White: 'Hoos Continue Mastery of Heels
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 10/03/2009
By Jeff White

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- They bounded into the visiting team's locker room at Kenan Stadium, player after player, coach after coach. Once inside, they exchanged hugs and handshakes and high-fives, the players' heads nearly hitting the low ceiling as they bounced up and down.
"That's what I'm talking about!" senior defensive end Nate Collins yelled.
"1-0!" a teammate shouted, referring to Virginia's ACC record.
More than 11 months had passed since UVa had walked off a football field victorious -- Oct. 25, 2008 -- and this was a moment to savor.
"It feels too good," senior cornerback Chris Cook said later of the joy and relief that followed UVa's 16-3 win over North Carolina on Saturday night.
"I mean, I almost came to tears when I walked into the locker room, just to see everybody celebrating and feeling good about winning."
This has been a trying season for the Wahoos, who entered their ACC opener with an 0-3 record, and for ninth-year coach Al Groh, whose job security is a popular topic on talk radio and Internet message boards.
Groh has had other teams at UVa that showed admirable resilience, though, and this one may yet do the same.
Against the heavily favored Tar Heels (0-2, 3-2), the Cavaliers dominated throughout. It was still a close game early in the fourth quarter, but an interception by sophomore cornerback Chase Minnifield set up a drive that ended with senior tailback Mikell Simpson's 8-yard touchdown.
"That sealed the deal for us," senior quarterback Jameel Sewell said. "I knew our defense was going to hold up. We just had to get that touchdown."
Indeed, UVa came up with two turnovers in the final 10 minutes: the interception by Minnifield, who dived to catch a ball knocked into the air when Collins slammed into UNC quarterback T.J. Yates, and a pick by Cook with 2:50 left.
In between, sophomore safety Corey Mosley broke up a fourth-down pass by Yates with 4:27 remaining. Mosley starred in a secondary that was missing a starting safety, Rodney McLeod (knee), who was capably replaced by Brandon Woods, a senior from nearby Durham.
Virginia held UNC to nine first downs and 174 yards of offense. Carolina's big-play receiver, Erik Highsmith, caught two passes for 11 yards.
"Our defense, we just challenged ourselves," Collins said. "I felt like we met that challenge. We just kept pressure on that quarterback, and in the end we made plays when we needed to."
Sophomore defensive end Matt Conrath, a towering figure at 6-7, knocked down three passes, a career high.
"We've been working real hard, and to start out 0-3, it was tough, but we stuck together, and we're starting off the ACCs on the right foot," Conrath said. "It's a new season for us."
Las Vegas' predictions aside, it should shock no one that Virginia prevailed in this town. Much has been made of Virginia Tech's dominance of UVa over the past dozen years, but the 'Hoos have a similar stranglehold on their series with the Heels.
Virginia has now won four straight over UNC and 10 of their past 12 meetings. This victory felt as satisfying for the Cavaliers as any during that span.
For players such as Cook and Sewell, who were out of school serving academic suspensions last season, the win was their first since Nov. 10, 2007.
"It's just an amazing feeling," Sewell said. "It's a feeling that we would love to feel again, but we've got to remember what it feels like to lose as well, so we just don't take things for granted."
At the team hotel Friday night, Groh showed his players film of the fourth quarter of Virginia's come-from-behind win over Maryland in College Park in October 2007. In that game, Simpson produced one of the most electrifying performances in school history to help the 'Hoos stun the Terrapins 18-17.
Simpson said it was good for him to see the videotape from Byrd Stadium again, and for UVa's younger players to see it for the first time.
In 2008, he endured a forgettable season that ended prematurely for him when he broke his collarbone. His first three games this season were no more memorable, but against UNC he rushed for 100 yards on 20 carries and added 45 yards on four receptions.
"Maybe that just sparked Mikell," Sewell said of the Friday night film session. "I had a lot of emotions just watching that ... I guess that's how everybody felt, and we needed to get back to how Virginia plays football."
Groh said Simpson "ground it out pretty good [against Carolina]. It kind of looked like that game he played a couple years ago up in College Park."
Simpson, for his part, credited his teammates.
"I think the offensive line played a great game today," Simpson said, "and the receivers got in on the safeties and corners, and they opened a lot of holes, and it was just me running through them."
Thanks to sophomore Robert Randolph's career-high three field goals -- he connected from 36, 38 and 43 yards -- UVa led 9-3 heading into the final quarter.
Two years ago, on the same field, Chris Gould had kicked five field goals in UVa's 22-20 win over UNC. The Cavaliers didn't need that kind of production from Randolph, but he earned the coaching staff's confidence with a flawless performance.
"Robert really hasn't had to make too many pressure kicks that determine games," Groh said. "He did today. As I say about the whole team, as the season evolves, we learn more and more about our team, who we are and what we can do, and we learn more and more about the players. Since Robert is pretty new to be on the field, we're learning about him, and clearly we learned some very positive things today."
Sewell finished 13 of 24 passing for 136 yards, and he ran effectively at times, too. He also showed his toughness. Sewell was shaken up after a hard hit early in the second quarter -- his replacement, Marc Verica, went 3 for 3, for 12 yards -- but missed only one series.
"He's a very passionate, gutty player," Groh said of Sewell. "That's why his teammates respond to him in the fashion they do."
In the locker room afterward, Groh reminded his players of the importance of the team's next game, Oct. 10 against Indiana at Scott Stadium.
To reporters, Groh said, "We want to make sure that this isn't just a one-week celebration."
That's a message the captains, including Vic Hall and Cook, will preach ahead of the Hoosiers' visit.
"We hadn't had a win in a while, and to get this first one, on the road, against a tough team, it just felt great," Hall said. "We just gotta build off this."
 

White: Notebook from Chapel Hill
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 10/03/2009
By Jeff White

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Cramps limited Vic Hall's availability Saturday afternoon at Kenan Stadium, but it's clear that he'll play a leading role for UVa going forward, even if he's not at quarterback.
Hall, a cornerback for most of his first three seasons at Virginia, started at quarterback in the opener against William and Mary but suffered a hip injury in that game. He played only one snap, on special teams, the next week against TCU and sat out all of UVa's third game.
The Cavaliers had a bye week after that Sept. 19 loss at Southern Mississippi, and that gave Hall time to recover. He started at wide receiver against North Carolina, held for extra points and field goals before cramping up, and also played defensive back in passing situations.
Hall had a 6-yard reception at wideout and was credited with one tackle on defense. He also lined up in the shotgun once and took a direct snap, but the Tar Heels swarmed over him for a 4-yard loss.
Al Groh used three quarterbacks -- Hall, Jameel Sewell and Marc Verica -- against W&M before, in the wake of Hall's injury, settling on Sewell.
But Groh's goal remains, as he's been saying for months, to make sure Hall, a two-year team captain, is tired and dirty after every game.
"Most definitely I enjoy it," Hall said of his expanded role. "Playing both ways in the game, it's very exciting."
His cramps, Hall said, were due to his "being out for two weeks and coming back. I gotta get my body back in condition."

* * * * * *

Defensive end Matt Conrath, who stands 6-7, broke up three passes as a redshirt freshman last season. He batted down three more Saturday.
"He's got a pretty good record of doing that over the course of his short career so far," Groh said after UVa's 16-3 victory. "He does it in practice, he's done it in the games, he's just one of those players who has a sense of doing that.

* * * * * *

Five Cavaliers made their college debuts Saturday: redshirt freshman Mike Price and true freshmen LoVante Battle, Corey Lillard, Javanti Sparrow and Drew Jarrett, who kicked the extra point after the game's only touchdown.
Groh has played 10 true freshmen this season: Battle, Lillard, Sparrow, Jarrett, Tim Smith, Quintin Hunter, Will Hill, LaRoy Reynolds, Dominique Wallace and Perry Jones.
Wallace is out with a season-ending foot injury he suffered at Southern Miss. Hunter was not included in Virginia's travel team this weekend.
UVa used three kickers Saturday. Robert Randolph booted a career-high three goals, Chris Hinkebein handled kickoffs, and Jarrett was assigned the PAT.
"Our plan was to use Drew on extra points today and get him broken in," Groh said. "That's how we've done it with young kickers. We did that with [former UVa star] Connor Hughes for a few games and got him comfortable with it, and then he was able to expand ... We'll just see where that goes. Competition is a good thing."

* * * * * *

Juniors Mike Parker and Dontrelle Inman, who have been out with injuries, made their 2009 debuts for UVa on Saturday.
Parker, a cornerback, played on special teams. Inman, a wide receiver, played several series but did not catch a pass.

* * * * * *

Sophomore safety Rodney McLeod, who has a knee injury, was ruled out before the game Saturday. In his place started fifth-year senior Brandon Woods.
Woods, who's from nearby Durham, responded with the finest game of his career in his longest stint in the secondary. He made three tackles and had a quarterback hurry.
"He did a very nice job," Groh said. "It wasn't until, actually, probably the pre-game that we knew for sure that McLeod wouldn't be able to go, and Brandon did very well. And kudos to [sophomore safety] Corey Mosley for stepping back up into his role and certainly playing, it would appear from a distance here, the best that he's played in the time that he's started."

* * * * * *

That they had Sept. 26 off turned out to be a good thing for the Cavaliers.
The bye week "allowed us to spend an appreciable amount of time assessing exactly who we were and what we can do well, maybe what was missing, what had to be addressed," Groh said. "It allowed us to look in the mirror a little harder than a normal game week allows to us do."

* * * * * *

UVa's front seven dominated Saturday. Those who distinguished themselves included outside linebackers Cameron Johnson, Aaron Clark and Denzel Burrell, inside linebackers Steve Greer and Darren Childs, ends Nate Collins, Zane Parr and Conrath, and nose tackle Nick Jenkins.
Virginia's defense had wilted late against Southern Miss, in part because of the heat and humidity in Hattiesburg, and the coaching staff rotated more players yesterday.
"We felt that we had to get some of these players in the game early so that we would have all the energy that we needed at the end," Groh said.
UVa held the Heels to 39 yards rushing.
"We went in knowing that it was going to be on the front seven," Conrath said, "that they were going to try to run the ball on us, and if we stopped them, we'd have a good chance of winning."
On the game's first play from scrimmage, Greer dropped tailback Shaun Draughn for a 2-yard loss. The same thing happened on second down. On third down, quarterback T.J. Yates, pressured by Burrell, threw an incompletion.
"That first series was fun," Greer said. "As a defense, we made a couple nice plays and kind of stung them a little. We kind of set the tone with that first series.
"We knew North Carolina's offensive style was kind of just run it at you with the I formation, so all week we emphasized that the front seven had to step up and play big."
 

