Cavs must overcome more than Canes
Plenty of pageantry will surround tonight's tilt at Orange Bowl
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
November 10, 2007

MIAMI - Two weeks ago, Virginia coach Al Groh admitted his program had intensified recruiting efforts in Florida.

With only two players on the roster from the state, it is hard to gauge what that meant, but perhaps it was foreshadowing.

Should the 23rd-ranked Cavaliers (8-2, 5-1 ACC) claim the league’s Coastal Division title, the program may need to set up a remote office in the Sunshine State. Winning back-to-back games guarantees Virginia its first-ever trip to the ACC Championship game in Jacksonville. Another win in that contest punches a ticket to the Orange Bowl at Dolphin Stadium in Miami.

Those scenarios, however, mean about as much to Groh as when Homecoming falls on the annual schedule.

Overcoming the hoopla and hype at Miami (5-4, 2-3) on an evening designed to be remembered could be conceived as the most daunting task in his tenure. Tonight’s game, which starts at 7:15 (ESPN2), will be the final contest Miami plays in the historic Orange Bowl, a 71-year-old stadium that has hosted five Super Bowls, Olympic soccer matches, an NFL Pro Bowl and was used to help declare 11 NCAA champions.

Former coaches and players, including Ottis Anderson, Bennie Blades, Bernie Kosar, Michael Irvin and Gino Torretta, are expected to take part in the festivities, which should energize a season-best crowd.

It may do the same for the Hurricanes’ players, a group hoping not to finish with a three-game home losing streak.

“When you have a highly talented team such as Miami, that maybe isn’t accomplishing quite what they want, sometimes a really galvanizing event like this brings out the very best in them,” Groh said. “That’s what we are assuming is going to be the case and we will have to have our team ready play at that particular level.”

It is not unfathomable that with the drama comes added pressure for Miami to perform.

Miami coach Randy Shannon, however, has reason to shrug off that notion.

“We won’t worry about this last game in the Orange Bowl,” said Shannon, who is in his first year as the program’s head coach. “Half these guys don’t even know the history of the Orange Bowl. They don’t know how many Super Bowls have been played in it, that there used to be a fish tank in the back where Flipper used to jump up and down.

“The only thing they know is they play in the Orange Bowl.”

And that’s more than some Cavaliers know.

Virginia senior tight end Tom Santi said playing in the Orange Bowl in 2005, when Miami won 25-17, was just another game.

Linebacker Jon Copper admitted he was more impressed with the team hotel during his trip in ’05.

“I will be honest, the first time I went down there I didn’t really make the connection,” Copper said. “I haven’t been a huge college football fan up until recently. I knew we were staying in [former Miami Dolphins coach] Don Shula’s hotel and that was nice, but I didn’t know the history of the Orange Bowl and all of that.”

Festivities aside, the game itself has major implications.

Miami needs to win another game to become bowl eligible and its final two games are at Virginia Tech and Boston College. The Hurricanes, despite losing last weekend, 19-16, in overtime to North Carolina State, also have a mathematical chance to win the Coastal Division, although those hopes could be squashed before tonight’s kickoff if Virginia Tech beats Florida State in a game slated to start in Blacksburg at 3:30 p.m.

“We just need this victory,” Shannon said of the possibilities. “I looked at it last week when we controlled our destiny. I can’t look at it now.

“With this team, I think this team is concentrating on Virginia. When they get focused they do well. That [title talk] may have been a distraction last week for some of the players on the team.”

The Cavaliers, who rallied to beat Wake Forest, 17-16, last weekend, can secure better bowl destinations with a win, allowing a greater sense of peace heading into a long-awaited bye week and a Nov. 24 finale against Virginia Tech, which is expected to be the Coastal Division’s version of a title game.

“We are not oblivious to the broader picture than the [Miami] game,” Groh said. “We know it’s out there … something that most teams start the season aiming for. But we also understand that to get beyond where we are too fast, then all of a sudden those things evaporate.

“This is a team that has demonstrated to this point very good discipline as far as keeping our focus on what has to be done to win the next weekend.”

Winning four of its last five games by a combined total of five points, which helped set a Division I-A record, can have that kind of impact.

“I think we’ve been verified by the fact that clearly as tight as the games have been, that any less, I don’t mean a lot less, any less focus on being prepared to perform at a moment’s notice in those games probably would not have been enough,” Groh added.

In order to win another, regardless of the fashion, Virginia will have to overcome more than the historic moment. Miami, which boasts the nation’s 19th-best pass defense and the 39th-best rushing offense, could be the fastest team the Cavaliers have faced to date, Groh said.

The Hurricanes, a 3 1/2-point favorite, also anticipate senior quarterback Kyle Wright back, even if the senior has not fully recovered from knee and ankle injuries. Wright ranks second in the ACC in passing efficiency, despite throwing nine interceptions to match his touchdown total.

Virginia’s concern for Miami is matched by Shannon. The Cavaliers enter the game ranked in the top 25 in rushing defense, scoring defense, total defense and sacks.

“It’s going to be a challenge for us,” Shannon said. “Virginia is playing very well on offense and defense, aren’t making very many mistakes. They’ve given up some deep balls, but they’re playing the run game very well.

