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Three Cavaliers on All-ACC team
 By John Galinsky / Daily Progress staff writer
Nov 25, 2002
 
In a season that began with boos and a benching, Matt Schaub became Virginia's first All-ACC quarterback since Matt Blundin in 1991.

In a close vote, Schaub edged out N.C. State's Philip Rivers and joined receiver Billy McMullen and linebacker Angelo Crowell as Cavaliers to receive first-team honors Monday. Three other UVa players - tight end Heath Miller, defensive lineman Chris Canty and defensive back Jerton Evans - made the second team in voting by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.

"I keep using the same phrase but I can't change it: Who's having a better year than [Schaub] anyplace?" said Virginia coach Al Groh. "He's doing a terrific job."

Schaub, a 6-foot-5 junior from West Chester, Pa., was booed by the home fans after struggling in the opener and was replaced by freshman Marques Hagans. But after coming off the bench against FSU the next week, he has been among the country's finest quarterbacks.

He ranks first in the ACC and fourth nationally in passing efficiency. He has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes (260 of 373) for 2,751 yards and 26 touchdowns while throwing just six interceptions.

Schaub ended up with four more votes (101-97) than Rivers, who has thrown for more yards (3,125) in his 12 games. But many of Rivers' best performances came against weak nonconference competition. In ACC play, Schaub produced far superior numbers, with 2,046 yards, 16 touchdowns and three interceptions, compared to 1,867 yards, six TDs and five interceptions for Rivers.

Schaub, unavailable for comment Monday, probably sealed the honor with a near-perfect performance against Maryland last Saturday, the day before All-ACC ballots were due. He completed 23 of 27 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns in UVa's 48-13 victory and earned ACC offensive back of the week honors.

Schaub also is a strong candidate for the ACC player of the year award, which will be announced Wednesday.

"I don't know who's had a better year than he has or has meant more to his team," Groh said. "I certainly would vote for him and I'd do that objectively."

McMullen repeated on the All-ACC first team, the first Cavalier to do so since tailback Thomas Jones in 1998 and '99. The senior has 64 catches for 872 yards and three touchdowns this season. He also has run and passed for scores.

Crowell, a second-team selection last year, has 130 tackles, good for seventh in the ACC. He is a co-captain along with McMullen for the Cavaliers, who are 8-4 with one game remaining.

Wali's week. UVa tailback Wali Lundy was named ACC rookie of the week after scoring three touchdowns against Maryland. The freshman carried 19 times for 84 yards and a TD. He also scored twice on catches of 24 and 6 yards and finished with 157 all-purpose yards.

Voting is rank. Lundy was one of several players who said he was annoyed that the Cavaliers did not crack the top 25 in either major poll. They are 26th in the AP voting and 27th in the coaches' rankings.

"I think we should have been in the top 25 all year," Lundy said. "We're not getting the kind of respect we deserve. We'll see. We'll show 'em."

Groh obviously believes his team is worthy. A voter in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll, he said he put Virginia at No. 25 on his latest ballot - the first time he has voted for the Cavaliers this year. But he said rankings don't really matter to his program right now.

"All we want to be is [number] one," Groh said. "Whether it's 26th, 18th, 17th, 14th, 10th, ninth, it's just progress to where you want to go."

Going bowling. The Cavaliers surely would move into the top 25 by beating No. 22 Virginia Tech (8-3) in their final regular-season game Saturday at Lane Stadium. Their bowl destination also may hinge on the outcome.

Most likely, Virginia will wind up in the Gator or Peach Bowl if it beats the Hokies. A loss probably puts UVa in the Peach or Tangerine.

Maryland and N.C. State also are in the running for those three bowls. The Terrapins (9-3, 5-2 ACC) play host to Wake Forest on Saturday, while the Wolfpack (10-3, 5-3) have completed their regular season.

No bowl invitations will be made, at least officially, until after Saturday's games. So Groh said all of his team's attention should be on the Hokies, not polls and bowls.

"Whatever those implications are, reservations, protestations, if we win the game, then there's no issue," Groh said. "All those other issues are just a distraction from what it takes to win the game."

Running wild. In retrospect, the Cavaliers did well by holding Larry Johnson to 188 rushing yards three weeks ago.

In his other games over the past month, Penn State's senior tailback ran for 279 yards against Illinois, 327 yards against Indiana and 279 against Michigan State (all in the first half). For the season, he has 2,015 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Johnson for Heisman?

"Oh, sure," Groh said. "How many backs have ever gained 2,000 yards [in a season]?"

Johnson is the ninth college back to do so.

Speaking of that award, will Virginia mount a Heisman campaign for Schaub next year?

"Philosophically, I'm not opposed to it," Groh said. "I don't think we're going to have any Matt Schaub bobble-head dolls. But he's a good player. Who should be promoting him more than us? We're his team, I'm his coach. Who should be rooting for this guy and promoting him more than his coach? He's out there doing a lot for me."

Say what? Before last Saturday's game, a quote attributed to Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen appeared on the blackboard in UVa's locker room.

"He was comparing us to Duke," said senior linebacker Merrill Robertson. "It was something like, 'Virginia's like Duke. We're supposed to beat them.' That really burned inside of us."

Did Friedgen really say that? Groh scoffed when a Penn State assistant motivated some of his players by telling them that Virginia defensive coordinator Al Golden had called them "soft."

Groh said Friedgen's quote was not a fabrication, though he added he did not write the words on the blackboard.

"I don't know how they got up there, but I know they were accurately [quoted]," Groh said. "This wasn't one of those the coach made 'em up."

Extra points. Sophomore right guard Elton Brown, who reinjured his right foot against the Terrapins, said he will practice this week and expects to play Saturday. … Freshman defensive end Kwakou Robinson, who has missed the past two games with an unspecified illness, will not play against the Hokies but may be ready for a bowl game, Groh said. … Senior safety Alex Seals had a memorable final home game. The former walk-on made four tackles on kickoff coverage and recorded his first career interception against Maryland.

 

 

For one, criticism doesn't compute
 By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
Nov 26, 2002
 
For the past several years, coaches and media have taken pot shots at those responsible for the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) computer rankings. Who are these computer nerds? What do they know about football? Do they ever leave their basements?

Wes Colley, who now teaches astronomy at the University of Virginia, is living, breathing proof that, yes, these guys do actually leave home and are real football fans.

Colley, whose weekly rankings can be found at www.colleyrankings.com, is a staunch defender of the BCS and believes there are both short memories and shortsightedness when it comes to criticism of the way college football crowns its champion.

A native of Abingdon and a graduate of UVa (Class of '93), Colley went to grad school at Princeton, then on to Harvard and later worked on missile defense research at MIT before returning home this past year to teach. A life-long Cavaliers fan, Colley became more familiar with football when his brother, Will, played football at Georgia (1986-90), then enjoyed UVa's unparalleled gridiron success during the Shawn Moore-Herman Moore era when the Wahoos were ranked No. 1 in the nation (1990).

When the BCS came out in 1998, using national polls and computers to determine the top two teams in the country, Colley began to dabble with his own rankings. He knew computers. He knew football.