Cavaliers' Defense Smothers North Carolina in 16-3 Triumph
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 10/03/2009

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -- Mikell Simpson ran for the game-clinching touchdown in the fourth quarter while Virginia's defense turned in a dominating performance to beat North Carolina 16-3 on Saturday.
Robert Randolph kicked three field goals for the Cavaliers (1-3, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who came out of a bye week with a desperately needed win. Simpson added 100 yards rushing, but the Cavs didn't need much offense considering the way their defense completely locked down on the Tar Heels (3-2, 0-2).
North Carolina got nothing from its rushing attack, committed three turnovers and managed just 174 total yards. And when Simpson ran it in from 8 yards out with 5:49 left, Virginia had a two-possession lead that sent most of the light blue-clad Tar Heel fans bolting for the Kenan Stadium exits.
The Tar Heels came into the season facing several questions about their offense and knowing that their defense would have to carry the load. The defense did its part for most of the day, with Robert Quinn tallying three sacks and Virginia managing just 254 total yards. But the offense turned in a bad performance for the second straight week, failing to reach the end zone against a defense that was allowing 31 points per game coming in.
It wasn't the kind of performance the Tar Heels expected from a team that was nationally ranked just two weeks ago before a 24-7 loss at Georgia Tech. But for the Cavaliers, it was exactly what they needed after a tumultuous opening month of the season.
Now the Cavaliers have won 10 of 12 meetings against their cross-border rivals, including all three since Butch Davis took over in Chapel Hill in 2007.
 

Postgame Quotes
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 10/03/2009

Virginia Head Coach Al Groh
"We're very proud, very appreciative of the effort they put in to make this happen, and very happy for them that they can enjoy a moment like this. That locker room in there, if you've ever been in one or participated in one, everything that we all do for months and weeks is to experience the five or six minutes when a team comes into the locker room and has that sense of satisfaction. That's what it's all about. And they earned every part of it. It's a player's game, and they earned every part of it."
On putting pressure on T.J. Yates:
"The defense, obviously, everybody talks about how it's we, us, and ours. When we win, we all win. But everybody's got to do their share of the job. The offense, when we had good field position we were able to take advantage of it. Special teams gave us nine points that were very important, so certainly anybody who put in time on one unit or on multiple units can feel very good about."
On the three field goals by Robert Randolph:
"He (Randolph) really stepped up today. He really hasn't had to make too many pressure kicks that determine games. He did today. Just as I say about the whole team, as the season evolves we learn more and more about our team, who we are and what we can do and we learn more and more about the players."
On the significance of the late touchdown:
"It was a different kind of a two-score game. It probably would've been the case anyway but it kind of dictated from that point on, for us defensively at least, it would be a dime game for us. And we had played very well in the dime throughout the course of the game."
North Carolina Head Coach Butch Davis
"Certainly it's a disappointing loss. It's a little bit of a carryover of the same thing from last week. The defense played well enough at times, certainly, to give us a chance to win the game. But it's a team game and we talk in the locker room all the time...you can't just win one phase of the game. We've got to find a way to win two of the three phases, and I thought our defense fought, they scratched and they kept it to a three-point game, a six-point game, for an awfully long time.
"We thought we got a little bit of momentum coming out of the locker room. We moved the ball, we got a few first downs, and ultimately had to settle for a field goal. But we've got to find a way to play better on offense. We've got to find a running game, and we've got to be able to block people at the point of attack. We can't have as much penetration at the point of attack and not allow the back to at least get started at the intended hole or the intended point of attack.
"I referenced the Baltimore Ravens in 2000, that they won the Super Bowl...they didn't score an offensive touchdown for seven weeks. Sometimes you've got to find ways to win ugly. If you coach long enough, and our players have played long enough, sometimes the shoe is on the other foot from a team perspective. There were times last year when we were scoring 35, 38 points and that wasn't enough.
"It's a team game, the only thing that we can do is have a positive attitude about working hard to get better and have an expectation that our players are going to try to improve. It's all about this is a young, inexperienced offensive football team that has got to work every single week on trying to get better and try to improve their fundamentals.
"We turned the ball over three times today and we didn't get any. The opportunities were there today for turnovers. The ball was on the ground a couple of times, we didn't get it. The ball was in the air a couple of times that hit us in the hands and we didn't get it. Those could have conceivably negated some points, it might not have turned into any points, but it certainly would have given us the opportunity to maybe win the game 10-6, 10-9, maybe you win it ugly.
"We've got to improve, that's my responsibility, it's our coaches' responsibility, and that's the approach we're going to take when we get back tomorrow."
On potentially taking Yates out of the game:
"Not really. Sometimes you just have to play yourself through some poor performances. He didn't play as well as we'd have liked for him to last week at Georgia Tech. He hit some throws today, but he was under duress. I don't know exactly the statistics, but I want to say they either blitzed or pressured something in the neighborhood of 10 of the first 19 plays of the game.
"They are taking advantage and looking at a young, inexperienced offensive line, and they are doing what good coaches do, which is try to exploit somebody. I thought clearly up until about 10 minutes to go in the game, the game was winnable. I think as long as the game is winnable, you want to give your starter the chance to win the game."
On using Ryan Houston more:
"It's clearly part of the scenario that certainly would help. It's something that I think we have to talk about. If you go back to the same exact game a year ago...I want to say we ran for in excess of about 140 yards...It just didn't click for (Shaun) today. We didn't have the ball long enough, when you're going three and out, nobody gets any rhythm. We took the whole first half to find out if there were any runs that would work at all."
On expecting this type of performance today:
"The outcome of the game is disappointing. We wanted to win. I thought we practiced well enough...if we practice like we did last week, we're going to get better. I think most of you heard me say before the week started that the worst mistake anybody could do is look at (Virginia) as an 0-3 team. The one thing they did in the previous games that they didn't do today is turn the ball over."
 

Virginia Game Notes vs. UNC
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 10/03/2009

Virginia Game Notes vs. North Carolina
Virginia has now won 10 of its last 12 against North Carolina, including the last four meetings. Combined with the 22-20 win in 2007, this marks UVa's first consecutive wins in Chapel Hill since 1988 and 1990.
Virginia has won five straight October games and 10 of its last 11 in October. UVa was 4-0 in October last year.
Brandon Woods made his first start of the season at safety. It was the fourth start of his career; he started the first three games of the 2008 season.
TE Colter Phillips made his first career start.
CB Mike Parker saw his first action of the season.
Senior T Will Barker made his 41st career start.
WR Dontrelle Inman made his first appearance of the 2009 season.
Vic Hall returned after missing most of the last two games with an injury. Hall first played on defense at safety, then started on offense at wide receiver. He also took a snap at quarterback.
True freshman DBs LoVante Battle, Corey Lillard and Javanti Sparrow (special teams) as well as PK Drew Jarrett saw their first action at Virginia, giving UVa 10 true freshmen to see playing time this season. They join Will Hill, Quintin Hunter, Perry Jones, LaRoy Reynolds, Tim Smith and Dominique Wallace.
Redshirt freshman C/G Mike Price (special teams) made his first career appearance today. UVa now has 25 freshmen (true or redshirt) to see playing time this season for Virginia.
RB Mikell Simpson rushed for 100 yards - his third career 100-yard rushing day and his first since the 2007 season. It was the most rushing yards for a UVa player this season (Hall 54 vs. William & Mary). It was Simpson's most rushing yards since going for a career-high 170 vs. Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 1, 2008.
UVa held UNC to nine first downs. It was the fewest first downs for a UVa opponent since Miami had nine in 2007.
Virginia allowed just 39 yards rushing, the fewest rushing yards allowed by UVa since giving up 19 to Richmond last season.
Virginia shut out North Carolina in the first quarter. It marks the third straight game that the Cavaliers have blanked their opponent in the opening stanza. UVa has allowed just one first-quarter score all year - a TD vs. William and Mary on Sept. 5.
Robert Randolph made three field goals in the game, setting a career high for one game. He also made two field goals at Southern Miss two weeks ago. He is 5-for-5 in field goals this season. Randolph's 43-yard field goal in the third quarter was the longest field goal of his career.
LB Steve Greer recorded a career-best two tackles for loss. He had a team-high seven tackles total.
DE Matt Conrath made a career-best three pass breakups.
FB Rashawn Jackson tied a career high with four receptions. He also had four vs. UConn in 2007 and at Georgia Tech in 2008.
DE Zane Parr made his first sack of the season. It gives him two for his career (Richmond, 2008).
DB Chase Minnifield made his first interception of 2009 in the fourth quarter. He now has three career picks. Chris Cook made his second INT of the year and has five in his career.

 

Cavaliers step up, squash Heels for first win
By Michael Phillips
Published: October 4, 2009

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Rashawn Jackson ran to the corner of the end zone and started conducting the band.

Chris Cook went to the locker room "almost in tears," and Mikell Simpson wore an ice pack and a giant smile.

So this is what it's like to win.

"It's hard to even explain how good it feels," quarterback Jameel Sewell said.

Virginia's seven-game losing streak was snapped by knocking off North Carolina 16-3, an ugly win by some banged-up players that showed the Wahoos aren't done yet.

Even coach Al Groh got into the spirit, waving to the orange-clad supporters and proclaiming that "it's tough to stick a fork in us."

This was the place for the Wahoos to turn around their season, having now won 10 of their past 12 games against the Tar Heels, who were 13-point favorites yesterday. This one resembled the past few, a grind-it-out game where every point was valuable.

Robert Randolph kicked three field goals to help the team cling to a lead until Simpson broke through for an 8-yard touchdown run, pushing him over 100 yards on the day. Cook grabbed an interception to seal the victory, helping the team finish strong.

That was one of Virginia's main objectives this week, and the players watched a video of the 2007 Maryland game Friday night to drive home the point.

