DESTINATION: JACKSONVILLE
Hokies, Cavs square off for a berth in the ACC title game
Saturday, Nov 24, 2007 - 12:15 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE From their first meeting in 1895 through their clash in Blacksburg last year, the football teams from Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia have never shared a stage like the one they'll battle on this afternoon at sold-out Scott Stadium.

The winner gets the Commonwealth Cup, which has been in the Hokies' possession since they whipped the Cavaliers 24-10 on Nov. 27, 2004. But that prize isn't new, and that's not what makes this regular-season finale so compelling.

"The biggest game we've ever played against Virginia, without question," said Frank Beamer, a former Tech defensive back who's in his 21st season as coach at his alma mater.

Never in the previous 88 meetings had both teams entered with as many wins and ranked as high as they will today. Tech, No. 8 in the latest Associated Press poll, is 6-1 in the ACC's Coastal Division and 9-2 overall. No. 16 U.Va. also is 6-1, 9-2.

Today's victor will represent the Coastal against Atlantic winner Boston College in the ACC championship game next Saturday at Jacksonville, Fla., with an opportunity to earn greater glory. The winner in Jacksonville will advance to the Bowl Championship Series and represent the ACC in the Orange Bowl.

"That's how you want it to be," Tech senior wide receiver Eddie Royal said. "You want these games to mean something. It's your senior year, your last regular-season game is going to be against U.Va. and you're deciding who's going to the ACC championship. You couldn't write a better script."

Both teams are coming off resounding wins over the Miami Hurricanes. Virginia, idle last weekend, won 48-0 on Nov. 17 in Miami's final game at the Orange Bowl. Tech humbled the 'Canes 44-14 at Lane Stadium last weekend.

In a series the Hokies lead 46-37-5, they've won three straight over U.Va. and seven of the past eight meetings. They're favored by 3½ points to make it four straight.

"We know that we have our hands full," Virginia coach Al Groh said, "but that's the way it should be when games come down to the end. When you're trying to go some place with it, you should have to beat the best in order to move on."

As coach at his alma mater, Groh is 1-5 against the Hokies. Only two players in his program -- offensive linemen Ian-Yates Cunningham and Gordie Sammis -- have actually been on the field in a victory over Tech. The Cavaliers beat the Hokies 35-21 at Scott Stadium in 2003.

The losing streak is "something in all the players' minds," said linebacker Jermaine Dias, who redshirted after arriving at U.Va. in '03. "Losing to your rival is never good."

For the Hokies, a victory today would assure them of finishing with at least 10 wins for the sixth time in eight seasons. The Cavaliers, by contrast, find themselves in unfamiliar territory. Only once since fielding its first football team in 1888 has U.Va. won 10 games in a season, and that was 18 years ago.

"Coach Groh said to us the other day, 'You don't know when you're going to get back here. You just don't,'" senior defensive end Chris Long said a few days after Virginia's rout of Miami.

"And that's a reality. Sitting in the locker room, looking around at those guys, your teammates, your brothers, you're not going to have this same group of guys in the locker room again in this situation. So there's no guarantee that you'll have these opportunities again, and that's something we just have been preaching to each other. Savor this moment and seize it and do the best we can."

Of Tech's nine victories, only one was by fewer than 10 points. U.Va. has supplied infinitely more drama, setting an NCAA record with five victories by two points or fewer.

"It's tough to win those games consistently," Tech quarterback Sean Glennon said. "Usually, one time or another, the ball's just not going to bounce your way. Sometimes those wins are more impressive than a blowout. When the game's on the line, you come up with a big offensive series or a big defensive stop.

"The fact that they've won so many close games doesn't make us think, 'Oh, well, they're close to being [5-6].' We say, 'They know how to finish games.' If we get in a fourth-quarter dogfight, they've been here before."

Groh, at least publicly, has been reluctant to place extra importance on this game, no matter how high the stakes.

"All those things combined, if you try to package them all together, it just becomes too much," he said. "The necessity for our team is just to focus on what it's going to take to win this particular game, and leave all that outside stuff to people, frankly, who don't have to play in the game."

Tech's approach has been different.

"Coach Beamer told us this is probably the biggest one he's coached in a long time, and Coach Beamer's been in a lot of games," Hokies linebacker Cam Martin said. "If he tells you that, you've got to take his word for it. Our goal was to make it to the ACC championship, and the only thing standing in our way is U.Va. And that's our biggest rival, so it makes it all the more sweet."
 

The three keys for Virginia
Saturday, Nov 24, 2007 - 12:07 AM Updated: 02:49 AM

1. Keep Tech from playing "BeamerBall." The Hokies are renowned for their ability to score touchdowns on defense and special teams. If they succeed in doing so this afternoon, U.Va. is in trouble.
2. Get a big game from Jameel Sewell. The sophomore quarterback is coming off a stellar performance against the Miami Hurricanes, and he's the key to the Cavaliers' offense. Sewell will have to complete some longer passes today for U.Va. to move the ball on Tech.
3. Don't let the Hokies' wideouts dominate. Eddie Royal has burned Virginia in each of the past two meetings, and his fellow receivers - Justin Harper, Josh Morgan and Josh Hyman - are game-changers, too. Tech is likely to attack the U.Va. secondary, the weak part of coordinator Mike London's defense.
- Jeff White

 

Let's play two
Time share for Glennon, Taylor has put Hokies in the penthouse
Saturday, Nov 24, 2007 - 12:07 AM
By DARRYL SLATER
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

BLACKSBURG Bryan Stinespring's professional life relies on anticipating. Perched high above a football field on Saturdays, he must coordinate Virginia Tech's offense by always thinking ahead to the next play so he can stay ahead of the defense. Scouting recruits, he must project how an 18-year-old kid will handle the rigors of selling his soul to Tech's program.

Stinespring looked into the future again three weeks ago as the Hokies prepared to play Nov. 1 at Georgia Tech. He saw two healthy quarterbacks, both capable of starting. This was a problem. Or so it seemed.

From his perch in Atlanta, Stinespring watched one of his quarterbacks, junior Sean Glennon, play masterfully for the third consecutive game. In the back of Stinespring's mind, he remembered how his other quarterback, true freshman Tyrod Taylor, was fully recovered from a high right ankle sprain he suffered two games before at Duke.

Three days later, Stinespring and quarterbacks coach Mike O'Cain sat with coach Frank Beamer after their usual Sunday staff meeting. Beamer asked Stinespring how he planned to handle the quarterback situation.

Stinespring already had an answer: He wanted to play both of them.

Now this was rocky territory. Stinespring remembered how the Hokies struggled in 2003 when they tried to rotate Marcus Vick and Bryan Randall. Stinespring also weathered significant criticism since last season because of Tech's meager offensive statistics. Determined to get things right, he hunkered down in his office and anticipated Tech's final three games, the most important of its season, culminating with today's game at Virginia.

Through the first two, the rotation is a success. Glennon's concussion limited him to four drives against Florida State, and Taylor's strained left ribcage muscle limited him to four drives against Miami. But four of those drives resulted in touchdowns, two in field goals. The average drive consumed 43.6 yards.

Darn impressive for an offense that gained 315.3 yards per game through its first nine this season. In the past two, it averaged 376.5, as the Hokies swapped quarterbacks seven times against Florida State, 16 times against Miami.

Stinespring said the system is working because Glennon and Taylor have polar styles but identical mindsets.

Glennon, the starter all of last season and for the first two games this year, is a pocket passer. Taylor, who went 4-0 as the starter after replacing Glennon, is a shifty scrambler. "Every week, we could be something different," wide receiver Eddie Royal said. "It's tough to guard this offense right now."

Yet the quarterbacks' attitudes are the biggest keys to the rotation's success. "They haven't questioned anything," O'Cain said.

Not even during that first meeting in O'Cain's office, the morning after Stinespring told Beamer of his plan. O'Cain and Stinespring emphasized to the quarterbacks that the system revolved around which guy best fit a specific play, not which guy was playing better. "So don't look over your shoulder," O'Cain told them.

Being upfront with the players was important. Stinespring remembered this from a conversation he had recently with a Florida assistant coach. They spoke about what made Florida's rotation work last year with Chris Leak and Tim Tebow, though Florida didn't swap nearly as often as Tech has.

As the Monday meeting ended, O'Cain and Stinespring asked Glennon and Taylor if they had any questions. Both said no.

Then Stinespring set out to answer his own questions about how he'd make the system work. He slept restlessly Sunday night after meeting with Beamer. How would he script practice? How would he organize the game plan, with all the normal formations and personnel groupings dancing in his brain?

Stinespring spent Wednesday night before the Florida State game in his office until almost 1 a.m., simulating how he'd call a game. As he watched game film of Florida State's defense, his play sheets in front of him, he called out each play and the quarterback he wanted.

"If somebody would have come in, there would have been somebody in white coats the next morning waiting on me when I got to the office," he said.

Stinespring now scripts the offense's first 25 plays; before the rotation, he scripted the first five or 10. His script has the play and the quarterback, with Glennon's plays color-coded differently from Taylor's so Stinespring doesn't get confused.

Stinespring also keeps a separate list of Taylor-specific plays, because Glennon can execute most of the play book. Glennon said his passing plays involve more defensive reads than Taylor's.

On the field during a game, the players know the routine:

Say Taylor is in the game. Stinespring radios his play choice to O'Cain, who stands next to Glennon on the sideline, near where reserve quarterbacks Cory Holt and Jeff Beyer signal plays to the huddle. Taylor will look to the sideline after the previous play ends. If Stine-spring's play choice calls for Glennon, O'Cain will tell Glennon, and Glennon will raise his hand and run to the huddle.