After the 2000 season, and some of the computer rankings were discarded, then-Southeastern Conference commissioner Roy Kramer, former guardian of the BCS, called Colley and asked if he would like his rankings to become part of the formula.

Ever since, Colley has gotten approximately 5,000 nasty emails per year from disgruntled fans. Last week, it was the Iowa. The week before, Oklahoma.

"Every week, there's somebody who's mad at me," said Colley. "The notoriety is kind of fun but it's not like real fame."

However, there is plenty of criticism.

"For whatever reason, we're regarded as geeks who never go to football games, who sit and play Dungeons and Dragons and never see the light of day," said Colley. "Or, we're regarded as white hairs, sitting in the ivory tower, throwing down our rankings upon the world."

Truth is, Colley and all of his fellow computer ranking gurus are all football fans who go to games every week and really love the game.

Colley believes that a lot of the misconceptions about the BCS could be cleared up. Football fans need to be better educated by the BCS that its formula is chiefly concerned with wins and losses and has nothing to do with bowl games other than the Rose, Fiesta, Orange and Sugar, which rotate the national championship game.

"Most comments are something like this, 'Didn't you watch that Notre Dame game? They almost lost to Navy. How can you have Notre Dame No. 4?'" said Colley.

The answer is simple. Notre Dame won the game.

"Yeah, they looked terrible, but they won. A win is a win. But I think there is this impression that some subjectivity on my part goes into the ranking. It's as if I said, 'Yeah, Notre Dame looked terrible, so, minus .2.'"

Colley said there is nothing subjective in his ranking system. It's only, did the team win or did the team lose?

Not fair, you say?

"Well, that's how the NBA works, the NHL, the major leagues. That's how sports is generally accepted," said Colley. "Look at Tennessee in '98. All Arkansas had to do was fumble on a kneel down. At the end of the day, Tennessee was 12-0 and became undisputed national champions. They should have been because they won."

Another frustrating issue is that many fans are under the impression that the BCS is responsible for sending their teams to various lower-tiered bowls across the country, when in fact, the bowl system is the same way it used to be other than the top four bowls as previously mentioned.

"There's a lot of misunderstanding out there, that if the BCS made just a little bit of effort to demistify this thing, it would help," said Colley. "I mean, it ain't rocket science."

Some critics wonder if there shouldn't be more science involved, with more checks and measures to determine whether a team played lousy, something that human poll voters can determine.

Colley believes humans are susceptible to trendy picks and can be biased, while computers can offer a sanity check to what human counterparts are doing. As far as tweaking the system, he wouldn't be totally against some changes.

"I always thought of my system as the opposite of Jeff Sagarin's, who has a very complicated, margin of victory, home or away, what have they done for you lately," said Colley. "Mine is just wins and losses. I like it if the very complicated thing basically agreed with the very simple one, then that sort of tells you that you must be doing something right. Now that it's just wins and losses, we have less of a check on how well we're doing."

He dismisses controversy over the BCS having ranked the wrong No. 2 team in the last two national championships (Nebraska instead of Oregon last season and Florida State instead of Miami the year before).

"Everybody agrees on four straight, undisputed national champions but people don't regard that as a success," said Colley. "In 1996 [before the BCS], we did not have an undisputed champion. People have a short memory. Four straight undisputed is a step forward to me.

"If your goal is to produce the correct national champion, even if you have the wrong No. 2 team, let's say at worst you have the No. 4 team," he said. "That No. 1 team still had to beat a pretty good ball club. With the BCS, you're never going to be playing a team worse than about No. 4."

Colley is not in favor of a playoff because he believes playoffs do not produce the best team. He points to the NFL playoffs last season as an example.

"The New England Patriots [Super Bowl champions] were not the best team in the NFL last year. It's certainly true that the Patriots deserved the championship," said Colley, who also pointed to the NCAA men's basketball tournament, perhaps the ultimate playoff.

"Was Villanova the best team in basketball?" he asked. "It is true that Villanova deserved it because they won it on the court.

"You have to ask, 'What do we want here?' I think the BCS is more likely to produce the actual best team than a playoff just based on looking at the results of playoffs," said Colley.

So far, this year's BCS has avoided the system's two biggest potential nightmares, having more than two undefeated teams at the end of the regular season or having numerous one-loss teams fighting for the No. 2 or even No. 1 rankings.

If that case ever comes up, then the strength of schedule part of the formula and perhaps one other factor will determine who will play for all the marbles. The other factor?

The polls, picked by humans.

Meanwhile, Colley will keep producing his poll, which has Virginia ranked No. 25 this week, answering nasty emails and continue to try to determine just how big the universe really is.

 

 

Sampson, Silverswords have reunion
 By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
Nov 26, 2002
 
LAHAINA, Hawaii - Former Chaminade coach Merv Lopes' presence Monday was not enough to push the Silverswords to another miracle. Yet, for those who were participants in Chaminade's upset of Virginia in 1982, the chance to relive those moments flowed back as Chaminade gave Virginia all it could handle before succumbing, 86-72.

"It's been exciting. It's been great to see all the guys again," said Lopes, who had a reunion with his players here Saturday and then sat with them during the game Monday. "It was nice for the people from EA Sports and ESPN to get us here for this."

As for his former team's performance Monday, Lopes said "they hung in there for a while but Virginia's got that big guy [Travis Watson] and he was the difference."

Among the players in the Lahiana Civic Center on Monday were Chaminade's Tony Randolph and Virginia's Ralph Sampson.

Randolph, who grew up in Staunton, scored 19 points in the game in 1982 as he got the best of Sampson, a friend and former high-school rival from Harrisonburg.

"It's been amazing and great fun. I made contact with Ralph. We both feel that we were part of something special and of course we're both Valley boys," Randolph said.

Added Sampson: "I don't have any real significant memories of the game. Everybody looks back at it as a loss but it really wasn't a loss because of that game and the Virginia team we had at the time, we helped start this tournament and it's lasted almost 20 years."

On Saturday, Randolph and Sampson spent some time together here at a special banquet and they also met up with Virginia senior Jason Rogers, a Staunton native who also played under R.E. Lee-Staunton legendary coach Paul Hatcher as did Randolph.

"We all got together Saturday and gave each other high-fives. It was a bunch of Valley boys together here in Hawaii. That says it all," Randolph said.

Margaritaville? While there is a restaurant here in Lahaina named "Cheeseburger in Paradise," Virginia coach Pete Gillen used another Buffett title in reference to the play of sophomore Devin Smith.

Smith scored 16 points against Chaminade and connected on two 3-pointers during Virginia's key second-half run.

"He's got a lot of poise. He's a veteran guy. He doesn't get to rattled. It's part of his personality. He's laid back. He has a little Jimmy Buffett in him. It's Margaritaville. He probably doesn't know who that is. He probably thinks it's Hawaiian," said Gillen, who sported an Hawaiian shirt Monday that made himself look like a Parrotthead.

Smith, who transferred from Coffeyville Community College in Kansas where he was an all-american as a freshman, is still trying to get into playing shape after offseason knee surgery.

"It felt good to get out there and play a significant role," said Smith, who played 25 minutes on Monday. "The more I play, the more rhythm that I get."

