sabres.gif (4521 bytes)

Cavs could go to Gator or Peach


By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

CHARLOTTESVILLE - A Virginia victory over visiting Maryland, coupled with a North Carolina State loss to visiting Florida State, would send the Cavaliers to either the Gator Bowl or Peach Bowl.
Virginia (7-4, 5-2 ACC) can clinch at least a share of second place in the conference by beating 18th-ranked Maryland (9-2, 5-1) on Saturday on ESPN2 at 5:30 p.m.

If the Cavaliers got a sixth ACC victory, no team with four conference victories could get a Gator or Peach bid ahead of UVa.

Georgia Tech and Clemson already have finished their ACC schedules at 4-4, and N.C. State will be 4-4 in the conference if it loses to the Seminoles. Wake Forest could get to 4-4 if the Deacons win their season finale Nov. 30 at Maryland.

Florida State is almost certain to get the Bowl Championship Series berth that goes to the ACC champion, with the Gator and Peach Bowls getting second and third pick after that. Selection committees from those two bowls are not bound by the conference standings unless there is a two-game ACC difference between candidates.

Other bowls with ACC tie-ins (in order of selection) are the Tangerine Bowl on Dec. 23 in Orlando, Fla.; the Continental Tire Bowl on Dec. 28 in Charlotte, N.C., and the Seattle Bowl on Dec. 30. The Peach Bowl is Dec. 31 and the Gator Bowl is Jan. 1.

"I'm just trying to figure out how to beat Maryland," said UVa coach Al Groh, whose Cavaliers are eight-point underdogs. "Since 4:30 this morning, that's all I've been doing."

SENIOR STRIPPERS: A major play in the Virginia-North Carolina State game occurred with 4:22 remaining in the first quarter, when UVa linebacker Merrill Robertson stripped the ball from Wolfpack tailback T.A. McLendon. The Cavaliers' Jamaine Winborne recovered at the UVa 3-yard line.

It was the fifth caused fumble of the season for Robertson, who shares the ACC lead in that category with fellow senior Angelo Crowell. Robertson insisted Monday that the Cavaliers weren't going after McLendon, listed as doubtful with a dislocated shoulder. McLendon had three fumbles and lost two of them.

HAVING A RUSH: The Cavaliers had 12 quarterback pressures Saturday, compared to an average of 4.3 in the first 10 games. Eight different UVa players were credited with pressures (four had multiple pressures) but UVa's only sack was on an attempted flanker pass by Bryan Peterson on State's first play.

Peterson was sacked by 5-foot-8, 178-pound cornerback Almondo "Muffin" Curry, who ranks third on the team in sacks with three. Curry also had an interception Saturday, the second of his career, compared to six sacks.

MYSTERY CONTINUES: Virginia coach Al Groh said his impression after watching replays of N.C. State's final pass attempt Saturday was that it was never touched by the Wolfpack's Peterson and that Winborne batted it twice, a version that Winborne wasn't able to verify Monday afternoon.

"I never saw the highlights," said Winborne as he headed to a film session. "Terrible, ain't it? I know I was the last guy to touch it, but I wasn't the only guy to touch it. I remember going up for the ball and somebody knocked it behind me."

HONORS CANDIDATE: Among the 14 players nominated by Virginia for All-ACC was fifth-year senior Alex Seals, one of only two non-return men nominated as a specialist. Seals continues to receive increased playing time at safety and was on the field for a career-high 29 plays, including the Winborne knockdown.

"The longest split-second of my life," said Seals, a walk-on from Magna Vista High School.

ODDS 'N' ENDS: The networks that carry Big East Conference games have exercised an eight-day option on Virginia's game Nov.30 at Virginia Tech. According to the Big East, the game will be televised either at 1 p.m. by WSET or 3:30 by ESPN. ... Virginia is the only team that has not yielded a touchdown pass to N.C. State's Philip Rivers, who has thrown 33 touchdown passes in 22 games against the rest of the ACC. ... Game balls were awarded Saturday to sophomore tailback Marquis Weeks, who rushed for a career-high 129 yards, and seldom-used junior linebacker Stanley Norfleet, a North Carolinian who was credited by teammates and coaches for his inspirational pregame comments. ... UVa offensive guard Elton Brown, out two weeks with a high-ankle sprain, dressed for practice Monday.

 

 

Schaub among Cavs up for All-ACC honors
 By JOHN GALINSKY / Daily Progress staff writer
Nov 19, 2002
 
With voting for the All-ACC football teams taking place this week, a number of Virginia players are strong candidates for individual honors.

