nights match teams that are going somewhere, but the schedule-maker miscalculated when setting this week's slate.

North Carolina (1-5) will arrive at Scott Stadium on a three-game losing streak and having been beaten at home 37-20 by South Florida last week. The Tar Heels have been outscored 214-105 and have lost 12 straight at Virginia since 1981.

The Cavaliers (2-5) are coming off a game in which they led 20-0 at halftime, blew the lead in a 28-26 loss to Maryland and came away upbeat because they actually played well.

The game will be the 111th meeting between the schools, including every year since 1919, making it the fourth-oldest rivalry in the nation. It also comes a year after one of the ugliest games in the series, the Tar Heels' 7-5 home victory.

Both are hoping to turn things around with the nation looking in.

"Everyone around the program is unhappy, frustrated, you name it," Tar Heels coach John Bunting said. "We can't do anything about it at this point, and we're looking forward to the second half playing better, playing with a lot more consistency."

The Tar Heels, so far, have been consistently weak on offense and porous on defense, scoring just 17.5 points per game while allowing an average of 35.7. With 119 Division I-A schools, they rank 116th in turnover margin at minus 1.33, 115th in scoring defense, 113th in rushing defense (207.8) and 100th in total defense (392).

"It's because of a lack of consistency that we have not run the ball as effectively as I would like to, and the other side, it's about stopping the run and running the football better," Bunting said. The Tar Heels average 119.8 yards on the ground.

Virginia had similarly low numbers until it totaled 424 yards in the loss to Maryland, riding a hot first half by quarterback Jameel Sewell to the big lead.

The Cavaliers' running game is still anemic, averaging 92 yards, which is also what Sewell ran for last week, highlighted by his 36-yard touchdown on a draw play.

The progress on offense was the reason all hope was not lost in the loss, and why the Cavaliers have high hopes for improving on their last appearance on Thursday night.

On Sept. 21, they were soundly beaten 24-7 at No. 13 Georgia Tech.

"It's important to prove to ourselves that we've gotten better," cornerback and co-captain Marcus Hamilton said. "We were the featured game and we pretty much didn't play well at all. There's nothing that we did well in that game. It was embarrassing and we have an opportunity to come out Thursday and show that we aren't that same team."

Virginia has lost four of five, winning only against Duke, and coach Al Groh cautioned his team against expecting its improvement to automatically continue.

"While we perhaps played our best game of the season last week, the end result it wasn't good enough," he said on Tuesday. "Our perspective is that from all the feel-good things that came out of last week, all that pop psychology only goes so far.

"Just because we feel good about it doesn't mean we are going to win."

Bunting, meanwhile, is hoping the atmosphere will help his team be ready.

"Confidence or no confidence, let's get excited about playing on national television," he said. "Confidence-wise, you do things right, things will work out."

 

Tar Heels trying for win over Cavaliers
North Carolina hasn't won a football game in Charlottesville since '81
By Bill Cole
JOURNAL REPORTER

Staggering North Carolina got another jolt this week, losing a key player for the rest of the season, and will have to recover in a hurry for an ACC game today on enemy turf.

North Carolina's destination will be Charlottesville, where the South's oldest football rivalry will crank up for the 111th time in a game at Virginia. North Carolina will be playing its first game without linebacker Larry Edwards, who was the team's leading tackler, and has had five days to prepare replacements after last weekend's game.

Kickoff is 7:45 p.m. at Scott Stadium. The Tar Heels haven't won there since 1981, a losing streak that has reached 12 games and that mystifies kicker Connor Barth.

"I wasn't even alive in 1981," Barth said. "No one on the team that's playing was alive. I'm 20 years old and it's longer than that. It's crazy. It would be a big statement for us as a team and as an organization to go up there and beat them in Charlottesville. I think it would turn around our program tremendously if we can just go out and get a win."

The Tar Heels are 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the ACC, and are still looking for their first win against a Division I team this season. The Cavaliers are in a struggle of their own and will bring records of 2-5 and 1-2 into the game.

Coach John Bunting of North Carolina is concerned about his team's confidence, which took another hit last weekend when South Florida won 37-20 in Chapel Hill and Edwards broke his left collarbone.

Among numerous jobs that had to be completed this week, Bunting and his coaches tried to boost morale by pointing out what was being down correctly and fixing what is wrong.