Gillen says that he's about 75 percent while Smith insists he's probably a little better than that. Whatever is the case, Smith's jumper seems unchanged by his health. A 44-percent 3-point shooter at Coffeyville, Smith's ability to shoot from the perimeter proved pivotal Monday.

"He's a good shooter. You hope he can continue what he did in junior college. He made some big shots today," Gillen said. "Your shooting comes from your legs and his legs are not in good shape. His knee hurts he's a little overweight and his conditioning is not optimum right now but he's not afraid to take big shots. He had no fear."

Ch-Ch-Changes. The Lahaina Civic Center has been remodeled since last year's tournament. The court has been renovated and the wooden bleachers have been taken away and replaced with plastic bench seating. Most importantly, however, has been the addition of air conditioning. Last year, the ultra humid conditions caused many of the participating teams to suffer from cramps and other ailments. If anything, the arena might have been too cold, literally and figuratively.

Virginia shot just 4 of 17 from the 3-point arc, including a 1-for-6 performance by the usually dead-eyed Todd Billet.

"It was definitely cold in there," said sophomore forward Elton Brown.

Free throws. The tournament is using experimental rules such as a deeper 3-point line, a widened free-throw lane and a larger free-throw lane block. The 3-point is 20 feet, six inches (back from 19-9') and the lane has been widened by two feet on each side. The block is located eight feet from the end line on each side and serves as a true neutral zone. Neither team may step into the block prior to the free-throw shooter's release. … Chaminade fans and maybe a handful of UVa ones were using clapping thudersticks during the game. That got a warning from the PA announcer as the use of artificial noise makers during a game is against NCAA policy and could result in a technical on the offending crowd's team.

 

 

UVa finds a way to beat Chaminade
 By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
Nov 26, 2002
 
LAHAINA, Hawaii - This time, the glass slipper didn't fit … barely.

The Virginia men's basketball team used a 17-3 second-half run to shake a pesky Chaminade team and notch a 86-72 victory Monday in the first round of the Maui Invitational.

Virginia now advances to face No. 16 Kentucky today at 7 p.m. in a semifinal contest.

Virginia was led by 22 points off the bench from sophomore forward Elton Brown. Travis Watson, plagued by foul trouble most of the game, finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds while Devin Smith added 16.

The game marked the 20th anniversary of Chaminade's 77-72 upset of then-No. 1 Virginia in 1982.

With they hype surrounding the rematch and with Coach Merv Lopes and several members of the 1982 Chaminade team in attendance, UVa coach Pete Gillen was more than relieved to have survived the contest.

"It was a lose-lose situation. If we lose, we're bums. The players are bums, the coaches are bums. If we win it's because we're supposed to win. It's not that easy," Gillen said. "I thought Chaminade played very hard and very well. I'm proud of our guys. It was a character win."

For a while in the second half it looked like the Cavaliers (2-0) might leave the Lahaina Civic Center as bums and history would be made again.

After trailing 36-31 at the half, the Silverswords (0-2) quickly erased the deficit and when Rashaw McAfee made a layup with 15:23, they held a 45-44 advantage as Watson sat on the bench after collecting his fourth foul at the 18:10 mark.

The 6-foot-9 Brown hit a 3-pointer to push UVa to a 47-45 lead but Chaminade's Byron Sykes hit a jumper to knot it at 47 with 14:45 left. At that point, the teams stopped for an official timeout and Gillen re-inserted Watson into the game.

"Frankly, I didn't think we could win without him. Maybe that was stupid on my part but that's what I thought," Gillen said.

Watson proved Gillen to be quite smart.

Watson made a putback to make it 49-47 and then made the game's most decisive play. On Chaminade's ensuing possession, Watson came out to block a 3-point attempt by McAfee, corralled the loose ball and then dribbled in for a dunk. Watson then hit another layup as his play sparked a Virginia run that quieted the Hawaiian gods trying to conjure another Chaminade miracle.

"Right now, Travis is a better defensive player than offensive one. He's got quick hands and can block shots. He's a good offensive player but right now he's a better defender," Gillen said.

Added Brown: "He's an All-American and that was an All-American play that he made."

While Watson surged UVa to the lead, it was Smith and Brown who finished off the Silverswords.

Brown made an array of turnaround jumpers and baskets in the post and Smith made his first significant plays as a Cavalier with two treys during the run.

"Elton was great. He's our best offensive low-post player. … I thought his jumper was in mothballs. He got it back and just played great," Gillen said. "Our bench won the game for us with Elton No. 1 and Devin No. 2."

Brown, who started Friday's game against Long Island but was on the floor for just 12 minutes, played his best game at Virginia, considering Watson's absences and everything surrounding this particular matchup.

"We had a good team effort tonight. … Travis' shoes are hard to fill but I knew I had to be aggressive on both offense and defense," Brown said. "With Travis out, I knew that I had to go even harder."

Technically, the game will not count as a win in terms of RPI or NCAA selection but it was Virginia's first win in any opening round game of any tournament in Gillen's tenure. He entered the game 0-9 in first-round tournament games: 0-6 in postseason contests and 0-3 in tournaments in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

So, Gillen had the rare opportunity to scout today's opponent Monday afternoon.

"We're thrilled to be moving on. Whoever we play is going to be tough and we'll have to play better than we did today. We'll worry about that but we have to unwind a little right now," Gillen said.

 

 

Cavaliers are careful not to give Hokies any extra motivation
The Virginian-Pilot
© November 26, 2002

CHARLOTTESVILLE — No bulletin-board material.
That was the prevailing attitude among the players, a smaller number than usual, who showed up at the Virginia locker room while it was open to the media Monday.

In an era in which coaches take quotes, real or fabricated, and stick them on locker-room walls for motivation, the Cavaliers were careful not to say anything that could end up on a board at Virginia Tech. The state rivals meet Saturday at Lane Stadium.

“If you can play the game, there’s no reason you should have to talk,” guard Elton Brown said.

Impertinent remarks can have motivational effect, as the Cavaliers have found at least twice this year.

After the Penn State game, several Nittany Lions said they were motivated after hearing that Virginia defensive coordinator Al Golden had called the Penn State defense “soft” in a media report. Never mind that Golden doesn’t speak to the media.

Virginia players were irked Saturday after reading that Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen had said his team expected to beat teams like Virginia and Duke. A quote to that effect wound up posted in the Virginia locker room. Coach Al Groh said he didn’t know who put it there. But he said that unlike the Golden quote, Friedgen’s was accurate.

As for whether he encourages his players to hold their tongues, especially during a rivalry week, Groh said he expects them to comport themselves with dignity and protocol all the time.

In other words, Groh says, “We try to have a no-jackass rule, no matter who they’re playing.”

Despite upset, U.Va. remains unranked

One subject safety Jerton Evans wasn’t shy about commenting on was Virginia’s exclusion from both Top 25 polls.

Evans was also outspoken about the possibility that the Cavaliers will be passed over for the Gator Bowl despite finishing second in the conference.

Virginia is 26th in both the Associated Press and coaches’ polls, and Evans can’t understand that.