Fourteen Cavaliers were nominated by the school, and UVa coach Al Groh mentioned several Monday who he feels are worthy of recognition. That group includes junior quarterback Matt Schaub, who now leads the ACC in passing efficiency, touchdown passes (23) and completion percentage (68.5).

"Who's had a better season than Matt Schaub?" Groh said. "I think there are some terrific players, but who's had a better season than Matt Schaub?"

Schaub's main competition comes from two other juniors: N.C. State's Philip Rivers and Maryland's Scott McBrien. Rivers leads the ACC in total offense and passing yards, while McBrien is second in passing efficiency and first in rushing among quarterbacks.

Groh also mentioned receiver Billy McMullen, linebackers Angelo Crowell and Merrill Robertson, safety Jerton Evans and tight end Heath Miller.

Miller, a freshman, has tied the ACC record for touchdown catches by a tight end with eight. His 26 receptions also lead conference tight ends.

Crowell is tied for fourth among ACC linebackers in tackles with 117, while Robertson is seventh with 103 and has forced a league-high five fumbles. Also on the ballot is freshman linebacker Darryl Blackstock, who is third in the ACC with nine sacks. Evans has 90 tackles, third among ACC safeties.

Of course, numbers are not the only reflection of a player's worth. Groh adamantly believes McMullen, who ranks third in the conference in receptions (57) and fifth in receiving yards (780), should be on the All-ACC first team. If media members go by statistics in making their selections, as they often do, McMullen won't be a first-team player.

"Anybody who thinks that is a fool," Groh said. "Really, anybody who thinks that doesn't know football. This is one of the best players in the Atlantic Coast Conference, not just one of the best receivers."

McMullen, the team's only All-ACC first-teamer last year, shrugged when asked if he was concerned that voters would not pick him this week. Ballots are due Sunday.

"That's up to them. If they vote me, they vote me. If they don't, they don't," he said. "Some guys who have better numbers may deserve it. That's the way the cookie crumbles."

Weekly honors. A pair of Cavaliers, Jamaine Winborne and Marquis Weeks, were named ACC defensive back and offensive back of the week, respectively, for their efforts in last Saturday's 14-9 victory over N.C. State.

Winborne made five tackles and recovered a fumble at the UVa 3-yard line. He also broke up two passes on the Wolfpack's final drive, including a fourth-down throw into the end zone with 17 seconds left.

Weeks rushed for 129 yards on 19 carries, more than doubling his previous career total of 53 yards. He had four runs of at least 10 yards and finished with the most yards by a Cavalier back all season.

Terrific Terps. Maryland (9-2, 5-1 ACC) has won eight games in a row after a 1-2 start, making it a challenging opponent for Virginia (7-4, 5-2) on Saturday at Scott Stadium. The Terrapins' average margin of victory during their winning streak is 29 points.

"They're very hot right now," Groh said. "They're obviously playing at a very high confidence level that comes with winning eight in a row."

The winner of the game will take sole possession of second place in the ACC. Maryland can share the conference title with Florida State (8-3, 7-0 ACC) if it wins its final two games (it hosts Wake Forest on Nov. 30) and the Seminoles lose at N.C. State.

Extra points. Tickets remain available for Saturday's game, the final home game of the season. … Weeks and Stan Norfleet received game balls after the N.C. State game. Norfleet, playing only on special teams, did not make any tackles, but earned the honor for his attitude. … The Cavaliers recorded 12 quarterback pressures against N.C. State, their most in any game this season, but wound up with just one sack – on the first play, when receiver Bryan Peterson lined up at quarterback. …

Groh said he did not know whether fullback Jason Snelling and defensive end Kwakou Robinson, who missed the Wolfpack game with illnesses, would play this week. … ABC exercised an eight-day option to select the starting time of Virginia's game at Virginia Tech on Nov. 30. The game will be televised by ABC or ESPN.


 

 

UVa men's soccer awarded No. 6 seed
 By ANDREW JOYNER / Daily Progress staff writer
Nov 19, 2002
 
The Virginia men's soccer team discovered Monday when and where it will play its first round NCAA contest.

The Cavaliers will have to wait a little longer to find out who they play.

Virginia (15-6), which fell to Maryland, 3-0, in the ACC title game Sunday, was awarded the No. 6 seed in the 48-team field when the pairings were released.

