"I've got 15 so far," he said Monday. "I'm still working on it."

Carber is competing with the other five Pennsylvanians on UVa's roster: quarterback Matt Schaub, cornerback Art Thomas, linebacker Rich Bedesem, defensive lineman Braden Campbell and kick returner Marquis Weeks.

As of Monday afternoon, Thomas had procured 15 tickets. Weeks had 12. The others also were on the prowl in the locker room.

"Those guys need to get away from me," linebacker Angelo Crowell said, smiling. "I've already given my tickets away."

All of the Pennsylvania natives were looking forward to playing in Beaver Stadium for the first time. Schaub, who grew up in West Chester -three hours from State College - said he attended four Penn State home games while in high school. Since then, the stadium has expanded to fit about 108,000 fans, making it the second-largest venue in the nation.

"It's going to be crazy," Schaub said. "It was 97, 98 thousand when I went there. It was crazy then. I can only imagine what it's like now."

Several of those players, including Schaub, attended Penn State's football camp and went on recruiting visits to the school's campus. But only Weeks said he dreamed of playing for the Nittany Lions.

"I liked their running backs - KiJana Carter, Curtis Enis," he said. "But they said they were looking at me as a defensive back, so I wasn't interested."

Penn State coach Joe Paterno said Tuesday that he liked Schaub as a player and as a person, but he didn't have another scholarship available for a quarterback during Schaub's senior year of high school. Schaub said the Nittany Lions started recruiting him when a commitment from a different quarterback fell through, "but by then it was too late."

Thomas said he had no interest in Penn State "even though everyone in my school was a Penn State fan. They all wanted me to go there." His 92-yard fumble return helped give Virginia a 20-14 victory in their matchup last December.

Saturday's rematch certainly means something special to the Cavaliers from Pennsylvania. Bedesem said many students from his high school – Council Rock in Holland, two hours from State College – attend Penn State. He went on an unofficial visit during his junior year but committed early to Virginia.

"I used to watch them all the time on TV," he said. "But when it really comes down to it, you have to figure out what's the right place for you."

Still, those players are quick to point out that their state has produced dozens of great football players, including quarterbacks Johnny Unitas and Dan Marino.

"We have a PA pride thing," Weeks said. "We get into arguments, especially with those guys from Hampton. We feel we can take any state. PA football is the best."

Just last week, Weeks said, he had a discussion with teammates Muffin Curry, who is from Hampton, and Jay Dorsey, from Florida, about the quality of high school football in their respective states.

UVa coach Al Groh said Pennsylvania is an important recruiting region for his program. Campbell, a true freshman from Slippery Rock, was part of Groh's second recruiting class last year. The Cavaliers already have a verbal commitment from quarterback Kevin McCabe of Pine-Richland High in Wexford.

"We see it as a significant area to us," Groh said.

The coach said recruiting in Pennsylvania is easier than in states such as Florida because of its proximity to Virginia. Indeed, for some of the Cavaliers from Pennsylvania, UVa's campus is closer to their homes than Penn State's.

Also, three Virginia assistant coaches have ties to Pennsylvania. Dan Rocco is from Huntington, Pa., and played two years at Penn State. Al Golden also played for the Nittany Lions and coached there for a year. Bob Price has been recruiting in Pennsylvania for many years.

"That gives us a familiarity that's very helpful," Groh said.

For now, Carber and the other Cavaliers who are going to their home state this weekend would like a little more help getting tickets. Then they want to help Virginia beat Penn State.

"It's for bragging rights," Carber said. "Last year was great. We could go home in the summer and brag a little bit. I know a bunch of guys on their team. It's going to be fun."

Luol Deng, a 6-foot-7 swingman from Blair Academy in New Jersey, committed to Duke during a news conference at his school Tuesday.

Deng, the nation's No. 2 overall prospect according to rivalshoops.com, picked the Blue Devils over Virginia, Missouri and Indiana.

Deng had visited all four schools this fall with Duke his most recent trip just two weeks ago. Deng visited Virginia in September.