"We've lost two games in the final five minutes, so it showed the drive and dedication from that year," Simpson said.

After a season of injuries, he finally had a breakout game, taking a beating from the defense but ultimately scoring the lone touchdown and celebrating a victory that "made it all worth it."

He wasn't the only comeback player to make a difference. Cook was back from a groin injury to anchor the secondary, and former quarterback Vic Hall debuted in a new role as both a wide receiver and safety. He said he was willing to cede the signal-caller job to the hot hand, Sewell.

"We've got some stability at the quarterback position," Hall said. "I don't see why you would fix something that's not broken."

He took a direct-snap run, as well as catching a lateral from Sewell and throwing it back to the quarterback for a 22-yard gain that was negated by holding.

The rest of the receivers suffered from a lack of pocket time for Sewell, who was under constant pressure. The two running backs -- Simpson and Jackson -- were the only players to log more than two catches.

Most of the Hoos' progress came on the ground, with Simpson logging exactly 100 yards after being tackled for a loss late.

On the other side, North Carolina's run game slid even further after an abysmal performance last week against Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels didn't advance the ball into the red zone at any point.

By the end of the second quarter, an offense was being booed off the field, but for the first time this year it wasn't U.Va.'s.

The Tar Heels' struggles on offense negated a solid outing by defensive end Robert Quinn, who logged three sacks against Virginia left tackle Landon Bradley. The sophomore drew a personal foul call late in the game for a late hit.

"It's very frustrating when they're going three and out and we're back on the field," Quinn said. "I'm not trying to play the blame game, but the offense has got to help us some."

Meanwhile in the Hoos' locker room, there wasn't a trace of finger-pointing, just a celebration of a team that is 1-0 in ACC play.

For the 25 freshmen who have played this year, it also was their first taste of victory -- one that Groh hopes will motivate them to come back for more.

"Everything we did for weeks and months was to experience the five or six minutes there when the team comes back into the locker room and has that sense of satisfaction," he said. "That's what it's all about."
 

U.Va. notes: Rugby-style punt a big bonus
By Staff Reports
Published: October 4, 2009

Rugby punt turns out to be a winner
Punter Jimmy Howell doesn't just contribute with his leg.

As he headed out to the field for a punt early in the second quarter, somebody's hip pad was in the spot where he was setting up. So he picked it up and flung it about 30 yards the other direction.

Equally impressive was what he did seconds later with his leg. He launched a rugby-style punt that hit North Carolina's Melvin Williams, bouncing into long-snapper Danny Aiken and giving the Hoos a 40-yard gain on a play that was supposed to end their possession.

"That doesn't show on the scoreboard, but it was a very big field-position play," coach Al Groh said.

Howell, a sophomore, didn't start the rugby punt until new special teams coordinator Ron Prince urged him to give it a shot in the offseason. Now the team uses it situationally. As for the run that precedes the punt, Howell said he has some flexibility.

"It's just whatever feels right, pretty much," he said. "You just have to watch out for the guys on the other team."

Sewell briefly sent to the sideline
After taking a hit to the head, it appeared Jameel Sewell might be the latest U.Va. quarterback to fall victim to injury.

That's the word that was relayed to Groh, who sent in Marc Verica and was told that Sewell might be out for a while.

But a series later, the Hermitage grad was back in the game.

"I was capable of playing," he said. "I just hit my head, and it went through my neck."

Playing through the pain, he finished 13 of 24 for 136 yards. He also was sacked four times.

"He's a very passionate, gutty player," Groh said. "That's why his teammates respond to him in the fashion that they do."

Quarterback opts out of commitment
One of North Carolina's top high school quarterbacks, Tyler Brosius, has told Virginia that he no longer plans on signing with the school and instead will play for North Carolina State.

He told the Asheville Citizen-Times that the decision solely was based on wanting to stay close to home.

"If Virginia was 3-0 right now, my decision would be the same," Brosius told the paper.

Cook enjoys strong showing in return
Cornerback Chris Cook returned to the lineup after fighting a groin injury that sent him to the bench after the first play of the team's game against Southern Mississippi.

He finished with four tackles and the game-sealing interception.

"He's one of our very best players," Groh said.

Extra points

•Freshman kicker Drew Jarrett made his U.Va. debut yesterday, kicking an extra point. Groh said the plan was to let him handle the extra points as a way to break him in.

•Robert Randolph's three field goals were a career high for the sophomore. . . . Steve Greer led the team with seven tackles.

•Receiver Dontrelle Inman, offensive lineman Mike Price and cornerback Mike Parker made their first appearances of the season. Tight end Colter Phillips got his first start as Virginia went with a two-tight end look.

•True freshmen LoVante Battle, Corey Lillard and Javanti Sparrow joined Jarrett in seeing their first action at U.Va.
-- Michael Phillips
 

Grading U.Va.‘s three keys
By Staff Reports
Published: October 4, 2009

Grading the three keys A-Replace Chris Cook. Nate Collins did the dirty work by forcing T.J. Yates into throwing a bad pass -- hitting him with two open palms to send him to the turf. But Chase Minnifield was there to get the spoils -- a fourth-quarter interception that set up the game's only touchdown. It was a big play for Minnifield, and fellow cornerback Ras-I Dowling also contributed by delivering a big hit to running back Shaun Draughn early in the game. On the whole, a solid effort by cornerbacks not named Chris Cook. BSpecial teams can't allow points. Perhaps the biggest achievement for Virginia's special teams was this: They sent 11 players onto the field for every play. That may sound like sarcasm, but it's the first game this year the unit has accomplished the feat. They also didn't allow any points, and contributed in a positive fashion on a rugby punt that hit a UNC player and was recovered. A couple of weak punts late kept the team from getting a top mark. DContinued receiver growth. It was a rough day for the U.Va. receivers, who combined for eight catches and fewer than 100 yards. Six receivers got a catch, though Deep Run's Matt Snyder was not among them. The lack of production can be partially attributed to an offensive line that allowed a large amount of pressure through, preventing the team from going long successfully. The day's longest pass was an 18-yard gain.
 

Calendar turns just in time for Mr. October and his Cavaliers
Posted to: Bob Molinaro Sports
Bob Molinaro
Virginian-Pilot sports columnist
The Virginian-Pilot
© October 4, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.

"See that coming?" another sportswriter asked as we descended in an elevator at Kenan Stadium following Virginia's first victory of the football season.

"Should have," I replied. "After all, it's October, isn't it?"

Al Groh has been called a lot of things lately, almost none of them complimentary, but this week his critics might consider backing off "Mr. October."

Facetiously or not, Groh once again deserves the sobriquet after his team flattened North Carolina 16-3.

For Virginia football, October is Grohing season. You'd think the touts who made U.Va. a nearly two-touchdown underdog against Carolina would have gotten the message by now. Last year's team won only five games, but four came in succession during October.

Saturday's victory stopped a seven-game losing streak stretching to last season, and continued U.Va.'s mastery of the Tar Heels.

North Carolina is good for whatever ails Cavalier football teams. This was U.Va.'s fourth victory in a row over the Tar Heels and seventh in the last eight meetings.

Groh has taken over as defensive coordinator this season, but when asked about the schemes that allowed Cavalier players to penetrate Carolina's backfield almost at will, he shrugged and said, "Usually when that happens, they just beat blocks."

U.Va. did a lot of that. The defense ravaged a mediocre North Carolina offensive line further weakened by injury to keep the Heels pinned down almost all afternoon, limiting them to 39 yards rushing.

It's no surprise that U.Va.'s offense sputtered, even with Mikell Simpson running for 100 yards, but the defense was so dominant, at least some of the Cavaliers felt comfortable with a 6-0 halftime lead.

"We came into the locker room," said defensive end Nate Collins, "and told our offense that that was enough. We'd handle the rest. I felt like our defense was in sync today."

Asked for the key to manhandling Carolina's offense, Collins said, "just being relentless."

With the score 9-3 in the fourth quarter, Collins helped break open the game when he engulfed quarterback T.J. Yates as he was in the act of throwing, resulting in a short, high, fluttering pass that was intercepted at the Carolina 42 by a diving Chase Minnifield. The Cavaliers scored moments later on Simpson's 8-yard burst up the middle.

For the first time this season, U.Va.'s players could share a joyous post-game locker room.

"I'm very happy they can enjoy a moment like this," said Groh. "They earned every part of it."

Not that U.Va.'s problems won't reoccur. While previous Groh teams have featured sturdy defenses, unreliable offenses like this year's model usually present the biggest issues.

The victory, though, at least allowed Groh to add a positive spin to an ugly start that has people pushing him out the door again. Mr. October is back.

"As the season evolves," he said, "we learn more and more about our team. The players have a better sense of who they need to be."

Without a game last Saturday, Virginia enjoyed the luxury of two weeks to prepare for Carolina. It was time spent, too, adapting to a new psychological approach.

The 0-3 start, Collins said, was forgotten, because "there were no ACC games."

Now that the conference season is under way, "we still have things to play for," he said. "I think everybody knows that and now we're going to get the ball rolling."

The Cavaliers avoided adding another dubious footnote to history: the program's first 0-4 start since 1982. Now, said Groh, "We want to make sure this isn't just a one week celebration."

Potentially, then, the most encouraging news for U.Va. and Mr. October is that they play four more games this month.
 

Cavaliers turn over new leaf
The month of October and the North Carolina Tar Heels are once again the cure to what ails UVa.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- If Virginia football has fallen on hard times, you can't prove it by North Carolina.

Previously winless UVa came to Kenan Stadium as a 12 12-point underdog Saturday and emerged with a 16-3 victory over a UNC team that earlier had been ranked for four consecutive weeks.

The Cavaliers, meanwhile, had seen their losing streak extend to seven games over two seasons.

"A lot of people have been trying to stick in a fork in you," sideline reporter Mike Hogewood told UVa coach Al Groh after the game.

"We're tough to stick a fork in," Groh told him.

Especially in October. Especially against Carolina.

UVa has now won seven of its last eight meetings with the Tar Heels, three of them in Chapel Hill.

"We knew we could play with this team," said Collins, a fourth-year senior who has never lost to the Tar Heels. "We came down here with a chip on our shoulder."