Virginia will play the winner between Duke and William & Mary next Wednesday (Nov. 27) at Klockner Stadium, where the Cavs compiled a 12-0 record this season. That William & Mary-Duke game will be played in Durham, N.C., on either Friday or Saturday.

"I don't think there were any real surprises in terms of the teams that were seeded. I wasn't really shocked by anything," said Gelnovatch, whose team had its nine-game winning streak snapped Sunday but still has won 12 of its last 14.

The NCAA selection committee only seeds eight teams and each one of those squads gets a first-round bye. Additionally, eight other teams also receive byes in the first round.

The setup for this year's tournament has been altered slightly from last year's when the NCAA first expanded the field from 32 to 48. Last season, the first-round games were played at those 16 schools that received byes. For example, the first-round contest was held Friday with that winner then advancing to play the host institution Sunday.

This season, the NCAA has opted to give the first-round winners a little more rest before returning to action and thus the second round games will be held midweek.

That translates to nearly a week and a half of rest for the Cavaliers and UVa coach George Gelnovatch sees that as a small blessing.

"It's very good for us coming off the ACC tournament. It gives us time to rest and because of the ACCs, we probably would not have been able to start practicing to almost Thursday," Gelnovatch said.

If Virginia were to win next Wednesday, it would also host the next round at Klockner. That opponent could possibly be Penn State or ACC rival North Carolina.

If the Cavs were to advance to the NCAA quarterfinals, which they have done in four of the past five seasons, the Cavs would potentially have to travel to Los Angeles to play No. 3 seed UCLA. If UCLA would falter, however, and Virginia reached the quarterfinals, Klockner would be the host for that game as well.

Either William & Mary or Duke will present a rematch situation for the Cavaliers. Virginia has beaten Duke twice this season, including a 4-1 victory in the ACC quarterfinals last Thursday.

William & Mary beat Virginia, 1-0, on Sept. 25 in Newport News. That was the final loss in a four-game losing streak for the Cavaliers and left them with a 3-4 record. The Cavaliers have lost just twice since that game.

"Both teams will be tough to play. I don't think we have a preference," Gelnovatch said. "With Duke, it's tough to beat a team three times but I feel as well as we're playing we can do that. With William& Mary, we have a score to settle."

 

 

U.VA. NOTES
Nov 19, 2002

GOING BOWLING: Florida State (7-0, 8-3), which has clinched at least a share of the ACC title, will have the crown all to itself if it wins Saturday at N.C. State (4-3, 9-3).

Should the Seminoles prevail, Virginia can assure itself a trip to either the Gator Bowl or Peach Bowl by winning Saturday night. U.Va. (5-2, 7-4) plays host to Maryland (5-1, 9-2) at 5:30 p.m.

The ACC champion advances to the Bowl Championship Series. Should FSU and Maryland each finish 7-1 in league play, the conference's tie-breaking procedure would determine which goes to the BCS.

The Gator has first choice of the ACC's other bowl-eligible teams. If FSU and Virginia both win Saturday, the Gator will pick between U.Va. and Maryland. Whichever team the Jan. 1 Gator didn't choose would land in the Dec. 31 Peach. The Gator's choice might depend on how each fares in its Nov. 30 regular-season finale.

Virginia closes at Virginia Tech, and Maryland entertains Wake Forest.

HONORED: U.Va. upset then-No. 22 N.C. State 14-9, and the contributions of sophomore tailback Marquis Weeks and junior cornerback Jamaine Winborne didn't go unnoticed. Weeks and Winborne have been named the ACC's offensive and defensive back of the week, respectively.

Weeks, a resident of Berwyn, Pa., rushed 19 times for a career-high 129 yards Saturday. He entered with 53 career yards rushing. He had a career-long 32-yard run in the fourth quarter.

The ACC honor is Weeks' second. In Virginia's comeback win over North Carolina on Oct. 19, Weeks returned the second-half kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. Two days later, he was named the ACC's specialist of the week.

Winborne, who's from Chesapeake, broke up two passes, including the potential game-winner in the end zone on State's final play. He also made six tackles and recovered a fumble at the U.Va. 3-yard line.

BIG MAC: In 12 games last season, wideout Billy McMullen caught a school-record 83 passes for 1,060 yards and 12 touchdowns. Eleven games into his final sea- son at U.Va., the former Henrico High star has 57 catches for 780 yards and three TDs.

