Many of Virginia’s football games this season have unfolded like the majority of last year’s - close, evenly-contested, decided by three or four pivotal plays.
The difference?
“We’re not making those big plays when we really need them,” said defensive end Chris Canty. “It’s frustrating, because that’s what we did so well last year.”
Indeed, the Cavaliers are treading a thin line between success and failure, much as they did last season. More often, however, especially in recent games, they have fallen in the wrong direction.
They have dropped each of their past three ACC games to fall to 5-4 overall, 3-3 in league play. Before that, they had won nine of their previous 10 conference games, with seven of those decided by 10 points or less.
That formula - stay close and find a way to win - hasn’t worked in the past month. First, Virginia lost in overtime to Clemson, then fell by five points to Florida State. Last Saturday’s 51-37 loss to N.C. State was just as close, despite the final margin. The Wolfpack scored two touchdowns in the final 23 seconds to break a tie.
That ugly ending was in marked contrast to last year’s game against State, when cornerback Jamaine Winborne broke up a pass in the end zone to clinch a 14-9 upset. This time the Cavaliers missed two tackles as T.A. McLendon ran 38 yards for the winning touchdown, and safety Victor Stephens scored on an interception return two plays later.
“Last year we made the play” at the end, said UVa coach Al Groh, whose team is off this week before facing Maryland (6-3, 3-2 ACC) next Thursday. “This year with the game on the line, their guys made the big plays.”
Which is why Virginia now finds itself tied for fifth in the ACC standings with Clemson and Wake Forest, rather than in second by itself - the position it would have assumed with a victory over the Wolfpack (7-3, 4-2).
Groh pointed out several other plays that seemed small but were significant in the outcome. On State’s last drive, which ended in McLendon’s touchdown, Philip Rivers barely converted a third-and-5 with a short pass to backup tailback Reggie Davis.
Minutes before that, Marques Hagans returned a punt near midfield, but an illegal block pushed the Cavaliers back to their own 27-yard line. They failed to pick up a first down and had to punt.
“Those are the kind of things that certainly are aggravating and agonizing when you’re evaluating your team,” Groh said.
Another play that aggravated the Cavaliers came in the second quarter, when Canty scooped up an apparent fumble and ran into the end zone. An inadvertent official’s whistle blew the play dead, however, so the Wolfpack kept possession and Virginia did not add to its 24-20 lead.
The play occurred on the sideline right in front of Groh, who also watched it on film several times Sunday morning.
“The ball was legitimately fumbled, it was legitimately picked up and a touchdown was legitimately scored,” he said. “Unfortunately, someone inadvertently blowing the whistle trumped all that.”
Said Canty: “I thought it was clearly a fumble, but the referees in the ACC are great referees. That’s fine with me. I’m not going to complain about it.”
Groh isn’t much for whining, either. He said the Cavaliers didn’t block or defend the pass well enough against the Wolfpack. They rushed for just 53 yards, while Rivers threw for 410 yards and four touchdowns.
Virginia also did some things well enough to win. Matt Schaub passed for 393 yards, a school record, and four TDs.
Alvin Pearman caught 13 passes and Wali Lundy had three touchdown receptions. Connor Hughes made three field goals, including a 52-yarder, and Kurt Smith sent six of eight kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.
But that’s the way things are for a lot of teams in college football these days. Other than two or three dominant teams, Groh said, not much separates the next 30 to 35.
Three or four plays can make all the difference.
“Winning means you’re better, but in terms of who’s actually a better team, a lot of times one team’s no better than the other one,” Groh said. “One team just wins. One team just loses. It happened a lot last year. We won, but I couldn’t say, ‘Hey, we’re the better team.’”
Mighty Rivers can’t tarnish Groh
The Virginian-Pilot
© November 2, 2003
RALEIGH
Virginia’s football team, Al Groh said early Saturday evening, can still win
November.
Never mind, he said, that the month just began badly for the Cavaliers, who
spent much of the day against North Carolina State playing defense the way a
matador dances with the bull.
“This is an exciting month in the Atlantic Coast Conference,” said Groh,
following U.Va.’s 51-37 loss, a game that was tied until 23 seconds remained on
the clock.
“I love this time of year,” Groh continued. “This is what real ball is all
about.”
Virginia has three more games in November, three more opportunities to prove the
Cavaliers, 5-4, weren’t overrated by preseason polls that included them in the
top 20.
“We can still win the month,” said Groh. This is what a coach has to think. More
importantly, it’s what he has to say after his team played the foil in a Philip
Rivers highlight tape.
In a distinguished four-year career, Rivers could not have looked better. Or
toyed with a defense as relentlessly.
He completed 29 of 34 passes for 410 yards and four touchdowns. His 17
consecutive completions were a career best. U.Va.’s defense — and we use the
term loosely — had no answers for the big, smart senior.
“He reads the defense better than anybody I’ve ever seen,” said U.Va. senior
safety Jamaine Winborne. “He knows where to throw the ball. He’ll read a
defense’s disguises right up to the snap of the ball.”
For U.Va. fans, the temptation may be to blame this loss on N.C. State’s first
score, when the Wolfpack pounced on the ball in the end zone after Matt Schaub
couldn’t control a high snap in the shotgun.