It all seems easier than anyone could have imagined.

"I had worries that I was going to get cold or get out of a groove," Glennon said. "It definitely wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be."

 

BIG GAME NOTES
Saturday, Nov 24, 2007 - 12:07 AM

Grand finale
For Virginia and Virginia Tech, the regular season ends today at Scott Stadium. For the Cavaliers, that means it's Senior Day, and 19 fourthand fifth-year players will be recognized before the game.

The 19 are: Chris Long, Tom Santi, Allen Billyk, Ian-Yates Cunningham, Jermaine Dias, Chris Gould, Jordy Lipsey, Nate Lyles, Jonathan Stupar, Ryan Weigand, Scott Deke, Chris Gorham, Jamaal Jackson, Bernie McKeever, John Roberts, Gordie Sammis, Josh Zidenberg, Pete Bladel and Tony Konstant.

The group includes several three-year starters. One of them, Dias, has kept a remarkably low profile for a first-team outside linebacker, which often is a marquee position in a 3-4 scheme. In four seasons, Dias hasn't posted eye-catching statistics - 125 tackles, including three sacks - but his contributions shouldn't be overlooked, Cavaliers coach Al Groh said.

"That's the kind of guy you have a good team with," Groh said. "With him, there's no 'me' in there, there's no ego in there. He's been very determined all the way through."

Dias, who's from Hackensack, N.J., is competing as a graduate student this season.

"It has gone fast," Dias said of his career. "I really don't know where the time went."

Beware of gridlock
Traffic congestion is expected this morning in Charlottesville, and U.Va. officials encourage fans to arrive at Scott Stadium early. Several pregame ceremonies and presentations are planned at the stadium

Gates will open at 10 a.m.

Martin eager to join rivalry
Hokies sophomore whip linebacker Cam Martin has followed the rivalry between Tech and U.Va. for as long as he can remember.

His uncle Bobby played for the Hokies from 1986-89. Growing up in Martinsville, Cam and his older brother, Orion, loved Tech and attended a few Hokies-Cavaliers games. When he couldn't go, Cam always watched on television.

He still remembers watching the 1998 game as an 11-year-old. The Cavaliers trailed 29-7 at halftime, but quarterback Aaron Brooks led them to a 36-32 win in Blacksburg.

"I was about as crushed as probably the players were," Cam said.

He's eager for today's game because a foot injury kept him out of last year's. He said the fact that Tech has beaten Virginia three consecutive times and in seven of the past eight meetings makes it hard for him to hate the Cavaliers.

"I guess if I had ever experienced a loss, I could sit here and tell you that I hate them," Martin said. "I'm sure those guys over there [at Virginia] that have played the last two or three years, I'm sure they hate us."

Injury updates
At his press conference Tuesday, Groh was asked about the operation that junior tailback Cedric Peerman had on his right foot last week.

Peerman, who was leading the ACC in rushing when he got hurt Oct. 6 at Middle Tennessee, reportedly suffered a Lisfranc injury, a dislocation of the ligaments that connect the bones of the forefoot and midfoot. Doctors are optimistic about Peerman's chances of recovering fully, Groh indicated, but it's too early to say for sure.

Groh said he hasn't been given a timetable for Peerman's return, but "given that he's a veteran player and knows the system and has demonstrated that he can play well in it, my guess would be that we would be cautious with it throughout the spring."

Of the players who were on the two-deep when U.Va. opened training camp in early August, only two are expected to be unavailable for today's game: Peerman and reserve linebacker John Bivens, a redshirt freshman from Prince George High.

Bivens, who had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee after spring practice in April, never fully recovered. He appeared in seven games this season.

The next operation scheduled for Bivens "is a little bit more detailed" than arthroscopic surgery, Groh said Tuesday, without elaborating.

No hard feelings?
When Sean Glennon was a schoolboy star at Westfield High, U.Va. decided, after evaluating him, not to offer Glennon a scholarship. Virginia instead went after Californian Scott Deke, who has played virtually no snaps for the Cavs.

Glennon, meanwhile, has had an excellent career as the Hokies' quarterback. He talked again this week against Virginia's decision.

"Yeah, I've gotten over that," Glennon said. "I mentioned that last year, and it got blown up big. Made it sound like I was real hostile. I mean, it bothered me a little bit, but to be honest, I'm very happy where I ended up. Even if they'd offered me, I'd probably still be here right now. It doesn't really matter to me anymore. The only thing that matters is getting to the ACC championship game."

Hokies find it hard not to wonder
With all the recent shuffling in the national-title picture, some Tech players wonder how their one-loss team would stack up if, on Oct. 25, the Hokies hadn't blown a 10-0 lead to Boston College in the final 4:16 and lost 14-10. Tech's only other loss is to No.1 Louisiana State.

The Hokies' best-case scenario now is beating Virginia, then winning the ACC title game to earn a spot in the Orange Bowl.

"It's definitely natural to do that," Glennon said. "It doesn't do us any good, because we did lose. It's definitely come up in a few conversations when we're sitting around watching TV: 'If we win that game, we're in these talks that these guys are having on TV.'

"Obviously, a national title would be nice, but if you told me before the season started that we would go to the Orange Bowl, I would definitely have no complaints." - Darryl Slater and Jeff White

 

Stakes high for rivals
A berth in the ACC championship game and the Commonwealth Cup goes to the winner.
By Randy King
981-3126

The silver-plated Commonwealth Cup and the 4-foot marble and cherry wood trophy its stands on was put on prominent display in the middle of the Virginia Tech football locker room Monday. It remained there until around midday Friday, when it was packed up and placed on the bus heading to Charlottesville.

"Just a little reminder to us every day," Tech quarterback Sean Glennon said. "There was a little note under it, saying we've had this for 1,000 and 80-something days."

If the Hokies have their way, the cup that goes to the winner of the annual Tech-Virginia matchup will be back on the bus around 5 o'clock today, heading back to Blacksburg, where it will continue to reside for another 365 days or so.

In what most are calling the biggest game in the Tech-UVa series since the two instate rivals met for the first time in 1895, the eighth-ranked Hokies (9-2, 6-1 ACC) and No. 16 Cavaliers (9-2, 6-1) clash at noon in sold-out Scott Stadium. The winner will claim the ACC's Coastal Division title and punch a ticket to next Saturday's league championship game against No. 15 Boston College in Jacksonville, Fla.

"I was looking at the cup and the long list of scores on it," Glennon said. "This has been going on for a long time, and to know this is the biggest one, it's special to be part of."

Tech has owned the series lately, winning seven of the past eight meetings, including the past three by a combined score of 93-24.

No such blowout is expected this time, though. The surprising Cavaliers have won nine of their past 10 games, and should be rested and ready coming off an open week. The Hokies may be 312-point favorites, but they're taking nothing for granted against an UVa club that's been on a magic carpet ride all season, winning an NCAA-record five games by two points or less.

"This Virginia team is hot," said Tech coach Frank Beamer, whose club has won eight of its past nine games. "They've won a bunch of close games. I think it's good coaching, probably good playing, and I think always there's probably a little luck in that. But when you get on streaks, it seems like the breaks go your way."

The Hokies are not real interested in testing to see if Al Groh's club really does have a 12th man named special karma. They would much prefer a script akin to the last two years. In 2005, Tech came into Scott and hammered the Cavaliers 52-14. Last year in Blacksburg, the Hokies held UVa to 112 total yards in a 17-0 victory.

"The fact they've won all those close games speak a lot about their team," said Glennon, who is expected to share time behind center today with freshman Tyrod Taylor. "It's tough to win those games consistently. Usually, one time or another the ball is not going to bounce your way, and they've been finding a way to get it done."

So does Tech come out firing early, trying for another early knockout punch?

"I think you'd like to," Glennon said. "I don't think you need to press or force the issue to try and score early. But if it's a dogfight in the end, they've got more experience than we have. So, obviously, the plan would be to try and get a decent lead early."

In many ways, UVa's season has mirrored Wake Forest's shocking run to the ACC title a year ago. Wake was picked to finish last in the Atlantic Division last year; UVa was picked to finish fourth in the Coastal this season. Glennon said such a slight likely gives teams extra motivation to prove the masses wrong.

"It seems that every year I've been here, we've either been winning the ACC championship or right there short of it," Glennon said. "UVa hasn't been in the hunt for a few years, so it's probably a little more excitement around there. But just because we've been here before doesn't mean we don't want to go back."

Glennon said all that's on the line today has brought some luster back to the rivalry.

"Even last year when they came [to Blacksburg] at 5-6, these fans still wanted blood," Glennon said of Tech's backers. "That kept UVa from going to a bowl game ... so I can't imagine they don't want revenge on us.

"So it does mean a lot to the state. And I can't imagine how much it means this year with everything riding on it. I don't think there's any more things that could ride on it -- ACC championship [berth], instate rivalry, 10-win season, it's got it all."

Not to mention who gets the cup.

 

On cusp of mantra
A victory over Virginia Tech gives Virginia a chance at its goal in the preseason.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- In the weeks and days leading up to Virginia's football opener at Wyoming, players would huddle at the end of practice and chant "ACC Champs."

"After we lost to Wyoming, we stopped saying that, actually," UVa quarterback Jameel Sewell said. "We started breaking it down to whatever game was next -- beat N.C. State or beat Duke or whatnot. We'd just focus on playing one game at a time.

"It's helped us get here so far. We've taken that and broken it down even more to where we're playing one play at a time."

Almost three months after a humbling 23-3 loss at Wyoming, Virginia is within sight of an ACC football championship, or at least a berth in the ACC championship game, but the Cavaliers aren't about to change their mantra.