McMullen is fifth among ACC players in receiving yards per game and third in catches per game. But you'll never convince Groh that McMullen doesn't warrant a spot on the all-ACC first team again.

"Anybody who thinks that's a fool - really," Groh said. "Anybody that thinks that doesn't know football. This is one of the best players in the Atlantic Coast Conference. I didn't say one of the best receivers. This is one of the best players in the Atlantic Coast Conference."

McMullen's 57 catches are the second-most by a Cavalier in one season. He had four catches against N.C. State - for 69 yards - to raise his career total to 198, the third-most in ACC history.

Ahead of McMullen are Peter Warrick, who finished his FSU career with 207 receptions, and record-holder Desmond Clark, who caught 216 passes for Wake Forest.

KINGS OF CAROLINA: Second-year coach Al Groh said he didn't realize until a reporter brought it to his attention Sunday that Virginia had swept the four ACC teams from North Carolina. Under his predecessor, George Welsh, the Cavaliers accomplished that feat seven times.

"I guess if you're going to have a good season in this conference, you've got to do that," Groh said.

Virginia also went 2-0 against teams from the Palmetto State this season, beating South Carolina and Clemson.

ON THE LINE: Sophomore offensive guard Elton Brown, sidelined for the past 2½ games with a stress fracture in his right foot, said he planned to return to practice yesterday. He felt better last week and might have been able to play against the Pack, Brown said, "but that's my mind talking and not my body."

Brown wasn't on the depth chart released yesterday. On the latest two-deep, Virginia's first-team line, including the tight end, consists of two true freshmen, two redshirt freshmen, one sophomore and one senior. That group helped Weeks run wild Saturday.

Of his precocious teammates, senior tackle Mike Mullins said, "If they can do that now, just imagine what they're going to do next year and the year after that and the year after that."

SAFETY FIRST? Asked about true freshman Willie Davis, who started next to him in the secondary Saturday, senior safety Jerton Evans said, "By the time he leaves here, he'll be a first-round draft pick."

Groh's take? "I didn't realize Jerton had joined the personnel department. But he's not far off on that one." - Jeff White
 

 

 

VIRGINIA. Fans have a long memory. Two years ago, the Cavaliers finished third in the ACC but were shipped to the Oahu Bowl as the ACC's fifth team. A year earlier, they tied for second but landed in the now-defunct Micronpc.com Bowl as the league's fourth representative.

Then there was 1997, when they went 7-4 and tied for third but didn't go anywhere.

Virginia, some will tell you, has a history of being swindled in the bowl selection process. Cavaliers coach Al Groh understands that, and he knows his role in avoiding a repeat.

"It's a matter of competing," Groh said. "Our team has competed hard all year long and done what the coaches have asked them to do. And the coach needs to get out and compete for what the team deserves. I think that should be expected of the coach.

"At the same time, since I think we're going to have a pretty good team here in the years to come, those that do the snookering might get snookered in the future."

Virginia controls much of its destiny. If the Cavaliers (7-4, 5-2) defeat Maryland (9-2, 5-1) on Saturday, they would finish with at least a share of second place. And if N.C. State (9-3, 4-3) loses to Florida State on Saturday, Virginia would finish two games ahead of the Wolfpack and - by conference rules - be guaranteed a spot in the Gator or Peach.

If Virginia loses, it would finish third and its bowl scenario would be up in the air. Joining the mix would be the Continental Tire, Tangerine and Seattle bowls.

With Marquis Weeks' 129-yard day last week, which earned him ACC offensive back of the week honors, it seems natural to wonder why he hadn't had a carry since Sept. 7. Groh attributed it to the abundance of players he had at the position.

Still, one can't help but notice that Weeks' last rushing attempt before last week resulted in a fumble near his goal line with Virginia protecting a fourth-quarter lead against South Carolina. Groh both acknowledged and downplayed that.

"All we can go on is what we see," he said. "If you see positive performances, then a guy gets credit for that. If you see things that aren't so great, then you have to take that into account. But this is not a 'Weeks' fumble banished him to the bench' story. That wasn't the issue at all."

Virginia was missing four key players last week, and right guard Elton Brown (ankle) seems to have the best chance of returning for Maryland. Brown walked without crutches Monday and said he was returning to practice. Tailback Alvin Pearman (knee) is done for the year.

As for defensive end Kwakou Robinson and fullback Jason Snelling, who missed the N.C. State game with an illness? "My guess at this point is that we'd be pleased if we batted 50 percent on that one," Groh said.