Collins knocked down a late two-point pass attempt here in 2007, when the Cavaliers prevailed 22-20, and he had another big play Saturday.

With Virginia clinging to a 9-3 lead, Collins deflected a T.J. Yates pass attempt high into the air and teammate Chase Minnifield's interception gave possession to the Cavaliers at the North Carolina 32-yard line with 9:22 remaining.

Fifth-year senior Mikell Simpson capped off a seven-play drive by scoring the only touchdown of the game on an 8-yard run with 5:49 remaining.

UVa sealed the win when another fifth-year player, Chris Cook, intercepted Yates at the Carolina 48 with 2:50 left.

For the first time in nine games, Virginia (1-3, 1-0 ACC) did not have a turnover, but it wasn't just a matter of not making mistakes.

The Cavaliers outgained the Tar Heels 254-174 and had 16 first downs, compared to nine for the Tar Heels, who had the ball for seven fewer minutes.

North Carolina (3-2, 0-2) was coming off a 24-7 loss at Georgia Tech in which the Yellow Jackets had held UNC to 154 yards.

Entering Saturday's game, Carolina was ranked 106th out of 120 Division I-A teams in total offense and Virginia was 111th.

Those numbers conjure up memories of the 2005 game between the teams, won by the Tar Heels 7-5.

Virginia has scored a total of two touchdowns in its last three trips to Chapel Hill and come away with two victories and a two-point loss.

UVa's Chris Gould kicked five field goals in the 2007 game between the teams and sophomore Rob Randolph had three field goals Saturday -- from 36, 38 and 43 yards.

Randolph is 5-for-5 this season and 8-for-9 since assuming field-goal duties in the seventh game of his true freshman season in 2008.

"He really hasn't had to make too many pressure kicks," Groh said. "Today, he really stepped up."

Randolph wasn't alone.

Sophomore defensive end Matt Conrath deflected three passes, Collins and sophomore Zane Parr each had a sack, and redshirt freshman linebacker Steve Greer may have set the tone by stopping Carolina running back Shaun Draughn for two-yard losses on each of the first two plays from scrimmage.

"He had a pretty good model to follow," said Groh, referring to Greer's 2008 apprenticeship under Jon Copper. "We've got to give a shout-out to Jon from a distance."

The defense, which starts six sophomores and a redshirt freshman, had not been atrocious in the first three games. The Cavaliers hadn't given up close to 400 yards in a game but couldn't compensate for an offense that didn't have a 100-yard rusher for the season, much less a single game.

Simpson took care of that, finishing with 20 carries for 100 yards, his first 100-yard rushing game since the 2007 Gator Bowl.

On Friday night, the Cavaliers watched film of a 2007 game at Maryland, where the Cavaliers rallied for an 18-17 victory on a night when Simpson accounted for 271 all-purpose yards -- 119 on the ground and 152 on 13 pass receptions.

"It inspired me a lot," said Simpson, who had four receptions for a team-high 45 yards.

Almost overlooked was quarterback Jameel Sewell, who missed a series after taking a blow to the head in the second quarter, but went on to finish 13-of-24 for 136 yards.

Sewell was the victim of four sacks, three of them at the hands of Carolina sophomore wunderkind Robert Quinn, but his 12-yard run on a third-and-3 gave Virginia a first-and-goal on the play before Simpson's touchdown run.

The highlight for Groh was returning to the locker room after the game and seeing three months of preparation and effort be rewarded by five or six minutes of extreme satisfaction.

"It's a players' game," said Groh, whose team is 10-1 in October since 2007, "and they earned every part of it."
 

Cavs take 'big steps'
By Jay Edwards
Correspondent
October 4, 2009

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - For the last two weeks, the Virginia football team got a chance to look at itself in the mirror.

Saturday afternoon, for the first time in seven games, the Cavaliers actually liked what they saw as Virginia won for the first time since October 2008, beating North Carolina 16-3 at Kenan Stadium.

"I think (the bye week) allowed us an appreciable amount of time to access who we are and who we need to be," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "It allowed to look in the mirror very hard."

After a dismal 0-3 start, including a home loss to William and Mary, it looked like Virginia (1-3, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) might produce more of the same disappointing results, as both teams trudged through the first quarter with only 41 yards of total offense apiece.

But the Cavaliers began to began to show signs of life in the second quarter and looked like a different team from then on.

Quarterback Jameel Sewell found open receivers. Tailback Mikell Simpson found open holes in the running game. And the Virginia defense, which was surrendering 31 points per game, shut down the North Carolina offense.

"I think the players got a better sense of who they need to be, and what it takes to win," Groh said. "We took a lot of big steps forward (today)."

The Cavaliers offense got started slowly, producing only two field goals and six points in the first half with Robert Randolph connecting from 36 yards out early in the second quarter then from 38 yards out as time expired in the first half.

"(Randolph) really stepped up today," Groh said.

But while the offense wasn't clicking, the Virginia defense was dominant in the first 30 minutes allowing just 67 yards of total offense including just nine yards on the ground.

The third quarter was more of the same as Virginia's defense continued to corral the Tar Heels offense. But the Virginia offense could not get in the end zone as both teams traded field goals to make it 9-3 going into the final quarter.

The game didn't completely turn in Virginia's favor until defense took matters into its own hands and created its own luck when senior nose tackle Nate Collins crushed North Carolina quarterback T.J. Yates, sending the ball spiraling straight up in the air. Sophomore cornerback Chase Minnifield was there to receive the deflection, giving the Cavaliers the ball at the North Carolina 42 with 10:14 to play.

"We knew we had to make a big play," Collins said of the Virginia defense, which gave up only 174 yards of total offense for the game, including 39 yards rushing. "We finally got one in the (fourth quarter) and it really changed the game."

One pass, two Sewell and four Simpson runs later, the Cavaliers got their first touchdown of the game when Simpson burst up the middle barely touched for on an eight-yard touchdown run, giving Virginia a 16-3 lead with 5:49 left in the game.

Simpson, who had only 13 carries coming into the game, was most of the Virginia offense, rushing for 100 yards on 20 carries while catching four passes for 45 yards.

"Being able to run the ball the way we did was important," Groh said. "(Mikell) really grinded it out pretty good today. (He, like) a lot of players looked like they had in the past today."

The Cavaliers won their fourth straight against North Carolina (3-2, 0-2), and have now won 10 of the last 12 contests against UNC. But, Groh, who is 7-2 against North Carolina is his career at Virginia, says he doesn't put much stock in it.

"For me, it's just the 2009 game against them," Groh said of the history of the rivalry. "The past doesn't mean anything."

Virginia began a new phase of its season, now 1-0 in ACC play.

"It's hard to describe how we feel right now," Sewell said of the win. "It's an amazing feeling, and it's a feeling we want to feel again."
 

Groh does it again
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Of course, they won. Of course, their defense dominated. Of course, Nate Collins nailed the North Carolina quarterback as he was throwing, and of course, the ball popped high in the air and soared for what seemed like hours, and of course, Chase Minnifield dove in to pick it.

This wasn't a matter of if or even how. Virginia's 16-3 victory over North Carolina was as predictable as an "OB" sticker on an SUV.

Why? Because it was October, and it was Al Groh, and it was crisis time in Charlottesville. Which can only mean one thing: A celebration was about to ensue in the Cavaliers locker room.

"Who's to say how it's going to go every week?" Groh said.

Ha! Ha! Good one, Al. Here's who: We are. All of us. Any of us who've followed your program out of passion or profession could see this coming. I picked UVa in the Fearless Forecasters this week, and I did it with zero reservations, even as Vegas made the winless Cavaliers 13-point underdogs. I'm not saying that to brag, because my Forecasters record is nothing to brag about; I would just like to point out that I am not a helpless monkey. This was a system play if there ever was one.

Groh has become the predictable husband of 20 years. So maybe he forgets to pick up the kids from soccer practice and makes a mess of the house 363 days a year. But he's always there with a bouquet of roses on the anniversary, always handy with the box of candy on Valentine's Day.

That said, we'll take it. We'll smell the flowers, eat the chocolates and once again start to wonder if, just maybe, this is the time he's really figured it out. The Cavaliers have now won five straight in October, and they're 1-0 in the ACC with Indiana and Maryland up next. Really, is there any reason to believe they can't win one or both of those?

It's undeniable that the UVa players still believe in Groh. How that is possible when everybody outside the program seems to feel the opposite remains one of the great mysteries of the 21st Century, but it's a fact: These guys don't care what outsiders say.

"I think definitely Coach emphasizes it a lot, keeps it fresh in our heads," freshman linebacker Steve Greer said. "We know as a team that all that matters is what's going on within the team. As long as we know that --and I think we're pretty good at knowing that -- then I think we'll be all right."

The Cavaliers are a lot like a lot of the teams in the middling ACC and throughout the country: When they're not turning the ball over and making special teams gaffes, they actually look pretty decent. On Saturday, their defense looked several notches better than decent.

UVa ravaged UNC's offensive line with scheme -- "They either blitzed or pressured something in the neighborhood of 10 of the first 19 plays of the game," Tar Heels coach Butch Davis said -- and old-fashioned determination.

"Usually, when that happens," Groh said of the constant pressure, "they just beat blocks."

Collins' hit on T.J. Yates -- which led to that critical Minnifield interception -- was the culmination of a nightmarish afternoon for the UNC quarterback. Nose guard Matt Conrath batted down three passes. Collins and Zane Parr each got in for a sack in the first quarter. Three players harassed Yates on a key third-and-9 play in the third quarter, forcing a field goal.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers held the Tar Heels to 39 rushing yards, the lowest output for a UVa opponent since the Richmond game early last year.

"I wouldn't want to go against them," UVa quarterback Jameel Sewell said of the Cavaliers defenders. "Sometimes I have to in practice, but at least I'm not live. Those are some tough guys. They're mentally tough, and they're physically tough."

The offense wasn't great, but it was cautious and disaster free. Mikell Simpson delivered the team's first 100-yard rushing effort. And after 10 turnovers in their first three games, the Cavs didn't give it away once Saturday.

"It's definitely how we wanted to start off ACC play," Conrath said. "Anything can happen for us right now."

Of course it can. And who knows? This time, maybe it will.
 