Eighth-ranked Virginia Tech (9-2, 6-1 ACC) has the Cavaliers' full attention as 16th-ranked Virginia (9-2, 6-1) plays host to the Hokies in a noon kickoff today at Scott Stadium.

At stake is a Coastal Division championship and a trip to Jacksonville, Fla., for next Saturday's ACC championship game against Atlantic Division representative Boston College.

UVa has dropped seven of its past eight meetings with Tech and enters play today as a 3 12-point underdog, although the Cavaliers had an extra week to prepare for the Hokies during an open date Nov. 17.

Virginia is 9-2 after bye weeks under seventh-year coach Al Groh, including 7-0 at home.

Don't ask Groh about the magic of a bye week. The Cavaliers this season have beaten two teams, Connecticut and Maryland, that had an extra week to prepare for the Cavaliers.

"I don't think it's anything too mystical," Groh said. "I think you could check a lot of teams and see where they have a pretty good success rate after bye weeks. A team is rested, a team has extra preparation; that's all I can think of.

"We certainly haven't done anything different. We haven't done anything that we could go to clinics and talk about."

An open date can provide an opportunity for an injured player to return to the lineup, but the opposite has happened in Virginia's case. Senior defensive end and two-time co-captain Chris Long was unable to practice earlier this week after falling ill with strep throat.

Long is expected to be in the lineup today and will be recognized with 18 other fourth- and fifth-year players before the game.

Virginia has won its final home game in nine of the last 11 seasons, but has dropped two of the last three. In 2005, the Cavaliers lost their final two games, including a 52-14 decision to the Hokies.

Tech had an open date before that game, a development that rankled Groh at the time.

"There's a lot at stake in this conference now with divisional winners and conference championship games and the BCS," Groh said prior to the 2005 game. "I think everybody in the conference ought to play every week in November."

Ironically, the Cavaliers are the only ACC team with an open date in November this year.

Virginia's record after bye weeks and its record against teams coming off bye weeks is just one of several contradictions surrounding today's game. While the Cavaliers are 5-0 at home this year and 21-6 in ACC home games under Groh, the Hokies are 14-1 in conference road games since joining the ACC in 2004.

"This is certainly one of the finest teams that's come into Scott Stadium in quite some time," Groh said. "Defensively, they are their usual stifling self. Offensively, they seem to have really hit their stride."

Groh praised Tech's linebackers and said he hasn't seen a set of Tech cornerbacks better than Brandon Flowers and Macho Harris. He also said he's ready to "bid adieu" to the Hokies' four senior wide receivers.

Groh is less familiar with the Hokies' newest offensive star, dual-threat freshman quarterback Tyrod Taylor. UVa employed a "spy" against Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner late in the Cavaliers' 17-16 victory over the Deacons, but Groh isn't sure that strategy would work against Taylor.

"If you're going to do it, then you've got to have somebody who can catch him," Groh said. "We've seen some other teams try to contain him, but if the guy trying to contain him isn't as fast as he is, then you're just wasting a player."

Unlike the Hokies, who were a preseason choice to win the ACC championship, Virginia was picked fourth in the Coastal Division. Nine wins in the past 10 games hasn't changed the Cavaliers' underdog mentality.

"That's not just the way we feel," Groh said. "That's the reality of it."
 

Cavs, Copper cardiac kids
By Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Jon Copper had personal reasons for savoring Virginia's 48-0 thumping of Miami in the Cavaliers' most recent outing.

"My father has been having some heart problems," said Copper outside Virginia's locker room at the Orange Bowl. "I really wonder if all of our close games didn't have something to do with it."

Virginia (9-2, 6-1 ACC) is one of two teams in ACC history to win three games by one point in a single season, and the Cavaliers have set a Division I record by winning five games by one or two points.

"It hasn't been easy on my grandmother, either," said Copper, a graduate of Northside High School in Roanoke.

Copper was pleased to report this week that his dad, Jeff, has made some adjustments in his diet and has received a clean bill of health from doctors.

Moreover, his grandmother, Mary Hurt, has been able to watch the past two Virginia games in their entirety.

"Prior to that game, she'd turned on the TV for every game, but she couldn't bear to watch," Copper said. "She'd leave the TV on, but she didn't stay in the room.

"When we've lost, she's taken that pretty hard,"

Copper, who married Glenvar High School graduate Holly Dixon this past spring, now has an extended family that lives and dies with the Cavaliers.

Virginia had an open date this weekend, but Copper and his wife watched the Virginia Tech-Miami game on TV.

"I find it really hard to watch football any more when I'm not trying to figure out what the play is before the ball is snapped," said Copper, the Cavaliers' lone married player.

Clearly, there had to be something around the house that needed his attention.

"I know the maintenance man," he said.
 

Sewell looking to take charge
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The most refreshing aspect of Jameel Sewell's personality is that he sees what everybody else sees.

This is not a guy in denial.

When Sewell struggled in the Cavaliers' opening game at Wyoming, few people would have predicted that he would have a four-game stretch later in the season when he passed for more than 1,000 yards.

Sewell needs 23 passing yards today against Virginia Tech to become the ninth UVa quarterback to throw for 2,000 yards in a season.

The turning point was the trip to Laramie, Wyo., where he completed 11 of 23 passes for 87 yards and was intercepted twice.

"Obviously, it helped me realize that I definitely wasn't doing my job the way it needed to be done," Sewell said. "Something clicked in my head that, 'I can help this team. I can help this team to a couple of victories.'

"I just knew that I wasn't that kind of quarterback. I played like a rookie, like somebody who didn't know what he was doing. I just had to focus a lot more on film and little things like mechanics."

Sewell has 2,205 yards in total offense, good for 13th on Virginia's single-season list, going into the Cavaliers' game today with Virginia Tech at noon at Scott Stadium.

"They're ball hawks, they're aggressive and they've got a lot of athletes," Sewell said. "They just find a way to get the ball and take it away from a team."

The way to prevent that is "just to try and not force things," Sewell said. "Quarterbacks force things. I force things."

Former Virginia coach George Welsh always said that it was necessary to stretch the field against the Hokies and back them off the line of scrimmage.

The Cavaliers have been playing without their 2006 deep threat, Kevin Ogletree, who suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament last spring and is redshirting this year. Maurice Covington has had touchdown receptions of 39 and 28 yards in the past two games, but those were on mid-range patterns that Covington turned into big plays.

"We don't throw too many long balls," Sewell said. "There's been times we've done that in individual work with the wide receivers. I throw the deep ball pretty well, but it seems like, in the games, I don't throw it too well.

"When the opportunity comes again, I feel like I'll be able to do that."

Sewell's revival this season appeared to coincide with coach Al Groh's decision to play freshman Peter Lalich in the first four games. While Lalich's playing time has lagged, Tech has gone to a two-quarterback system involving veteran Sean Glennon and freshman Tyrod Taylor.

"Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't," Sewell said. "From what I've seen at Florida, it's worked well. I think it's working well for [the Hokies]. It worked well for us. Whatever [the UVa coaches] want to do is fine with me."
 

Four quarters we all want to see
Aaron McFarling

Throw out the records.

For so many years, we've heard this. Throw out the records when Virginia Tech plays Virginia. Doesn't matter who's up, down or sideways coming into the game.

Well, it's all been a lie. Records do matter. They matter to the team that has the good one, the team that has the bad one and the fans who invest so much time and passion into both.

Records shape perception before, during and after the game. They skew the rivalry in one direction, tilt the poker table to one side, spilling most of the chips on the fortunate's lap before the cards are even dealt.

So let's try something different this year, shall we? Let's hold on to the records.

Let's enjoy them for a few more hours.

Nine and two overall, six and one in the ACC.

Say it for the Hokies, and say it for the 'Hoos. Say it all the way until noon, when the ball sails in the air and a sellout crowd begins to shake Scott Stadium with noise.

Say it until the records change.

Frankly, these teams have made our jobs easy this year. There is no need for manufactured hype, no digging for that hidden angle. The stakes are all right there: A 10-win season, a berth in next week's ACC title game, another 365 days of bliss.

Throw out the records? Don't be silly. This year, we'll clutch them tightly.

For a fan, this is how it's supposed to feel: Driving north on I-81 and east on I-64, honking at others displaying a like flag, all of you hoping to beat the traffic, none of you having the first clue of what you're about to see.

This is how it's supposed to feel: People gathering in bars and living rooms, friends for a lifetime, enemies for a day, both sides armed with legitimate hope.

This is how it's supposed to feel: Wahoos placing their Hokie buddies on speed dial, ready to call when the first UVa touchdown is scored. For years, the only calls they've had to worry about have been the incoming ones. Today, who knows?

The players have it easier, too. For too long, the heavily favored Hokies have had to capture the motivation wherever they could find it. Maybe they conjured up rage by thinking about somebody they know from the other side, or by remembering some slight during the recruiting process, or by reflecting on some extended family member who calls Charlottesville the closest thing to Eden. Coaches delivered speeches on the meaning of the rivalry, hoping it would set in.

No need this year. This year, motivation is everywhere.

"Coach Beamer told us that this is probably the biggest one that he's coached in a long time," said Tech linebacker Cam Martin, who grew up in Martinsville and followed the rivalry all his life. "Coach Beamer's been in a lot of games. So if he tells you that, you have to take his word for it.

"It's going to be a big one. Everything's on the line. Our goal was to make it to the ACC championship, and the only thing that's standing in our way is UVa."

The matchup itself is one of might vs. magic. The Hokies, bullies of the series in seven of the past eight years, have discovered an offense worthy of taking the field alongside their head-knocking defenders. The Cavaliers, dismissed after an opening-day loss at Wyoming, became kings of the close win, setting an NCAA record with five victories by one or two points.

