The road ahead is rocky for Virginia
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
November 7, 2005

Have an ailment that needs healing? For football teams, a dose of Temple seems to do the trick.

That was exactly the case for Virginia (5-3, 2-3 ACC) on Saturday, as they beat the Owls (0-10) in every facet of the game and on the scoreboard - 51-3.

Whether beating a winless and woeful Temple team leads to a permanent cure or just a temporary fix remains to be seen. Virginia coach Al Groh will soon find out.

The Cavaliers face three ranked teams - No. 3 Miami, No. 8 Virginia Tech and No. 24 Georgia Tech - in their final three regular-season games.

Those three teams have combined for 21 wins. That’s 21 more than Temple.

“We know that tougher tests are coming,” said Groh, “but, some things were accomplished [against Temple] to give us good expectations about whether the team might be able to meet those tests.”

The first of those challenges comes on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. against Georgia Tech (6-2, 4-2), a program riding a three-game winning streak. UVa hosts Virginia Tech (8-1, 5-1) on Nov. 19 and travels to Miami (7-1, 4-1) on Nov. 26.

Luckily for UVa, the game will be played at Scott Stadium, where they have gone 20-3 since 2002, a mark that includes a 6-1 record in November.

“It was a good win to get this month started,” Groh added. “And that’s what it was - nothing more and nothing less.”

But like Groh loves to say, a win is a win, and they are now just one win away from becoming eligible to play in a bowl game for the fourth time in as many seasons.

“Winning is good. We are happy to do that. We are happy to win. I feel good,” Groh said. “Anytime a coach tries to walk in [the locker room], and tries to make it sound like winning is not good, then you leave yourself open to ‘What’s the difference?’”

One of the differences for Virginia against Temple was its running game.

After entering the game without a 100-yard rushing performance from a tailback or fullback this season, Virginia left with two. Senior running back Wali Lundy ran for 113 yards and four touchdowns and fullback Jason Snelling added a career-best 122 yards and two scores.

As a team, the Cavaliers rushed for 262 yards and climbed from 67th to 54th nationally in rushing offense.

Virginia also made strides defensively, allowing just one first down on a running play, forcing four turnovers and registering five sacks. By allowing the Owls only 170 total yards, UVa climbed 14 positions nationally in total defense, from 59th to 45th.

Injury update. On Sunday, Groh said that he expected wide receiver Deyon Williams (shoulder) and tight end Tom Santi (ankle) to be able to play against Georgia Tech, but admitted that results from today’s and Tuesday’s practice sessions would give him a better idea of how the game plan would be developed. …

It is unclear if tailback Michael Johnson (ankle) or tight end Jonathan Stupar (ankle) will be available. Neither player dressed against Temple. …

According to Groh, right guard Marshal Ausberry (knee and ankle) could have played on Saturday if a dire need had presented itself. It did not. Ian Yates-Cunningham, a sophomore, made the most of his first start of the season.

 

Cavaliers add 17th recruit
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
November 7, 2005

Virginia picked up more than another win Saturday night at Scott Stadium when the Cavaliers bumped Temple, 51-3. The Cavaliers also added their 17th football commitment.

Keith Payne, a 6-foot-2, 213-pound running back/outside linebacker from Vienna’s Oakton High School, committed to UVa after attending the game. Another interesting note was that highly recruited Fork Union Military Academy post-grad wide receiver Jacoby Ford was also at the game, the third Virginia game the speedster has attended this season.

Payne, who was offered a scholarship by Virginia Tech last May, has long anticipated an offer from Virginia and that finally came Saturday night. The Oakton star said that coach Al Groh personally extended the offer, which was accepted essentially on the spot.

Ranked No. 25 on the Rivals.com preseason Virginia top 30 prospects list, the two-star recruit had scheduled an official visit to Clemson next weekend, but won’t be making that trip. He had unofficially visited Penn State recently and was also getting interest from Maryland and other schools.

So far this season, Payne has rushed for 1,200 yards and scored 20 touchdowns for a 7-2 Oakton team. As an all-district and all-region player during his junior year, Payne accounted for 1,000 yards rushing and 17 TDs, along with 13 receptions for 240 yards and two scores.