Cook bright spot for Cavaliers
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Virginia couldn't be certain of its first victory of the 2009 season until fifth-year senior Chris Cook intercepted North Carolina quarterback T.J. Yates with 2:50 remaining.

Nobody had more reason to celebrate than Cook, who hadn't experienced a victory for nearly 23 months.

"Winning is the best feeling ever," said Cook, a cornerback from Lynchburg's Heritage High School, after the Cavaliers' 16-3 triumph. "It almost brought tears to my eyes."

He hadn't participated in a UVa victory since 2007, when he had a 44-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the Cavaliers' 48-0 victory over Miami in the Hurricanes' final game at the Orange Bowl.

Cook later was declared academically ineligible for the Gator Bowl and missed the entire 2008 season while on academic suspension.

Cook regained his starting job this year in the preseason and started the first three games, but he lasted only one play at Southern Mississippi, when he tweaked a groin injury he had sustained in practice earlier in the week.

He had to watch from the sidelines as the Cavaliers blew a 17-point third-quarter lead and lost to the Golden Eagles 37-34.

"I hated not being able to play," he said.

He was on the top of his game Saturday, when he drew much of the responsibility for Carolina freshman Erik Highsmith, who entered the game with a team-high 16 receptions but caught only one ball.

"I wasn't really worried about him," Cook said. "All I did was play my game. When I play my best, I know I can play with anybody."

Cook had a nifty pass break-up on a deep ball that he almost intercepted in the fourth quarter. An equally impressive play came with UVa clinging to a 9-3 lead in the third quarter, when Cook forced Carolina to punt when he stopped receiver Devon Ramsey for no gain on a third-and-1 pass.

Just how much would Cook and fellow fifth-year senior Mikell Simpson have helped against Southern Miss?

"I think Chris answered that question better than I could," said head coach Al Groh, implying that Cook's play spoke for itself. "He's one of our very best players."

Simpson was inadvertently kicked in the shin in practice before the Southern Miss trip, requiring stitches. He only played in the last two series, when the Cavaliers needed a receiver out of the backfield, and did not have a rushing attempt.

Simpson had 153 all-purpose yards Saturday, including 20 carries for 100 yards and one touchdown.

"And, don't forget Vic Hall," said fifth-year senior quarterback Jameel Sewell, ticking off classmates who missed the Southern Mississippi game.

The loss in Hattiesburg, Miss., left the Cavaliers with an 0-3 record and seven straight losses over two seasons.

Given the circumstances, Cook wasn't sure that Virginia's win Saturday wasn't the most meaningful of his career.

"I'd say it is," he said. "First because it was such a long time coming, and also because it was my first as a captain.

"When we were losing, we heard all the boos. All we had was ourselves, but we have a great bond on this team. We hate the way the season started, but we can't do anything about that now."

Returning to action

Hall, Virginia's starting quarterback in the opening game, played for the first time since suffering a hip injury Sept. 3 and saw playing time at slot receiver, quarterback and safety.

Hall actually started the game at receiver, catching one pass for six yards. He entered the game as a safety in the Cavaliers' nickel package and also took one snap at quarterback in what is commonly described as a "wildcat" formation. He was tackled for a two-yard loss.

■The Cavaliers learned during pregame warmups that sophomore safety Rodney McLeod would not be able to play as the result of a knee injury. Fifth-year senior Brandon Woods got the start, only the fourth of his career, and frequently was around the ball as friends and family from Durham, N.C., looked on.
An explanation

An apparent 20-yard touchdown pass from Sewell to Kris Burd before the half was nullified when the Cavaliers were penalized for having an ineligible receiver downfield.

Groh said the Cavaliers were guilty of not having enough players on the line of scrimmage, but ACC supervisor of officials Doug Rhoads said that he was given another version of the infraction.

Rhoads said it was his understanding that a Virginia wide receiver, identified by one official as Javaris Brown, lined up next to the Virginia tight end. As a result, the tight end no longer was eligible. If Brown had lined up just one step off the line of scrimmage, the tight end would have been eligible to go downfield.

Shirts are burning

Groh used four true freshmen for the first time, including Drew Jarrett, who kicked the extra point after Virginia's touchdown with 5:49 remaining.

Sophomore Rob Randolph had kicked three field goals by that point but Groh said it was a good spot for Jarrett to get some experience.

Also playing for the first time were defensive backs Lovante Battle, Javanti Sparrow and Corey Lillard -- all on special teams.

Groh has used a total of 10 true freshmen.

Virginia next week

The Cavaliers (1-3 , 0-1 ACC) return to Charlottesville for a homecoming date with Indiana at 3:30 p.m. in a game that will be televised by ESPN360. com. The Hoosiers (3-1) entertained Ohio State at 7 p.m. Saturday.
 

2-year-old game inspired U.Va. win
By Jay Edwards
Correspondent
October 4, 2009

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Mikell Simpson needed to remember the player he had been in the past. Friday night, he and the entire Virginia team watched the fourth quarter of their 2007 16-15 comeback win over Maryland, in which he exploded for 271 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.

"(Watching) that game last night inspired me a lot, just to see what I can do and what I know I can do," Simpson said. "I felt better out there than I have felt in a long time."

Every inch of Simpson's 100 yards on 20 carries, including his game-clinching touchdown with 5:49 left in the fourth quarter, felt good to the Cavaliers. Coming into the game against North Carolina, the Virginia rushing attack had been almost nonexistent, producing only 266 yards on the ground in three games. In fact, no Virginia runner had gained more individually than 54 yards that Vic Hall had against William and Mary, and quarterback Jameel Sewell led the team with 98 rushing yards on the season.

"It definitely brought back memories to see 'Juice' (Simpson's nickname) run the way he did," Simpson said. "I think we all came out with something to prove, and I think the offensive line took it personally."

Virginia head coach Al Groh agreed with his players.

"Being able to run the ball effectively was huge for us," Groh said. " I think a lot of players got a better sense of who they need to be."

Simpson, who earned his third 100-yard rushing game of his career, had his best effort since a career-best 170 yards outburst against Texas Tech in the 2008 Gator Bowl. Simpson also added four catches for 45 yards.

Simpson, whose 2008 season was cut short by injury, had also been stymied this year having only 13 carries going into Saturday's game.

"This wasn't really in the game plan," Simpson said, of his 20 carries. "I think it was just dictated by the flow of what happened. But I'll take it. It feels really good, just to get a win."
 

Cavaliers need their quarterback versatility
By Dave Fairbank
| 247-4637
October 4, 2009

Virginia used all three quarterbacks, though as much out of necessity as desire. Jameel Sewell went most of the way, but was knocked wobbly in the second quarter and missed a series.

Marc Verica filled in briefly, completing three passes. Vic Hall played one snap at quarterback to begin the second half. He split time between offense and defense, lining up at wide receiver occasionally and playing safety.

Hall wasn't the least bit disappointed at not getting more snaps from center.

"We have some stability at quarterback right now," Hall said. "I wouldn't see why you'd fix something that's not broken."

Kicking
Sophomore kicker Robert Randolph was 3-for-3 on field-goal attempts, including a career-long 43-yarder. All three kicks were clean and true.

"He really hasn't had to make too many pressure kicks that determine games, and he did today," head coach Al Groh said. "Since Robert is pretty new to be on the field, we learn more and more about him, and clearly we learned some pretty positive things today."

Penalties
North Carolina entered the game averaging a shade more than four penalties for 31.5 yards per game. By midway through the second quarter, the Tar Heels were flagged for 40 yards in penalties. Two offensive penalties led to punts, one on defense contributed to Virginia's first field goal. UNC ended with 55 yards in penalties. The Cavaliers were penalized seven times for 54 yards.

On deck
The Cavaliers are hosts to Indiana in their final non-conference game. The Hoosiers (3-2) have lost two in a row (Michigan, Ohio State) after opening with three non-conference wins.
 

Heels' successive flops cause for concernArticle
BY CAULTON TUDOR - STAFF WRITER

 A Champs Bowl dude was in the house Saturday at Kenan Stadium.

That’s the late-December game in Orlando which usually winds up getting a couple of 7-5, maybe 8-4, teams from the ACC and the Big Ten.

But based on everything that unfolded in Virginia’s 16-3 win over North Carolina, the scouting trip to Chapel Hill may have been a waste of money. There’s no compelling reason to assume either team will escape this football season with more wins than losses.

In Virginia’s case, that’s not unexpected. The Cavaliers began amid low expectations and had lived down to them through three straight losses.

But for Carolina, now 3-2 after successive flops against Georgia Tech and Virginia, the season is turning into into the sort of embarrassing shock that led fans to boo head coach Butch Davis and his offensive staff during both halves Saturday.

Those boos, though limited to isolated sections, were richly deserved, too.

Sure, there have been some pivotal injuries. Sure again, several key offensive players are inexperienced.

But bottom line - as Davis puts things occasionally - there’s no reason in the world for Carolina failing to score a touchdown (or even seriously threaten) against a winless visiting team that had given up 26 points to William & Mary, 30 to Texas Christian and 37 to Southern Miss -- the Southern Miss team that Alabama-Birmingham routed a couple of days ago.

Carolina’s offense reeked from the word “hike.” The blockers were confused and smothered by a 3-4 defense UVa has been running all season but apparently struck the Tar Heels as something from deep outer space.

Since no one could block, no one could run, although back-up Ryan Houston was big and mad enough to average 5.3 yards on three carries through sheer size and determination.

Houston didn’t have a big role in the game plan, but at least he got on the field. The same can’t be said for substitute quarterbacks Mike Paulus and Branden Hanson, who watched along with everyone else as T.J. Yates struggled yet again.

Yates said after the game that he didn’t think Davis and offensive coordinator John Shoop would turn to a reliever. Yates was right.

“We’re in the situation where you sometimes have to play your way through some bad performances,” Davis said. “[Yates] didn’t play as well as we’d have liked for him to last week at Georgia Tech. He hit some throws today, but he was under duress ... They blitzed or pressured something in the neighborhood of 10 of the first 19 plays.”

Yates, an experienced junior, threw for 135 yards and was intercepted twice, running his season total in that department to seven. That he’s a bright, tough, determined youngster who’s dedicated to the program isn’t in doubt. But it’s equally clear that Yates, in three of the five games, has floundered. Whether it’s his fault or not, the rest of the offense has followed suit.