Apparently, it was that recent visit to Duke's campus in Durham that sold the Sudan native.

"I really felt comfortable with the freshmen there and I knew seeing their situation that there was a place for me," Deng told rivalshoops.com in an interview Tuesday. "I like the coaches and I loved my visit. I liked everything about my visit."

When asked to rank in order his choices, Deng said Indiana probably was second but that UVa and Missouri were certainly strong contenders.

Deng's commitment to Duke follows a trend of Virginia targets ultimately selecting other schools. Terrence Roberts, a 6-8 forward from Jersey City, picked Syracuse over UVa. Virginia was also unable to secure commitments from other frontcourt targets such as 6-7 Ross Neltner (LSU), 6-6 Mike Pilgrim (Cincinnati), 6-8 Sheray Thomas (Kentucky) and Josh Boone (UConn). All but Boone had visited Charlottesville in the last two months.

Virginia has gained two commitments for its 2003 class and both players are expected to sign with the Cavaliers during the national early signing period which begins next week.

J.R. Reynolds, a 6-3 guard from Roanoke playing at Oak Hill Academy this season, committed to UVa last November while a junior at Roanoke Catholic. Gary Forbes, a 6-6 swingman from Brooklyn's Banneker Academy, gave his verbal commitment to the Cavaliers last month.

With Deng's decision Tuesday, that duo will likely be Virginia's only signees during the early period.

They are recruiting a handful of players whose decision are not expected until the fall. Among those are 6-7 power forward Linas Kleiza of Montrose Christian in Maryland; 6-10 Paulius Joneliunas of Roanoke Catholic; 6-9 Patrick Ewing Jr. of National Christian Academy, also in Maryland; and possibly 6-9 Jason Cain of Philadelphia.

TV time. Virginia will appear on ESPN or ESPN2 at least 11 times this season as the networks' college basketball schedules were released Tuesday.

Virginia's other games on ESPN or ESPN2 include: North Carolina on Jan. 11 (12 p.m.); at Duke on Jan. 15 (7 p.m.); at Virginia Tech on Jan. 21 (7 p.m.); Wake Forest on Jan. 23 (7 p.m.); at Maryland on Feb. 6 (9 p.m.); N.C. State on Feb. 9 (4 p.m.); at North Carolina on Feb. 12 (7 p.m.); Duke on Feb. 15 (9 p.m.) and Georgia Tech on March 5 (7 p.m.).

Virginia's game with Chaminade in the first round of the Maui Invitational on Nov. 25 likely will be broadcast on ESPN.

According to ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz, ESPN is still in negotiations with the Maui Invitational and while ESPN is expecting to broadcast the tournament, it was not included in the schedule released Tuesday because of those ongoing negotiations.

Virginia's game at Rutgers on Dec. 21 will be broadcast on one of ESPN's regional networks.

Additionally, Virginia will host Georgetown on Dec. 27 at 2 p.m. in a game that will be broadcast on CBS. Virginia will play three games as part of the ACC's Fox Sunday night package: at N.C. State on Jan. 5 (5:30 p.m.); at Wake Forest on Feb. 23 (6:30 p.m.) and Maryland on March 9 (8 p.m.).

He was so angry that he went to kick himself and missed again.

Things haven't gotten that bad for Virginia kicker Kurt Smith. But he has had more than two weeks to think about missing a 25-yarder in the first quarter of the Cavaliers' game at Georgia Tech, a field goal attempt that could haunt him for quite some time.

Virginia trailed 7-0 early in the game when the Cavs marched from their own 20 to the Georgia Tech 8-yard line, where they faced a fourth-and-five situation. Coach Al Groh sent in Smith, confident that his redshirt freshman kicker could convert the short attempt, almost a gimme.

Smith's kick sailed wide right, a miss that had a major impact on Groh's decision-making inside the Red Zone for the remainder of the game.

Encouraging words

As the kicker came off the field and onto the sidelines, TV cameras picked up Groh rushing to meet him and sternly delivering a message to Smith. Later, we found out that Groh had not been screaming at the kicker, but merely encouraging him.