He has spent his first semester raising his core GPA and was expected to attain a qualifying SAT score in his first try.

Virginia has recruited Payne as a running back, while some schools were interested in him mostly as an outside linebacker or athlete.

He cannot sign a national letter-of-intent until the national signing period begins in February.

 

Payne to visit Clemson, but he's sold on UVa
An Oakton High School running back commits to the Cavaliers after Saturday's easy victory.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

CHARLOTTESVILLE --While Virginia did not target Saturday's game with Temple as a major recruiting event, the Cavaliers did pick up an oral commitment.

Virginia made a scholarship offer to Oakton High School running back Keith Payne after the game and Payne accepted on the spot.

Payne (6-foot-2, 230 pounds) was rated the No. 21 prospect in Virginia by The Roanoke Times before the season. He has rushed for more than 1,300 yards in leading Oakton to a 7-2 record.

Payne said Virginia Tech was the first school to offer him a scholarship but the Hokies' attention lagged when he didn't make an immediate commitment. Payne, who has 4.4-second speed for 40 yards, said he also had Division I scholarship offers for lacrosse.

Virginia had told Payne he would receive an offer if he met NCAA eligibility guidelines on the SAT and if his classwork in the first nine weeks was satisfactory. Midway through the first semester, Payne has a 3.5 grade-point average, he said.

Payne, the 17th player to commit to Virginia, plans to take a visit scheduled for Clemson this coming Saturday but said his commitment to UVa is solid.

The Temple game was the first of three straight at Scott Stadium for the Cavaliers, who entertain Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech on the next two Saturdays. Groh expressed concern Sunday about the status of tight end Tom Santi and wide receiver Deyon Williams.

"You're always concerned when a player can't finish a game," Groh said.

Williams, who entered play Saturday as the ACC's third-leading receiver in receptions per game, injured his shoulder while diving for a pass in the first quarter. Santi had a 40-yard reception in the second quarter but hurt his hip.

John Phillips, a true freshman from Bath County, played the entire second half at wide receiver and "acquitted himself well," Groh said.

Redshirt freshman running back Cedric Peerman did not return after injuring an ankle in kick coverage, but Peerman expressed a willingness to return to the game.

Sophomore Marshal Ausberry, a starter at right guard in the first eight games, went through pregame warm-ups before Groh made the decision to hold him out, depending on Ian-Yates Cunningham's performance in his first start.

The Cavaliers never had a need for Ausberry and Groh also passed on the opportunity to send Peerman back into the game.

UVa was able to get by without Peerman and No. 2 tailback Michael Johnson, although they are two of the Cavaliers' principal return specialists.

Sophomore Emmanuel Byers had punt returns of 12, nine, 16 and 16 yards.

"He's a confident player back there," Groh said. "Catching the ball is a very natural thing to him and he's disciplined back there, too. His confidence allows him to give most of his concentration to the actual returning of the ball."

Seldom-used reserves received ample playing time, although Groh did not use any of the 11 true freshmen who still had a redshirt year at their disposal.

Groh's position on true freshmen is, "when they're ready, we're ready," but there is some restraint involved.

"If we need them to win, yes, they will play," Groh said, "but, if the situation is such that they're only going to be in there for five plays, then we're not going to use them."

 

Young Cavaliers shine in victory over Temple
Walker Freer, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

Virginia fans got a glimpse of the future Saturday. And it's a future that won't include four-year mainstays Marques Hagans, Wali Lundy, Connor Hughes or D'Brickashaw Ferguson.

Nope, the future of Virginia football is going to look a lot different -- at least on the offensive side of the ball.

So with Virginia taking out its frustration in full force against Temple in its 51-3 win, there was no better time to give the soon-to-be-departed starters a break and let the younger kids get some playing time.

Taking advantage were two of Virginia's youngest wide receivers, freshmen Kevin Ogletree and Maurice Covington, each of whom logged significant minutes in the first half, when the game was still "in doubt."

