Cavs' loss brings lesson?
Another early U.Va. miscue has Leitao seeing team's flaws
Tuesday, Nov 27, 2007 - 12:06 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Nowhere is it written that the University of Virginia men's basketball team must lose at least one early-season game that it probably should have won. Yet, much to Dave Leitao's frustration, that keeps happening.

In 2005-06, Leitao's first season as the Cavaliers' coach, they lost at home to Fordham. A season ago, in the San Juan Shootout, U.Va. lost first to Appalachian State and then to Utah.

Leitao would have preferred that the lessons learned in those setbacks had stayed with his veterans, but previously unbeaten U.Va. fell 74-60 to Seton Hall in Philadelphia on Saturday night.

"I keep telling them, we could have learned from Fordham or from Puerto Rico in this instance," Leitao said yesterday. "It didn't have to take another loss to do that. But regardless of whether we'd won that game or not, we're still a work in progress in getting to where we need to be."

U.Va., ranked No. 23 last week, tumbled out of The Associated Press poll yesterday. Virginia's first chance to return to its winning ways comes tonight at John Paul Jones Arena, where it's lost only once in two seasons. U.Va. (5-1) hosts Northwestern (1-3) in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

For the Cavaliers, this will be their fourth game in eight days.

"It's a tough stretch," Leitao said, but "I think it's healthy to get an early look at not only where you're at but what you've got to get better at."

And that would be?

"A little bit of everything," Leitao said. "Defensively, we're not there yet. Then offensively we're not quite there yet. Transition defense, rebounding, boxing out, all those things are not in midseason form. In Seton Hall's case, they just attacked us, and we weren't able to respond."

U.Va. has yet to have its full complement of players this season. Sophomore swingman Solomon Tat is still recovering from a sports hernia that required an operation, and starting center Tunji Soroye had surgery Nov. 8 to repair cartilage damage in his left knee. At the time, doctors estimated that the 6-11 senior would be out six to eight weeks.

"He's progressing," Leitao said. "We're hoping it's closer to six than it is eight."

In Soroye's absence, most of the minutes at center have gone to senior Ryan Pettinella (2.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and junior Laurynas Mikalauskas (5.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg). Neither has been particularly productive, and so Leitao has been using Mike Scott, a 6-8, 233-pound freshman who was recruited as a power forward, more in the middle.

In less than 13 minutes a game, Scott has averaged 5 points and 5.8 rebounds.

"He's been able to give us a little spark at that position, both as a scorer and rebounder," Leitao said.

 

Cavs try to re-group
Coming off tough loss, UVa hosts Northwestern
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
November 27, 2007

For Virginia, one of the positives of not getting much respect among the basketball bigwigs is the fact it will probably not have to play anyone really good in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge for the foreseeable future.

If Challenge organizers paired opponents the way they should - according to how the schools finished in their conferences the previous season - UVa would be playing Ohio State or Wisconsin this evening.

Instead, Virginia, which was an ACC regular season co-champion last season, is hosting Northwestern, which finished 10th in the 11-school Big Ten.

A game against Ohio State or Wisconsin would have likely improved Virginia’s RPI come March, but after a poor performance against Seton Hall on Saturday night, UVa should be pleased to be taking on the Wildcats - a 1-3 squad that is coming off a home loss to Brown.

Besides, Virginia already has Syracuse coming into John Paul Jones Arena next Wednesday.

“We have to fix our camaraderie and our chemistry,” said Virginia senior Sean Singletary, following UVa’s 74-60 loss to the Pirates. “When we get down, we have to stick together - fall back on things we do in practice. That’s how you come back from [bad losses].”

A little defense would help, too. Virginia (5-1) looked lackadaisical against Seton Hall. Time and again, Pirate perimeter players beat UVa defenders off the dribble and got all the way to the rim.

The warning sign should have been allowing Penn to shoot 54 percent from the field in the second half on Friday night.