"They know how to finish games," Tech quarterback Sean Glennon said. "If we get in the fourth quarter in a dogfight, they've been here before. They've done a good job of finishing out those games. We'd have to be aware of that and know that we've got to come out and play."

He smiled.

"Obviously, the plan would be to try to get a decent lead early," he said.

Last year, Glennon caused a minor stir during Tech-UVa week. He talked at great length about his strong dislike of UVa. But given a chance to rehash that theme this week, he declined.

He knew there was no need for it.

"I know a lot's on the line when we're both 0-10," Glennon said, "let alone when we're 9-2 fighting for an ACC championship."

So let the other rivalries throw out the records.

We'll keep ours this year, thank you.
 

'Clyde from Forest'
He is one of UVa's most rabid fans, and is not the least bit bashful about telling you.
Aaron McFarling | aaron.mcfarling@roanoke.com | 981-3124

LYNCHBURG -- Clyde is screaming again.

"If the game is close in the fourth quarter, just pack your stuff up and go on back to Bleaksburg!" he shouts. "Cause in the fourth quarter, we turn it on!"

Around the table sit 14 other men, half Virginia Tech fans, half Virginia fans. It is Wednesday afternoon, and they are on lunch break from work. They've heard this all before from Clyde. Yet still they come, five days a week, 52 weeks a year, just to hear it again.

"Bass fishing is not NCAA sanctioned!" Clyde shouts. "They have no national championships! They have no national championships! They're probably the only school in the ACC that don't have a national championship in anything!"

Clyde's last name is Smith, but it might as well be "from Forest." That's how he's known by sports fans throughout the state -- "Clyde from Forest" -- after his famous phone call to a Virginia radio show in September.

Clyde, 64, told football coach Al Groh that he ought to resign and was quickly booted from the airwaves. Back then, after UVa's disappointing loss to Wyoming, Clyde was championed as an unflinching voice of the frustrated masses.

Now, however...

"Who is your vote for coach of the year in the ACC, Clyde?" asks a grinning Eddie Turner, one of the Virginia Tech fans at the table.

"Groh," Clyde says, sheepishly. "When he beats Tech."

The outlook has obviously changed in Charlottesville. UVa has become the surprise team in the ACC, winning nine of its past 10 games. Largely for that reason, today's Tech-UVa game is being billed as the most significant matchup in the history of the rivalry. The winner will claim the Coastal Division title and earn a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.

But a Virginia win would also do something else. For the first time since 2003, Clyde would have a year's worth of ammunition.

And for the Tech fans at this table, that would be disaster.

You see, Clyde does just fine with minimal ammunition.

Eddie: "What positions do you think you're better than us?"

Clyde: "Offensive line, running back ..."

Eddie: "Offensive line, you're better."

Clyde: "Our defensive line's better than Tech's."

Eddie: "No you're not. We're the No. 5 defense in the country."

Clyde: "Who?"

Eddie: "Tech."

Clyde: "We are No. 18 overall!"

Eddie. "We are No. 5 overall! No. 5! That's a lot better than No. 18!"

Clyde: "You're not better than we are! You're not! We've got a better line! We've got a better running game!"

Eddie: "How many yards rushing do you think y'all will have?"

Clyde: "Whatever we want to make!"

Clyde owns his own plumbing business. He talks and dresses like a blue-collar man. But his friends say he is one of the wealthiest men in the Lynchburg area, and much of that wealth goes to support UVa athletics. Football games, basketball games, baseball games -- he attends all of them. He has 10 tickets for today's game.

"Hey, you got an extra ticket for me, Clyde?" asks Russell Millner, one of the Tech fans.

"We don't want you up there!" Clyde says between bites of lasagna. "We don't need you! We don't want no Hokies up there!"

"There's going to be plenty of Hokies up there," says Dean Farmer, a Tech fan. "You can bet on that."

"I'll give you $500 for a ticket, Clyde," Russell says.

"Huh?" Clyde says. "If I had a ticket, and it was a Hokie there ... I'd strike a match to it and let it burn up!"

The group roars with laughter again. The rest of the lunch crowd at La Villa Da Toto, an Italian restaurant in Lynchburg, doesn't seem to mind the noise. Most likely they are used to it, just like the breakfast crowd at Carol's Place in Forest, where Clyde and his friends eat and debate every morning.

Clyde: "Like the man said on ESPN the other night, Mike Gottfried, Tech hasn't seen a defense like Virginia's since they played LSU!"

Eddie: "So you're comparing your defense to LSU?"

Clyde: "If we do it's a blowout! That's what it was down there! You're 1-14 against top-five teams, 4-22 against top-10 teams! No more needs to be said!"

Dean: "We're 7-1 against Virginia in the last eight meetings. Don't forget that!"

Oh, Clyde hasn't. Clyde rarely forgets anything.

Clyde: "No coach ever told us the band was better than the football team. That's what they told you up in Blacksburg, when Miami of Ohio beat you [in 1997]. They said the band was better than the football team."

Eddie: "That's an opinion a lot like yours, Clyde. It has not much merit."

Clyde: "He did beat you pretty bad."

Eddie: "He did? I think he beat us by 7."

Clyde: "And you got beat by Temple, too."

This is the Clyde the group loves, the one that dips deep into the archives for arguments. The Tech fans at the table laugh and roll their eyes when he brings up UVa's 8-4 record against Tech from 1987-98.

Thanks to their recent success in the series, the Hokies have all the easy comebacks.

For now.

Eddie: "We're going to turn the pit bulls loose on the field Saturday. That's what we're gonna do."

Clyde: "Well, we got the net that's gonna catch 'em, too, buddy."

Eddie: "What's the net?"

Clyde: "Chris Long."

Eddie: "That's the only player you got."

Clyde: "No, sir. We've got a whole bunch."

Eddie: "Who?"

Clyde from Forest pauses. He is no longer screaming. He is smiling.

"You'll find out," he says.
 

This one matters
Cavs, Hokies battle for state supremacy and a spot in the ACC championship game
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
November 24, 2007

In 1995 and 2004, Virginia's football program had the opportunity to parlay a victory over Virginia Tech into a generous payday and incomparable national exposure.

Winning either of those games and landing a berth in one of the nation's colossal bowl games, however, involved boggling scenarios that required other teams to win or lose to clear UVa's path.

This time around, the 16th-ranked Cavaliers control their own destiny, as does No. 8 Virginia Tech. That makes today's head-to-head battle for the Commonwealth Cup the most influential contest in a rivalry that began 112 years ago.

"This will be the most important game Virginia and Virginia Tech have ever played," Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said.

UVa coach Al Groh is aware of that, but remained reserved, hoping his team would avoid becoming unraveled by the added pressure.

"The necessity for our team is just to focus on what it's going to take to win this particular game and leave all that outside stuff to people who don't have to play in the game," Groh said.

Most of Groh's players repeated the sentiment.

"We're not looking at all the different things that can go on whether we win or lose this game," said UVa linebacker Jon Copper. "We're looking to find a way to be able to compete and be in a position to win this game against Tech."

With the largest crowd in Scott Stadium history expected, the environment should reflect the magnitude.

"It truly will be crazy," Virginia linebacker Clint Sintim said.

What's at stake?

Winning today's contest provides more than a year's worth of bragging rights.

The victor claims the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division title and punches a ticket to an ACC championship game showdown with Boston College on Dec. 1 in Jacksonville, Fla.

A Bowl Championship Series berth, which equals a trip to the prestigious Orange Bowl, awaits the winner of the ACC crown.

"It's always been a big ball game, but this year it'll decide who plays for the ACC championship and certainly will affect bowl games," Beamer said. "That's why it's the most significant."

TV, radio, tickets

Ticket prices for today's showdown have escalated the last few weeks as the contest's ramifications have increased. A single ticket being sold on eBay on Friday afternoon, for example, had bidders willing to pay more than $400.Those who can't go to the game have options with radio and television.

The game will be televised nationally.

In a move that shocked administrators at both universities, however, the contest was passed over by ESPN and will be broadcast on ESPN2, Channel 36 on Comcast.

Radio broadcasts, along with pregame coverage, can be heard locally for both schools. Virginia's radio network can be heard on WWWV (97.5 FM) and WINA (1070 AM), and Virginia Tech's network is aired on WKAV (1400 AM).

 

UVa, Tech have had bad blood
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com
November 24, 2007

While there will be more celebrated college football rivalry games played today, few, if any could boast as much bad blood in the beginnings as Virginia vs. Virginia Tech.

Hunter Carpenter probably has as much to do with the ill will between the two schools as any player in the history of a rivalry that dates back to 1895.

The birth of a rivalry

Carpenter played five seasons in a row for Virginia Tech (1899 to 1904) and became so incensed that his team had lost by a combined score of 88-5 during that span, that he became a man obsessed with beating the Cavaliers.

He decided to go to North Carolina for graduate studies in 1904, but was driven by his obsession to beat Virginia. He joined the Tar Heels football team, which figured to be the Cavaliers’ equal, and played against UVa for a sixth year in a game played in Richmond.

The Cavaliers won, 12-11.

Carpenter left Chapel Hill and came back to Virginia Tech for the 1905 season, his seventh as a collegian (there was no NCAA checking eligibility in those days), for one more crack at the Cavaliers.

UVa caught on to his act, protested that Carpenter was a professional player and wasn’t eligible. Still, with protests raging up until kickoff, the game went on at Charlottesville’s Lambeth Field.