Ogletree, from St. Albans, N.Y., had five receptions for 20 yards, while Covington, who Virginia snagged out of Duke and UNC's backyard in Durham, recorded four receptions for 45 yards including a long of 16.

"I think they're just doing good in practice, so they get a chance to play [in the games]," Hagans said. "They're making some plays in practice, and the coaches are giving them the opportunity to play. It's good to see the young guys get out there."

Sophomore wide receiver Emmanuel Byers, who had no catches Saturday, made his impact felt in a different way. With junior running back Michael Johnson out with an ankle injury, Byers filled in for Johnson in his other role, punt returner. Byers took each of Temple's four punts back for a total of 53 yards and came close to wiggling free for a bigger gain on more than one occasion.

Virginia's two back-up quarterbacks, Christian Olsen and Kevin McCabe, also saw significant time in the win. The two, who size-wise look identical in pads (Olsen is listed as 6-3, 216 pounds and McCabe at 6-2, 213), had limited chances to put the ball in the air with the game tempo and score dictating a run-first approach. For McCabe, it was his first action in a game this year. One of the two will most likely fill the void left by Hagans next season, although Vic Hall, an athletic freshman quarterback cut from the same cloth as Hagans, is a dark horse to win the starting position.

Even Noah Greenbaum, a junior back-up place kicker, got into the action, kicking a 41-yard field goal on Virginia's second to last drive of the game to push the Cavaliers over the 50-point mark.

In addition to giving younger players opportunities, Saturday's blowout provided the Cavalier veterans a chance to iron out the wrinkles in their own games, as well as to get the bad taste of a loss out of their mouths.

Lundy, who prior to the win had yet to record a rushing touchdown on the season, snagged four en route to 114 yards on the grounds. Jason Snelling, the starting fullback for most of the season, backed up Lundy and ran for a game-high 126 yards and two touchdowns after freshman back Cedric Peerman left the game in the first half with a ginger right leg.

Besides opening up the roster, the coaching staff opened up the playbook, inserting more surefire passing plays and more creative calls to help out a now 100 percent healthy Hagans. To take advantage of his speed, a few more designed running plays made their way into the huddle, the first of which being a fake draw hand-off to Lundy in the first quarter, which Hagans kept for a nine-yard gain and a first down. The option also was used on various occasions, one of the first times during Hagans' tenure it has been embraced rather than shunned.

If the Temple matchup was any indicator of the future, next year's young Cavaliers will be just fine, even without their current offensive superstars.

 

Cavs face rough road to make it to postseason
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
November 7, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE - One win separates Virginia and its fourth straight postseason appearance after its 51-3 throttling of lowly Temple on Saturday. It’s a win that won’t come easy.

The Cavaliers (5-3, 2-3 ACC) close their season with Georgia Tech at home next week, Virginia Tech at home on Nov. 19 and Miami on the road on Nov. 26. Those three teams, who are all ranked in the latest Associated Press poll, have a combined record of 21-4.

It’s clearly make or break time for Virginia, a message UVa head coach Al Groh said has already been sent.

“That mindset had to be established last week, not tomorrow,” Groh said. “It all revolves on what we discussed last week in that the month of November is when it happens in college football. And they’re well aware of that.”

They must be aware of the challenge in front of them. No. 24 Georgia Tech would seem to be the most winnable of UVa’s remaining three games - both Virginia Tech (No. 8) and Miami (No. 3) are in the top 10 of the latest AP poll - and that’s saying something.

Though Virginia has won 20 of its last 22 home games dating back to 2002 (the Cavaliers are 4-0 at home this season) and though Georgia Tech has not won in Charlottesville since 1990, the Yellow Jackets present a big challenge.

Winners of three straight, Georgia Tech has a stout defense and three of the more dynamic offensive players in the ACC, with dangerous-if-he’s-on quarterback Reggie Ball, tailback P.J. Daniels, the conference’s second leading rusher, and wide receiver Calvin Johnson, the conference’s leading receiver.

“After our preliminary work,” Groh said, “it appears to be the best personnelled and the most versatile (Georgia Tech team) scheme-wise offensively that we’ve played against.”