"I told him to get his head up and stop drooping his eyes down and get ready for the opportunity when you have a chance to do something good," said Groh. Smith confirmed that's what the coach told him.

While that is well and good, the fact that Groh elected not to use Smith on three other fourth-down situations deep in Georgia Tech territory is an indication that the coach had at least temporarily lost faith in his kicker.

Faced with a fourth-and-two at the Tech 23 in the second quarter, Groh called for a run and got stuffed. On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Cavs had a fourth-and-four at the Tech 6 and threw an incomplete pass. Later in the quarter, another pass fell incomplete on a fourth-and-five at the Tech 25.

That's four drives inside the 25 and Zippo to show for it. Those kinds of results will get you beat nearly every time, particularly in a game where Virginia lost 23-15.

"It's hard," said Groh about being a field goal kicker, particularly when things go bad. "It's hard for the player himself. It's hard for the coach. It's hard for the team and it's hard for the fans."

In a slump

Groh's problem is that Smith has been in a little slump. He has missed three attempts from inside 30 yards in the last two games in addition to having an extra point blocked against UNC.

His woes don't stop there. Smith, who also handles kickoff duty, has been coming up short in that department. Over the last four games, all but one of his kickoffs have been returned. That's quite a switch from the Duke game when all five of his kickoffs were so deep they all resulted in touchbacks.

Those kinds of performances cost a couple of kickers their jobs during the George Welsh era. Smith doesn't know if it has cost him his.

"That's up to the coach," said Smith.

No one felt worse about the miss in Atlanta than he did.

Groh, who has shown patience, was mum about whether he would make a switch. But he did offer some compassion.

"I turned on the TV on Sunday and saw this guy from San Francisco [Jose Cortez missed a chip shot that could have prevented the 49ers from having to beat Oakland in overtime], and then I look at this guy from the Giants and he misses two in a row. After he makes the third one, they say he had made his previous 11 kicks," said Groh.

"When you watch Sports Center, the only shots we see Tiger Woods hit are the ones that go within two feet of the cup," said the coach. "We don't see the ones that go in the rough, but he hits them in the rough, too. He just recovers better than most. I figure that if Tiger Woods hits them off-center, then it's probably realistic that kickers are going to do the same thing."

Thus far, Smith has converted 7 of 12 field goal attempts (58.3 percent). Those aren't the kinds of numbers that are going to get you nominated for the Lou Groza Award.

He is 3 for 5 from 20-29 yards and 3 for 6 between the 30-39. Strangely, he has made his only attempt from 40 yards or more out, a 42-yarder against Clemson.

The challenge now for Smith over the next four games is to recover likes Woods. That may be more mental than physical.

"Confidence is a lot of it," said the struggling kicker. "A lot of it is disregarding what just happened and focusing on what you have to do, worrying about yourself and your technique. Nobody else has control over what you do. You have to recognize that and be mentally tough."

Pressure mounts with each miss.

"Sure, I feel pressure every time I take a kick. You've got to use that as motivation and not an excuse," Smith said. "Everybody has their misses. The important thing is that you can get back out there and make them."

He has gotten support from his teammates. No one has cast him aside.

"Teammates understand that everybody makes mistakes," said Smith. "They just want you to do your job and get it done. It's a bottom line job. You make 'em or you don't."

Meanwhile, Groh realizes that sometimes the difference between a 6-3 record and an 8-1 record can be faulty place-kicking.

"Iowa, which is having a terrific season, well their kicker is 100 percent [on field goal tries]," pointed out the coach. "I noticed there were three teams up there [in the rankings] that before the season you probably wouldn't have put them in the ranking that they currently hold. All three of those teams are 100 percent [on field goals]."

With four crucial games coming up, Virginia has an extremely thin margin of error in every phase of football, particularly the kicking game. If Smith can't regain his dependability, the Cavaliers' chances may be as fleeting as that wide right miss down at Bobby Dodd Stadium.