The overriding story of North Carolina football, dating back to the early 1950s, has been an eternal search for quality quarterbacking. It’s a problem that’s befuddled every coach from Jim Tatum to Davis and led directly to the eventual release of some.

Davis is beginning to track in a dangerous direction on that front, too. The economy is tight and his contract is a big, long one. But at a time when the school is planning yet another multi-million stadium expansion, nothing can undercut program interest more than a sterile offense.

Davis and Shoop obviously are committed to Yates. That much was apparent a year ago when they benched hot-handed Cam Sexton for Yates, who was returning from injury, going into a game at Kenan against N.C. State. The result was a 41-10 disaster that left both camps howling - one in protest, the other in delight - and opened the door for Sexton to transfer out of the program.

The coaches are getting paid fortunes to make the best possible decisions for the program. They think Yates is the way to go, and maybe they’re correct. But for now, it’s just not working well enough to rule out alternative measures.

 

One-sided series tough to explain
Dave Fairbank
October 4, 2009

Sometimes dominance is easy to recognize. Tiger Woods from 1999-2002. Ronald Reagan in 1984. Microsoft all day, every day. Other times, it's less apparent. Take the Virginia-North Carolina football rivalry.

After the Cavaliers' 16-3 win muddied a postcard-perfect Saturday matinee for the Carolina blues at Kenan Stadium, Virginia has won four in a row, seven of eight and 10 of 12 in the series.

Looks like dominance. Smells like dominance. Can you call it domination, though, when comparable programs bang away at one another year after year and one simply finds ways to win?

Consider that Virginia managed only one touchdown in regulation in each of the past three games versus Carolina and won all three.

"It's toughness," Virginia defensive end Nate Collins explained. "Coach (Al) Groh preaches about toughness all the time and being relentless and making a team crack. I feel like that's what we did."

Virginia logged its first win of the season with defense, special teams and a shade more offense than its Carolina counterparts, who for the second consecutive week accomplished just this side of squat when they had the ball.

In last week's loss to Georgia Tech, the Tar Heels had the ball for only 17:54 and scored one touchdown. Saturday versus the Cavaliers, they had the ball for almost 10 more minutes, gained 20 more yards (174) and finished with four fewer points.

"It's a little bit of a carryover of the same thing from last week," Carolina coach Butch Davis said. "The defense played well enough at times, certainly, to give us a chance to win the game. But it's a team game, and we talk in the locker room all the time … you can't just win one phase of the game. We've got to find a way to win two of the three phases, and I thought our defense fought, they scratched and they kept it to a three-point, a six-point game, for an awfully long time."

The Cavaliers' defense limited Carolina's rushing attack to a net 39 yards and set up in quarterback T.J. Yates' kitchen much of the afternoon. Tailback Shaun Draughn, who gashed the Cavs for 138 yards rushing last season in Charlottesville, finished with just 25 yards Saturday.

The Tar Heels appeared allergic to taking shots downfield in their passing game. Yates' 20 completions netted just 135 yards.

"We were going in knowing that it was going to be on the front seven," said Virginia defensive end Matt Conrath, who batted down three of Yates' passes at the line of scrimmage, "and that they were going to try to run the ball on us, and if we stopped them we'd have a good chance of winning."

Indeed, Saturday's grindfest was the kind of day where folks cheered for first downs, punts were scrutinized like poll results, and field goals were precious gems.

The closest thing to a traditional big play came midway through the fourth quarter with the Cavaliers clinging to a 9-3 lead. Collins hit Yates' arm on a throw, altering the trajectory and allowing Chase Minnifield to come up with an interception at the Carolina 42.

The Cavaliers capitalized, scoring the game's only touchdown seven plays later.

In the absence of big plays, smaller plays took center stage: Conrath's knockdowns; quarterback Jameel Sewell covering his own fumble, followed by the first of Robert Randolph's three field goals; back-to-back Sewell completions for 32 yards after Carolina had cut the lead to 6-3 in the third quarter, which led to Randolph's third field goal; Chris Cook's open-field tackle against Devon Ramsay for no gain on third-and-1 late in the third quarter when the Tar Heels tried to mount a comeback; Jared Green's great 9-yard catch of Sewell's poor throw on third-and-4, keeping the touchdown drive alive.

"They had a chance to come back in the second half," Collins said, "but we stood in there and we kept going and we kept pushing and kept fighting and we didn't crack in the end, and that was the difference."

Though the Cavaliers were winless, they showed more life in their most recent loss at Southern Miss than in either of their first two games. With two weeks to prepare for their ACC rivals, did Groh foresee a performance such as Saturday's?

"I don't look at things that way," he said, "I just coach the team. Who's to say how it's going to go every week? What I could see is that the players were well prepared."

Plus, it was North Carolina on the other sideline, which makes it as close to a done deal as it gets for Virginia these days.
 

Healed by the Heels
By Jay Jenkins
Published: October 4, 2009
 
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Chris Cook strutted across the sun-drenched grass inside North Carolina’s Kenan Stadium with his hands stretched out.

They stayed lifted for 20 yards.

It was a symbolic gesture as finally, Virginia had won a football game — something that had not transpired in almost a full calendar year.

Behind three field goals, a late touchdown and an inspired defensive performance, the Cavaliers continued their dominance of North Carolina by recording a 16-3 upset victory.

“I don’t know what to say,” said Cook, who sat out the 2008 season while on academic suspension. “It is our first win since I have been back and the first win since last year.

“I almost cried in the locker room when we came in. It just felt amazing. I didn’t want the moment to end.”

Virginia, which became the last program from a BCS conference to win this year, improved to 1-3 overall, which coach Al Groh said gave the players a “sense of satisfaction” for the first time since late October last year.

“That is what it is all about,” Groh said. “We are very pleased for them that they could do that, and they earned every part of it.

“It was a players’ game and they earned every part of it.”

More importantly, the Cavaliers are 1-0 in the ACC.

“We kept saying this week that winning our first league game was all that mattered,” said Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell, who passed for 136 yards. “That mentality worked.”

Registering the well-timed victory did not come with ease for the Cavaliers.

Virginia (1-3) struggled offensively early, earning two first downs in the first quarter and settling for a pair of field goals in the second quarter from sophomore Robert Randolph.

The first, a 36-yard attempt with 12:03 left in the first, capped a 10-play drive that stalled after the Cavaliers reached the UNC 19.

After Sewell left the game for an offensive series following a hit that left him woozy, the southpaw returned to lead an 11-play, 59-yard drive that led to a 38-yard field goal from Randolph as the first half expired.

The drive could have produced a touchdown as Sewell threw a 20-yard spiral to Kris Burd, but the play was negated by a penalty for an illegal man downfield.

“The placement of the receivers was such that we didn’t have enough guys on the line of scrimmage,” Groh said.

North Carolina (3-2, 0-2 ACC), which mustered only 67 yards on 25 first-half plays, scored its lone points on its opening drive of the third quarter.

UNC quarterback T.J. Yates, who finished with 135 yards on 20-of-36 passing, used short passes to move the Tar Heels to the Virginia 22, but consecutive incomplete attempts netted only a 39-yard field goal from Casey Barth with 5:09 left in the third.

“We thought we got a little bit of momentum coming out of the locker room,” UNC coach Butch Davis said. “We moved the ball, we got a few first downs, and ultimately had to settle for a field goal.”

Leading 6-3, Virginia’s recent pattern was to fold. That was the second-half problem in losses to William & Mary and Southern Mississippi.

Yet this time, Virginia answered as Sewell connected with Burd for a 14-yard pass and another to Javaris Brown for 16 yards that moved the ball into Tar Heel territory.

It led to yet another field goal from Randolph with 1:36 left in the third quarter. The final kick, a 43-yarder, was the longest of his career and spotted the Cavaliers a 9-3 advantage.

“I really tried to block it all out,” said Randolph of the pressure situation he faced in a low-scoring affair. “I just tried to focus on that kick, on that particular moment, not trying to look around at the stands or at the scoreboard.

“I just really tried to keep everything the same no matter what was going on.”

Virginia’s defense continued to dominate into the fourth quarter, forcing three consecutive three-and-out situations for the Tar Heels.

“It’s very frustrating when [our offense] is going three-and-out and we’re back on the field or they’re turning the ball over and we’re back on the field,” said UNC defensive end Robert Quinn, who had a career-best four sacks. “But it’s a team game and I’m not trying to play the blame game, but the offense has got to help us.”

That was not the case. In fact, the first nine plays that UNC ran after Randolph’s final field goal netted just 13 total yards.

Set up by an interception from cornerback Chase Minnifield, Virginia tacked on a touchdown with 5:49 left as tailback Mikell Simpson carried UNC free safety Melvin Williams into the end zone on an 8-yard run.

Leading 16-3 at such a late junction changed the complexion of the game in the Cavaliers’ favor, Groh said.

“It was a different kind of two-score game,” he said. “It probably would have been the case anyway, but it certainly dictated from that point on that way on for us, defensively, it was going to be a dime [defense] game.

“We had played very well in it throughout the game, so it allowed us to finish the game in the dime.”

The alignment eventually resulted in Cook’s second interception of the season, one that led to a massive celebration on Virginia’s sideline with 2:50 remaining.

“It feels great. It was something that we truly needed,” defensive end Nate Collins said. “Winning an ACC game first is a big thing for us.

“It has been a while since we have won and to win here at North Carolina … coach Groh preaches about this being the oldest rivalry in the South, and for us to come down here and get this win the way we did, I think it is special for the team.

“That is going to help the team move forward and do the things that we need to do in the future.”

For the game, Virginia finished with 254 yards of total offense and did not commit a turnover.

Simpson paced the offense with 20 carries for 100 yards rushing and another 45 on three receptions.

The Cavaliers return to action on Saturday at home against Indiana at 3:30 p.m. It will mark the final non-conference game of the season for UVa.
 

Midweek meeting leads to role change for UVa utilityman Hall
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: October 4, 2009

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Everyone knew that Vic Hall was perhaps the ultimate team guy well before this season started, but his selfless style broke new barriers this week in Virginia’s preparation for the North Carolina game.

