Cavaliers want a bowl berth
With 2 games left, team determined to win way to eligibility
Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008 - 12:07 AM

CLEMSON AT VIRGINIA
Saturday: Noon
On air:TV --WRLH (CR11, CC11), noon; radio -- WRVA (1140), 11 a.m.
Tickets: (800) 542-8821; www.virginiasports.com
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

As Clint Sintim was peeling off his uniform in the visitors' locker room at Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium, reality hit the University of Virginia linebacker.

It was Nov. 25, 2006, and U.Va. had just lost 17-0 to Tech in the regular-season finale. That dropped the Cavaliers to 5-7 and meant they would not be eligible for a bowl. Sintim had two more seasons left at U.Va., but college football was over for the team's other seniors.

"I remember as soon as the game was over thinking, 'Man, that' s it,'" Sintim recalled yesterday, "and I felt bad, because there were a lot of seniors on that team who really put their heart and soul into it. And I felt like I didn't do enough and we didn't do enough to send them out the right way.

"It's an experience that I don't want to experience again."

Another U.Va. senior, tight end John Phillips, echoed Sintim's remarks yesterday at John Paul Jones Arena. Phillips remembers the disappointment of his friend Fontel Mines, a U.Va. senior in 2006, after the game in Blacksburg that year.

"We don't want to feel that way," Phillips said. "We don't want our seniors to feel that way."

To avoid that fate, Virginia (3-3 ACC, 5-5 overall) must win another game. U.Va. hosts Clemson (3-4, 5-5) on Saturday afternoon and then closes the regular season Nov. 29 at Virginia Tech (3-3, 6-4). The Cavaliers haven't won in Blacksburg since 1998.

"We know you can't go to a bowl without six wins," junior wide receiver Kevin Ogletree said. "And we're sitting right at five, so we've got to press on right now and realize that it's right in front of us, and we've got to do something about it if we want to go to a bowl."

During Al Groh's tenure as the Cavaliers' coach, they've played in only one New Year's Day bowl -- the Gator last season -- and they're not likely to end up at a glamorous destination if they qualify this year. A trip to Washington for the inaugural EagleBank Bowl, Dec. 20 at RFK Stadium, might well be U.Va.'s reward.

That's fine with Phillips. To spend a week on the road as a team is great, he said, "and I want our young guys to feel that, and I want our older guys to have that opportunity again. We really want to go to a bowl, and we gotta win a game, and we don't care if we go to D.C. or Boise or wherever. We just want to go somewhere."

A trip to a bowl also would mean another few weeks of practice for Virginia's younger players. That's one reason Groh wants the sixth win.

"It certainly would continue the development of those players," he said. "It would be well worth everybody's efforts."

 

U.VA. NOTES
Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008 - 12:07 AM

Sintim impressed with backup Taliaferro
Outside linebackers are an endangered species in the Virginia program.

Since the end of training camp in August, three players at that position have suffered significant injuries -- Aaron Clark (knee), Cameron Johnson (ankle) and Jared Detrick (wrist) -- and none will be available for the final two regular-season games.

On the depth chart U.Va. distributed yesterday, senior Clint Sintim and junior Denzel Burrell are listed as the starting outside linebackers, as usual. Backing up each of them is 6-2, 222-pound redshirt freshman Aaron Taliaferro, a Gloucester High graduate who never has played in a college game.

Asked what Taliaferro does well, Sintim smiled and said, "Apparently everything. He's the backup on both sides."

Sintim then turned serious.

"What really impresses me about him is he's getting better without getting the reps. . . . He improved a lot before we even had an opportunity to see him out there. He's just doing all the right things, he's asking all the right questions, and he's getting better as a player. His locker room is right next to mine, and he asks me questions all the time. You can just tell he wants to be prepared when the opportunity comes."

Spiller a concern
Virginia (3-3, 5-5) plays its home finale Saturday against ACC rival Clemson (3-4, 5-5). Tigers who worry U.Va. coach Al Groh include junior tailback C.J. Spiller, who also returns punts and kickoffs.

Spiller, one of the nation's fastest players, also is an accomplished receiver who has three touchdown catches this season.

"There has been no more dangerous kick-returner that we've played," Groh said. "There certainly is no more dangerous runner that we've played, and . . . [Spiller is] doing all the things that the most dangerous wide receivers do and things that hardly any backs can do."