“Maryland and N.C. State, they’re ranked in the top 25, but they didn’t play anybody,” Evans said. “They played teams like Wofford and all kinds of other teams. If we had an easy schedule, there’s no telling what kind of record we’d have.”

Virginia (8-4) beat Maryland last Saturday and N.C. State the week before. The Wolfpack is 9-3, with wins over two Division I-AA teams, as well as Navy and New Mexico. Maryland (9-3) played Division I-AA Wofford, as well as Akron and Eastern Michigan.

Virginia also played Akron, but its other nonconference opponents have been Colorado State, South Carolina and Penn State heading into Saturday’s finale at Virginia Tech.

N.C. State and Maryland could be selected ahead of Virginia for the Gator Bowl.

“I would be very irritated if we did not go to the Gator Bowl,” Evans said.

Groh, who votes in the coaches’ poll, said he voted his team No. 25 this week.

Evans first to reach the 1,000-play mark

Evans, a senior from Lynchburg, last week became the first player since Virginia began keeping track in 1982 to play 1,000 plays in a season. He has 1,021, with two games to go.

“That’s crazy, to think you can be in for 1,000 plays,” Evans said. “Oh, yeah, I feel it.”

Freshman linebacker Darryl Blackstock is next on the team, with 913.

Two Cavaliers win weekly ACC honors

Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub was named ACC Offensive Back of the Week after his 23-for-27, three-touchdown effort against Maryland. He finished with 249 yards, and his 85.2 completion percentage is the highest for any quarterback in the ACC this season.

Running back Wali Lundy was the Rookie of the Week after his three-TD performance Saturday.
 

 

 

Cavaliers don't fall on 'Swords

Elton Brown scores a career-high 22 points, 15 in the second half, as UVa rallies in the second half.

FROM STAFF REPORTS

   Twenty years after serving as the victim in one of the greatest upsets in college basketball history, Virginia managed to avoid another history-making event Monday afternoon.

    After falling behind early in the second half, the Cavaliers turned to forward Elton Brown, who had a career-high 22 points in a 86-72 victory over Division II Chaminade in the first round of the Maui Invitational.

    UVa (2-0) will meet Kentucky, which beat Arizona State, in a second-round game today at 7 p.m.

    "It was remember the Alamo," said Virginia coach Pete Gillen, referring to the Silverswords' upset of then-No.1 UVa in 1982. "That's one of the reasons we were invited."

    Ex-Virginia star Ralph Sampson and Chaminade's Tony Randolph, two of the principals in the 1982 game, were among those recognized in ceremonies commemorating the big upset.

    After Virginia had gone ahead 42-34 early in the second half Monday, Chaminade (0-2) went on an 11-2 run that enabled the Silverswords to take their only second-half lead.

    UVa responded with a 25-7 surge sparked by Brown, who had 15 points in the second half. Brown was coming off a six-point, zero-rebound performance in Virginia's opener, when he played 12 minutes in the Cavaliers' 90-86 win over Long Island University.

    "He was great," Gillen said during his postgame radio interview. "Without him, we don't win the game. Elton and Devin Smith were terrific."

    Smith, a junior-college transfer in his second Division I game, came off the bench to score 16 points. The Cavaliers also got 16 points and 14 rebounds from center Travis Watson, who played much of the second half with four fouls.

    The Cavaliers led by as many as 18 points, 73-55, before Chaminade started fouling. Virginia point guard Keith Jenifer missed five of six free throws down the stretch, but the Silverswords got no closer than 12 at 82-70.

    "They hurt us at the point," said Gillen, referring to Silverswords point guard Roy Steegall, who had a team-high 18 points.

 

 

Cavs have Groh's vote in Top 25 poll
By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Virginia football coach Al Groh wasn't making any apologies for picking his team 25th on the ballot he submitted this week for the coaches poll conducted for USA Today and ESPN.
Apparently, he wasn't the Cavaliers' only supporter.

Virginia barely missed its first Top 25 ranking of the Groh era, finishing 27th among vote-getters for the USA Today-ESPN poll and 26th among teams receiving votes for the Associated Press poll.

Groh said it was the first time he has voted for the Cavaliers.

"I do it all myself," said Groh, a reference to the coaches who turn over the voting to a sports information director or other official. "I don't have an assistant do it. OK? I put enough time into it [and] it doesn't have anything to do with helping us win. I try to do it the right way."

Groh would not say where he had picked Virginia Tech, which entertains the Cavaliers at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in UVa's regular-season finale.

"They say on the ballots that the ballot is confidential," Groh said. "I've voted [the Hokies] in the Top 25 throughout the course of the year [and] I continued to do so."

Tech (8-3) is ranked 22nd this week, representing the third Top 25 team that UVa (8-4) has played in succession and the 12th ranked opponent faced by Virginia during the 25-game Groh era. UVa is 5-6 in those games.

IRON MAN: With 98 tackles, hard-hitting safety Jerton Evans is closing in on his goal of a 100-tackle season, but Evans did not know that he had become the first UVa player to participate in 1,000 plays since the Cavaliers started keeping track of the statistic in 1982.

"I was concerned about it," Groh said. "Obviously, he played in the same fashion long before I had the privilege of coaching him and he had a hard time finishing last season. If we'd had to play the next week, he wouldn't have had much left. He was beat up.

"Actually, once the ability level at the various positions becomes fairly comparable, then we'll probably use more players per position. In this particular case, not only is he one of our best players, but he's one of our defensive leaders.

"That's where he's been a terrific aid for [freshman] Willie Davis. They're in watching film together. Now, I'm noticing that they're often walking to practice together. I told him, 'I appreciate what you've done for Willie, but now it's time to play your game.' With all of that, he's had two of his best performances the past two weeks."

RECRUITING: Virginia received a commitment this weekend, its 14th, from Emmanuel Byers, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound wide receiver from Jamestown, N.C., and Ragsdale High School, the same program that produced former UVa All-American Mark Dixon.

Byers said Monday that he had been offered scholarships by all of the ACC schools except Florida State and Maryland, and also had offers from Virginia Tech, Tennessee and Georgia. Byers, a sprinter on Ragsdale's track team, had 52 receptions for 800 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior.

Byers, rated the No.16 prospect in North Carolina by SuperPrep before the season, took an unofficial visit to Virginia last weekend and committed to Groh after the Cavaliers' 48-13 upset of 18th-ranked Maryland.

Byers said he was influenced by Groh's willingness to play freshmen.

HONORS: Virginia's Matt Schaub beat out North Carolina State's Philip Rivers by four points in a close vote at quarterback on the all-ACC football team, as voted upon by 74 members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.

Schaub, a junior, has thrown for 2,751 yards and 26 TDs. He has thrown at last one TD in 12 straight games and has completed 69.7 percent of his passes.

Billy McMullen was named at wide receiver. McMullen has 64 catches for 872 yards. McMullen's 205 career receptions rank third on the all-time ACC list behind Desmond Clark and Peter Warrick. McMullen was a first-team pick last season.

UVa linebacker Angelo Crowell was picked to the first-team defense.