“They’re on all cylinders right now. We have to step up to the challenge, focus on what we’re trying to get done and work hard. We have to come with the total package this weekend and get the fans into the game.

“It’s a night game, the enthusiasm should be there with the fans.”

 

UVa tries to break Fla. curse
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
November 10, 2007

MIAMI -- There have been a lot of notable streaks during Virginia’s football history, some good, some not so much.

Among the best are incredible home winning streaks against North Carolina and Georgia Tech that stretch back to 1981 and 1990, respectively.

Among the worst were a 29-year losing streak to Clemson, a 28-game losing streak to everybody during the late ’50s (which at the time was an NCAA record in futility), and the Oh-for-Forever streak without playing in a bowl game thanks mostly to a president with no vision for athletics. The Cavaliers’ first bowl appearance came in 1982.

Florida 15, Virginia 0

The one streak that remains alive and has haunted many a Wahoo for nearly a half-century is the Florida Curse.

Step off a plane from the chilly north and into the warm Florida sunshine and you’ll be greeted with a cheery message, such as “Have a Sunsational Time.” Most everyone loves coming to Florida for the sandy beaches, the nightlife, Disneyworld, and much, much more.

Not Virginia’s football teams. They must get the heebie-jeebies every time at just the mention of Florida, a state that has been kryptonite to some of Virginia’s most super football teams.

Add ’em all up, and UVa is 0 for 15 in the Sunshine State. The Cavaliers have never won here. Not in Tallahassee, Miami, Gaines-ville, Jacksonville or Orlando. Not in the daytime or nighttime. Not in a regular-season game or a bowl game.

Never, zip, nada.

It may be now or never

If Virginia’s ever going to remove that mega-ton gorilla off its back, there’s no time like the present. The Cavaliers take on a 5-4 Miami team tonight that has lost three of its last four games, including its last two at home.

This is not the same band of Hurricanes that competed for national prominence, that won 58 consecutive home games, and used to intimidate opponents with an in-your-face, let’s-rumble-before-during-and-after-the-game style that made them the bad boys of college football.

Instead, this is a Miami program that has fallen on hard times, if you call possibly making it to a 10th straight bowl game hard times. Last year, the school fired its coach, Larry Coker, after going 7-6, in spite of having the fourth-ranked rushing defense in the nation.

New coach Randy Shannon, who grew up in South Florida, played for the Hurricanes during their glory years, and had been in the “U’s” system as Coker’s defensive coordinator, is trying to restore the program to prominence.

But it’s early November and the Canes still need a win to become bowl eligible, something virtually unheard of in recent decades.

They still must face Virginia (8-2), Virginia Tech (7-2) and Boston College (8-1).

Tonight’s game is their last chance at home as Miami ends 71 years of history at the Orange Bowl. After tonight the storied stadium is destined for demolition, and the Hurricanes will take their act further up the road in Dade County to Dolphin Stadium, where the big boys play.

Therein lies a potential problem for either Miami or UVa in this evening’s historical contest. Much pomp and circumstance is on the itinerary. All the old Canes who built the program, who made Miami a feared name in college football, will be back tonight for the finale.

Either that’s going to inspire or backfire on the Hurricanes. That’s a lot of pressure for a 20-year-old to look over on the sidelines and see Michael Irvin or Bernie Kosar or another Miami legend.

You can’t let down the icons of the game can you?

If that’s not enough, it’s also senior night. In a way, its every Miami player’s night, because this is the last time they’ll suit it up in the Orange Bowl.

Virginia can enjoy the moment and get down to business. It won’t be that easy for the Hurricanes.

The Cavaliers have to keep focused. There’s a reason, well a couple of them, why Virginia has never won in this state, going all the way back to 1959.

One of the reasons is that the Cavs have played some pretty good football teams during that stretch. But, in many of those cases, Virginia either wasn’t ready to play or lost focus along the way.

Fifteen games, fifteen losses. It started long ago during that infamous 28-game losing streak. Those Wahoos lost to Florida in Gainesville by the count of 55-10.

Since then, UVa has lost twice to Miami (once in a bowl game), eight times to Florida State, and four other times in bowl games (Illinois in the Citrus and MicronPC, Oklahoma in the Gator and Boston College in the Carquest).

For the most part, it hasn’t been pretty. We’re not talking about close games. Man, we’re talking about getting taken out back of the woodshed.

Virginia has given up an average of 39.1 points in those 15 games. Illinois got 63 that night in the MicronPC and could have had 100 if it had wanted. The Gators put up 55 nearly a half-century ago.

Besides that day in Gainesville, though, these other 14 losses have come since 1990.

During that span, the Cavs have averaged only 14.1 points in those 15 losses and have never scored more than 24 points in any game in the state. The closest games were that 1996 bowl loss to Miami, 24-17, and UVa’s near-win here in its only previous trip to the Orange Bowl stadium two years ago, 25-17.

To beat Miami tonight, the Cavs may have to step out of character and find a way to score at least 24 points. In the seven years Shannon has coached the Canes, the previous six as defensive coordinator, Miami has only finished worse than No. 7 nationally in total defense once. It was 28th in ’04 and also currently stands No. 28.