This time, Tech, known as VPI at the time, finally won, 11-0 with Carpenter leading the way. Play was so vicious in the game that a Cavalier had slugged Carpenter several times. Finally, Carpenter stopped after a long run, got up and decked the UVa player, tossed the ball into the crowd and walked off the field before the officials could eject him.

The schools didn’t play each other again for another 18 years because of the controversy.

Tamer times

Certainly things have died down over the decades, but there remains a burning desire by both programs, maybe more so among their legions of followers than the players themselves, to pulverize their ancient opponent.

By comparison to the Carpenter days, the rivalry hasn’t been as intense. During the past 25 years, the game has been mostly a war of words leading up to the game, at least during the early years of the George Welsh era of Wahoo football.

UVa linebacker Charles McDaniel and lineman Randy Brookshire, whom the media tagged “Babbling Brooks” for his constant diatribe against the Hokies, hurled verbal salvos at Tech’s Bruce Smith, which carried over onto the field. Still, it wasn’t anything to match the Carpenter mania.

Welsh and Tech’s Frank Beamer realized it wasn’t a good idea to give the opponent bulletin board material, so a lot of the trash talk was saved for gameday as opposed to the week leading up to the clash.

The worst things have gotten on the field was in 1989, when Virginia was milking the clock at the end of a 32-25 win at Scott Stadium when all hell broke loose.

Tech defensive end Jimmy Whitten allegedly started a melee, with players and even some fans duking it out all over the field. With security personnel attempting to break up the brawl, Hokies coach Frank Beamer attempted to do his part to get things under control by grabbing Whitten.

Next thing Beamer knew, he was hit in the mouth by Whitten’s elbow, which knocked out Beamer’s right front tooth. Stunned, the coach dropped to his knees, which terrified his wife, Cheryl, in the stands. Beamer had experienced a heart problem earlier that season, so when his wife saw him drop to the turf, she thought the coach was having heart issues again.

She hasn’t been back to Scott Stadium since.

The rivalry remains a great one, dividing families, households and offices just as the Auburn-Alabama, Texas-Texas A&M, Georgia-Georgia Tech games have throughout the years, but today’s game is as big as it gets for the Hokies and the Hoos.

Today’s winner goes to next Saturday’s ACC Championship game in Jacksonville, Fla., with a possible Orange Bowl berth at stake. That only adds to the drama of one of the nation’s most underrated rivalries.

Welsh, who once said that a game can’t really be called a rivalry if one team wins all the time, tried to get the game changed from its most popular position as the season-ending contest for both teams, to an earlier date. Welsh wanted to play rival Maryland on the final weekend because at that time the Hokies were members of the Big East and Welsh believed an ACC opponent such as Maryland would mean more to his players for such a finale.

Tech fought that suggestion hard and still insists the game be played on the final weekend, when most rivalry games are scheduled. Welsh now concedes the game should be played last since Tech has joined the ACC.

Which leads us to today’s showdown at high noon.

Tech has won seven of the last eight games and 10 of the past 14. The Hokies have been UVa coach Al Groh’s biggest thorn, as his Wahoos have only beaten Tech once in six tries.

Groh said of this matchup that Tech is one of the best teams that have come to Scott Stadium during his seven seasons at the helm of the Cavaliers’ program. Beamer acknowledges that this isn’t the same Virginia team that started the season with an embarrassing loss in the plains of Wyoming.

Since then, Groh has made a lot of his critics eat crow.

A paint job of Beta Bridge declared: “Groh must Go,” the day of the Wyoming loss. Fans wore T-shirts emblazoned with similar messages. Message boards and talk shows were filled with negativity.

Through it all, Groh remained calm, pointing out that he had been part of teams that started seasons 0-2 and still played their way to glory. How prophetic.

Still, the biggest challenge he and the Cavaliers face are their old nemesis. Will their penchant for winning Reaper Cheating-close games be enough? Can their impressive home-field advantage (34-9 since 2001) pull them through with an upset over the favored Hokies?

Beamer’s boys, whose only setbacks included a monumental landslide loss against now-No. 1 LSU in Baton Rouge, La., back in September and a last-second loss to then-No. 2 Boston College, are undaunted by the road, having won 14 of 15 ACC contests away from Blacksburg since joining the league.

The 89th meeting of the crusty old rivals should be one for the ages, so savor every last drop.

 

Thrilla in Charlottesvilla
Cavs, Hokies duke it out for a spot in ACC title game
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
November 24, 2007

He would not want it any other way.

A win away from his team’s first-ever trip to ACC Championship game, Virginia football coach Al Groh must earn a victory over his biggest nemesis to get his ultimate wish.

Today at noon, with enormous hype, hope and hysteria surrounding Scott Stadium, the 16th-ranked Cavaliers (9-2, 6-1 ACC) entertain No. 8 Virginia Tech in what could be labeled as the ACC’s Coastal Division title game. The winner advances to play Atlantic Division champ Boston College in the league title game in Jacksonville, Fla, on Dec. 1 with a trip to the Orange Bowl hanging in the balance.

“As we sized up [Virginia Tech], we know that we have our hands full, but that’s the way it should be,” Groh said. “When games come down to the end you should be playing and trying to go someplace … you should have to beat the best in order to move on.”

Since 2000, the Hokies (9-2, 6-1) have been the “best” in the ACC, winning a league-high 77 games. And this year’s team resembles those of old, relying on success through its vaunted defense, an ever-improving offense and stellar special teams.

“This will be an awesome challenge for us,” Groh said. “This is certainly one of the finest teams that’s come into Scott Stadium in quite some time.

“They are tremendously impressive in all areas.”

The Hokies, dominant in the series of late, have won three straight over the Cavaliers, including a 17-0 decision in Blacksburg last season.

That contest remained scoreless until late in the first half when Virginia’s offense, a unit that managed only five first downs, turned the ball over deep in Virginia Tech territory, setting up the first of three Hokie scores.

“Our defense did their job last year [against Virginia Tech] and unfortunately on offense we didn’t really do much to help them,” said Virginia tight end Tom Santi. “This year, I feel like we’ve played better as a team, putting all three units together.

“Hopefully we will be able to put a complete game together again.”

Achieving that in a winning effort would secure Virginia a berth in one of the ACC’s top three bowl games (Orange, Chick-fil-A or Gator), but the players have kept their one-game-at-a-time mentality.

“For us, for our team, we don’t look at it as the biggest game. We just look at it as another game,” said UVa right guard Ian-Yates Cunningham. “On the outside I am sure that everybody is looking at it and looking into it, but we have to look at it as one of the games on our schedule.

“That’s what football is all about ... the more you win, the bigger stage that you are on and obviously more is expected. We know that and we realize that.”

While completely overshadowed by the implications, today’s contest also serves as the final home game for Virginia’s senior class.

That contingent includes a local standout, defensive end Chris Long, in the midst of one of greatest individual seasons in program history with an ACC-best 12 sacks.

Long, however, was diagnosed with strep throat late last week, limiting his availability early in the week.

Sources confirmed that Long practiced Thursday and is expected to make his 36th straight appearance in the starting lineup.

“I know he is going to play as hard as he can,” said Virginia linebacker Clint Sintim.

Many of the Cavaliers, including Sintim, would love nothing more than to help give Long a lasting memory with a win over the Hokies today.

“It would finish his career off here great,” Sintim said. “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that happens.”

 

Sewell ready to shoulder the load vs. Tech
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
November 24, 2007

Today’s game will be the biggest of Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell’s young life.

The redshirt sophomore has started the last 20 games for the Cavaliers heading into this afternoon’s clash with archrival Virginia Tech. None of those 20 have carried the post-season implications of today’s contest.

With a berth in next Saturday’s ACC Championship game on the line, coupled with an opportunity for a bigger bowl game, much of UVa’s success will rest on Sewell’s shoulders.

He’s not the same player that struggled through most of his freshman campaign. He’s not even the same player that started this season in disastrous fashion at Wyoming.

While Sewell admittedly still has a long way to go before he becomes the type of quarterback that he dreams of, he has gained more confidence as this season has progressed.

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer was quick to point out earlier this week that Sewell has improved greatly since the two teams met at the end of last season.

Not only has Sewell progressed in the role as a quarterback, but he has made strides in the passing game and on making decisions on when to use his athleticism to escape opposing pass rushes and keep drives alive.

Much of his ongoing success can be traced back to Laramie, Wyo., in early September when he played by far his worst game of the season. He completed 11 of 23 passes for a mere 87 yards and was intercepted twice in a lopsided loss to the Cowboys, leaving skeptics wondering if he was the right guy to lead the Virginia offense.

He looks back on that game as the turning point of his career.

“I just knew I wasn’t that type of a quarterback,” Sewell said this week. “I played just like a pure rookie, somebody who didn’t know what he was doing out there. I just had to focus a lot more on film, just little things like mechanics.”

Perhaps even UVa coach Al Groh and offensive coordinator Mike Groh had some doubts after that opening game. They decided to give much-heralded high school hotshot Peter Lalich, a true freshman, a chance in the weeks that followed, declaring the Cavaliers had a two-quarterback system.

That lasted only as long as Sewell allowed it to continue. Once he got his act together, we haven’t seen much of Lalich. In fact, Sewell admitted this week that the move lit a fire underneath him that kick-started his season.

“Obviously, it helped me realize that I definitely wasn’t doing my job the way it needed to be done,” Sewell said. “Something just clicked in my head that I can help this team do some things. I just wanted to play to my potential. I’m still trying to work on that right now.”

Heading into today’s game against the ACC’s best defensive unit, Sewell has thrown for 1,977 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, having completed 58.4 percent of his passes. Not exactly Matt Schaub-like numbers, but the Richmonder is learning week-by-week.