Georgia Tech’s only black marks this season were a rout against a red-hot Virginia Tech team in Blacksburg and a three-point loss to N.C. State when a tipped pass was intercepted in the end zone in the final seconds.

Certainly, the Yellow Jackets present a stiffer challenge than Temple, against which Virginia scored six touchdowns, racked up 449 yards of total offense and gave up just 170 yards.

“What we were trying to do is try to bring the most solid game possible, no matter who we’re playing,” senior defensive end Brennan Schmidt said after the Temple game. “That was important to us because it was important to establish some confidence in some specific areas going into this month.”

If Virginia can get at least one more win, it would be bowl eligible for the fourth time in Groh’s five years in Charlottesville.

Only once in school history has Virginia gone to a bowl game in four straight years, from 1993-96 under former head coach George Welsh.
 

Sports Focus: U.Va. Football
'A four-game season' Cavaliers seek victory for bowl eligibility, pick up standout back
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Nov 7, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE A one-sided victory over Temple wasn't the only thing Virginia's football team picked up Saturday. Before heading home to Fairfax County, Keith Payne committed to the Cavaliers for 2006.

Payne is a 6-2, 230-pound senior at Oakton High. He plays linebacker occasionally but is best-known as a running back, and Payne said that's where U.Va. plans to use him.

A first-team all-Concorde District selection in 2004, Payne has rushed 155 times for 1,191 yards and 13 touchdowns for Oakton (7-2) this season. He's also a standout for the Cougars' lacrosse team, which has won the past three public-school titles in Virginia.

U.Va., which has 17 commitments for 2006, has long been Payne's favorite school. He didn't receive a scholarship offer from Virginia coach Al Groh, however, until Saturday. The Cavaliers wanted to see Payne progress academically before offering him, and he's been shoring up his transcript after struggling early in high school.

"I'm in good shape [academically]," Payne said last night.

At 2-3 in the ACC and 5-3 overall, the unranked Cavaliers aren't in great shape, by any means, but they lead some of their conference rivals in the race to become bowl-eligible. North Carolina, N.C. State and Maryland, for example, are each 4-4, and none is a lock to get the necessary six victories.

Then again, neither is Virginia. The Cavaliers' final three opponents are a combined 21-4, and all are ranked in the latest Associated Press poll.

U.Va. plays host to No. 24 Georgia Tech (4-2, 6-2) on Saturday and No. 8 Virginia Tech (5-1, 8-1) on Nov. 19. Virginia's regular-season finale is Nov. 26 against No. 3 Miami (4-1, 7-1) in the Orange Bowl. The Cavs need another victory to be eligible to play in postseason for the fourth consecutive year.

"We're just trying to picture this like a four-game season," senior center Brian Barthelmes said Saturday night after U.Va.'s 51-3 rout of Temple at Scott Stadium. "We've got four games to go. This is the first one, and we need to use things we did well, translate that into the next three. Things we didn't do well we need to build on in the upcoming weeks."

How healthy Virginia will be against Georgia Tech, which last won at Scott Stadium in 1990, isn't clear. Ankle injuries kept tight end Jonathan Stupar and tailback Michael Johnson from suiting up for the Temple game. Tight end/fullback Tom Santi (ankle) and wideout Deyon Williams (shoulder) suffered injuries in the first half and didn't play after the break. Starting offensive guard Marshal Ausberry (knee and ankle) was uniform Saturday and might have played in an emergency, but the Cavaliers were able to hold him out.

The availability of these players will "obviously have a bearing on how we try to game-plan" for the Yellow Jackets, Groh said on his teleconference last night.

Virginia's game ended before 7 p.m. Saturday. That allowed Groh to flip on ESPN and catch some of Miami's resounding win over Virginia Tech at Lane Stadium.

That wasn't the only upset in the ACC. North Carolina edged then-No. 19 Boston College 16-14 in Chapel Hill, and N.C. State shocked then-No. 9 Florida State 20-15 in Tallahassee.

"I think yesterday's results just emphasized, I thought again, how difficult the league is this year," Groh said.