ACC teams try to become bowl eligible
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
November 1, 2005

“And down the stretch they come!”

It means something different to horse racing fans, but as the Virginia football team returned to the practice field Monday night after a timely weekend off, it was back to business.

And for good reason. With a tricky November schedule that includes four games - three against foes in the Atlantic Coast Conference and one on Saturday against Temple at 3:30 p.m. - the Cavaliers (4-4, 2-3 ACC) must find a way to win two to become eligible for a bowl game.

Virginia coach Al Groh can do the math. He knows that the best-case scenario of a 5-3 record in league play would still leave his team out of the ACC Championship game, so “the next goal is to try to get yourself placed as best you can in the postseason.”

A win over Temple is expected. Virginia is a 34-point favorite over the winless Owls (0-8).

The other three games, well, they will not be as easy.

The Cavaliers close out the regular season by playing the first-, second- and third-place teams from the ACC’s Coastal Division - Virginia Tech, Miami and Georgia Tech. If Virginia beats Temple and one of those other three teams, it would become bowl eligible for the third straight season.

But would the Cavs go bowling?

The Atlantic Coast Conference has tie-ins to six bowl games, including the automatic bid into the Bowl Championship Series. It seems highly unlikely that the league could put two teams into the BCS mix unless an undefeated Virginia Tech team lost to a one-loss Florida State team in the ACC Championship game.

Four of the ACC’s teams already have secured a postseason berth. Virginia Tech (8-0), Florida State (7-1), Miami (6-1) and Boston College (6-2) have already qualified to play in one of those six affiliated bowls sometime in December or January. The rest of the teams’ fates are up in the air.

Here’s a look at the ACC:

The Good

• Virginia Tech (8-0, 5-0). Even if the Hokies win their final three games (Miami, at Virginia, North Carolina) and the ACC title game, they may need help to play in the National Championship game. Eleven other ACC teams would love that problem.

• Florida State (7-1, 5-1). The Seminoles received a scare against Maryland on Saturday, but thanks to a second-half comeback they won 35-27. They appear to have the inside track for the Atlantic Division bid into the ACC Championship game with league games left with North Carolina State and Clemson and the head-to-head tiebreaker locked up with second-place Boston College. FSU closes out the regular season with a rivalry game at Florida on Nov. 26.

• Miami (6-1, 3-1). The Hurricanes play their most important game of the season on Saturday at Virginia Tech. With a win, Miami would suddenly become the Coastal Division favorite. Even with a loss, the Hurricanes are sitting pretty for earning a date in an upper-level non-BCS bowl with two home games (Georgia Tech and UVa) and a winnable road game at Wake Forest left. Playing in the Peach Bowl seems likely if the Canes lose out on a title game berth (Florida State played in that game last year).

• Boston College (6-2, 3-2). The Eagles play two of their final three games on the road (at North Carolina and Maryland). They also get North Carolina State at home on Nov. 12. Since BC played in the Continental Tire Bowl last year in Charlotte, they could use two or three wins to make a pitch for the Peach or Gator Bowls. A trip to the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando seems more likely.

The Bad

• Virginia (4-3, 2-3). The Cavaliers should enter the final three games needing just one win. Considering they have lost just two home games in the past three years, it is a mark that should be obtainable. But then what? Virginia would love to avoid a repeat trip to Boise. And the Peach Bowl seems like a dream unless the Cavs win three of four.

There are bowl games that take at-large teams, like the Poinsettia Bowl (San Diego) or the Liberty Bowl (Memphis, Tenn.). The Poinsettia Bowl, which is played Dec. 22, would likely be hard to swing for the Cavaliers since final exams run from Dec. 8-16.

Another option could arise if another conference fails to qualify enough teams to fill their bowl allotments, like what could potentially happen in the Southeastern Conference. Five teams in the SEC, which has eight tie-ins, are currently bowl eligible (Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia and LSU). South Carolina (5-3) needs just one win, while Vanderbilt (4-4) needs two and Tennessee (3-4) needs to go 3-1.

That would leave the Cavaliers with a shot at playing in the Independence Bowl on Dec. 30 in Shreveport, La., against the fifth-place team from the Big Ten. It could also earn UVa or another ACC school a date in the Music City Bowl (Dec. 30).

The Independence Bowl wanted Virginia last year, but bowl officials in Boise would not release the Cavaliers from their conference obligation.

If it sounds confusing, that’s because it is.