Coming back from a hip injury that kept him out since the season opener, Hall hadn’t played in a month. Meanwhile, Jameel Sewell had settled in at quarterback and had exhibited flashes of the form that helped him lead the Cavaliers to a rare nine-win season and a Gator Bowl appearance two years ago.

So, with Hall back healthy again, what was going to happen in the quarterback spot?

Fans had clamored for Hall to get a shot at the job since his record-breaking performances at Gretna High School, and he finally got that shot in starting the season at quarterback against William & Mary, the game in which he was injured. He had spent the previous years at cornerback, laboring mostly in obscurity in a position where he wasn’t totally comfortable.

So, as the story goes, Hall, being the humble, team guy that he is, came into coach Al Groh’s office early last week for a heart-to-heart.

Hall told Groh that he believed that Jameel deserved to be Virginia’s quarterback and that he would do anything and everything possible to help the team in any way he could.

Groh was blown away by Hall’s visit.

In fact, Groh was so astonished and felt so much emotion for the fifth-year senior’s leadership that the coach knew he still had to find a way to get this player on the field as much as possible.

“I told Vic, ‘We’re going to find ways to keep you tired and dirty,’” Groh said.

So, when the Cavs trotted out onto the turf and Kenan Stadium on Saturday as a two touchdown underdog to the then-3-1 Tar Heels, Hall was everywhere. He wasn’t back in top-notch condition, but the effort was there.

He played safety in some of Virginia’s passing down situations, he lined up in the “Hoo Cat” formation and ran the ball once (but had no blocking and lost four yards), he caught a pass for six yards and he threw a pass to Sewell that covered 22 yards that was negated by an illegal-procedure call on receiver Dontrelle Inman.

Oh, and yes, he almost sacked Carolina quarterback T.J. Yates on a first-quarter blitz, slowing down Yates enough for big Nate Collins to get his mitts on the Tar Heels passer.

Hall had impressed Groh and the UVa coaching staff working at safety and receiver in practice during the week. While the captain’s production didn’t necessarily match the effort in Saturday’s 16-3 upset over Carolina, it was a tune-up for what we may see from Hall in future games.

“I just felt like if it’s not broke, then don’t fix it,” Hall said after the game about removing himself from the quarterback competition. “I felt like Jameel looked great at quarterback and I didn’t see any need for us to keep switching in and out.

“It’s not about me. It’s always about Virginia,” Hall added. “Sitting back and not playing, I could see that [Sewell] was really getting comfortable. And I said to myself, ‘Hey, that’s our quarterback.’ I just felt like it was better for Jameel because he’s been playing two games and was playing well. Switching in and out, you can’t get comfortable. He’s doing a great job, so why switch?”

Meanwhile, Virginia’s coaches did things to indeed get Hall “tired and dirty.”

The “Hoo Cat” and receiver plays were already schemes in the offense and Hall was just plugged into them, but he said the throwback to Sewell was specifically drawn up for the Carolina game. The penalty was unfortunate because the play would have given the Cavaliers a first down at the UNC 12-yard line in a then scoreless game.

UVa went on to kick a field goal for a 3-0 lead.

“Hey, that’s football,” Hall said.

So, Hall definitely got dirty and he also got tired, well sort of. He suffered some leg cramps late in the game from being in less that perfect condition after the three-week layoff. Well, he did get on the field for one play against TCU the week after the injury, to hold on a field goal attempt, but never touched the ball, which was snapped over his head.

“That’s cool for me,” Hall said of the work. “Whatever position I can play, I’ll play it the whole game as long as my body holds up.”

For Hall, it was just great getting back onto the field.

“Man, that meant a lot,” he said. “Being out for two weeks and just sitting back and watching my team practice and play was something that was hard for me. It was killing me. Seeing how much I love the game and how much I missed being out there with my teammates, just being out there playing was huge for me. It didn’t matter what I did or where I played, I just wanted to be out there.”

Being the kind of kid he is, Hall wouldn’t even take credit for being back on the field.

“The trainers and strength coaches did a great job of giving me exercises that would strengthen me where I was injured,” Hall said. “I’m just trying to get back in good game condition again.”

When that happens, then watch out. Hall could become a terror ... only at somewhere other than quarterback.
 

UVa win is worth the wait
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: October 4, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.

They call it the South’s Oldest Rivalry — 114 meetings in the border war between Virginia and North Carolina, predating the leatherheads of gridirons past.

Al Groh probably wishes he could schedule the Tar Heels a few times each season. Spoofing an old Saturday Night Live routine, “Carolina has been very, very good to me.”

Sparked by a strong defensive effort, a little more gritty running game and no special teams snafus, Groh’s Cavaliers, a two-touchdown underdog, found a way to beat the Heels on the road on Saturday, pulling out a 16-3 victory to end nearly a year of winless frustration. Virginia had not won a football game since the last week of October in 2008.

What the doctor ordered

Groh knows how to beat Carolina, boosting his record to 7-2 against the blue shirts during his era at Virginia.

More importantly, the upset, at least temporarily, lifted the dark cloud that had been shadowing the Cavaliers for nearly a year, as they posted a 1-0 record in the ACC, only a half-game behind Coastal Division leader Virginia Tech.

In a game that was reminiscent of how Virginia won nine games two seasons ago, the Cavaliers prevailed with good defense.

They knew going in that if they could control Carolina’s injury-riddled offensive line and shut down UNC freshman wide receiver Erik Highsmith, then they stood a good chance of winning. Groh’s defense did just that, limiting the Tar Heels to three points, the fewest during the 30-game era under coach Butch Davis.

Defense carries the day

The Cavs received stout performances from several defensive players as they held UNC to nine first downs, the fewest by a UVa opponent since the Orange Bowl blowout of Miami in 2007. Virginia stonewalled an already anemic Carolina rushing game, surrendering a meager 39 yards of Kenan Stadium real estate, fewest by a UVa foe since FCS champion Richmond’s 19 yards last season.

“I feel like we let the team down at Southern Miss,” said senior cornerback Chris Cook of the 37-34 road loss two weeks ago. “Today, for us to only give up three points, I don’t even know what to say. I don’t have words for that. It’s a good day.”

Cook’s interception with 2:50 play sealed the deal as the Cavaliers milked the clock to set off a wild locker-room celebration, the first one in a long, long time. Sophomore corner Chase Minnifield also added a pick and UVa’s special teams came up with a turnover off a rugby-style punt that bounced off a Tar Heels player.

For once, the ball bounced Virginia’s way.

“I think most of you heard me say before the week started that the worst mistake anybody could make is look at Virginia as an 0-3 team,” said Davis, whose team dropped to 3-2 and 0-2 in the ACC. “The one thing [Virginia] did in the previous games that they didn’t do today is turn the ball over.”

Even though Cavaliers quarterback Jameel Sewell was running for his life most of the afternoon, and had his bell rung to the degree he came out for a series early in the second quarter, he didn’t throw an interception or fumble. He answered the bell and followed the game plan, establishing an improved running game that boasted 100-yard rusher Mikell Simpson, who showed flashes of his 2007 season performance.

While the offense did its part, the defense was solid all day long. The Tar Heels only crossed the 50-yard line three times, with the deepest penetration reaching UVa’s 22-yard line as the Cavaliers’ defense held them to a field goal.

“We knew it was going to be on the front seven today and that Carolina was going to try to run the ball on us,” said UVa defensive end Matt Conrath, who batted down three passes at the line of scrimmage and made four tackles. “If we stopped them, we knew we’d have a good chance of winning.”

Groh and linebackers coach Bob Trott came up with some new wrinkles on defense to confuse UNC’s line and quarterback T.J. Yates. Virginia blitzed early and often with newly-schemed blitzes that they had not shown before and caught Yates off guard.

Carolina converted only 4 of 16 third down opportunities and mustered little offensive punch for the second straight week. Highsmith, who had accounted for practically all of Carolina’s offense with six catches for 107 yards against Georgia Tech last week, was kept quiet most of the afternoon.

The rookie receiver had two catches for 11 yards and didn’t make his first grab until 4:45 remained in the game.

Groh’s plan was to use his big, physical corners, Chris Cook (6-foot-2, 210 pounds) and Ras-I Dowling (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) to stuff Highsmith at the line of scrimmage and disrupt his routes to the point where he was ineffective.

So, if Saturday really represented a new season, a breath of fresh air for the previously winless Wahoos, then what’s next?

“We know the first three games didn’t go out way but we still have something to play for and that was the big message for the past two weeks,” said defensive end Nate Collins, who had a sack and a pressure in the game. “We’re 1-0 in the ACC now and we’ve got the ball rolling.”

The Big Ten’s Indiana comes to Charlottesville next Saturday, walking into what must be a disturbing trend for UVa opponents.

The Cavaliers have now won 10 of their last 11 games in October, including a 4-0 mark last year.

Perhaps we should start calling Groh “Mr. October.”

Then we’ll start working on November.
 

Cavs continue to ride special-teams roller coaster
By Jay Jenkins
Published: October 4, 2009

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — There were obvious highs.

There were unforgettable lows.

For Virginia special teams coach Ron Prince, it was just another head-scratching day at the office from both ends of the spectrum.

While placekicker Robert Randolph shined with a career-best day, nailing three field goals, and Chase Minnifield showcased versatility in the return game during the Cavaliers’ 16-3 win over North Carolina, Virginia coach Al Groh still desires an increased level of production.

Groh said the operation was “not spectacular, but more solid,” when asked about the improvements made on special teams.

The punting game, while it provided a turnover on a rugby-style kick, drew the harshest words.

Jimmy Howell finished with nine punts for an average of 40.8 yards, but had three touchbacks and another returned for 28 yards.

“We had two punts there that really, frankly, left a lot to be desired,” said Groh, noting the loss of field position. “The one that got run back to midfield was supposed to be kicked out of bounds.

“The one that went over to some place in Durham, we were hoping for better ball placement. Overall it was decent but we got a lot of work to do yet.”

Howell said he continues to work on the placement of his short-field punts.

“I am just trying not to kick the ball to where it rolls forward, which really kills our field position,” he admitted. “I apologized to the guys.”

Randolph is now perfect on the season, having made all five of his attempts.

“He really stepped up,” Groh said. “Even at the end of last year when he was the full-time kicker, he really hadn’t had to make too many pressure kicks that determine games. He did today.