The Hurricanes’ offense hasn’t been anything to e-mail home about either, ranked 91st in the country, but still 10 spots higher than Virginia’s.

Miami used to be known as QBU for “Quarterback U,” with the likes of Kosar, Jim Kelly, Vinny Testaverde, Craig Erickson, Steve Walsh, Gino Torretta and Ken Dorsey.

Lately, Miami fans have referred to it as “Quarterback P.U.”

Shannon hasn’t given up. In fact, if the moon and stars align over Miami, the Hurricanes could still win the Coastal Division under a complicated set of circumstances.

“Getting the seniors to a bowl game is the best thing,” Shannon said this week. “We had our own destiny, controlled our own destiny. We didn’t. Now it’s in someone else’s hands.

“I’m not giving up on trying to win this conference, even though it’s a little more difficult. We have to concentrate on going against Virginia, beating Virginia right now.”

So there’s the Cavaliers’ assignment if they want to exorcise their well-tanned football demons of the past in this state.

Now that would be some history lesson.

 

Virginia is given a rather thankless task of being the 'Canes final Orange Bowl foe
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

If the Virginia football team pauses before entering the locker room at halftime tonight, the Cavaliers might see the likes of NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, 1992 Heisman Trophy winner Gino Torretta and even "The Rock," pro wrestling immortal Dwayne Johnson.

Super Bowl XXV MVP Ottis Anderson will be there, as will Bernie Kosar, Bennie Blades and Andre Johnson.

Fortunately for Virginia, none will be in uniform.

That's what the Cavaliers need to keep telling themselves as they prepare to face Miami at 7:15 p.m. in the Hurricanes' final home game at the Orange Bowl, their home for the past 72 years.

The Orange Bowl is scheduled for demolition as Miami moves up the road to Dolphins Stadium, located closer to Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

"We're really not part of history; we're part of the game," said UVa coach Al Groh earlier this week. "The Orange Bowl has a tremendous history, but that's the University of Miami's history. A lot of the other people made history. We're just one of the acts being trotted out there."

Groh is wrong about one thing. The Cavaliers (8-2 , 5-1 ACC) do have a chance to make history, but they have to do more than show up.

Virginia has never won a game in 15 trips to the state of Florida.

This is the second time UVa has travelled to the Orange Bowl, where it was a 25-17 loser to Miami in 2005.

For some of the participants in that game, the aura of the Orange Bowl, site of Super Bowls and college championships might have worn off.

"I'll be honest with you," junior linebacker Jon Copper said. "The first time we went down there, I didn't make the connection."

Certainly star defensive end Chris Long has to be familiar with the Orange Bowl. Long is the son of NFL Hall of Famer and longtime Oakland Raiders standout Howie Long, who must have played in the Orange Bowl multiple times.

"When you're that old, you've played everywhere a lot of times," said Chris Long, who was being more playful than sarcastic.

Mikell Simpson, who has emerged as Virginia's featured running back, is a sophomore who did not make the trip to Miami as a redshirt freshman in 2005.

"A lot of kids dream of playing for Miami," said Simpson, who said that former Miami running back Clinton Portis, now with the Washington Redskins, was one of his favorite Hurricanes.

"It's a dream come true to play against them."

Actually, Simpson was in uniform last year when Virginia entertained Miami in Charlottesville, but he did not play. The Cavaliers beat the Hurricanes 17-7, one of the high points in a 5-7 UVa season.

That Miami team went 7-6, a finish that cost former coach Larry Coker his job. Coker was replaced by defensive coordinator Randy Shannon, whose Hurricanes have dropped three of their last four games in falling to 5-4 and 2-3 in the ACC.

Miami still has a mathematical chance to win the Coastal Division and reach the ACC championship game, but the Hurricanes would need to win their final three regular-season games, including road games at Virginia Tech and Boston College.

Virginia, which is off next weekend, can't lose more than three ACC games. However, even if the Cavaliers win tonight, they would need to beat Virginia Tech on Nov. 24 in Charlottesville to win the division championship, provided the Hokies beat either Florida State or Miami -- or both -- in Blacksburg.

A tie would be broken by the head-to-head matchup.

Virginia has an open date next week, so the Cavaliers aren't really thinking about the Hokies or the magnitude of the season finale.

Groh wants them totally focused on the Hurricanes -- or, rather, the current Hurricanes.

"We've got to make sure we don't become adversely affected by the trappings of this game," said Groh, noting that Miami has outscored opponents 81-7 in the first half of games played in the Orange Bowl this year.

"Whenever you play a team with the speed that Miami has, you don't want to play a track meet. Obviously, they're going to win a track meet. For years and years, I can remember on Saturdays, having the score come across the [television] ticker, 'Miami 28 and somebody else nothing.' One of the really important things is not to fall out of the game early."
 

Cavaliers in driver's seat
Virginia's football team, lucky or not, controls its destiny. With a win over Virginia Tech, it will play in the ACC championship game.
By Melinda Waldrop
November 9, 2007
 

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- - Like all good, cliche-happy football teams, Virginia is adopting the "one game at a time" approach for its final two contests of the regular season.

Sort of.