In most of his games this season, Sewell’s passing accuracy has been erratic. Sometimes he throws wildly over or behind an open receiver, which has led to eight interceptions (two more than he threw last season as a rookie in nine games), or killed drives altogether.

However, he has mastered Crunch Time like a John Elway or Dan Marino, leading the Cavaliers to four come-from-behind, game-winning drives en route to a 9-2 record.

The difference in Sewell in the first three quarters of games compared to his brilliance in the waning moments is bewildering.

The left-handed passer has completed an uncanny 17 of 20 passes for 199 yards in those game-winning drives against Middle Tennessee State, Connecticut, Maryland, and Wake Forest.

Wahoo fans are probably asking the old game show question: “Will the real Jameel Sewell please stand up,” heading into today’s game during the Hokies. They’re hoping it’s the Sewell who completed at least 62 percent of his passes during Virginia’s seven-game winning streak earlier this season.

Al Groh noted this week that the average bad pass against most UVa opponents this season resulted only in a bad play, but a bad pass against the Hokies’ aggressive and athletic defense can quickly become harmful on the scoreboard, a fact of which Sewell is keenly aware.

The key, he said is to “try not to force things, limit the forced throws and bad reads,” against Tech.

Otherwise, it will be as long a day as last year when the Cavs mustered only 112 total yards and couldn’t score against the Hokies in a 17-0 loss.

“I just don’t want to have that same feeling,” Sewell said of that game. “Nobody likes the feeling of losing and we all know what that feels like. We have to make sure we remember that.”

 

The reasons
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
November 24, 2007

WHY VIRGINIA WILL WIN
Sewell has learned from the past

What happened in the past fuels Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell.

Two forgettable performances, which came in back-to-back games distanced by the offseason, opened the signal-caller’s eyes.

In losses at Virginia Tech in the 2006 finale and at Wyoming in this season’s opener, Sewell combined to pass for 153 yards and threw three interceptions.

“I just knew I wasn’t that type of quarterback,” he said. “I played just like a pure rookie, somebody who didn’t know what he was doing out there. I just had to focus a lot more on film, just little things like mechanics and everything like that.”

Sewell has shown progressive improvement since, leading Virginia to wins in nine of its last 10 games and continuously setting new career-best yardage totals in the process.

The sophomore, while erratic at times, has also proven to be elusive outside the pocket and ranks fifth in the ACC in total offense.

“Those things have to be included in the total evaluation of what he brings to the team,” said Virginia coach Al Groh. “That’s all part of the total package, and we accept it all.”

A sack attack

There will be several games within the game.

One worth watching pertains to Virginia’s ability to tackle the quarterback of choice behind the line of scrimmage and Virginia Tech’s inability to stop such drive-changing plays.

The Cavaliers have 34 sacks this season, just two shy of their preseason goal. The Hokies have allowed 39, which ranks 112th nationally and is topped by only one ACC team (Duke).

Virginia Tech can blame several of the breakdowns on injuries, which forced unproven players into action.

Now close to full strength, the Hokies earn the pleasure of trying to slow defensive ends Jeffrey Fitzgerald and Chris Long, the ACC’s top sack producer.

“I think anybody that goes against Chris Long is going to have trouble,” said Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer.

Rest for the weary

Virginia’s bye week, a long-awaited period of rest, could have come at a better time.

The team did battle injuries to several of its superstars.

But given how the season unfolded, the bye week did allow several players to recharge their batteries.

“A bye week always helps,” said linebacker Jon Copper. “I felt a lot better [Monday] than I did on a typical Monday. I think that was pretty general for all the guys.”

Under Groh, Virginia is 9-2 after a week of rest, which includes a perfect record in seven home games.

“I don’t think it’s anything too mystical. I think if you checked a lot of teams, they’d probably have a pretty good success rate after bye weeks,” Groh said. “The team’s rested, the team’s had extra preparation, that’s all I can think of. We certainly haven’t done anything differently.

“We don’t have anything we could go to clinics and talk about and have a good topic.”

WHY VIRGINIA TECH WILL WIN
Double trouble

Stopping one would be hard enough. Stopping both brings on a Maalox moment.

In unison, Virginia Tech quarterbacks Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor have helped lead their team to 84 points in the past two games against once-feared Florida foes - Florida State and Miami.

The Hokies have rotated the pair during quarters and even drives when the perfect situation arises.

Glennon, a junior, is a pocket passer. Taylor, a true freshman, excels with blazing speed, but is also a competent passer.

Injuries have kept the quarterback rotation from being used throughout a recent contest, but the rewards of the experiment outweigh the negatives.

“It’s kind of been a work in progress,” Beamer said. “Both have played well. Both give you something and both are very unselfish. It’s worked out, but I think it’s a challenge each and every week to figure out how you’re going to do it.”

Virginia’s coaching staff needed the extra time from the bye week to study how the Hokies employ the pair.

“It certainly compounds the issue very much,” Groh said. “A lot of times it doesn’t because quarterbacks are of a fairly similar nature. These two quarterbacks overlap in what they do.

“It’s not that either one is boxed into a particular style, but each one’s got some particular unique abilities.”

Speed demons

When his career as a football coach eventually comes to a close, Groh may want to offer his services to collegiate track coaches.

Virginia’s leader has certainly witnessed enough speed this year in scouting to spot that trait.

It popped up again in preparation for Virginia Tech, namely at the wide receiver position.

Entering today’s game, wideouts Justin Harper, Josh Hyman, Josh Morgan and Eddie Royal, all seniors, have combined for 1,451 of the Hokies’ 2,084 receiving yards.

“With those four receivers that we’ll be very pleased to bid adieu to after this game, they have the makings of what certainly would be a highly competitive 4-by-100 team if they chose to enter the NCAA track championships,” Groh said. “Those players have been playing for four years, they’re very impressive players, they’ve got great ball skills and playmaking ability, so they are a one-play challenge just like the special teams are.”

A history lesson

It has become a pattern: Virginia Tech shows Virginia fans the Commonwealth Cup trophy for three-plus hours and then return it to its spot in Blacksburg.

In fact, the 4-foot, 100-plus-pound trophy has been Virginia Tech’s property seven of the last eight years.

Since the Hokies gained their stranglehold on the rivalry in 1999, they have outscored the Cavaliers, 249-113, in taking a 46-37-5 lead in the series.
 

Right about U.Va. then, Tech now
David Teel
November 24, 2007

Two tequilas and three colleagues. Those were my companions the night of Aug. 31, when, on the eve of the University of Virginia's football season opener, I predicted the Cavaliers would win their first seven games en route to a memorable year.

Needless to say, I caught endless grief the following day when Wyoming whipped Virginia 23-3. But Jose Cuervo and I weren't far off after all.

Virginia won its next seven games, matching a program record, and this afternoon hosts Virginia Tech for the right to face Boston College in next week's ACC championship game.

The Cavaliers and Hokies have identical records (9-2 overall, 6-1 conference) and motivation (moving within one victory of an ACC title and Orange Bowl bid). But is there any doubt which program most needs today's game?

Yes, win or lose, Al Groh deserves to be ACC Coach of the Year. He has guided the Cavaliers to an NCAA-record five victories by two points or fewer, helped them rebound from that atrocious start, and silenced fan and media chatter about his job security.

But in six seasons at his alma mater, Groh is 1-5 against Virginia Tech. Moreover, each of the five setbacks was by double-figures — a combined 69-14 the past two seasons.

That is completely unacceptable against your program's fiercest rival. And if you're not convinced, ask Chan Gailey, Chuck Amato, John Cooper or Lloyd Carr.

As Georgia Tech's coach, Gailey is 0-5 against Georgia and facing questions about his future. At North Carolina State, Amato lost three straight to North Carolina and then his job; at Ohio State, Cooper was 2-10-1 against Michigan and shown the door; at Michigan, Carr lost his last five against Ohio State before resigning this week.

Groh's job is not in jeopardy. But it will be if his Cavaliers keep losing to the Hokies. And what better time to stop the bleeding?

Virginia is playing at home, where this season it's 5-0 — no other ACC team is perfect at home. The Cavaliers are fresh off a bye week and two weeks ago skunked Miami 48-0 at the Orange Bowl, the Hurricanes' worst home defeat in 63 years.

No question, this has been a landmark season for Virginia regardless of today's result. But just think of victory's dividends.

Season-ticket holders, who face dramatically higher prices for premium seats next year, would go home happy; the reviled Hokies would have been denied a division title, and the Cavaliers would have a chance at their first outright ACC football championship — they shared in 1989 and '95.

Prevail today and Virginia wins 10 games for only the second time in program history (1989 was the first). Prevail today and this team is long heralded, even if it's spanked by Boston College and in postseason.

Lose today and Virginia faces even more questions about Virginia Tech's superiority. Sounds harsh, but it's true.

So who wins? I've heard the question almost daily for weeks, but after seeing the Hokies seven times in person and the Cavaliers five, I still haven't a strong inclination.

Both teams are white hot and relatively healthy. The Cavaliers are unbeaten at home, but the Hokies are an astonishing 14-1 in ACC road games since joining the conference, 3-0 this season.

Tech appears more skilled, particularly at linebacker, receiver and defensive back. But Virginia is awash in good karma. Cavaliers kicker Chris Gould hasn't missed from outside 40 yards, but the Hokies' Jud Dunlevy hasn't missed from inside 40.

You're right. I'm stalling. But I'm not flipping a coin, and it's too early for tequila.

Tech by a handful. Bet ya all of a nickel.