“Emotionally, our team quickly recovered from it,” said Groh. “But with the way
the final two minutes went, it was a major play in the game.”
With the score tied late in the fourth quarter, U.Va. hurt itself again when a
blocking in the back penalty brought back a punt return Marques Hagans had
returned to near midfield.
Two plays that could have made a difference.
But to blame two plays for U.Va.’s loss, you’d have to overlook the Cavaliers’
four-quarter defensive debacle. The way they never adjusted to Rivers, or found
a way to control tailback T.A. McLendon, who rushed for 112 yards on 18 carries
and still found time to catch 11 balls for 104 yards.
And to think that he’s been nursing a grouchy knee.
McLendon broke through U.Va. tacklers for the game-winning 38-yard touchdown
run. Earlier in the fourth quarter, he took a swing pass on third and two and
rambled 45 yards, setting up another N.C. State touchdown.
Could U.Va. have given up any more big plays?
N.C. State went ahead in the third quarter on a one-snap drive, a 75-yard strike
from Rivers to tight end T.J. Williams. If you were watching very closely on TV,
you might have seen a Cavalier pass defender in the picture.
Only by writing his name in Virginia’s record book could Schaub keep his team in
this game. U.Va.’s passing was no less audacious than State’s.
In the first quarter, on fourth and 1 in Wolfpack territory, Schaub dropped back
and hit Alvin Pearman downfield on a perfectly weighted pass for 29 yards.
Next play, Schaub found Wali Lundy across the middle for a touchdown.
It went like this the entire day, with Rivers and Schaub dueling, and both
defenses scrambling to keep up. Finally, it was U.Va. that blinked. You wonder
if Groh will be able to put it back together in time for Maryland, Georgia Tech
and Virginia Tech. As opponents go, they should be real enough for U.Va.
At least these Cavaliers won’t have to worry about facing an offensive force
quite like Rivers again.
“That’s probably the best quarterback I’ll ever play against,” Winborne said.
If Rivers could play all his games against the U.Va. defense we witnessed
Saturday, he’d be the best anybody ever saw.
Bowls for ACC still not settled
11-3-03
By Rob Daniels Staff Writer
News & Record
Four weeks remain in regular-season ACC football, so don't make those
non-refundable airline reservations just yet. Beyond Florida State's
participation in the league's BCS game, nothing is close to certain. For now,
we'll have to settle for generalities:
• N.C. State, Georgia Tech and Maryland make up the top tier and are the
candidates for the Gator and Peach Bowls. The Wolfpack has the edge.
• Wake Forest's decisive win over Clemson considerably enhanced the Demon
Deacons' bowl hopes at the probable expense of the suddenly endangered Tigers.
• Virginia is likely sentenced to the Continental Tire or Humanitarian if it
qualifies.
The Wolfpack (4-2 ACC, 7-3) will be in the Peach or Gator unless it loses its
remaining games (at Florida State, home against Maryland) and the Terrapins
(3-2, 6-3) and Yellow Jackets (3-2, 5-3) win out. In that event, the Terps and
Jackets would be 6-2 to State's 4-4, and by policy, the Gator and Peach can't
bypass a 6-2 team for a 4-4 club.
One more State victory -- or one more loss by both Georgia Tech and Maryland --
will make the Pack eligible for Gator Bowl consideration, and the folks in
Jacksonville, Fla., will be tempted to take State for the second straight year.
While the Wolfpack probably won't duplicate the total of 30,000 fans it brought
to last season's matchup with Notre Dame, it might come close. Having N.C. State
will also create a pairing that NBC will find attractive: Philip Rivers, in his
collegiate finale, opposing Miami, Virginia Tech or Pittsburgh.
If the Gator doesn't take the Pack, the Peach certainly will if it can. State
hasn't played in the Peach since the 1994 season. That's the longest drought of
any frequent ACC bowl participant other than Florida State.
The Demon Deacons (3-3, 5-4), who began the season with the fewest returning
starters in the league, are in good postseason shape. One more victory makes
them eligible. If they win two or all three of their remaining games, they'll
have a stronger case.
For greatest peace of mind, however, Wake would like a combination of its own
eligibility and the elimination of another ACC bowl contender. The Humanitarian
or Tire would then be compelled to take the Deacons, whose small alumni base
makes them unattractive to bottom-line bowl financiers.
Clemson (3-3, 5-4 overall, 4-4 Division I-A) must win two of its final three
games, and that won't be easy. The Tigers do get to host Duke but must also face
Florida State at home and South Carolina (5-4) in Columbia. Having used a
Division I-AA win to qualify for a bowl two years ago, they're out of exemptions
to the NCAA rule requiring six I-A victories for postseason eligibility.
Virginia (3-3, 5-4) is also in a precarious position. The Cavaliers need one
more win but have a tough road ahead: a Thursday, Nov. 13 contest at Maryland
followed by home games against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech (7-1). The Yellow
Jackets, who are almost certain to qualify anyway, could do Wake a major favor
by hurting the Cavs.