"It's a different feeling than we've had around here in a while. You can't deny that," defensive end Chris Long said. "We're in a place that we haven't been before."

That place is atop the ACC Coastal Division, needing only to beat in-state rival Virginia Tech in Charlottesville on Nov. 24 to earn its first trip to the 3-year-old ACC championship game.

"We're not oblivious to a little bit broader picture than the next game," Cavaliers coach Al Groh said. "We know it's out there, and it's something that most teams start their season aiming for. We also understand that (if we) get beyond where we are too fast, all of sudden those things evaporate."

Tonight, Virginia (8-2, 5-1 ACC) is at Miami (5-4, 2-3), which will be playing its last game in the Orange Bowl, amid all the accompanying hoopla, while also trying to become bowl eligible.

Miami quarterback Kyle Wright, who sprained his knee and ankle against Florida State on Oct. 20, will be back under center, replacing Kirby Freeman, who was 1-for-14 with three interceptions in the 'Canes 19-16 overtime loss to N.C. State last week.

The Hurricanes still have an outside shot to complicate the ACC title picture. If Miami wins its remaining three games (against Virginia and at Virginia Tech and Boston College) and Virginia Tech loses to Florida State but beats Virginia, then Miami, Tech and U.Va. would be tied atop the Coastal Division at 5-3. Miami would win the tiebreaker with victories against the Hokies and the Cavaliers.

Barring that convoluted scenario, Virginia controls its own fate. Beat the Hokies, and play in Jacksonville on Dec. 1.

"It's fun," linebacker Jon Copper said. "We're in the hunt, (and) each week, we're looking to improve our team and win. We know if we continue to do that, we'll be all right here when the season ends."

Virginia is in the driver's seat thanks to a career's worth of clutch performances. The Cavaliers' 17-16 win against Wake Forest last weekend set an NCAA record as their fifth victory by two or fewer points this season. It was also Virginia's third win by one point and second by a 17-16 score.

U.Va. has been living so right, existential topics such as fate and meant-to-be are being tossed about but the Cavs aren't buying into the whole "team of destiny" bit.

"You gotta play the games," Long said. "It's not mapped out. Who knows how it's gonna go? That word doesn't come into my head much. I think people can will things to happen. I think teams can will things to happen, and it's very powerful when guys get on the same page and they put the team first."

OK, what about another word that's been attached, sometimes derisively, to Virginia this season: lucky?

"Who cares? I don't care," Long said. "People that say that, they don't have as much invested in it as I do and my teammates do, so you can't really get caught up in that."

Miami coach Randy Shannon doesn't think that adjective is an insult.

"They're doing a good job of staying patient and executing what they're doing offensively and defensively," Shannon said. "Sometimes you have to have what they call luck, but you create your own luck by doing all the right things and staying focused."

By all indications, Virginia will need that focus again tonight, at least in the early going. Miami has given up just seven points in six home games this season.

"It has all the earmarks of being another tight, low-scoring, close game," Groh said.

And that's just fine with the Cavs.

"We are who we are," Long said. "We talked about that. We don't have to be world-beaters. We just have to be the best team on the field every week, once a week."

 

Around the Orange Bowl, a loving fan base
A neighborhood is losing an old friend. The Orange Bowl will be gone soon, and Saturday night the University of Miami says farewell after its game against Virginia.
Posted on Sat, Nov. 10, 2007Digg del.icio.us AIM reprint print email
BY LINDA ROBERTSON

Yes. I loved going to the games and I'll really miss it.

No. The stadium is falling apart. It's about time the team left.

Don't care. I've never been to a game, so I don't have anything to miss.

Your vote has been counted, thank you for voting.

The Orange Bowl was silent. On a breezy Friday, the rusting, peeling stadium stood mutely, revealing none of its tattered pride in its colorful history nor regret about its impending death.

During a walk around the neighborhood, you could hear a rooster crow, parakeets chirp, babies cry. From open windows drifted the sounds of musica de acordeon and telenovela dialogue. A man chopped open a coconut with his machete. But that was the calm before the storm. Saturday night, the Orange Bowl will rock one last time as the University of Miami football team plays its 473rd and final game in the place it has called home since 1937.

Olga Guerra, who has lived in the same house on Northwest 14th Avenue since 1966, plans to follow the action from her front porch, where she can hear the cheers and groans, as well as every word of the announcer.

''The Orange Bowl might as well be in my yard. It's like an extension of my house,'' Guerra said. ``How strange it will feel when it's gone. I'll look up expecting to see the lights and see a blank space instead. A lot of excitement will be sucked out of the neighborhood.''

MOVING OUT

At age 70, the Orange Bowl is scheduled for demolition. The Dolphins left 21 years ago for what is now Dolphin Stadium. The Orange Bowl game, long a tantalizing, glamorous advertisement beckoning people in the frozen north to escape to sun-drenched Miami, left in 1996. Saturday, the UM Hurricanes say farewell before also abandoning the OB for Dolphin Stadium, where the skyboxes are swanky and the plumbing doesn't leak. It's clean and comfortable, whereas the Orange Bowl is quirky and creaky (especially when the stomping gets intense) -- similar to the contrast between South Florida's suburbs and Little Havana.