ODDS 'N' ENDS: Groh said that Virginia has added a 12th game for next year with Troy (Ala.) State, which will come to Scott Stadium. UVa's other nonconference opponents are Virginia Tech at home and South Carolina and Western Michigan on the road. ... UVa is expected to make a hardship appeal for an extra season of eligibility for freshmen Marcus Hamilton and D.J. Bell, neither of whom has played since suffering early-season injuries. Bell, a defensive end, played a total of 22 plays in three games. Hamilton, a cornerback, played 10 plays in one game. ... Groh interrupted the news conference to report that walk-on defensive back Alex Seals had tackles on four of the seven UVa kicks that were returned Saturday.

 

 

Cavaliers look to end one slump and extend another
BOB LIPPER
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST Nov 26, 2002

CHARLOTTESVILLE So now it's our turn at Rivalry Week. Virginia Tech vs. Virginia. The Future Farmers of America vs. the Future Litigators of America. My old-grad coach (the Hokies' Frank Beamer) vs. your old-grad coach (the Cavs' Al Groh).

Tech's recent-history stranglehold vs. U.Va.'s role-reversal cravings. Here's how it's gone in the series since 1999: Tech wins 31-7. Tech wins 42-21. Tech wins 31-17. That's with and without Michael Vick, with and without home-field advantage, with and without a big-time bowl destination in its sights.

Here's the side issue as we track toward Saturday's matchup: Three setbacks in a row is a pattern. Four would be a trend. You lose too often to the in-state enemy, your credibility sags, your calls to hotshot prospects maybe don't get returned as quickly, your boosters develop a case of unease that can swell into let's-get-rid-of-the-coach fury, your players are hit with why-can't-you-beat-those-guys? interrogations when they go home.

"That's why we've got to end it," U.Va. center Zac Yarbrough was saying yesterday. "That's why it's got to stop here."

Actually, it'll have to stop there - at Lane Stadium on Virginia Tech's campus, where the cows and the cantaloupe lay. Another win by Tech produces the rivalry's first four-bagger since a Hokies run from 1980-83 - the last two when George Welsh's resurrection campaign at U.Va. was in its infancy. Welsh broke Tech's grip in 1984 and eventually began signing the Shawn Moores who'd elevate the program to national prominence.

Welsh wound up 9-10 against the Hokies. Al Groh is 0-1. Suggest to him recruiting leverage could hinge on the game's outcome and he'll shrug and tell you, "Our team didn't win the game last year, and we got a lot of good players." Ask him if he feels a need to terminate Tech's mini-streak, and all you'll get is a smile.

"I've been coaching a long time," Groh said. "I'm not naive about the situation. But I'm a lot less into that than other people are. A one-game losing streak during the season bothers me."

By that standard, Groh must be in fine humor these days. His bunch is a surprise 8-4 after back-to-back wins over Top 25s N.C. State and Maryland - the latest verdict being a 48-13 demolition. Tech, by contrast, is more suspect 8-3 - the three straight on its mind being consecutive losses to Pitt, Syracuse and West Virginia. The Cavs think they know an opportunity when they see one.

"Tech's got good talent," said junior linebacker Stan Norfleet. "They've had good teams - but we've got a good team, too. I've watched'em some. They're on a three-game losing streak. We're playing well. They seem to be declining a little bit."

Funny thing, that was the case a year ago as well, when the Hokies dropped two of three starts before heading to Charlottesville and then proceeded to zoom to a 31-0 halftime bulge. Maybe that's why Groh is reluctant to size up U.Va.'s late-season surge against Tech's late-season wobble and give the evidence much weight.

Or maybe he's just a coach.

"I don't dismiss the reality of momentum," Groh said. "I think it's out there. But I think more in terms of confidence than momentum. I think that's more of a factor in the performance of athletes than momentum."

This U.Va. bunch? I think it's safe to say it has confidence-plus at this juncture. "We've got a new team now - we're a lot better than we used to be," Yarbrough said, for instance. Added offensive tackle Elton Brown: "I know we can play with anybody right now."

Virginia Tech isn't just anybody, though. It's that orange-and-maroon menace. It's Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones and kick-blockers galore. It's the outfit that's owned this matchup of late.

"I haven't beat'em since I've been here," said Cavs senior linebacker Merrill Robertson.

That's a lament next year's seniors wouldn't care to repeat.
 

 

U.VA. NOTES
Nov 26, 2002

RECRUITING UPDATE: Emmanuel Byers, a spectator Saturday at Virginia's rout of Maryland, liked what he saw. Before leaving Charlottesville, Byers became the latest player to commit to the Cavaliers for 2003.

Byers is a 5-10, 175-pound senior at Ragsdale High in Jamestown, N.C. A four-year starter on the varsity, Byers played wideout and defensive back and returned kicks for Ragsdale, which went 48-6 during his career.

He's expected to play wideout at U.Va., where his position coach will be Mike Groh, the lead recruiter for Byers.

"He had a great rapport with Coach Groh," Ragsdale coach Tommy Norwood. "They just kind of hit it off from day one."

Byers' other finalists were Wake Forest and Tennessee, Ragsdale said, and he also had scholarship offers from such schools as Virginia Tech, Georgia, Clemson and North Carolina.

As a junior, Byers caught 52 passes for 80 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also had seven interceptions in 2001.

Offensive lineman Mark Dixon, one of Virginia's all-time greats, is a graduate of Ragsdale High. So is kicker Josh Shrader, who was on the team at U.Va. from 1989 to '93.

POLL POSITION: Virginia's Al Groh votes on the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll, and he says he takes his responsibility seriously.

"I do it all myself," Groh said yesterday. "I don't have an assistant do it. It doesn't have anything to do with helping us win, but if you're asked to be on it, I try to do it the right way. I put some time and thought into it, and I try to pick the 25 best teams every week."

This week, Groh said, his ballot included U.Va. for the first time. "Twenty-fifth."

Virginia (8-4) visits Virginia Tech (8-3) on Saturday. U.Va. knocked off then-No. 22 N.C. State on Nov. 16 and then-No. 18 Maryland on Saturday. Asked where he voted the Hokies, who have lost three straight, Groh turned coy.

"They said on the ballot that ballots are confidential," he said. Then he added: "I voted them in the top 25 throughout the course of the year, and I continue to do so. It has nothing to do who they are."

In the latest coaches' poll, Tech is 19th. Virginia isn't ranked but received more votes than any team except Arkansas that's not in the top 25. In The Associated Press poll, the Hokies are No. 22. The Cavs are first among other teams receiving votes (26th overall).

THE UNTOUCHABLES: The Hokies have two of the nation's premier tailbacks in Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones. Suggs was sidelined with an injury when the teams met in Charlottesville last season, but Jones, then a true freshman, carried 37 times for 181 yards and one touchdown.

"They're fun to watch," Groh said. "It's unfortunate to watch them from the other sideline. I'd rather just watch them on television."

NATIONAL NEWS: The Cavaliers (8-4) got a plug from ESPN.com yesterday. In an article that carried the headline "Cavaliers young and restless," columnist Ivan Maisel wrote: "They're rioting in Columbus and they're tapping their feet impatiently in Coral Gables, but there's no more fascinating story in college football this season than what has taken place in Charlottesville."