Not familiar foe
Thanks to ACC expansion, Clemson and Virginia haven't met since 2004. Since then, U.Va. has played Wyoming, Western Michigan, Pittsburgh and Connecticut twice apiece.

"Coach Groh talks about it all the time," senior tight end John Phillips said. "The ACC's so big, you play some of these teams on a four-year rotation, or whatever it is, and it's almost like they're a nonconference game."

Neither Phillips nor any other player on U.Va.'s roster has played the Tigers.

Footballers see talent on hardwood
U.Va. wide receiver Kevin Ogletree preceded Sylven Landesberg at Holy Cross High in Queens, N.Y. That Landesberg had 28 points, along with eight rebounds and eight assists, in Virginia's season-opening win over Virginia Military Institute in men's basketball Sunday didn't surprise Ogletree.

"He's got my vote: preseason freshman of the year [in the] ACC," said Ogletree, who also played hoops at Holy Cross.

Virginia's starting quarterback, Marc Verica, preceded Jeff Jones at Monsignor Bonner High outside Philadelphia. Jones, a sophomore shooting guard for the Cavaliers, made two clutch 3-pointers late against VMI.

Jones "was starting [at Bonner] when he was a freshman," Verica said, "and from the time he stepped on the court as a freshman, he was just the best player out there."

Sewell stays in touch
In the Gator Bowl on New Year's Day, Jameel Sewell made his 22nd consecutive start at quarterback for the Cavaliers. About two weeks later, however, the former Hermitage High star was suspended from U.Va. for academic reasons, and he won't be re-admitted until January.

Sewell still lives in Charlottesville and has stayed in touch with his former teammates, Verica included.

"Me and Jameel will text each other pretty frequently, usually on the weekends, maybe before a game or something like that," Verica said. "He'll usually shoot me a text just saying, 'Good luck,' and giving me a few tips of advice.

"He's encouraged me throughout this whole process. He's been very supportive. I'm glad to hear that he's doing well, and we'll be glad to have him back next year, because he's such a good leader and he's a very good athlete."

Verica will be a redshirt junior in 2009; Sewell, a fifth-year senior. -- Jeff White

Virginia football notebook: Turnovers hamper Cavs
By Doug Dougty | The Roanoke Times

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Anybody taking a look at Virginia's depleted 2008 football roster would have agreed that the Cavaliers had little margin for error.

In that respect, it's a wonder the Cavaliers are even .500.

With two games remaining in the regular season, Virginia has yielded more interceptions (16) and committed more turnovers (25) than any other team during Al Groh's eight-year tenure.

Remarkably, sophomore Marc Verica has been victimized for 12 of the interceptions despite completing 64.5 percent of his passes.

"Obviously, they have to be cut down," said Verica, who also has been responsible for three lost fumbles. "Any time you turn the ball over, especially on the road, it's going to be difficult to win.

"I think that's just something, over time, I'll get better at, be it in the pocket or carrying the ball. It's tremendously important, especially the style of games that we play in the ACC, where every game is so close and you can really win or lose a game on three to five plays."

Verica prides himself on his accuracy, sometimes completing a practice with no more than one or two incompletions.

"I threw an interception the other night in practice," Verica said, "and that was my first interception in a long time. It was [freshman] Rodney McLeod. He made a good play. He's a good young player."

Virginia hasn't yielded as many as 16 interceptions since 1996, when opponents picked off 18 UVa passes. That UVa team committed 33 turnovers -- the last time the Cavaliers have had as many as 25.

"In most healthy relationships, communication is the key," said Groh, whose Cavaliers (5-5, 3-3) entertain Clemson (5-5, 3-4) at noon Saturday.

"I think it's important that the players understand what the head coach feels. As you can imagine, those aren't things that make me feel warm and fuzzy.

"We've had a couple of circumstances this year where the team played a pretty good game, but the numbers on the board would say otherwise. Certain things happened to the ball that skewed the results of everybody. Do that too many times, and that's who you are as a team."

The Cavaliers lost road games at Duke (31-3) and Wake Forest (28-17) despite holding both teams to less than 300 yards.

McCabe flourishes

Kevin McCabe, unceremoniously dropped to third string after starting the third game of Virginia's 2006 football season, has been nominated for the Harlon Hill Trophy as the Division II national player of the year.

McCabe, who enrolled at California University of Pennsylvania after graduating from UVa in 2007, has passed for 2,606 yards and 25 touchdowns after leading the Vulcans to a 10-1 record and a first-round bye in the Division II playoffs.