''I was a Dolphins season-ticket holder until five years ago,'' Guerra said. ``The games just weren't as fun at Dolphin Stadium. It was a totally different feeling. In the Orange Bowl, you were right on top of the players and you knew all the people in your section.''

But no teams want to play in the Orange Bowl anymore, and the city can't afford the total refurbishment it needs. Landmarks have a low survival rate in South Florida, where memories are short. Preservationist Barbara Capitman practically had to lie down in front of bulldozers to save the Art Deco hotels.

If the Orange Bowl could talk, what a tale it could tell: Satchel Paige pitched there; Vince Lombardi coached there; ''Broadway'' Joe Namath led the Super Bowl III upset; Doug Flutie completed his ''Hail Mary'' pass; UM cemented its mystique with a 58-game winning streak. Five Super Bowls and 14 national college championship games were played inside. The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and Prince performed. And it was the site of the Dolphins' 1972 ``Perfect Season.''

''What an unbelievable year,'' said Guerra, who keeps her old Dolphins poncho and a collection of jerseys in her closet. ``As the streak grew, we were on the edge of our seats. Bob Griese was my favorite player -- although I liked Dan Marino, too.''

Like the Orange Bowl, the neighborhood and city that surrounds it have changed. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy used the stadium for his speech of tribute to Brigade 2506, the Cuban exiles who fought at the Bay of Pigs. Eighteen years later, the parking lot was used for temporary housing of Mariel refugees. Today, Little Havana is home to fewer Cubans and more Nicaraguans, Hondurans, Guatemalans and Salvadorans. The streets are named after Teddy Roosevelt and Willy Chirino, Ronald Reagan and Armando Perez. Among the lavanderias and Western Union shops, condos have sprouted.

''When we moved here, it was all Americans and Cubans and we all knew each other,'' said Guerra, who moved to Miami from Cuba when she was 16 and became only the third Spanish-speaking student to enroll at Miami High. ``Now we've got Latin people from everywhere and I don't really know them. If anything happens to me, I wouldn't have any neighbor to call. The guy next door was a bail bondsman who got shot in his front yard.''

Longtime residents wonder what will supplant the Orange Bowl. Beny Mora, who has owned a beauty salon on Northwest 12th Avenue and lived nearby for 40 years, hopes the Marlins will get their new baseball stadium.

''I like baseball and I never understood football,'' said Mora, 67, as she turned a customer's head into a bouquet of curlers. ``A new stadium would improve the area, bring in new business.''

Mora has only been inside the stadium once, for a rally for Brothers to the Rescue. ''I expected to go in another time -- for a big party celebrating the death of Fidel [Castro],'' said Mora, a native of Cuba. ``I'm still waiting.''

SADNESS

Marco Vallejo, who has lived in a stone bungalow on Northwest 13th Avenue since he moved from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in 1966, has been to the Orange Bowl for soccer games, concerts, high school marching band contests -- and for the filming of the movie Black September, in which he was an extra. ''I'm sad to see it go,'' he said. ``Another stadium -- yes. A shopping center -- no, we have no money.''

Jorge Flores, who sells fruit out of his truck, fears the house he rents on Northwest Fifth Street would be torn down to make room for a new stadium. ''But I like the atmosphere on game nights,'' he said. ``People are laughing, drinking beer, eating barbecue and buying my fruit.''

Guerra, the lapsed Dolfan, isn't sure she'll stick around to see a new stadium.

``My parents died, my daughter moved to Kendall and I'm alone, with my two cats and a dog. I'm feeling nostalgic for the good old days. I think it's time for me to sell.''

 

Virginia enters game against UM with tough defense
No. 23 Virginia comes into the final game in the Orange Bowl with five wins by two or fewer points -- an NCAA record for a season.
Posted on Sat, Nov. 10, 2007Digg del.icio.us AIM reprint print email
BY SUSAN MILLER DEGNAN
sdegnan@MiamiHerald.com
Did someone say ``game?''

With all the commotion about Miami's final game in the Orange Bowl, barely anything has been said about No. 23 Virginia (8-2, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).

The Cavaliers have five victories by two or fewer points, setting an NCAA record for most wins by that margin in a season.

And though UVA's offense is poor statistically, its defense could make this a rough night for UM (5-4, 2-3), which needs one victory to become bowl eligible.

Defensive end Chris Long is fifth in the nation with 12 sacks and is tied for 10th nationally with 14 tackles for loss.

UM quarterback Kyle Wright is still recovering from a high-ankle sprain and knee sprain on his left leg and will be extremely vulnerable. If UM can't get its running game going, the Hurricanes could be in trouble.

UVA coach Al Groh said he won't focus on Saturday's historical significance.

''We are just one of the acts being trotted out,'' Groh said. ``. . . It's their history, not ours.''

ARRIVE EARLY

Spectators attending the last UM game at the Orange Bowl should be in their seats by 6:45 p.m. Saturday to ensure seeing the pregame ceremony honoring the 21 seniors playing in their final home game.

The UM-Virginia game will be broadcast by ESPN2 at 7:15 p.m., with a 7:21 p.m. kickoff. More than 60,000 of the 72,319 tickets had been sold as of Thursday night.