HONORED AGAIN: For the second time this season, Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub has been named the ACC offensive back of the week. Schaub, a junior, completed 23 of 27 passes - a career-high 85.2 percent - for 249 yards and three touchdowns to help U.Va. hammer then-No. 18 Maryland 48-13 at Scott Stadium.

Tailback Wali Lundy was named ACC rookie of the week for the second time. Lundy, a freshman, scored a career-best three TDs against the Terrapins. He ran 19 times for 84 yards and one touchdown and had four catches for 54 yards, including his first two TD receptions. Lundy is the first Cavalier this season to have a rushing TD and a receiving TD in the same game.

IRONMAN: Against Maryland, senior safety Jerton Evans became the first Cavalier to hit the 1,000-play mark in a season. Evans, a four-year starter, has been in on 1,021 snaps this season.

"Yeah, I feel like it," he said wearily in the McCue Center locker room yesterday.

TRICKY BUSINESS: Of the four Cavs who have thrown a touchdown pass this season, only Schaub is a quarterback.

Freshman tight end Heath Miller, a converted QB, threw a 20-yard TD pass to tight end Patrick Estes against South Carolina on Sept. 7. Three weeks later, at Wake Forest, Lundy's pass to Miller was tipped into the hands of junior wideout Ryan Sawyer, who raced into the end zone to complete a 38-yard play.

Against Maryland, senior wideout Billy McMullen pulled up breaking a tackle on an apparent reverse and threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to wideout Michael McGrew.

Schaub leads the ACC with 26 TD passes.
 

 

 

Cavs, Huskies hope to build on '02
By Mel Kiper Jr.


With the season winding down, I'll be using my Monday weekend-review segment to highlight and break down some of the interesting teams to watch heading into the 2003 campaign. We'll start with Virginia and Connecticut, two teams fresh off statement victories on Saturday.

VIRGINIA: Building a Solid Foundation
In coach Al Groh's second season as the head coach in Charlottesville, the Virginia Cavaliers have improved from a 5-7 campaign in 2001 to a current record of 8-4 heading into the Virginia Tech game this Saturday. Plus, they've finished second in the ACC behind Florida State and just ahead of Maryland and N.C. State. Virginia shocked Maryland 48-13 on Saturday. There's no question that the foundation is being built for future milestones for Virginia football.

Groh recruited top-quality athletes to Charlottesville, and the coaching staff has done a great job of quickly developing that talent. The Cavaliers are slated to return 17 starters next season, plus their punter and placekicker. Here's a quick rundown of the superior young talent and the seasoned veterans who could key a rise to top-16 status (or perhaps higher) in 2003.


The Cavaliers and QB Matt Schaub have had plenty to celebrate this season.
Virginia's Offense
After being benched briefly after the season-opening loss to Colorado State, junior QB Matt Schaub caught fire, settling in to complete a remarkable 69.7 percent of his aerials heading into this week's game against Virginia Tech at Blacksburg. He has also thrown 26 TD passes (and just six interceptions). Redshirt freshman Marques Hagans, who presents a nice change of pace with his scrambling ability, will be competing for the backup job with Anthony Martinez, a first-year performer who has redshirted this season.

At tailback, the Cavaliers have five talented underclassmen -- giving them as as much depth as any team in the nation.

In addition to sophomores Alvin Pearman and Marquis Weeks, they have versatile freshmen Wali Lundy and Michael Johnson, along with promising youngster Tony Franklin, who redshirted as a freshman this season. Lundy, who would have to be listed as a co-starter, leads Virginia with 572 rushing yards and is second on the team (behind senior WR Billy McMullen) with 49 receptions. That total is the most catches ever by a freshman running back in the ACC.

Freshman FB Jason Snelling has carried the ball only seven times, but he's factored in heavily as a pass-receiving option, with 30 grabs and four TD catches.

With McMullen moving on to the NFL in 2003, Groh and his staff will be making wide receiver a priority in recruiting this season. Junior Michael McGrew will be the most experienced returning wideout, meaning that opportunities exist for incoming standouts to immediately push their way onto the field. It will also be interesting to see if Groh decides to move one of the young tailbacks to WR, since there figures to be a logjam in the backfield.

One of the main targets for Schaub has been redshirt freshman TE Heath Miller. At 6-foot-5, he provides an ideal target, and he's hauled in 28 receptions for a 9.2-yard average. His eight TD receptions tie an ACC record for tight ends. Miller has also thrown a TD pass this season.

Up front on the offensive line, freshman D'Brickashaw Ferguson (6-4, 265) has been holding down the critical LT spot, while redshirt freshman Brian Barthelmes (6-7, 288) moved into the starting lineup midseason. But the top returning starter for the Cavaliers will be huge RG Elton Brown (6-6, 340), who will be a junior in 2003. Also, keep in mind that former starter Kevin Bailey will be back on the field after missing most of the 2002 campaign with a knee injury. Bailey figures to anchor things at center, although he also has experience at tackle.

Virginia's Defense
On defense, Groh's 3-4 is keyed by potential future superstar Darryl Blackstock. Just a freshman, the athletically gifted outside linebacker has recorded nine sacks (the most ever by a first-year performer in the ACC).

On the D-line, sophomore DE Chris Canty has averaged 7.6 tackles per game, tops in the ACC among defensive linemen. He has also recorded two sacks, recovered three fumbles and blocked a critical field goal against Maryland on Saturday. Redshirt freshman DE Brennan Schmidt started all year and has recorded 73 tackles, the third-highest total among first-year players in the ACC. Freshman Kwakou Robinson started the first five games of the season at DE before being sidelined due to an illness.

In addition to Blackstock, the linebacking corps figures to also include highly regarded youngsters Kai Parham and Ahmad Brooks. Battling an injury when he arrived for fall practice, Parham redshirted this season. He could definitely be a major factor at the OLB spot opposite Blackstock. Brooks was rated by recruiting guru Tom Lemming as the nation's third-best prep prospect last year, behind only QB Ben Olson (BYU) and Ohio State freshman sensation RB Maurice Clarett. Brooks spent this season at Hargrave Military Academy. In 2003, he has the versatility to see action at any linebacker position.

As for the secondary, the coaching staff has to be thrilled with the potential displayed by freshman safety Willie Davis. He looks like a future standout.

Special teams was also keyed by first-year performers. Freshman Tom Hagan handled the punting duties all year, while freshman walk-on placekicker Connor Hughes connected on a 47-yard field goal against Maryland on Saturday. Also, redshirt freshman Kurt Smith has shown steady improvement as the kickoff man. On Saturday, he negated the return skills of speedy Terrapin Steve Suter, driving nine of his kickoffs into the end zone, resulting in four touchbacks.

Depending on the result of the regular-season finale on Saturday at Virginia Tech, Virginia likely will be heading either to the Toyota Gator Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl or Mazda Tangerine Bowl. For such a young team -- which was expected by many observers to finish as low as sixth, seventh or eighth in the ACC -- what Groh, his fine staff, and these young men were able to accomplish is something all their fans and everyone associated with the Cavalier program should be extremely proud of.
 