Virginia coach Dave Leitao estimated that his team only played defense for about seven minutes of their two games in the Philly Hoop Group Classic.

“We’re kind of unbalanced right now because we don’t have, and haven’t had, a whole lot of practice time,” Leitao said.

“It’s not an excuse, though, because there are a lot of teams that have been playing in tournaments and haven’t had a lot of practice time, either.”

An advantage Leitao would seem to have this year is the fact he has a number of options. If somebody’s not showing the effort or intensity on the defensive end, he can yank them. In years past, Leitao had to stick with a short rotation.

So far, Leitao has shown a propensity to tinker with his lineups and is clearly not afraid to hurt anyone’s feelings.

Sophomore Will Harris has barely gotten off the bench. Ditto for highly touted freshmen Mustapha Farrakhan and Sam Zeglinski, who have given way to walk-on Calvin Baker.

“I don’t have a predetermined thought process on how many guys play or don’t play,” Leitao said. “You base it on what you think and you base it on feel, and ultimately you base it on practice.”

One “challenging” aspect of tonight’s game for Virginia could be Northwestern’s unique style of play. The Wildcats employ the Princeton motion offense made famous by legendary coach Pete Carril. Northwestern coach Bill Carmody is a Carril disciple.

“It becomes a little bit more of a difficult game because they play such a different style,” Leitao said, “and you have to prepare for it that way.”

Singletary, however, disagreed with his coach: “It’s not hard to prepare for,” he said. “If we impose our will on them, we’ll be in good shape.”

Dunks

This will be just the third meeting between Virginia and Northwestern. UVa won both previous meetings in the Challenge in 2005 and 2006. … Virginia lost at Purdue in last year’s Challenge. … With 23 points against Seton Hall, Singletary moved past Richard Morgan and Travis Watson into 13th place on the school’s all-time scoring list.

 

Long, Albert earn All-ACC honors
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
November 27, 2007

All 73 ballots submitted by members of the media for this year’s All-ACC team included one constant: Chris Long was a first-team selection.

Virginia’s senior defensive end became the first unanimous defensive player in the league since 2002 - records dating back further were unavailable.

Long was joined on the first team by junior left guard Branden Albert, who was the top vote-getter at his position, as voted on by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.

Virginia senior tight end Tom Santi and senior punter Ryan Weigand were named to the second team and junior offensive tackle Eugene Monroe was an honorable mention selection.

Georgia Tech, which had a league-best five first-team selections, led the ACC with eight players on the first or second teams. Boston College (7 players), Virginia Tech (7), Clemson (6) and Wake Forest (5) finished ahead of Virginia in the individual balloting.

The honor for Long came just hours after he was named one of four finalists for the Lott Award, given to the top “impact” player in the nation on defense.

Long certainly made his impact in the ACC this season - the team captain leads the league with 14 sacks and 19 tackles for a loss. He became the first Cavalier defensive linemen to earn first-team honors in nine years (Patrick Kerney - 1998).

“It is a great honor,” Long said through a released statement. “I always think of the ACC as a great defensive conference with a lot of talented players on defense. To be mentioned with all of those guys is humbling and I have a great deal of respect for the players in the conference.”

Albert followed in the footsteps of former guard Elton Brown, a first-team selection in 2004.

The junior, who told The Daily Progress last month that he would return for his senior season, started all 12 games, two of which came at left tackle.

“It meant a lot to me to have Coach [Al] Groh nominate me for All-ACC honors,” Albert said. “It means he noticed how much I was able to contribute to the team this year.

“To be honored with a guy like Chris Long, who is up for all of these All-America awards, it means a lot to me. We have a lot of veteran players on our offensive line and I am proud to represent them with this honor.”

Boston College tight end Ryan Purvis, who finished with 50 receptions for 521 yards and four scores, edged Santi in the balloting, 109-60, to take first-team honors.