Actor Dwayne ''The Rock'' Johnson, who played football at UM from 1991 to 1994, will introduce the seniors.

Former players will be brought down to the field to form a tunnel when the team enters the field.

Among players invited to attend: George Mira Sr., Don Bosseler, Bernie Kosar, Bennie Blades, Russell Maryland, Gino Torretta and Andre Johnson.

After the game, a laser show will be presented, with audio of historical highlights.

UM students will receive T-shirts, and every spectator exiting the game will be given a poster commemorating UM's Orange Bowl history.

Tickets ($47) are available. Go to hurricanesports.com or call 1-800-GO-CANES. Tickets also are being sold at the Hecht Athletic Center, on San Amaro Drive in Coral Gables.

 

ORANGE BOWL FAREWELL
Last dance for UM in Orange Bowl
UM'S OB FINALE SENDS THE STADIUM INTO DARKNESS -- FITTING AS MANY FOND MEMORIES HAVE BEEN MADE AT NIGHT
BY SUSAN MILLER DEGNAN

Long after Don Bailey Jr. finished his University of Miami football career, he remembers one night in particular when he drove toward the Orange Bowl for the last game of the 1989 regular season against top-ranked Notre Dame.

''When I got off the expressway, I felt it. There was an electricity, a spark, a fire, a tension -- all those things that make something great and intense,'' the former center said of the November night that ended with a rousing victory that helped propel UM to its third national title. ``By the time I walked into the stadium, I still remember thinking, `If I just took a match out of my pocket, it would light up by itself.''

Many nights like that have come and gone at the Orange Bowl.

But only one will be the last.

At 7:21 p.m. Saturday, a new moon rising beyond the Miami skyline, South Florida and its Hurricanes will begin their farewell to the stadium they have called home for 71 seasons.

''The best field I ever played on,'' said Jim Burt, a UM nose guard from 1977 to 1980 and 12-year NFL veteran. ``When you fell on the grass it was like falling on a cushion, always so perfect. Night games were beautiful. Everyone else on the other teams were dying, and for us it was like being in air conditioning. I'm so sad that piece of history is about to end.''

`MORE ENERGY'

The 2007 Hurricanes (5-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who need a victory against No. 23 Virginia (8-2, 5-1) to become bowl eligible, have not had the luxury to reminisce. Theirs has been a painful existence, though the 21 seniors Saturday could be uplifted when they run through the OB smoke for the last time -- and then through a human tunnel of some of the greatest UM athletes ever to play the game.

''I'm going to run through the tunnel and think about pouring my heart out for this team,'' said senior Darnell Jenkins, UM's leading receiver and a Miami native. ``Then I'm going to look at my teammates, look at the Orange Bowl and paint a picture in my mind that's going to stick with me for the rest of my life.

``I'm glad it's at night because the Orange Bowl will be rocking. We play with more energy at night.''

Or, as former UM safety Ed Reed said the November night UM demolished No. 12 Washington 65-7 en route to national title No. 5: ``The freaks come out at night, and the Orange Bowl will be thick with them.''

That Washington game in 2001 was defensive line coach Clint Hurtt's favorite night game in the Orange Bowl. Hurtt, who played at UM from 1997 through 2000, was a volunteer coach.

''Best one ever,'' Hurtt said. ``I remember that game distinctly, because as soon as we pulled up to the stadium there were like 40,000 people already in the stands partying. When our fans are there in big numbers, and they're going nuts, the energy is at a whole [other] level.''

That energy was felt at this year's Texas A&M game, UM's only other night game this season. The Canes, who beat the No. 16 Aggies 34-17 in that nationally televised Thursday-night game, expect more than 60,000 on Saturday.

''The folks there will have had plenty of time to get a few cocktails under their belt, so it should be pretty loose and crazy,'' former UM cornerback Tolbert Baine (1984-87) said.

John Routh, known to University of Miami football fans as Sebastian the Ibis from 1984 through 1992, will come to the OB dressed in a tuxedo jacket.

BLACK TIE AFFAIR

''I'm wearing my coat with tails,'' Routh said. ``Everybody is looking at this as a funeral march and I'm looking at it more like Donna Summer's song, Last Dance. It starts out slow and melancholy, but it pumps into that `Last dance, last dance for love.'

``Melancholy -- and exhilarating. The palm trees will be swaying, the stadium will be glowing with the city in the background. I'm not thinking of this as a funeral. I want to celebrate the life of the Orange Bowl.''

Former UM receiver Wesley Carroll (1989-90) is more upset that the Canes are heading to Dolphin Stadium next season. ''It's not their house,'' Carroll said. ``It's like they're renting someone else's place.''

Regardless, if Carroll gets a chance to talk to UM players, his message will be to soak in the moment and remember they're part of history.

''You are the team we'll always remember as the last to play in the Orange Bowl,'' Carroll would say. ``The last memory. What are you going to leave behind?''

 

Lucky or not, the bottom line for the Cavs is eight wins
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
November 10, 2007

There is a fine line between winning and losing in football, one Virginia has tight-roped all season, with an NCAA record five wins by two points or less, including three straight by one point.
Bring up UVa and one word will likely pop into the conversation - lucky.