 

 

Once-maligned Schaub now gets his due
By Dave Johnson
Daily Press

Published November 26, 2002

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- This much is telling: Matt Schaub completed 23-of-27 passes on Saturday night and nobody even thought to ask Virginia coach Al Groh about it during a 20-minute postgame press conference.

Time was - and it was not all that long ago - when a game like that from Schaub was as likely as Rush Limbaugh backing Al Gore's latest presidential bid. Schaub was shaky and unreliable last year, as his 1-5 record as the Cavaliers' starting quarterback would attest. And after Virginia's first game this season, against Colorado State, he lost his job to a freshman.

How things have changed. Going into Saturday's regular-season finale at Virginia Tech, Schaub is completing 69.7 percent of his throws. He has 26 touchdown passes and six interceptions. His 2,751 yards are a school record. And, facing the nation's 12th-toughest schedule, Virginia is 8-3 with Schaub as its starter.

On Monday, Schaub became the first Cavaliers quarterback since Matt Blundin in 1991 to be named first-team All-ACC. Now the question becomes, will he become the conference's Most Valuable Player?

"Who's having a better year than him anyplace?" Groh said. "For all the things we might say about the team - the running game's better, these players are improving, our nose tackle is playing better - all those positive things only happen when your quarterback has the ability to lift your team above what else it might be.

"Without him playing quarterback and everybody else performing maybe the same, it would be two wins shy of what we have. That's why it's such a vital position and so important to have the right guy in there. I don't know who's had a better year or meant more to his team. I'd certainly vote for him, and I would do that objectively."

Groh's question - who's having a better year? - is valid. The only running back averaging more than 100 yards a game is Florida State's Greg Jones, and he hasn't played since Nov. 2 because of a knee injury. Maryland linebacker E.J. Henderson was last year's winner but has seven fewer tackles this year despite playing one more game.

N.C. State's sports information department has done a wonderful job promoting quarterback Philip Rivers, but aside from averaging 11 more yards a game, his numbers don't come close to Schaub's. The Wolfpack has played an inferior schedule, and Schaub has a far better touchdown-to-interception ratio (16-3) than Rivers (6-5) in ACC games.

"He's on fire right now," U.Va. wideout Ryan Sawyer said. "He's as accurate as can be."

Schaub has rewritten the school record book, setting marks in passes (373), completions (260), yards (2,751) and touchdowns (26). If it holds, his completion percentage would break Charlie Ward's ACC record by two-thousandths of a point.

Schaub was 33-of-38 at Penn State, 22-of-27 at Wake Forest and 23-of-27 Saturday night against Maryland. He threw for 372 yards at Georgia Tech, 315 at Duke and 312 at Wake Forest. He hasn't been intercepted since Oct. 26, a string of 91 passes. And he has thrown for at least one touchdown in 12 consecutive games, another school record.

If you got lost in a cave the day after the Colorado State game and emerged yesterday, you'd never believe it.

"He's grown a lot as a person," said center Zac Yarbrough, one of Schaub's roommates. "And he's really stepped up as a leader. He was a little down after the Colorado State game, but I knew he'd come around."

Fullback Kase Luzar believes the CSU game was a mere blip.

"I don't know if there's been a big difference from the Colorado State game until now," Luzar said.

"I mean, he had a bad game. That's the way I looked at it. Like, all right, he had a bad game, let's get over it and move on. The team was always behind him. We knew he was our quarterback. He was our leader, the guy who would win for us."

Turns out Luzar was right. And if Schaub was voted ACC Player of the Year - it will be announced this week - he has the right stuff on his resume to warrant it.

"If you were to take up that cause," Groh said, "you'd have a good case."
 

 

 

Gator may snap up Pack today
By AL FEATHERSTON : The Herald-Sun
afeatherston@heraldsun.com
Nov 25, 2002 : 11:48 pm ET

RALEIGH -- The Gator Bowl is on the clock.

And Rick Catlett, executive director of the Gator Bowl, said Monday that the selection committee for the New Year’s Day Jacksonville bowl could announce its ACC representative as early as today. And, sources indicate that if the choice is announced today, N.C. State will be the team.

However, the same sources report that if the Gator Bowl waits to pick an ACC team, both Maryland and Virginia would be strong candidates to play in Jacksonville, depending on the outcome of Saturday’s games.

Catlett would not name the team that the committee was close to choosing, but he confirmed that a choice was close.

"We understand that we’re on the clock," Catlett said. "That why we met three times [Monday]. That shows we’re trying to reach a decision. We’re trying to decide if this weekend’s games matter."

The Gator Bowl has the No. 2 pick of ACC teams — which is not necessarily the ACC’s second-place team.

"We have a contract that allows us to take any team within one win [of second place]," he said. "We’re looking at several scenarios."

With Florida State guaranteed the league’s automatic BCS bid, the Gator has its choice of No. 21 N.C. State (10-3, 5-3 ACC), No. 23 Maryland (9-3, 5-2) and unranked Virginia (8-4, 6-2). The Wolfpack has finished its regular season, while Maryland meets Wake Forest on Saturday in College Park and Virginia travels to Virginia Tech.

N.C. State has the highest ranking, the best overall record (which Maryland could match), a large fan following and marquee players in quarterback Philip Rivers and freshman tailback T.A. McLendon. However, the Pack also has the worst ACC record of the three candidates and lost head-to-head matchups with the Terps and Cavaliers.

Catlett said the selection committee would balance all of those factors in its deliberations.

The Gator Bowl committee has one other factor to consider — the possibility of a re-playing a regular-season game. Maryland already has faced both West Virginia and Notre Dame, which are candidates to play in Jacksonville. Neither N.C. State nor Virginia has played any of the three potential opponents.

Catlett said that his bowl definitely would wait until after this weekend’s games to name an opponent for the ACC representative. The winner of Saturday’s West Virginia at Pittsburgh game will be a strong candidate, but Catlett also has his eye on Notre Dame — provided the Irish don’t claim one of the BCS at-large spots.

"I talked to the BCS people today," Catlett said. "There are several scenarios that could give us Notre Dame."

And Catlett admitted that if Notre Dame is available, then Notre Dame will be the Gator’s first choice.

While the Gator ponders its options, no other ACC-affiliated bowl can act. There were unconfirmed reports that the Peach Bowl was ready to offer N.C. State a bid, but Peach Bowl executive director Gary Stokan said Saturday that his bowl can’t decide until the Gator Bowl makes its choice.

The Tangerine Bowl, which chooses after the Peach, is also waiting on the Gator.

"The only bowl that’s talking to me about releasing teams is the Tangerine," Catlett said. "We’ll do it, if we can eliminate anybody."

It’s possible the Gator Bowl could release Virginia and Maryland today, but it’s also possible the bowl will hold its ACC three candidates until Saturday.

 

 

Gator Bowl trip might be lurking in Wolfpack's future

By TIM PEELER, Staff Writer
News & Record

RALEIGH -- N.C. State may be headed back to Florida for the third year in a row to play in a bowl game.