 

Cavaliers have prospered by playing 'em one at a time
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© November 24, 2007 | Last updated 9:47 PM Nov. 23
CHARLOTTESVILLE

Not much was expected of the Virginia football team this year, but the Cavaliers set some high goals for themselves.

Each day during preseason camp, the team picked to finish fourth in its division ended practice with the same chant: “ACC champions!”

Then came the season opener, a deflating 23-3 loss to Wyoming in which Virginia looked so inept that fans called for coach Al Groh’s job. Stunned and embarrassed, players decided that maybe they had gotten a little ahead of themselves.

ACC champs? Virginia just needed to crack 100 yards of offense.

“We stopped saying that, actually,” quarterback Jameel Sewell said. “We started breaking down whatever game was next: 'Beat N.C. State’ or 'Beat Duke’ or whatnot. We just focused on playing one game at a time, because that was part of the big picture, winning one game at a time.”

Ah, yes, the ultimate football cliche – one game at a time. How boring. How Bill Belichick. But for this team, a team not blessed with overwhelming talent, how effective. By putting their big, audacious goal on the back burner and focusing on the little things, the Cavaliers have arrived on the brink of where they aimed all along. They’ll face rival Virginia Tech today with a berth in the ACC championship game on the line.

It is arguably the most significant game in school history, but don’t expect to hear that from this group of players. At Tuesday’s news conference, they acknowledged that the game is huge – for fans and media. For the players, it’s simply game No. 12.

That’s their story, and they are sticking to it.

“It’s just the nature of our team, how we think collectively,” guard Ian-Yates Cunningham said. “We don’t think about the big picture, we think about the small picture right now, and that’s what you have to do. It’s a one-game season each week, and that’s our approach to it.”

It has worked for them. The Cavaliers have won nine of 10 since the Wyoming debacle, including an NCAA-record five games by two points or fewer. In their only other loss, to N.C. State, Sewell sat out the last series with cramps. His late-game accomplishments in other games suggest he might have led Virginia to a win in that one as well.

Sewell, in particular, has benefited from a small-picture approach. Game after game, he was able to shake off uneven performances and rally when Virginia needed him most.

“That’s how we get through a lot of these games,” he said. “That one play at a time, no matter what’s going on, no matter what happened before, if I just finished throwing a touchdown pass or I just finished throwing an interception.”

It’s an approach straight from the coaching manual and one Virginia has adhered to better than most teams, and better than in years past. The Cavaliers are hoping it’ll carry them again, against a team they haven’t beaten in four years, one that happens to be their biggest rival, on Senior Day, with the Coastal Division title on the line.

Taken together, that’s a lot to digest. Little wonder Virginia is not biting.

“All those things combined, if you try to package them all together, it just becomes too much,” Groh said. “The necessity for our team is just to focus on what it is going to take to win this particular game and leave all that outside stuff to people who don’t have to play in the game.”

Among the keys for Virginia today: dealing with Tech’s two-quarterback rotation, both the drop-back passing of Sean Glennon and the run/pass threat of elusive freshman Tyrod Taylor; preventing the Hokies from making any special teams or defensive scores; and finding a way to move the ball on the nation’s No. 5 defense.

The Cavaliers also have to strike that balance between bringing some needed emotion and not getting overly excited.

That shouldn’t be a problem, linebacker Clint Sintim said.

“We’ve been the same team every week, so I think just because the situation is a little different, we have a little bit more publicity, I still think that guys are the same guys.

“We pride ourselves on being the same guys every week, so I think that’s what we’ll try to be.”

After all this time, who else could they be?

 

.Va.-Tech game biggest ever between the state's major schools
By KYLE TUCKER, The Virginian-Pilot
© November 24, 2007

The symbol of the 112-year-old football rivalry between Virginia and Virginia Tech sat in the Hokies locker room all week.

Tech quarterback Sean Glennon stared at the coveted Commonwealth Cup on Monday and pondered his place in its history.

“I was looking at all the scores. There’s five rows, this long,” Glennon said, holding his hands about a foot apart. “ To know that this is the biggest one probably … it’s special for all of us.”

When the 16th-ranked Cavaliers host eighth-ranked Tech at noon today, it almost certainly will be more significant than any of the 88 previous meetings between the state’s two football powers.

Both enter this game with 9-2 records. Both are 6-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They’re tied atop the league’s Coastal Division.

And in this afternoon’s regular-season finale, it’s winner take all. To the victor goes a trip to Jacksonville, Fla., next weekend for the ACC championship game and a chance to earn an Orange Bowl bid.

Hokies head coach Frank Beamer, who played in the

rivalry from 1966-68 and has coached in the past 20 meetings, is calling it “the biggest game we’ve ever played against Virginia, without question.”

That’s hard to argue.

Sure, there have been big moments and thrilling finishes in the series. In 1995, the Hokies came from behind to win in the closing seconds and clinch a Sugar Bowl bid.

In 1998, the Cavaliers recorded the biggest comeback in school history, erasing a 22-point halftime deficit to earn a trip to the Peach Bowl.

But never have these teams played each other at the end of the year with a conference championship on the line. In fact, before the Hokies left the Big East and joined the ACC in 2004, these rivals hadn’t shared the same league since both were in the Southern Conference in the 1930s.

“It’s never meant too much,” Tech offensive tackle Duane Brown said. “It was just for bragging rights before.”

And the Hokies took some of the intrigue out of the

rivalry by winning seven of the past eight meetings.

Since joining the ACC, Tech has won all three of its games against Virginia – comfortably.

There’s a note on the Commonwealth Cup that reads Tech has held the trophy continuously for more than 1,000 days.

“But now it’s all on the line,” Brown said.

Added fellow lineman Sergio Render: “You’ve got to beat your rival … but when you can win a title beating them, that’s something different. It feels huge. It feels almost like a national championship game.”

For their part, the underdog Cavaliers tried to downplay the enormity of the match-up this week. They all sang the same song, almost in harmony: It’s just another game.

Really?

“It’s in the back of everybody’s mind,” Virginia tight end Tom Santi said. “We know what’s at stake in this game, but if we’re thinking about even the day after Saturday, we’re not 100 percent focused on this game.”

That workmanlike approach has served the Cavaliers well this year. It has kept them

focused in the face of repeated near-defeats. It has led to an NCAA-record five wins by two points or fewer.

Coach Al Groh’s team is aiming to avoid being swept up in the hype and squeak out another one.

“We appreciate what’s

going on with it,” said Groh, who has beaten Tech once in his previous six tries. “We’re not the ones that tailgate or cheer or do all those things. We’re the ones who play. We have to prepare ourselves for the event.”

And it will be an event.

Virginia can clinch the second 10-win season in its history with a victory. Virginia Tech is looking to win its 10th game for the fourth consecutive season – a school record.

After last year’s win, some of Tech’s seniors drank beer from the Commonwealth Cup. For this year’s winner, though, the historic vessel will hold so much more.

“Everybody’s got that

little chill in their body,”

Hokies receiver Josh Morgan said. “You couldn’t paint a better picture.”

 

One way to Jacksonville: The Hokies will have to combat Chris Long
By Nathan Warters
twarters@newsadvance.com
November 24, 2007

Virginia Tech's offensive line has been much improved in its last five games, but it still has had trouble keeping pass rushers off of quarterbacks Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor.
It doesn't get any easier today in Charlottesville. Virginia, which employs a 3-4 defensive front (three down linemen, four linebackers), is third in the ACC and 13th in the country with 34 sacks.

"We've seen (the 3-4), but it hasn't been like UVa's. Duke plays in a 3-4, but they don't stay in it like UVa does. I think just getting adjusted to all the schemes and all the different kind of stuff; we've just never really blocked it before," Hokies sophomore right tackle Ed Wang said.

"I think that's going to be the biggest challenge. Plus, they have great players on that side of the ball."

Virginia's defensive ends - senior Chris Long and sophomore Jeffrey Fitzgerald - are its most imposing pass rushers.

Long leads the ACC with 12 sacks (all solo). Fitzgerald is tied for second on the team with five.

Long is the Hokies' biggest worry, though. He not only puts up big numbers; he changes games.

He had two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss in the Cavs' 17-16 win at Maryland Oct. 20, and his third quarter safety (he sacked Terps' quarterback Chris Turner in the end zone) provided the decisive points.

In Virginia's Sept. 15 win at North Carolina, Long's first career interception set up Chris Gould's 32-yard game-deciding field goal in the fourth quarter.

"If you let him come in free, I don't think there's any choice but to get smacked," Glennon said. "Hopefully, our guys will do a good job of setting him down, and I have to do a good job of knowing when to get rid of the ball and not hold on to it too long."

Because of the Cavaliers' unusual defensive front, everybody on the Hokies' line is anticipating having to block Long at some point.

UVa sometimes moves him from one side to the other, and it uses a variety of stunts and shifts to change the angle from which he attacks.

"I'm probably going to face him a lot this week," said Tech junior left guard Nick Marshman. "He doesn't line up real wide. He lines up in a four-technique and tries to rush inside the tackle, which would put me on him. But I love a challenge."

If past performance is any indication, Tech is going to give up some sacks today. It ranks 112th out of 119 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision teams in sacks allowed (39).

The key is to not let those backfield tackles prove to be decisive plays. The Hokies have done a good job of that to this point.

Miami sacked Glennon and Taylor a total of four times last week, but two of the sacks came during scoring drives.

The Hokies are 4-1 in their last five games despite allowing 19 sacks. The rest of their offensive averages during that stretch are outstanding: 32.8 points, 389 total yards and 154 rushing yards.

If they put up numbers like that today, the sacks won't matter.