Bunting still believes that the Tar Heels can win five games to qualify for bowl eligibility, and most of the players feel the same way. All are keenly aware, however, that time could soon run out send them to a second consecutive losing season, which could lead to massive change in the program.

"Everyone associated with the program is unhappy and frustrated and you name it with the first half of the season," Bunting said. "We can't do anything about that at this point. We're looking to forward to the second half and playing better, and playing with a lot more consistency. It's the word I've used all season, and it's what we need."

Bunting said that the game could be decided on the ground. And for the Tar Heels that will mean establishing a running game for one of the few times this season and stopping the other team's running game, which hasn't taken place at all.

Young linebackers will be asked to replace Edwards, one of the defense's most experienced players.

Converted safety Martel Thatch and sophomore Garrett White will likely share Edwards' position.

Redshirt freshman Kennedy Tinsle will likely play on obvious passing downs. Chase Rice and freshman Wesley Flagg might be thrown into the mix as well.

No matter which linebackers are playing, the defense's assignment will be to prevent Virginia from bettering its average of 92 yards rushing.

Pressure on the quarterback will be critical because Jameel Sewell is a redshirt freshman who will be starting for the fifth time.

North Carolina hasn't flustered a quarterback all season and Bunting is growing impatient for the pass rush to deliver.

Safety Kareen Taylor is confident that if the defense can shut down Virginia's running game without Edwards and that the result might be the season's first conference win.

"Mental mistakes are hurting us," Taylor said. "It's little things, like jumping offside.

"Those little things have caused everything to go wrong. The scheme is the same as it was last year. The scheme doesn't change. It's those little things that hurt us. We've got an opportunity to come out and show the world that we've got a good defense and we've got a good team."

Bunting and Coach Al Groh of Virginia can commiserate about all the grief each is catching for his team's struggling season. Virginia blew a 20-point halftime lead last week and allowed Maryland to slip away with a 28-26 victory, its first win in Charlottesville since the 1990 season.

Groh said last week's game will have no effect on his team's performance against North Carolina. Virginia's winning streak against North Carolina in Charlottesville is meaningless, he said, since most of the victories took place under his predecessor, George Welsh.

"Our whole mentality is to prepare for their best game of the season," Groh said. "While we perhaps played our best game of the season last week, in the end result it wasn't good enough. It was still the best that we did and it could have been good enough, but it wasn't.

"We need to play better than we did last week. Just because we feel good about it doesn't mean we are going to win. That's over and done with. If we play better, we'll win. If we don't play better, we won't."

 

Tar Heels have options with Bunting
If UNC continues to struggle this season, the school faces a decision about its football coach
Robbi Pickeral, Staff Writer

Zero victories against Division I-A opponents. The worst defense in the ACC. A team on the brink of its fifth consecutive year without a winning record. This was not what North Carolina expected halfway through the football season. "I'm frustrated with myself,'' said coach John Bunting, whose 1-5 team has six games left. "I'm frustrated with what's going on."
He's not the only one. While firebunting.com continues to get hits, the coach, players and administration are still hoping they can turn the season around -- beginning tonight at 2-5 Virginia, where the Tar Heels have not won since 1981.

If the season keeps going the same way, and progress is not shown, Bunting's bosses have three options.

1. MAKE A CHANGE AFTER THE SEASON

Athletics director Dick Baddour -- who was traveling Wednesday and could not be reached for comment -- has said he will "absolutely not" fire Bunting this season. That doesn't necessarily mean Bunting won't be let go afterward.

Bunting has three years and $858,600 left on his contract. Also, five assistant coaches are under contract for one or two more years for a combined $1.275 million.

But if fans stop showing up, leading to decreased ticket sales, it could be more expensive to keep Bunting long term than to let him go. Football and men's basketball are the only UNC sports that make money.

"I'm a diehard Tar Heel fan, but I stopped going to games about two years ago,'' said Cindy Williams, a Chapel Hill resident and 1979 UNC graduate. "My frustration level just got real high -- and still is -- because I don't see why we shouldn't consistently be in the Top 25. ... We've got the facilities, we've got the money, we're the flagship school for the state. ... And I think we might be worse off than when [Carl] Torbush was fired [in 2000]."