Power Struggle May Await ACC
By Liz Clarke
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 3, 2003; Page D06
The Atlantic Coast Conference has come off as bumbling and opportunistic,
exposed itself to a lawsuit and engendered profound ill will in its push to
expand to 12 teams and, in turn, qualify for a lucrative football championship.
Now that its vision has been realized -- with Miami, Virginia Tech and
eventually Boston College poised to join the league -- it's worth posing the
question of whether it was such a good idea.
The upside to a conference championship is the guaranteed cash and exposure it
generates. But there's a downside, as well. In pitting a league's two best
against each other in a title game, it invariably puts a hit in someone's record
and makes it harder to qualify for a major bowl.
Said Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer, whose Hokies haven't had to contend for a
league championship in the Big East: "Without question it's going to be much
tougher for us, Miami, Florida State -- you go right down the line [with ACC
schools] -- to win a national championship. You add a game that you have about a
50-50, maybe 60-40, chance to win. Plus you have more teams in the league that
are better."
This season Oklahoma -- the only unbeaten team still standing -- looks like a
lock for a Sugar Bowl invitation. With their 52-9 rout of Oklahoma State, the
Sooners turned in their fifth game this season in which they've scored more than
50 points.
After that, it's a scramble among the six "major-conference" teams that have one
loss: No. 2 Southern California, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Louisiana State, No.
5 Virginia Tech, No. 6 Miami and No. 7 Ohio State.
Of the bunch, five are from conferences that don't play a championship (Southern
Cal, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Miami and Ohio State). LSU may well play in a
conference championship, as will unbeaten Oklahoma.
Jerry Palm, who has made a career of analyzing the machinations of college
football's perplexing postseason landscape, plays down the damage that an ACC
title game can do to the league's championship hopes.
"The ACC has never had two teams in the BCS, anyway," Palm said. In other words,
Palm thinks the ACC isn't deep enough to worry about knocking a worthy member
from national title contention. It has a long way to go in establishing itself
as a football power, Palm suggests, before it has to worry about the problems
the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 share.
College Football's Stretch Run
U.Va.: Three and out? Cavaliers' goal now is to play themselves into, not out
of, bowl picture
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Nov 3, 2003
Virginia's drive to make this a November to remember started inauspiciously. The
Cavaliers lost 51-37 at N.C. State in a game that was tied with 30 seconds
remaining.
Cavaliers coach Al Groh, not surprisingly, wasn't a happy man at his postgame
press conference Saturday night. Still, he tried to put the setback in
perspective.
"This is an exciting month in the Atlantic Coast Conference," Groh said, "and
that's what it is: It's a month. You can win a game and lose the month. You can
lose the game and win the month."
Junior defensive end Chris Canty said: "It's a four-game month. We can still go
3-1."
U.Va. (3-3, 5-4), which needs another victory to become bowl-eligible, is one of
three teams tied for fifth in the ACC, along with Clemson and Georgia Tech.
Virginia visits Maryland (3-2, 6-3) on Nov. 13. The Cavaliers return to Scott
Stadium to play host to Georgia Tech (3-2, 5-3) on Nov. 22 and fifth-ranked
Virginia Tech (7-1) on Nov. 29.
"I love this time of year," Groh said. "This is what real ball is. Games are on
the line, with a lot of teams in the mix, and you can win your way in or play
your way out. We got three more of them coming up, and it's going to be a hell
of a drive."
The trip to Raleigh, N.C., kicked off "four weeks full of games that are
grinders, that are going to be 3½-hour deals," Groh said. "If you got the
competitive stamina to hang in there for 3½ hours and make plays at the end, you
got a chance to win."
Making plays at the end became a trademark of last year's Cavaliers, who
outscored opponents 147-80 in the fourth quarter. Five of U.Va.'s nine victories
in 2002 - over Wake Forest, Duke, Clemson, North Carolina and N.C. State -
weren't decided until the final quarter.
Virginia has been outscored 65-42 in the fourth quarter this season. N.C. State
scored two touchdowns in the final 23 seconds Saturday, the first - the play
that broke a 37-37 tie - coming when sophomore tailback T.A. McLendon took an
inside handoff from Rivers and burst through the middle of the line. McLendon
ran through attempted tackles by safety Jay Dorsey and cornerback Almondo Curry
on a 38-yard jaunt to the end zone.
In the Cavaliers' 14-9 win over the Wolfpack at Scott Stadium last year, their
victory wasn't assured until defensive back Jamaine Winborne batted down a
fourth-down pass from Philip Rivers in the end zone with 17 seconds left.
"Last year, with the game on the line, our guy made a play," Groh said last
night. "This year, with the game on the line, we didn't make the play. Their guy
made the play. That's what it comes down to, a play here and a play there."
The Cavaliers appeared to have made a huge play with 7:45 left before halftime
Saturday. Rivers passed to wideout Tramain Hall, whom Curry corralled around the
Wolfpack 45. As Hall fought for yardage along the U.Va. sideline, defensive end
Brennan Schmidt knocked the ball loose. Canty scooped it up at the 40 and raced
down the left sideline to the end zone.
The officials ruled, however, that an inadvertent whistle had blown, nullifying
Canty's apparent touchdown.