Santi, despite missing all but one offensive play against Maryland and the entire game against N.C. State with a sprained ankle, led the Cavaliers with 402 receiving yards on 33 receptions. Santi scored three touchdowns, two of which came against Duke.

Weigand’s selection may have been one of the most noteworthy in the ACC. The California native gained second-team honors as a write-in selection.

The stats justified Weigand’s honor - he finished second in the ACC and fifth in the nation, averaging 45.5 yards on his 45 punts.

Monroe, who started 10 games at left tackle, did not allow a sack this season.

Virginia (9-3, 6-2 ACC) remains uncertain of its postseason destination, although signs point to Florida, where the Gator Bowl (Jan. 1, 1 p.m., CBS) and the Champs Sports Bowl (Dec. 28, 5 p.m., ESPN) are played. While unlikely, the Cavaliers could also land in the Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A Bowl (Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m.) or the Nashville, Tenn.-based Music City Bowl (Dec. 31, 4 p.m., ESPN).

 

Cavs wait for bowl invite
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
November 26, 2007

The question was one that Virginia coach Al Groh did not want to hear and one that he was not prepared to answer.

Where will Virginia play its postseason football game?

“We haven’t thought about it. We haven’t discussed it,” Groh said. “I haven’t talked with anybody in this administration.”

In a world of perfection, Groh would have fielded questions about departure dates for Jacksonville, Fla., and prep work for Boston College.

Preparing for this weekend’s ACC Championship, however, is a chore for Virginia Tech’s football program - the Hokies earned that honor after winning the league’s Coastal Division title with their 33-21 victory over UVa on Saturday.

For now, and because of their collapse against the Hokies, the 22nd-ranked Cavaliers (9-3, 6-2 ACC) are left watching scoreboards, notably the ACC title game.

The most common prediction among bowl prognosticators has Virginia playing Penn State in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando on Dec. 28 at 5 p.m.

“I know some people from Penn State from my area actually and if that’s where we are going, that’s where we are going,” Virginia linebacker Clint Sintim said. “It’s not set in stone who we are playing so we will see.

“I just want to play another game. I just want to have one more win and end on a positive note.”

An announcement likely will not come until late Sunday night, hours after the final BCS standings are released.

Other possibilities for the Cavaliers include invitations to play in the Chick-fil-A, Gator or Music City bowls, although the latter would require the Champs Sports Bowl selecting unranked Wake Forest over UVa.

Virginia’s players, while sulking from the loss to Virginia Tech, attempted to remain upbeat about playing another game.

After losing 17-0 last year at Virginia Tech, Virginia could only dream of such a scenario with a 5-7 record.

“We have to come back, whenever it is that we practice, and practice hard,” Virginia defensive end Chris Long said. “We know that whatever opponent, wherever we are going … we are going to play.”

That will help distance the memory of the loss to the Hokies, a game that Virginia led 14-13 with less than a minute left in the first half. But Virginia Tech intercepted a pass from UVa quarterback Jameel Sewell with 40 seconds left in the opening half, turned it into a quick touchdown and outscored the Cavs 13-7 in the second half.

“I played hard, our guys played hard, but like Coach Groh always says, there’s no medals for trying,” Sintim said. “We tried hard, but we didn’t win the game.

“[The Hokies] made the plays they needed to and they won the game. That’s all that matters, I guess.”

 

No rush to extend Groh's deal
Tuesday, Nov 27, 2007 - 12:10 AM
By BOB LIPPER
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST

If I'm Craig Littlepage, I woke up Sunday morning thinking I'm caught between a rock and a contract extension.

The contract doesn't belong to Littlepage.

It belongs to his football coach.

Al Groh is one destination-unknown bowl game away from completing his seventh season at Virginia. He has a 51-36 record with some decent wins and some gray areas. He also has a pricey contract that runs till the end of the 2010 season. He and his lawyer surely would like to push the deal deeper into the next decade.

That's Littlepage's dilemma.