"Obviously, you can't stop a playmaker all day long," Glennon said of Long. "He's one of the best players I've seen all year. He's going to make some plays, but I really do have confidence that over the course of the game that (the offensive line is) going to do a good job of blocking those guys."

 

One way to Jacksonville: The Wahoos try to forget the 2006 shutout
By Andy Bitter
abitter@newsadvance.com
November 24, 2007

Jameel Sewell remembers. How could he not?
The Virginia Tech blitzers came at the then-freshman quarterback from all directions. Linebackers sniffed out every run. Defensive backs swatted down every pass. Nothing came easy.

No, last year's 17-0 loss to the Hokies at Lane Stadium, in which the Cavaliers had 112 yards of total offense and five first downs, is not something that fades from your memory too easily.

"I just don't want to have that same feeling," said Sewell, who will quarterback the No. 16 Cavaliers when they get another crack at the No. 8 Hokies at noon today with a spot in the ACC championship game on the line.

"Nobody likes the feeling of losing and we all know what that feels like. We just have to make sure we remember that and play like the great team that we are."

Virginia (9-2, 6-1 ACC) has not solved all of its offensive woes (the Cavaliers still rank 99th nationally in total offense), but it has certainly turned a corner in recent weeks, topping 400 yards in two of the last four games and scoring a season-high 48 points at Miami two weeks ago.

Of course, the Cavaliers haven't played a defense the caliber of Virginia Tech's, which is fifth nationally in total defense, sixth in rushing defense and, despite a 48-point hiccup to LSU in the second week, fourth in scoring defense at 14.9 points per game.

Last week against Miami, Virginia Tech (9-2, 6-1 ACC) held the Hurricanes to minus-2 yards rushing.

"They've got a little bit different way to play you each time," said Virginia coach Al Groh, who is 1-5 against Virginia Tech. "So it's not like you can say, 'Hey, this is what it was last time, so this is what it's going to be again.' Within the context of their (defensive) philosophy, they have some pretty unique ideas."

That puts plenty of pressure on Sewell to perform. Last year as a redshirt freshman in his ninth career start, he looked overwhelmed, completing 10 of 21 passes for just 66 yards. He threw an interception and had a costly fumble at his own 12-yard line that set up the only touchdown of the first half.

Sewell is wary of Virginia Tech's turnover-inducing ways, and it's not just limited to cornerbacks Brandon Flowers and Victor "Macho" Harris, who have nine combined interceptions.

"They're ball hawks," Sewell said. "They're very aggressive and they've got a lot of athletes on their team that make plays for them all over the field, from their defensive line to their linebackers and into their secondary."

Capitalizing off turnovers has been a staple of Beamerball, which has produced 73 non-offensive touchdowns since Frank Beamer took over the program in 1987.

The Hokies have seven touchdowns on defense and special teams this year. Since 1993, they are 64-8 when they score at least one non-offensive touchdown.

"What has been the case this year and historically there, on defense and special teams, if you make a mistake, it's not just a bad play, it's usually harmful on the scoreboard," Groh said.

The Cavaliers have tried to treat the game as business as usual, not an easy task considering a berth in the ACC title game against Boston College next week in Jacksonville, Fla., is on the line.

It's more than that, though. The teams have never entered this matchup collectively ranked this high or with as many combined wins (18), adding fuel to the state rivalry. Plus, it will be the last game at Scott Stadium for UVa's seniors.

"All those things combined, if you try to package them together, it just becomes too much," Groh said. "The necessity for our team is to focus on what it's going to take to win this particular game and leave all that outside stuff to, frankly, people who don't have to play in the game."
 

Virginia dispatches Penn in Philly
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
November 24, 2007

PHILADELPHIA - Near the end of the first half of Friday night’s Virginia-Penn game, Sean Singletary let out a primal scream.
Luckily for UVa fans, Singletary wasn’t injured. Virginia’s senior captain was just venting his frustration.
Singletary, who was playing his first college game in his hometown of Philadelphia, had a pretty rough night. The first-team All-ACC guard had 16 points, but it was on just 4-of-12 shooting, and he also had a game-high five turnovers.
However, it didn’t matter much against an overmatched Penn team. Virginia, behind 23 points and 11 rebounds from Adrian Joseph, easily downed the Quakers, 100-85.
The Cavaliers will take on Seton Hall, which beat Navy, in the final round of the Philly Hoop Group Classic tonight at 9.
“Anytime you play in a tournament format such as this, it’s about moving on,” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao, “and we were able to do that.
“Obviously we’re still a work in progress. We need to settle in. We’re still playing a lot of people. We have to not necessarily shorten [the rotation], but get guys to understand what their roles are.”
No. 23 Virginia (5-0) took command from the get-go as Joseph drained two 3-pointers and Mamadi Diane had a crowd-pleasing fastbreak dunk to put Virginia up, 10-2.
The Cavaliers’ defense was equally impressive. Penn didn’t notch its first field goal until more than 5 minutes had elapsed.
But leading 23-9, Virginia suddenly veered off course. UVa scored just five points in the next 6 minutes. During that stretch, the Cavs committed six turnovers, missed four free throws and a layup.
“We were definitely out of rhythm,” Singletary said. “We need to keep attacking and playing with a killer instinct, and I don’t feel as though we did that.
“I feel as though we could have kept our foot on the gas pedal a little more.”
Penn (1-4) was able to stay in the game by getting to the free-throw line - and the occasional lucky shot. While falling down, Quakers freshman Remy Cofield flung a blind hook over his head that somehow found the bottom of the net.
But Virginia was able to right itself before halftime.
One of the big highlights came from freshman Mike Scott, who took a pass from Calvin Baker on the break and threw down a sweet, one-handed jam to go up 45-26 and match its biggest lead of the half.
Scott and Joseph each had six rebounds as Virginia took a 50-35 lead into the intermission.
In the second half, Singletary was a little better. With a little more than 6 minutes remaining, he split the Quakers defense and converted a pretty floater off the glass as he was being fouled to put Virginia up by 21. He then left the game to loud applause from the Palestra crowd.
On Virginia’s ensuing possession, Baker hit Will Harris with a no-look pass. Harris took off from the middle of the paint and threw down a dunk that had the entire UVa bench on its feet.
The game also marked the homecoming of Virginia freshmen Jeff Jones and Sam Zeglinski. Neither player, however, made very much of an impact. Jones, who started for the fifth straight game, had two points in nine minutes. Zeglinski finished with two assists in 14 minutes off the bench.
Virginia senior Ryan Pettinella, who played his first two years at Penn, had six points, two rebounds and a blocked shot against his former team.
“There was added excitement,” said Leitao, when asked about playing in Philadelphia. “We wanted them to enjoy the experience and more than anything let their family and friends and people who helped them get to this point enjoy and watch them play.”
Virginia allowed Penn to shoot 46 percent, but outrebounded the Quakers, 56-26. Scott finished with a career-high 13 boards, to go along with 10 points.
“Mike has shown a propensity and knack for rebounding, which has kind of earned him more and more time,” Leitao said.
Leitao spoke most glowingly of Joseph, who notched his second straight double-double.
“He’s bought in 1000 percent to what we’re doing,” Leitao said. “He came in as a shooter. Now he’s a guy who can shoot it, but also does other things. He’s been rebounding and passing better. I just think his game is expanding.”
The blowout win allowed Leitao to play 15 players. Added rest for the regulars could be important with the quick turnaround for tonight’s game.
“They’re going to play 94 feet and test you on offense and defense,” Leitao said of Seton Hall. “[Today] will be a real challenge for us. I expect a terrific game. I hope we come ready and prepared to play.”
Singletary will certainly be looking to bounce back from an off-night.
“Personally, I played real sloppy,” he said. “I struggled shooting the ball and never really had my rhythm, but I’m just happy we got the win and moved into the next round.”

 

Virginia makes it look easy in posting fifth straight victory
Saturday, Nov 24, 2007 - 12:06 AM Updated: 02:35 AM
NO. 23 VIRGINIA 100, PENN 85
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHILADELPHIA - Adrian Joseph had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Sean Singletary scored 16 points and No. 23 Virginia was unstoppable early on its way to a 100-85 win over Penn last night in the Philly Hoop Group Classic.

The Cavaliers (5-0) play Seton Hall today in the championship game of the Independence bracket of the inaugural eight-team tournament. Drexel will play Loyola, Md. today in the Liberty championship game. The tournament is broken up into two brackets, so there is no undisputed champion.

There was no dispute about the outcome of this one. Not even playing on their home court and famed home of the Big 5, the Palestra, provided the Quakers (1-4) with an advantage.

The word Classic was applicable to the tournament's name only.

The Cavaliers, who jumped into the Top 25 by handing Arizona its first November home loss since 1978-79, never let thoughts of upset hatch inside the heads of the Ivy League Quakers. Fans still were looking for a spot on the bleacher seats when Joseph hit a pair of 3-pointers on an opening 12-2 run. Jamil Tucker and Calvin Baker each hit 3s early that put them up 20-7, and it was time for Virginia's seldom-used benchwarmers to start thinking about garbage time minutes.

Virginia was so dominant - 7 for 13 from 3-point range in the first half - that it didn't even miss Singletary's typical big game. Singletary, who leads the Cavaliers with a 22.5 scoring average, made only one field goal and scored seven points in the first half.

Singletary, a Philadelphia native, picked up his game in the second half and helped turn this one into a rout. He did earn the loudest ovation of any player during the pregame introductions.

Mamadi Diane scored 13 points and Mike Scott added 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers.

Joseph sank two more 3s in the second half and each gave Virginia an 18-point lead. The only suspense was if Virginia would go over the 100-point mark. Will Sherrill's jumper with 21 seconds left put the Cavaliers right at 100.