Officials from the Gator Bowl met three times on Monday to talk about the three teams -- N.C. State, Maryland and Virginia -- from the ACC it is considering for its New Year's Day game at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla., and the No. 21 Wolfpack (5-3 ACC, 10-3 overall) apparently emerged as the bowl's top consideration following Saturday's 17-7 victory over Florida State.

Gator Bowl president Rick Catlett said there is no favorite at the moment, but he admitted things changed pretty quickly on Monday, after the bowl's volunteers reported back from their weekend games, even though the Gator didn't officially scout the game against Florida State.

"We didn't think we would know anything until next Monday, after all the games are played, but things were hopping around here after the volunteers made their reports," Catlett said.

Catlett had conversations Monday with ACC Commissioner John Swofford and representatives from Toyota, the game's title sponsor, and felt confident enough Monday night to say an announcement could be imminent, even as early as this afternoon.

"That is a possibility," Catlett said, though he would not say it is a probability. "I would think you should definitely give me a call (today)."

Catlett said the Gator's 11-member selection committee does not have a meeting scheduled for this morning, but didn't rule it out.

"That could change quickly," he said.

At N.C. State, athletic department officials were making preparations to go to any of three bowls, the Gator, the Peach and the Tangerine, even though football coach Chuck Amato was on the road recruiting and athletics director Lee Fowler was in Philadelphia.

"I have three folders that I keep all of that stuff in, one for each bowl," said senior associate athletics director David Horning. "I would love to be able to get rid of two of them."

But there were no plans as of Monday night for a formal announcement, according to school officials.

"I haven't heard anything," Fowler said Monday night. "There are some rumors out there, but I still think they will wait until after Saturday's game."

Amato makes no secret that many of his top recruiting targets are in Florida, and playing postseason games there help him in recruiting. In his previous two seasons as the Wolfpack's head coach, State has played in the Micronpc.com Bowl in Ft. Lauderdale and in the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando.

The Gator would like to make an early decision on its ACC representative because it may be a while before the opponent is determined. The Gator has a contract to select the No. 2 team from the Big East, but can also select Notre Dame, which it did two years ago to play Georgia Tech.

But the Fighting Irish's final game of the season -- against Southern California -- isn't until Dec. 7. A Notre Dame victory would virtually assure it a spot in the Bowl Championship Series, but a loss might make the Irish, which is ranked No. 6 in the latest BCS standings, eligible to be selected by the Gator Bowl.

An N.C. State-Notre Dame matchup would be attractive nationally, pitting former N.C. State assistant coach and North Carolina native Ty Willingham and his team against Amato's team, which scored a 17-7 upset over Florida State Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium.

The other possibility is that the Gator will take the winner of Saturday's West Virginia-Pittsburgh game.

A West Virginia win helps the Wolfpack's status with the Gator, which isn't particularly interested in a rematch between Maryland and West Virginia. Maryland won 48-17 in Morgantown, W. Va., earlier this season. The Gator Bowl's contract with the ACC calls for conference and school approval for any rematches, Catlett said.

"They have expressed reservations about any potential rematches," Catlett said.

Then again, the Wolfpack and Pittsburgh faced each other in last year's Tangerine Bowl, with the Panthers winning 31-19 in Orlando, Fla., but the Gator doesn't have a contract prohibiting that.

 

 

McPherson off team
Seminoles' quarterback part of police investigation
By Steve Ellis
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
 

Quarterback Adrian McPherson was dismissed from the Florida State University football team Monday amid a police investigation into his alleged involvement in a check forgery.

According to a Tallahassee Police Department news release, the case involves the theft of a blank check from a local business. The check was forged and cashed at a local bank.

No one, including McPherson, had been charged as of Monday afternoon. School officials said they do not think another FSU athlete is involved in this investigation. McPherson had not been questioned by TPD at the time of his dismissal.

His attorney, Grady Irvin of St.Petersburg, said his client might not be charged in the case. He also said McPherson contacted police about the incident.

"Adrian did not write the check," Irvin said. "He did not endorse the check or receive any funds from the check. It is our understanding that McPherson may have knowledge of the check."

Sources said the check was stolen from R&R Truck Rental on West Tennessee Street, and Irvin said the forged check was cashed for $3,500. Dale Acosta, R&R's owner, said he was "a victim in all this" and he is cooperating with police. Acosta said he would release a statement this morning.

Irvin said McPherson was disappointed by the turn of events.

"He took the initial steps. He was proactive through all of this. People who are proactive certainly warrant some reservation on the part of the institution to hold back and let's say, 'Let the dust and smoke clear and find out what is going on,'" Irvin said at a news conference in St. Petersburg. "To dismiss him from the football team is very disconcerting."

McPherson's departure comes five days before the Seminoles' showdown against Florida, although his position as starting quarterback already was in question after last weekend's stunning 17-7 loss to North Carolina State. Chris Rix, who started 20 games before being replaced by McPherson, will start Saturday for 23rd-ranked FSU.

FSU coach Bobby Bowden said he can't discuss specifics of the investigation or the dismissal. "I can't stand to talk when I can't talk," he said.

Details were unclear Monday, and rumors were rampant. McPherson's attorney further muddied the situation by giving apparently conflicting statements.

At first, Irvin said McPherson told coaches last Friday about the situation and that he was allowed to play anyway.

"At some time last week Mr. McPherson approached members of the coaching staff and informed at least one member he was concerned about some contact," Irvin said.

Irvin later said the coaching staff became aware of the matter over the weekend.

Bowden told the team Monday that McPherson was kicked off the squad because he had lied to him. Bowden wasn't specific about their conversation, according to two players. It is a normal practice for players who run into legal problems to be suspended until the case is concluded with a police investigation or through the court system.

"It all depends on the circumstances...circumstance and information we know to be accurate," FSU athletic director Dave Hart said.

Hart said McPherson has not violated any university or NCAA rules and that the decision to dismiss McPherson was made within the athletic department. Although Tallahassee was abuzz Monday with rumors that McPherson's dismissal was related to gambling, FSU compliance director Bob Minnix said his office has not investigated it as a gambling-related matter.

Sports information director Rob Wilson also confirmed that this investigation does not involve gambling.

McPherson, Florida's Mr. Basketball and Mr. Football in high school, also will not play basketball for the Seminoles. He remains enrolled and on scholarship at the university.

The dismissal of McPherson - who started the past four games and was 80 of 155 for 1,017 yards, with 12 touchdowns and one interception - stunned teammates.

"It's a shock," said tailback Nick Maddox. "A guy losing eligibility is shocking."

Offensive tackle Brett Williams said McPherson let the team down.

"It's very disappointing," Williams said. "I remember just thinking to myself ... 'Man, he's going to be a great quarterback and might win the Heisman or something one day.' He kind of let us down.

"We've been through similar situations like this around here. I think we will be able to handle it well."

McPherson's dismissal comes at the end of a roller-coaster regular season for FSU. The Seminoles won their 10th ACC title outright and will play in a Bowl Championship Series game, likely the Sugar Bowl. But FSU also lost at least four games for the second consecutive season and will be without offensive starters Maddox and Antoine Mirambeau when it hosts Florida.