Littlepage is U.Va.'s athletic director and -- per the fine print on the document he and Groh agreed upon in November 2005 -- he has until Friday to decide whether to extend Groh's guaranteed tenure at U.Va. or maintain the status quo.

My advice to Littlepage?

Stand pat. Resist the pressure from Groh and his mouthpiece.

Wait'll next year.

Just as he did (wisely) last year.

If Littlepage were North Carolina AD Dick Baddour, he'd extend Groh through the next millennium. Baddour (we should all have such a boss) just sweetened Butch Davis' deal to the tune of a $291,000 raise and one-year addition through 2013.

Davis is now socking down a cool $2.1 million per annum, which just goes to show what one season on the job, the barest hint you might bail for Fayetteville, Ark., and a 4-8 record will get you in a compliant marketplace.

Groh is 9-3 this season, a nice bump upward from the 5-7 he posted in 2006 -- after which Littlepage declined the school's option to add a year to the contract. If Littlepage is sensible, he'll make a similar decision this week.

Scan the season's results. U.Va. has won five games by one or two points. That's a credit to Groh and his staff -- no question, he's ACC coach of the year -- and a testament to a strain of true grit up and down the depth chart.

But it's fair to say the Cavs caught some breaks. They played no ACC team with a winning record on the road. Their nonconference schedule wasn't strenuous. They lucked out when Wake Forest's Mr. Automatic kicker and UConn's center couldn't shoot straight.

And then they lost Saturday at home to Virginia Tech.

Groh is 1-6 against U.Va.'s biggest rival, a cloud cover for any coach. Georgia Tech, for instance, fired Chan Gailey yesterday. Gailey was 44-32 and 28-20 in the ACC during his six seasons, numbers comparable to Groh's 51-36 and 31-25. Gailey also was 0-6 against Georgia and no longer is employed.

This isn't to suggest Groh be pink-slipped or judged entirely by his failings against the Hokies (although that's a major issue). But his body of work begs an employer's caution. He's lost five or more games five times. His tendency to value heft over speed has cost the Cavs on both sides of the ball. His son's offense has ranked 12th and ninth in the league.

He's sent Matt Schaubs, Heath Millers and Wali Lundys to the NFL but not taken any squad to more than a secondary bowl.

Groh will argue that four years or more on the contract are necessary to woo recruits, but that worn negotiating ploy is overridden by U.Va.'s need for caution and buyout protection. Besides, the Cavs did fine in recruiting last winter after Littlepage announced he wouldn't extend Groh's deal. They've already lined up reinforcements for 2008, when they'll have lots of veterans (but not the vital Chris Long) back.

Littlepage's next move? Give Groh a pat on the back. Take him to lunch. But let the contract ride for another year. Take stock then. See if 2007 was a season to build a surge on or just a blip.

 

Success vs. Tech fades for Cavs
Team next year will have no one who helped beat Hokies
Monday, Nov 26, 2007 - 12:06 AM 
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Neither Ian-Yates Cunningham nor Gordie Sammis will be on the roster when the University of Virginia football team faces Virginia Tech in Lane Stadium next fall.

Both played as true freshmen in 2003 when U.Va. beat Tech at Scott Stadium, later redshirted and now compete as graduate students. When Cunningham and Sammis depart, Cavaliers coach Al Groh's program will include no players who have taken part in a victory over the Hokies.

Tech won its fourth straight over U.Va. on Saturday, 33-21, in the regular-season finale at sold-out Scott Stadium. That dropped Groh to 1-6 against the Hokies as coach at his alma mater.

"Almost everybody else who's played them has lost to them every time, too, over that time span," Groh said. "It's a game we would certainly like to win, and we're going to try harder to win it again next year."

During Groh's tenure at U.Va., the Hokies -- as members of the Big East and, now, the ACC -- have gone 4-0 against North Carolina, 4-0 against Duke, 3-0 against Clemson, 3-1 against Georgia Tech, 3-2 against West Virginia, 4-3 against Miami, 3-3 against Boston College and 1-2 against Florida State.