The Cavaliers don't really care.

"I didn't hear anybody in the past say that was an unlucky loss, so that's OK," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "It's an interesting phenomenon. When you lose, all they do is tell you that you lost. When you win, they tell you what is tainted about the win.

"You either get more than the other guys (or not). That's all that counts."

The No. 23 Cavaliers (8-2, 5-1 ACC) will try to move one step closer to the Coastal Division title tonight at Miami in what will be the Hurricanes' final game at the historic Orange Bowl.

In contrast to Virginia, Miami (5-4, 2-3 ACC) has seen its share of breaks go the other way, with all three of its conference losses coming by a touchdown or less. The 'Canes are still the 'Canes, though, with speed up and down the roster and a defense that can be suffocating at times.

Though Miami has an unsettled quarterback position (despite a sprained left ankle and knee, Kyle Wright will start this week), the Hurricanes have a strong running game that features two backs, Javarris James (519 yards, 4 TDs) and Graig Cooper (624 yards, 4 TDs).

"We thought (James) was one of the best we played last year," UVa defensive end Chris Long said. "To find out he's splitting time, that speaks volumes about this Cooper guy."

One of Groh's biggest concerns is to not fall out of the game early. Miami has not allowed a point in the first half in any of its five home games.

Knocking teams out early was a staple of the Hurricanes' heyday, when they'd return a fumble or an interception or a kick for a touchdown early on, changing the tenor of a game.

"They would do multiple ones of those in any particular game and 'Bam!' then they'd be hooting over there," Groh recalled. "Given all the guys who have established that legacy that are going to be there watching, I'm sure many of the current players are going to attempt to do the same thing."

The teams are nearly statistical facsimiles. Both rank near the bottom of Division I-A in total offense (UVa is 101st, Miami is 91st) and near the top in total defense (UVa is 25th, Miami is 23rd), meaning tonight should be another close, low-scoring affair.

Perhaps no player on Virginia's sideline epitomizes the team's good fortune this season as much as quarterback Jameel Sewell. The sophomore is streaky but always seems to come through with the game on the line.

On fourth-quarter, game-winning drives against Middle Tennessee, Connecticut, Maryland and Wake Forest, Sewell is 17-for-20 for 199 yards. Virginia won those games by a combined five points, all in the final minute.

"Teams that aren't dominant - and I wouldn't call us a dominant team - I think you look, they win a lot of games in the final 30 seconds, two minutes, three minutes, four minutes," UVa linebacker Jon Copper said. "That's when they pull it out. That's just the competitive toughness this team has."

"We are who we are," Long said. "We don't have to be world-beaters. We just have to be the best team on the field every week."

Long isn't taking any chances in the karma department, though. He joked that he's helped as many old ladies across the street in Charlottesville as he can.

"I'm camped out by Harris Teeter," he said. "I'm doing shifts."


 

Cavs juiced about Orange Bowl finale
November 10, 2007 12:36 am
BY TAFT COGHILL JR.

There are enough potential distractions for the University of Virginia football team tonight to have any coach or player concerned.

The 23rd-ranked Cavaliers (8-2, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) visit Miami (5-4, 2-3) tonight at 7:15 p.m.

Virginia has never won a game in the state of Florida in 15 tries. The game is not critical to the Cavaliers because, win or lose tonight, they can claim the ACC's Coastal Division title with a home victory over Virginia Tech in two weeks.

And Virginia will be walking into an emotional venue for the Hurricanes' final game at the historic Orange Bowl stadium.

Head coach Al Groh has attempted to make sure his players tune out the distractions and concentrate on what happens on the field. He told his team that Miami is a proud program that can feed off the strong emotions in the Orange Bowl tonight.

"They're the type of team that when you have things going on outside of the football field, they'll respond to that," Virginia junior inside linebacker Jon Copper said. "[But] ultimately what matters is if we block the right guys, run our defenses correctly and execute on special teams. Ultimately what matters is what goes on inside the white lines."

Groh has no interest in the Hurricanes' festivities for their final Orange Bowl game. ACC Commissioner John Swofford will participate in the opening coin toss and Grammy Award-winning singer Jon Secada will perform the national anthem. Several former Miami star players will be on hand.

Groh said the Cavaliers are, "just one of the acts that's being trotted out."

But even if Groh isn't excited, his players are intrigued by being a part of history. Senior defensive end Chris Long grew up admiring the Hurricanes, who have won five national championships, most recently in 2001.

Long said he's excited to play in the last game before Miami moves to Dolphins Stadium next season. He said he felt like he was in a special place when the Cavaliers visited the Orange Bowl in a 25-17 loss in 2005.

"A lot of the guys that any football player grew up watching played at the University of Miami," Long said. "It's pretty surreal that we're going to be in the last game there at the Orange Bowl. A lot of history has occurred there."

The Cavaliers will face Miami senior quarterback Kyle Wright, who missed last week's 19-16 overtime loss to N.C. State with knee and ankle sprains. In his absence, backup quarterback Kirby Freeman was inept, going 1-of-14 with three interceptions.