• Georgia Tech (5-2, 3-2). The Yellow Jackets did more for their bowl hopes than perhaps any other ACC team, beating Clemson, 10-9, on Saturday. Georgia Tech needs one more win to become eligible for the postseason. They play twice on the road (at Miami and Virginia) and twice at home (Wake Forest and Georgia). Georgia Tech could end up playing in Charlotte in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, formerly known as the Continental Tire Bowl.

The Ugly

• Clemson (4-4, 2-4). The Tigers seemed like a lock for the postseason until their offense missed the bus for Atlanta on Saturday, losing 10-9. Sound familiar? Clemson must now win two of its final three games. One should be a given - they host Duke (1-8). The other two are tougher - they have Florida State and play a rivalry game at South Carolina.

Clemson was all packed for Boise last year when a postgame brawl wiped away those plans.

• Maryland (4-4, 2-3). The Terps could have helped their chances on Saturday, but Florida State rallied to beat them. They must now win two of their final three as they host Boston College and travel to North Carolina and North Carolina State.

• North Carolina (3-4, 2-2). The Tar Heels need to win three of their final four. They should beat Duke at home and should be a slight favorite to beat Maryland at Kenan Stadium. After that they host Boston College. They may want to win those first three games since the final game on the schedule is played where visiting teams go to lose - Blacksburg.

• North Carolina State (3-4, 1-4). The Wolfpack kept their slim hopes alive with a come-from-behind win over Southern Miss on Saturday (21-17). N.C. State must win three of its final four for a chance to play in the postseason. While they should beat Middle Tennessee State (2-4), they face tough tests at Florida State and Boston College before playing a home finale with Maryland.

• Wake Forest (4-5, 3-3). So you’re saying we have a chance? Yes, Wake Forest you have a chance. Slim as it may be. The Demon Deacons must win both of their final two games against a pair of teams that are a combined 11-3. That includes a road trip to Georgia Tech and a home date with Miami. Ouch.

With 11 of the 12 teams either having secured a spot or trying to do, it would be easy for a coach in the league to get headaches crunching the numbers.

“That is just the kind of season it is in this conference right now,” said Groh on Sunday. “There seem to be so many teams that are in a position or in a necessity to fight their brains out to try to win six.”

 

Owls offer Cavs chance to wise up
With less-than-stellar stats, Owls may be just what Virginia needs to turn corner
Ernie Washington, Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

If there was ever a treatment to cure the bitter feeling after a terrible loss, the Temple Owls would be it. Luckily, the Virginia football team has the chance to be healed.

After the Cavaliers' embarrassing 7-5 loss against North Carolina Oct. 22, Temple comes to Charlottesville Saturday in a game expected by many to be a blowout.

Why is Temple considered the preferred treatment for a team feeling the blues? Consider the following facts from the history of Temple football: They have only won 41 percent of the games they have ever played. They have won only one bowl game, the 1979 Garden State bowl, a bowl no longer in existence. They have won only one conference championship -- the 1967 Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Corporation championship.

The most disturbing event in Temple history, however, occurred in 2001. The presidents of schools in the Big East Conference voted to expel Temple out of the conference for financial reasons.

As for the present day, Temple is 0-9 this season. They are coming off a 41-14 blowout loss to mid-major Miami (OH) on senior day. Besides a three-point defeat at the hands of Western Michigan, all of their other losses have occurred by a margin of greater than 24 points.

For the Cavaliers, it also helps if senior quarterback Marques Hagans, a.k.a. "The Magician," can brew together a spell to help the Cavaliers Saturday.

Hampered by a hamstring injury against the Tar Heels, Hagans was limited to 109 yards passing and 26 yards rushing. However, one game alone does not diminish his importance to the Cavaliers this season. He is the third leading rusher on the team with 213 yards, and he averages 207 yards passing per game. Teammates are quick to praise Hagans' value this season.

"You can't really ask for more from a quarterback as a receiver," junior receiver Fontel Mines said. "He's a great player; he silenced all the critics about the height issues. He played through injuries, through fatigue. He went out there and made plays -- you can't really ask for any more than that."

Even though Hagans has battled injuries lately, he doesn't use that as an excuse for the loss against North Carolina.

"Marques doesn't take any extra credit when he wins, and he doesn't make any excuses when he doesn't," Virginia head coach Al Groh said. "I won't make any excuses for him either because I think that's the way he'd like it."

Hagans would also like nothing else than victories for the Cavaliers. While the Carolina loss hurt the team, they are still a tight-knit group.

"Our teammates pick each other up," Hagans said. "We have nobody else but us between those lines. We've got to keep fighting all year."