Groh's fifth-year seniors at least have been on the sideline for a win over Virginia Tech, even if most of them didn't play in 2003. For seniors who never redshirted, such as senior defensive end Chris Long, they'll leave Virginia with an 0-4 record against the Hokies.

"They've had a great four years, and I think we've been through some ups and downs," Long said. "That's just reality. And that's when this group of seniors has been a part of this program. I think what you saw out there today was a competitive ballgame. I think you'll probably see more of the same in the future."

The rivalry with Tech aside, sophomore quarterback Jameel Sewell said, "I just wanted to try to send the seniors home on a good note their last time playing at this stadium. I just wanted them to have a great memory. That didn't really work out, but we still have one more game to play, and we're going to make sure we win that game, no matter what."

Had the Cavaliers (6-2, 9-3) beaten Tech (7-1, 10-2) for the Coastal Division title, they'd be preparing to play Boston College in the ACC championship game Saturday at Jacksonville. Now they'll have to wait more than four weeks to take the field again.

No. 22 Virginia is probably headed to the Dec. 28 Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla., but the Gator (Jan. 1 in Jacksonville) and Chick-fil-A (Dec. 31 in Atlanta) also are possibilities.

The Wahoos, though disappointed by the loss to Tech, Groh said, are "proud of the way the season went. We've got another game left to play, and we're determined to play better in the next game than we did today and have a better result."

In the locker room, Groh said, he told his players that "there's no feeling sorry for ourselves and there's no pity in here. It's just too bad we've got to wait this long to try to win another one."

Only once has a U.Va. team finished with more than nine wins. That was in 1989, when the Cavaliers went 10-3 and shared the ACC title with Duke.

"To win 10 games in any league, especially in the ACC, is quite a feat," junior linebacker Clint Sintim said.

 

Long, Harris honored
U.Va. and Tech combine for six on all-ACC first team
Tuesday, Nov 27, 2007 - 12:06 AM
By DARRYL SLATER
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Virginia and Virginia Tech combined for six first-team selections when the all-ACC results were announced yesterday.

Virginia's first-team selections were senior defensive end Chris Long and junior left guard Branden Albert. Virginia Tech's were junior cornerback and Highland Springs High graduate Victor "Macho" Harris, senior defensive end Chris Ellis, senior linebacker Xavier Adibi and senior wide receiver Eddie Royal, who was selected as a special-teams player.

Long, who leads the ACC with 14 sacks, was the only unanimous first-team pick. Albert received honorable mention last year, when Virginia placed no one on the all-conference first team for the first time since 1986.

Ellis is tied for third in the ACC with 8.5 sacks. Adibi is Tech's leading tackler, with 99, including 11 for a loss. Royal leads the ACC with 15.1 yards per punt return and has run back a league-best two for touchdowns. Harris is tied for third in the league with five interceptions. All of Tech's first-team picks made the second team last year, except Harris, who did not make a team.

Two Cavaliers made this year's second team: senior tight end Tom Santi, who caught 33 passes for 402 yards and three touchdowns, and senior punter Ryan Weigand, who averaged 45.5 yards.

Three Hokies made the second team: senior defensive tackle Barry Booker, junior cornerback Brandon Flowers and senior left tackle Duane Brown, a Hermitage High graduate. Booker has 9.5 tackles for a loss and three sacks. Flowers, a first-team selection last year, has five interceptions. Brown was a second-team selection last year.

Virginia junior left tackle Eugene Monroe was named honorable mention, as were three Hokies: senior defensive tackle Carlton Powell, senior linebacker Vince Hall and senior free safety D.J. Parker.

Seventy-three ballots were cast by members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association. The ACC's rookie of the year and coach of the year will be announced today, and the players of the year will be announced tomorrow.