“Since Robert is pretty new to being on the field, we are learning more and more about him. Clearly we learned some very positive things today.”

Randolph said he feels more comfortable given his experience and success.

“I have been confident,” he said. “The team has been confident in me. We have been kicking a lot in practice and I have a few kicks under my belt this season.”

Virginia also burned a redshirt on special teams in an odd fashion, trotting out walk-on Drew Jarrett for the game’s lone extra-point attempt.

There was a plan behind the move, according to Groh.

“It was to try to get him broken in,” the coach said. “That’s kind of how we have done with young kickers. We did that with Connor Hughes a few games and got him comfortable with it and then he was able to expand.

“[Jarrett] did a real nice job with it. He made his. So we will see where that goes. Competition is a good thing.”

Jarrett, who did not travel to Southern Mississippi, said he was aware he would play.

“They told me I was going to be kicking extra points before the game,” he said. “Either way, whether I redshirted or not, I just want to do what is best for the team.

“Whatever coach wants me to do is what I am going to do.”

Throwing up a goose egg

The Cavaliers have played in impressive fashion in the opening quarter for three consecutive contests.

North Carolina (3-2, 0-2) became the third consecutive UVa opponent to fail to score in the first quarter.

The Tar Heels managed only 41 yards and two first downs in the game’s opening 15 minutes.

Masterful Mikell

Entering Saturday’s game, Virginia did not have a player on its team with 100 yards rushing.

That changed.

Senior tailback Mikell Simpson exploded for an even 100 yards as he carried the ball a season-best 20 times.

It was not planned before the contest that Simpson would get that many touches, but Groh had a sense that the tailback had an excellent burst.

“He was the tailback and he was running the ball pretty well and had a good sense for where the openings were,” Groh said. “It was that kind of game and we have had a lot of those kind of games that we have been successful in over here the last few years.”

Behind Simpson’s production, which also included 40 yards receiving, Virginia managed to keep possession for 33:32 in the contest.

It marked third time that Simpson had finished with over 100 yards rushing in a game.

Making debuts

In addition to Jarrett, Virginia employed a handful of players for the first time in their respective careers.

True freshman defensive backs LoVante Battle, Corey Lillard and Javanti Sparrow appeared on special teams, increasing to 10 the number of true first-year players that have seen action.

Wide receiver Dontrelle Inman, who had been out with a broken hand, made his season debut. The junior did not register a catch.

Redshirt freshman Mike Price also got into his first in-game action, logging snaps on a special teams unit.

Extra points

Tight end Colter Phillips made the first start of his career as Virginia employed two tight ends. … Cornerback Mike Parker, who had been injured, returned to action. … Groh said safety Rodney McLeod was deemed out for the UNC game after pre-game drills. … The Cavaliers won for the fifth straight time in October. They have also won 10 of 11 in the middle month of the season. … UNC managed just nine first downs in the game, the lowest total allowed by a Virginia defense since a shutout win over Miami in 2007.


 

ACC Preview #4 – Virginia
by DBR, October 3rd, 2009 | ACC |
Clemson | State | Georgia Tech | UNC | Maryland | Virginia | Wake Forest | B.C. | Virginia Tech | Florida State | Miami | Duke

After a four-year stretch under Dave Leitao, Virginia finally gave up and gave him the boot. And while we typically don’t like to see coaches fired, in this case, we understand. Leitao was one of the least attractive personalities to come through the ACC in a long time. Tense, high-strung, unable to accept team failure or individual success in a loss, he was unable to win, and more importantly, unable to foster warm human connections. Whether it was his players, the media or his own radio crew, people recoiled from Leitao. We’re sure he has redeeming human qualities, but he never showed them. The overall perception was highly negative.

No.
Name
Pos.
Ht.
Wt.
Yr.

55 Jerome
Meyinsse F/C 6-9 233 Sr.
45 Solomon
Tat G/F 6-5 217 Sr.
4 Calvin
Baker G 6-2 190 Sr.
12 Jamil
Tucker F 6-9 240 Sr.
2 Mustapha
Farrakhan G 6-4 175 Jr.
23 Jeff
Jones G 6-4 190 Jr.
32 Mike
Scott F 6-8 239 Jr.
13 Sammy
Zeglinski G 6-0 182 So.
5 Assane
Sene C 7-0 234 So.
15 Sylven
Landesberg G 6-6 207 So.
1 Jontel
Evans G 5-11 185 Fr.
11 Thomas
Kody G 6-3 183 Fr.
24 Tristan
Spurlock G/F 6-8 217 Fr.

So after they ditched him, they got Tony Bennett, who has set a completely different tone since taking the job.

Bennett came to Virginia from Washington State, where he followed his father, Dick, who made a specialty out of low-scoring games with an intense defensive effort. Largely this was a way to overcome talent gaps. At both Wisconsin and Washington State, he was never able to recruit at an elite level. He developed the pack-line defense to compensate and followed Pete Carrill’s lead with a very deliberate offense.

None of it was glamorous, but he kept up with the big boys and no one much wanted to play him.

Tony’s path has been similar but with key differences. He’s well-schooled in his father’s approach, having played for him as point guard and then working as an assistant coach as well (incidentally, after Washington State, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech all designated Bennett, Sean Sutton and Pat Knight to follow their famous fathers, only Bennett has exceeded expectations). But he also spent time in the NBA, and he knows what it’s like to have a team full of incredible athletic talent.

He won’t have that at Virginia this year. Bennett has hit the recruiting trail hard though, and has already convinced five pretty good players to join him in C-ville: K.T. Harrell Joe Harris, and forwards Akil Mitchell, James Johnson and Will Regan from Christian Laettner’s alma mater.

Virginia hired him as a return to the tried-and-true formula which Terry Holland used, with which Bennett is of course already familiar: hard-nosed defense, no-nonsense offense. It’s what gave them their greatest era in basketball and really their only sustained success.

And while he is capable of delivering that, our suspicion is that he views that as a base, not necessarily a destination. If you played in the NBA, with his background, while you might detest the lack of defensive effort (and often fundamentals), as a coach-in-waiting, we’re pretty sure he would have liked some of those players.

Why not have both? Assuming you can get them.

We’ll have to wait to see how he does on that front as none of his current or future recruits have arrived. What will he find on is current roster?

What we suspect he’ll find is a bunch of kids who are used to being emotionally abused and that his first task will be restoring their spirits.

His best player is going to be Sylven Landesberg. The 6-6 New Yorker had a splendid freshman season, winning Rookie Of The Year in the ACC. He averaged 16.6 ppg and showed some really nice skills and a real knack for getting to the line. He’s not a great defender yet, but then again, that’s Bennett’s specialty. He’ll get better.

He also has an intriguing talent at center in Assane Sene, a seven footer with great potential as a shotblocker. If he can hold down the post, Mike Scott could move to forward, where he might have more success. He’s not that far from averaging double figures in scoring and rebounding.

Big men Jamil Tucker and Jerome Meyinsse have mostly been disappointments, although that could be because of Leitao’s approach. Tucker, who came to Virginia with a reputation for three point shooting, might still prove useful.

The same could be said of Solomon Tat, who was sold by Leitao as a basketball version of Ronnie Lott. He hasn’t lived up to that, although injuries have been a problem. He did crack the starting lineup at the end of the season, and could be a defensive force under Bennett.

The backcourt isn’t entirely wretched – Sidney Lowe would be happy with it for one – but it’s not an elite group, either. Sammy Zeglinski might be right up Bennett’s alley as a point guard. Calvin Baker has been, alternately, a blessing and a frustration, able to help but not at a high enough level to truly make a difference. He has definitely had his moments though, although his unorthodox shot likely drives coaches out of their mind. Jeff Jones and Mustapha Farrakhan have had their moments too, although both have been highly erratic. Again, though, either guy might excel with a fresh approach.

For new players, Virginia offers 5-11 Jontel Evans, a kid with minimal reputation, and 6-8 Tristan Spurlock, who can play guard or forward. Jerry Krause would hate him – he had a thing about long necks, believing that shorter necks were better. Why? Who knows. Spurlock is long, lean and lanky, and that includes his neck.

Obviously Landesberg will start and is the key player. We would expect Spurlock to start, assuming he can master the system, and, one hopes, Sene as well. If he’s ready to step up, then pencil Scott in at forward.

Who will get the point guard spot? Hard to tell, but we’re guessing Zeglinski. That leaves a bench with Meyinsse, Tat, Baker, Tucker, Farrakhan, Jones and Evans.

Really, though, it’s impossible to tell. Whenever a new coach comes in, several things happen, and among the most important are a reassessment of talent and options. So a guy like Jones might end up in favor and Baker might move down the bench. Or that could be reversed. You can’t know until you do.

The other thing which will be really key is seeing just how Bennett rebuilds this team’s heart. Leitao left town widely disliked. Reporters spoke to us, off the record, with disdain for his on-court behavior. Derrick Byars, Gary Forbes, T.J. Bannister, Donte Minter, and Will Harris all left, and Bannister made some veiled comments about strongly disliking his former coach. Mamaday Diane’s father was notably unhappy with how his son was treated, and you have to wonder how much of his deterioration as a player is because of how he was treated.

For those who are still there, it’s a fresh start. That has good and bad qualities, but for Virginia, as a whole, moving on is a major plus. Our guess is that Bennett will do what he was hired to do: he’ll find ways to wring the maximum out of the talent on hand, and he’ll continue to build.

Quite honestly, our initial reaction to his hiring was that he would bore everyone to death, but we’re not so sure about that anymore. With a solid coach and a gorgeous, still-new facility, the pieces are in place for a nice renaissance.

Duke has a tough draw Saturday in Virginia Tech. Though they gave the Hokies a very tough game last season, Virginia Tech is improved and Duke is younger. And until Duke starts generating more wins, fan apathy will continue to be a problem.

Still.

Things are different now. Duke is young, but there is some talent, particularly at skill positions, and there are line prospects on the way. Duke improved a lot against Central last week, too. Still, there’s a big difference between Central and Virginia Tech, and it’s going to be an epic battle against long odds if Duke is to win, not least of all because Tech has a sensational defense. But after last year, at least they know it is possible.