The Cavaliers know, as harsh as the North Carolina game might have been, that they have the rest of the season to try to gain bowl eligibility and finish in the upper-tier of the coastal division of the ACC.

"Wins or losses, you've got to put it behind you," sophomore safety Nate Lyles said. "We're getting ready for the next team."

 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Nov 1, 2005

INSIDE PRESENCE: In news reports this fall, Johnnie Lett has been consistently listed at 215 pounds. His basketball coach at B.C. Rain High in Mobile, Ala., Bruce Craig, said yesterday that the 6-8 senior weighs closer to 225 and could easily carry 250 pounds - or more - on his frame.

Lett committed to Virginia on Saturday, becoming the third member of coach Dave Leitao's recruiting class for 2006-07. As a junior, Lett averaged 18 points and 15 rebounds and was a finalist for the Mr. Basketball award in Alabama.

Craig compared Lett's style of play to that of another powerful big man from Alabama, Ben Wallace, the Detroit Pistons center who starred in college for Virginia Union.

"He's a kid that's willing to work hard and learn," Craig said. "The thing I like about Johnnie is, most kids think they've already arrived. Johnnie wants to keep working."

Lett, whose offensive game is unpolished, also had a scholarship offer from South Alabama and drew interest from numerous other schools.

"He's a well-mannered kid," Craig said. "Yes, sir. No, sir. Never complains. Anything you tell him to do, he says, 'Yes, sir.' He's one of the hardest-working kids I've ever coached."

BIG LOSSES: Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Heath Miller is earning praise for his blocking. Another NFL rookie, Patrick Estes, is a second-team offensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers.

A season ago, Miller and Estes were Virginia's top two tight ends. Not coincidentally, perhaps, U.Va. led the ACC in rushing by a large margin. The Cavaliers, averaging a modest 137.1 rushing yards per game, rank ninth among ACC teams this season.

Miller played at about 250 pounds and Estes at about 280 last season. The latest generation of tight ends at U.Va. - sophomores Jonathan Stupar (245 pounds) and Tom Santi (238) and true freshman John Phillips (241) - has considerably less bulk.

"In terms of power at the point of attack, against some of the size defensive ends you get, there certainly is a tradeoff," Virginia coach Al Groh said.

EXTENDED HOMESTAND: The starting time for the Nov. 19 football game between U.Va. and Virginia Tech won't be announced until Monday, at the earliest. The Cavaliers learned yesterday, however, that their Nov. 12 date with ACC rival Georgia Tech at Scott Stadium will start at 3:30 p.m.

ABC Sports will televise the game regionally. The Yellow Jackets will be trying to win in Charlottesville for the first time since 1990.

Assuming the Cavs (4-3) beat non-conference foe Temple (0-9) at Scott Stadium this weekend, as expected, they would become bowl-eligible with a victory over Georgia Tech.

U.Va. will be the fourth ACC team Temple has faced this season. The Owls played Maryland on Oct. 8, Miami (Fla.) on Oct. 15 and Clemson on Oct. 22. Temple lost to Miami (Ohio) this past weekend.

HARD TIMES: In one of the greatest upsets in college football history, previously winless Temple erased a 17-0 deficit and stunned Virginia Tech 28-24 at Lane Stadium on Oct. 17, 1998. The list of the Owls' highlights on the gridiron since then is short. The Big East kicked Temple out after last season, and the school won't become a full member of the Mid-American Conference until 2007.

Bobby Wallace won't be coaching the Owls then. Wallace announced last month that he'll step down when this season ends. He captured three NCAA Division II national titles at North Alabama but never has had a winning season at Temple, where he took over before the 1998 season.

Temple is competing as an affiliate member of the MAC this season and will do so again in 2006. On yesterday's MAC coaches' teleconference, Wallace said he'll move after the season to Gulf Shores, Ala., where he has a house, and work in a private business.

Will he coach again?

"I don't know," Wallace said. "I really don't. This was my 30th year. At this point in time, I'd say no, but never say never."

SLOW TO HEAL: Jermaine Dias, who started U.Va.'s first three games at outside linebacker, hasn't played since spraining his foot Sept. 24 against Duke. Dias sprained an ankle as a redshirt freshman last season and "was very slow to come back from that, too," Groh noted. "It's not that he wants to be slow to come back," but that's the reality.

Virginia was especially thin at outside linebacker during its Oct. 22 loss at North Carolina. Not only did Dias not travel with the team to Chapel Hill, neither did reserve linebacker Aaron Clark. A true freshman, Clark was held out after suffering internal bleeding during a recent practice. Clark has since returned to practice and may be available against Temple.

- Jeff White