LONG NAMED LOTT FINALIST: Long yesterday was named one of four finalists for the Lott Trophy, given annually to college football's defensive player who best combines on-field and off-field performance.

The other finalists are Louisiana State defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis and Illinois linebacker J Leman. Long also is a finalist for the Lombardi Award (best lineman or linebacker) and the Nagurski Trophy (best defensive player).

The Lott Trophy will be presented Dec. 9 in Newport Beach, Calif. It is named after defensive back Ronnie Lott, who played with Long's father, Howie, on the Los Angeles Raiders from 1991-92.

 

Long leads way
U.Va.'s Chris Long is a unanimous all-ACC pick, joining four Hokies on the first team.
By Melinda Waldrop | 247-4634
 

The accolades just keep coming for Chris Long.

Virginia's senior defensive end was the only unanimous all-ACC selection in voting announced Monday, joining Cavaliers offensive guard Branden Albert and four Virginia Tech players on the first team.

Long leads the ACC with 131/2 sacks and ranks third in the country with 1.13 sacks per game. His 1.54 tackles for loss per game also lead the conference, and he has seven pass breakups, a blocked field goal and the first interception of his career in his final season.

"I always think of the ACC as a great defensive conference, with a lot of talented players on defense," Long said in a release. "To be mentioned with all of those guys is humbling."

Long, whose 75 tackles rank second on the team, is eighth all-time on U.Va.'s sack list with 201/2. He had 11/2 sacks and forced a fumble in the Cavaliers' 33-21 loss to Virginia Tech this past Saturday.

"It's been a great ride," Long said after the game. "There's a lot of memories, but it flies by."

Albert, who had the most votes of any offensive guard, started two games at tackle because of injury and grades out at better than 80 percent for the season.

"To be honored with a guy like Chris Long, who is up for all these All-America awards — it means a lot to me," Albert said.

The first-team Hokies were senior defensive end Chris Ellis, senior linebacker Xavier Adibi, junior cornerback Victor Harris and senior wide receiver/kick returner Eddie Royal.

Adibi, a former star at Phoebus High, leads the Hokies with 99 tackles, including 11 for loss. Ellis, a product of Bethel High, has a team-best 81/2 sacks and three fumble recoveries.

Harris is tied for first with five interceptions and has a team-best 11 pass breakups, while Royal has 28 catches for 422 yards and a combined 641 yards on punt and kickoff returns.

"I've been working hard trying to get to this point," Adibi said. It's been a goal ever since I've been in the ACC. It just shows that my hard work has been paying off."

Ellis was shocked to make the first team.

"(I was) a little bit (surprised) to be honest with you, Ellis said. "Just because of the negative attention (from being arrested last season) and the notoriety. Then you've got Chris Long and guys like that, so I was a little surprised, but it was a lot of hard work and it was well earned."

Two players received 143 of a possible 146 voting points from the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association — Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan and Georgia Tech running back Tashard Choice. Ryan and Long are the two top candidates for the ACC player-of-the-year award, to be announced Wednesday.

Long also was named one of four finalists for the Lott Trophy on Monday. The award, in its fourth year, is given to the defensive player who's had the biggest impact on and off the field. Long, the son of former all-pro Howie Long, also is a finalist for the Lombardi (best defensive lineman) and Nagurski (outstanding defensive player) awards and has been touted as a Heisman candidate.

But Long's mind wasn't on individual honors after losing to the Hokies in a game that denied U.Va. a chance at its first outright ACC championship, not even after his No. 91 jersey was retired at Scott Stadium.

Instead, he was eager for whatever bowl game the Cavs (9-3, 6-2 ACC) will play in to arrive so that he can close his senior season with a better showing.

"I just want to improve my game and help my team the best I can," he said.

Virginia senior tight end Tom Santi, who leads the Cavs with 402 receiving yards, and senior punter Ryan Weigand, averaging 45.5 yards per kick, were second-team selections, as were Virginia Tech senior offensive tackle Duane Brown, senior defensive tackle Barry Booker and junior cornerback Brandon Flowers.