Hurricanes first-year head coach Randy Shannon said Wright should try to be a game manager against a Cavaliers defense that ranks in the top 25 nationally in total defense (326.2 yards per game), scoring defense (19.2 points) and rushing yards allowed (113 per game).

The Hurricanes rank 108th in passing offense (169.7 yards per game) and 39th in rushing offense (174.6).

"We just told [Wright] to get the ball into the athletes' hands, and don't try to do nothing above and beyond the call of duty," Shannon said. "Don't think you have to win the game."

Miami needs one more win to become eligible for a bowl game and would be eliminated from the Coastal Division race with a loss.

The Cavaliers certainly want to win even though a victory isn't essential to a trip to the conference title game Dec. 1 in Jacksonville.

Players said they aren't taking the game lightly because they want to have momentum heading into their first bye week of the season and the Virginia Tech game on Nov. 24 at Scott Stadium.

"I think if we're any looser this week, we won't be an improved team going into next week," Copper said. "And if we're not an improved team going into next week that will lessen our chances of competing against Virginia Tech."

 

Soroye out 6 to 8 weeks
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
November 10, 2007

Dave Leitao’s list of injuries heading into the season opener against Vermont on Sunday was already pretty sizable.

Now the Virginia coach can tack on one more. And, unfortunately for Leitao, the injury comes in the area where he can least afford it - in the frontcourt.

On Friday, Leitao revealed that starting center Tunji Soroye will be out six to eight weeks with a knee problem that necessitated arthroscopic surgery.

This marks the third year in a row that Soroye has sustained an injury in the preseason.

Before the 2005-06 season, Soroye contracted malaria while on a trip home to Nigeria. Last season, he suffered a sports hernia injury just before the season opener.

“I don’t now if ‘jinxed’ is the right word - unfortunate maybe,” said Leitao, when asked about Soroye’s bad luck. “He’s a little down in the dumps about it - as anybody would be who is looking forward to their senior year.

“[But] he’s strong-minded and strong-willed enough to know that he’ll persevere and be better for the experience, but it’s unfortunate for him and obviously makes it unfortunate for us.”

During the last few months, Virginia has been besieged with injuries. In June, Mike Scott sprained his ankle. Later in the summer, Lars Mikalauskas’ shoulder flared up. Then sophomore Solomon Tat underwent sports hernia surgery.

Since then, Will Harris (back/ankle), Mustapha Farrakhan (hand) and Sam Zeglinski (ankles) have also had health issues.

The good news is that Tat and Soroye are the only players who will definitely miss Sunday’s game. Harris and Scott are “still up in the air,” according to Leitao.

“I think that this has been a difficult preseason,” Leitao said, “because we’ve had to manage ourselves through a number of injuries. This is the latest one.

“We’ll have to [fill in for Soroye] like we do everything else - by committee. I don’t think it falls on any one person’s shoulders.”

The likely candidates to pick up the slack are Ryan Pettinella, Jerome Meyinsse and Mikalauskas, although none possess Soroye’s shot-blocking ability. With Jason Cain gone, Soroye was also being counted on for his rebounding this season.

In Virginia’s exhibition romp of Carson-Newman last Sunday, Leitao benched Mikalauskas for “reasons internal to the team.” On Friday, Leitao said the Lithuanian’s status had still not been decided. However, whenever Mikalauskas does rejoin the lineup, Leitao said he’s expecting good things.

“I think Lars has been ready to assume a larger role - with or without Tunji in the lineup,” Leitao said. “I think he’s been ready to do that.

“He’s playing with some added confidence and some added energy, and I think as a result he’s playing better than he did at any point last year, and maybe even better since he’s been here. It’s my hope it can continue as we work to try and get him more and more minutes and hopefully more productivity”

 

Cavaliers head into opener with their share of injuries
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© November 10, 2007

The "deep depth" of the Virginia basketball team is already being tested.

Coach Dave Leitao said Friday that center Tunji Soroye, a defensive specialist, would be out 6-8 weeks following knee surgery Thursday. Soroye, a 6-foot-11 senior with 36 career starts, hurt his knee in practice this week. He averaged 2.1 points and 3.2 rebounds last year.

While Soroye's loss hurts, it would seem to be a manageable blow for a team that goes 15 deep - 13 scholarship players and two experienced walk-ons. But it's been far from the only health-related issue for the Cavaliers, who open the season at home Sunday against Vermont.

"This is just the latest one," Leitao said.

Four Cavaliers sat out last week's exhibition win over Carson-Newman. Freshman forward Mike Scott from Deep Creek is recovering from a high ankle sprain, sophomore swing man Will Harris has back and knee issues, sophomore guard Solomon Tat is recovering from sports hernia surgery and junior forward Laurynas Mikalauskas has a shoulder injury.

Leitao said everyone but Tat could be available Sunday. If Mikalauskas is ready to go, he could take some of the minutes that would have gone to Soroye. Senior Ryan Pettinella and sophomore Jerome Meyinsse can also play center.

Even with four players out, Leitao used 11 players for 10 minutes or more in the exhibition game. Leitao said it's unlikely he'll be able to use that many players consistently. But with so many players missing practice, he's been unable to decide what might be his best rotation.

"What lineup may be most effective is not a question I have a specific answer to right now," he said.