Chancellor James Moeser declined an interview request. According to The Daily Tar Heel, Moeser was asked about the football program at a student forum last week.

"I'm not going to get drawn into that conversation," Moeser responded. "... We want all of our programs to compete at the very highest level, and we're determined that this program is going to succeed."

Nelson Schwab III, chair of UNC's Board of Trustees and the only member to vote against Bunting's contract extension in 2004, did not return phone calls.

2. MAKE A CHANGE DURING THE SEASON

Firing a coach -- or having him resign -- before the end of the season has become more common in college in recent years. But there has been no indication that this would happen in Chapel Hill, and it might be frowned upon by some who consider it a move that smacks of the pros.

But it has its advantages, even if the coach finishes the season.

Florida athletics director Jeremy Foley said firing Ron Zook in October 2004 allowed him extra time to research possible successors.

"How do I make calls about Urban Meyer when I still have a coach?'' Foley told The New York Times.

Duke coach Ted Roof said it was an advantage when he took over when Carl Franks was fired in 2003.

"You had a five-week audition, '' Roof said. "It was a trial run so they can evaluate what you did and didn't do."

ECU athletics director Terry Holland chose to tell former football coach John Thompson in 2004 and former basketball coach Bill Herrion in 2005 that they would be let go when they asked for his thoughts during the season.

In an e-mail to The N&O on Wednesday, Holland wrote that he thought his coaches should know sooner rather than later because "each coach had begun to think short term -- i.e., winning the next game to save his job. When a coach is forced to focus on winning games instead of building a program (making good long-term decisions), a lot of damage can be done."

Holland added that the pressure to win games to save the coach's job was having a negative impact on the team and staff.

3. KEEP HIM

Bunting, 25-41 at Carolina, has said his team is making progress even though it doesn't show on the scoreboard. UNC has commitments from 17 prospects for next season, included four players given four stars by the recruiting site Scout.com. Players sign binding letters of intent in February.

One UNC four-star recruit, receiver Dwight Jones of Burlington Cummings, said this week he likely would go to Chapel Hill even if Bunting leaves. "With all the great recruits we have coming in ... I really think we can help things get turned around,'' Jones said.

But there is a fear that if Bunting leaves, so will his recruits.

Current players continue to support Bunting.

"He's a good coach and a good person," senior linebacker Larry Edwards said. "This season doesn't reflect how much time and effort all of our coaches put into everything around here."

UNC's faculty is disappointed in the record, but Lissa Broome, chair of the Faculty Athletics Committee, said, "From faculty perspective, the football program is doing things that we want it to do as far as graduating athletes, showing good conduct ... and in years past, when that wasn't the case, things were dealt with appropriately and swiftly."

Broome said she was a bit surprised there were no questions about football when the Faculty Athletics Committee presented its annual report to the Faculty Council last Friday.

"I think that indicates we're thankful we're not fielding questions about things such as the Miami-Florida International fracas, that we don't have any of those problems,'' she said.

 

UNC at UVa not a marquis matchup for ESPN Thursday
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 18, 2006

With few other viewing options, fans often tune in to ESPN's Thursday night game merely to satisfy their midweek football jones. For that reason, it's a perfect showcase opportunity for a football program.
For both Virginia and North Carolina, tonight's game at Scott Stadium is a chance to show a national audience that things aren't nearly as bad as they seem.

It goes without saying that a matchup between teams with a combined record of 3-10 was not what ESPN had in mind when it was setting its Thursday night lineup for the fall.

Virginia (2-5, 1-2 ACC) is off to its worst start since 1986. North Carolina (0-3 ACC) is off to its second 1-5 start of the ill-fated John Bunting era. The teams' wins this season have come against Wyoming, Furman and Duke, so this is hardly a clash of the titans.

But it is the only nationally televised game of the night, so plenty of people will be watching.

"It's important to prove to ourselves that we've gotten better since that last Thursday night game," said UVa senior cornerback Marcus Hamilton, who watched Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson go wild in the Yellow Jackets' 24-7 win over the Cavaliers four weeks ago on a Thursday night.

"We pretty much didn't play well at all. There was nothing we did good in the game and it was pretty much embarrassing."

Virginia could ask for no better opponent to turn things around against than North Carolina, which hasn't won in Charlottesville since 1981.