No. 12 Boston College (10-2, 6-2), which plays the No. 6 Hokies (10-2, 7-1) for the ACC title Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla., also placed tight end Ryan Purvis and safety Jamie Silva on the first team.
 

Virginia, Texas Tech possibilities for bowl
Gator Bowl must wait until ACC and Big 12 title games are played.
By Garry Smits, The Times-Union

The Konica Minolta Gator Bowl is not obliged to take the loser of Saturday's Atlantic Coast Conference championship game between Virginia Tech and Boston College.

However, for the third year in a row, the Gator Bowl's ACC selection still will be influenced by the losing team in that game.

Gator Bowl Association president Rick Catlett is hoping for the best in terms of ticket sales, starting with an ACC title game Saturday (1 p.m., ABC) that will match two teams with double-digits in victories (Virginia Tech and BC are both 10-2) in a college football game in Jacksonville for the first time ever.

About 20,000 tickets remain on sale.

"We hope Boston College fans are excited by this game," Catlett said. "We also remain optimistic that we will have a good Gator Bowl matchup."

Here's how the loser of the ACC title game could affect the Gator Bowl (Jan. 1, 1 p.m., CBS), which has taken the loser of that game in each of the past two years:

The Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta has the first crack at the ACC after the BCS draft Dec. 2. Because Virginia Tech played in that game last season, it's unlikely the Chik-fil-A will go for the Hokies two years in a row should they lose to Boston College.

That would leave Clemson (9-3) as an attractive alternative, given the proximity of its fan base to Atlanta.

If Virginia Tech beats Boston College, the Chick-fil-A is likely to go to a tried-and-true ticket-seller, and still take Clemson. Boston College doesn't have the Clemson-Virginia Tech track record.

The Gator Bowl would also be likely to pass on BC for the same reason, and take a chance that Virginia (9-3) will sell tickets at a better rate than the 1991 Gator Bowl, the only other appearance for the Cavaliers in Jacksonville.

"I really don't like the word 'settling' for Virginia," said Scott Keith, chairman of the Gator Bowl selection committee. "Virginia has expanded its stadium twice in recent years and every indication we've received is that their fans are excited and would support a New Year's Day bowl in Jacksonville."

The ACC opponent looks increasingly like it will be Texas Tech (8-4) from the Big 12. The conference is likely to send two teams to the BCS (the winner of Saturday's Oklahoma-Missouri game, plus Kansas), which puts the Gator Bowl behind the Cotton Bowl and the Holiday Bowl in the Big 12 pecking order.

Oklahoma (if it loses to Missouri) and Texas, favored by Gator Bowl TV partner CBS, are likely to be gone by the time the Gator Bowl selects. But if Texas Tech is the choice, it will bring one of the most high-powered offenses in the nation to Jacksonville. Mike Leach's pass-oriented attack, led by quarterback Graham Harrell, is second in the nation in total offense (537 yards per game) behind Tulsa, and seventh in scoring (41.75 per game).

Harrell leads the nation in passing yards (5,298), touchdown passes (45) and total offense per game (436.2) and is sixth in passing efficiency. He has two receivers among the top-five in the NCAA in yardage: No. 1 Michael Crabtree (125 receptions for 1,861 yards and 21 touchdowns) and No. 5 Danny Amendola (103 for 1,177 and five touchdowns).

Texas Tech fans contributed heavily to sellouts in two of their last three bowl games, the 2006 Cotton and the 2005 Holiday Bowls.

In each game, the Raiders sold their allotment of tickets, and then some.

Texas Tech has played in three Gator Bowls, with a 2-1 record. Their last appearance was in 1973, when the Raiders beat Tennessee 28-19.

"Texas Tech would be a fun team to watch," Keith said. "We have a lot of options remaining in the Big 12, but if its Tech, they will bring a lot of fans and score some points."