The Tar Heels have had nothing go right this season. They've been ravaged by injuries, losing four players for the season, including starting safety Trimane Goddard, who injured his foot in the preseason, and linebacker Larry Edwards, a Butkus Award candidate who broke his collarbone last week.

This might be the last straw for Bunting, who has a 25-41 record and has produced only one winning season in his six years in Chapel Hill.

Things haven't been much better this year at Virginia, which has lost four of its last five, including its previous two home games.

At the very least, redshirt Jameel Sewell has entrenched himself as the starting quarterback. The light came on for the lefty last week when he set career highs in passing yards (243), rushing yards (92) and touchdown passes (two) against Maryland.

"It's not one big light, it's more like a string of Christmas tree lights," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "For it to really glow, there are a lot of lights that need to come on. Certainly, he demonstrated that a number of them did."

He did make one critical mistake, however, throwing a ball into coverage and having it intercepted and returned for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.

It's the kind of mistake typical of a team as young as the Cavaliers, who start just four seniors, but it isn't being brushed off.

"That can't be our scapegoat to say, 'Oh, man, we're young. We've got time,'" Sewell said. "We've got to do it now."

Virginia needs to win four of its final five games to be bowl eligible for the fifth straight season, long enough odds to make the team already have an eye on next year.

"I don't have that mentality. I think a lot of the guys, even though they're younger, don't have that mentality," Hamilton said. "They still have that fight in them and they still want to go out and compete for the rest of this season. And then maybe once this season is over, they can look toward next year."


 

Cavs ready for Tar Heels, national spotlight
North Carolina, Virginia come in with many questions; Tar Heels have not defeated Cavs in Charlottesville since 1981
Aaron Perryman, Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

The Virginia Cavaliers (2-5, 1-2 ACC) will attempt to rebound after a close 28-26 loss to Maryland last Saturday as they face the North Carolina Tar Heels (1-5, 0-3 ACC) tonight at 7:30 in Scott Stadium.

Both teams are struggling mightily to find wins this season, as the Cavaliers come into the game having lost two straight and four of their last five, and the Tar Heels come into the game having lost three straight. North Carolina's only win this season came in a 45-42 shoot out with I-AA Furman. However, they have yet to play winless Duke, whom Virginia slaughtered 37-0 earlier this season.

History is on the side of the Cavaliers. North Carolina has not won in Charlottesville since 1981. Maryland had not won at Virginia since 1990 before their win last Saturday. The Cavaliers hope to keep their winning streak alive this time against the Tar Heels.

The meeting between the teams in Charlottesville in 2004 saw Virginia win handily, 56-24. Last year's matchup at Chapel Hill was a drastically different type of game, as both teams struggled to put points up on the scoreboard. The game ended with a baseball-like score and a Tar Heel win, 7-5.

Virginia coach Al Groh expressed concern over the North Carolina defensive scheme that stymied the Cavalier offense last year.

"The biggest issue for us with our offense against their defense is that the last time we faced this scheme, we weren't very productive against it," Groh said. "So we certainly face some challenges from that standpoint."

To win, Virginia will have to once again get off to a quick start like they did against Maryland. Holding on to the lead will be the next step, a step that was not achieved against Maryland. One key for a quick start will be the running game, which has showed signs of improvement over the past few games. Virginia's running game is still ranked 10th in the ACC at 92 yards per game, but Virginia was able to rack up 181 yards against Maryland, the highest total all season. Redshirt freshman quarterback Jameel Sewell gained 92 of those yards, and senior running back Jason Snelling picked 81 yards on the ground.

Groh mentioned that more communication among the offensive line has improved the running game.

"There really wasn't a lot of talk amongst the line early on in the season," Groh said. "Branden [Albert] is starting to be amongst those who are pointing things out and having a little bit more to say."

Albert, a sophomore left guard, described the gelling process of the offensive line as a key to the improved running game.

"It takes time to gel as an offensive line, and now we're starting to gel pretty well," Albert said. "We're playing a lot better as a unit. We're communicating a lot more. Communication on the offensive line is a key thing."

The Cavaliers have averaged 146.7 yards on the ground over their last three games. In contrast, they averaged 51 yards on the ground in their first four games this season.

The Virginia-North Carolina football game, known as "the South's oldest rivalry" (tonight marks the 111th meeting) will be televised nationally on ESPN.