McCabe sat out the 2007 season at UVa and is in his sixth season of college football, an option that isn't available at the Division I level.

"It's nice to see his plan work," Groh said Tuesday.

By the numbers

Senior linebacker Jon Copper, a walk-on from Northside High School, enters play Saturday with 285 tackles for his UVa career.

With eight more tackles, he will move into 15th place on UVa's all-time list, a spot currently shared by former defensive end Sean Scott and ex-safety Jerton Evans.

Copper has 85 tackles this season, and no other Virginia player has more than 60. Copper, who is tied for third on this year's ACC tackle list, is bidding to become the first player to lead the Cavaliers in tackles for three consecutive seasons since Charles McDaniel from 1982-84.

n Tailback Cedric Peerman, who will join Copper among the 24 fourth- and fifth-year players who will be recognized before Saturday's game, has moved into 11th place on UVa's list for career all-purpose yardage. Peerman, with 3,206 yards, needs 68 yards to move into the top 10.

Odds 'n' ends

The aforementioned Evans, a graduate of Jefferson Forest High School, is an assistant football coach at Crest High School in Shelby, N.C., and is married to Gardner-Webb women's basketball assistant Krystal Reeves-Evans. She is the daughter of Gardner-Webb head women's basketball coach and former Liberty University coach Rick Reeves. ... A pregame handshake Saturday will mark the first meeting between UVa's Groh and Clemson interim coach Dabo Swinney.


 

Virginia Tech's offense draws dissent from linebacker Sturdivant
Tech linebacker Purnell Sturdivant calls offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring's attack "pretty much predictable."
By Aaron McFarling
981-3124

BLACKSBURG -- Fans frustrated by Virginia Tech's offensive woes got concurrence from an unlikely place Tuesday -- the Hokies' own locker room.

Tech linebacker Purnell Sturdivant said the offense is too predictable and offered little support for embattled offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring, adding that his sentiments are not uncommon among the team.

"Pretty much every team we face this year knows what we're going to do" on offense, Sturdivant said. "I have a couple friends at Carolina, a couple friends at N.C. State, things like that, they're pretty much just calling out the plays that we're going to run on offense. Our offense is pretty much predictable. You know what you're going to see each and every week."

Asked whether he thought Stinespring should go, Sturdivant said: "That's a hard one." But he added that he didn't think the outside criticism was unfair.

"Yeah, I can definitely see where they're coming from," Sturdivant said of the critics. "Me and a lot of guys."

Stinespring's unit has slipped to 109th out of 118 Division I-A teams in total offense, a year after finishing 100th in the rankings.

The Hokies put up 400 yards in a win over Maryland two weeks ago but stumbled badly last week at Miami. They ran just six plays in the third quarter of the 16-14 loss and finished with 250 total yards.

When asked if he could say whether Stinespring would be the offensive coordinator next year, head coach Frank Beamer deflected.

"We're working way too hard to be talking about things like that," Beamer said.

After Tuesday night's practice, Stinespring declined to comment on Sturdivant's quotes.

"I'm not going to talk about that," he said. "I'm not going to talk about it. No, not a bit. I'm only thinking about Duke and going to get a win this week."

After Tuesday's practice, several offensive players wrapped their arms around Stinespring. Three of the offensive linemen gave him a group hug.

While Stinespring was talking to reporters, running back Dustin Pickle put his arm around the coach and interrupted: "This is the best coach I've ever had in my life."

One player, who asked not to be named, said that Beamer asked Sturdivant to speak to the team before Tuesday's practice. Sturdivant, the player said, explained away his earlier comments as a misunderstanding.

Other players expressed their support of Stinespring.

"We always supported him," wide receiver Danny Coale said after practice.

"We think he's a heck of a coach. We all do. Every one of us. ... He's a great coordinator. We've just got to go execute right now and make some plays."

Sturdivant, a fifth-year senior out of Lake Taylor High School in Norfolk, said he had not informed Stinespring of his sentiments or the comments from his friends at other schools. But he said he had a close relationship with the coach, particularly during his first few years on campus.

"Actually, he recruited me," Sturdivant said before practice.

"It's tough. A lot of people assume stuff from the outside in and they don't really know what's going on. At the same time, anyone could look at the TV and see the production that the offense gave and the production that the defense gave. I guess that's something they've just got to work out with the coaching staff."

Sturdivant said whatever happens with Stinespring, he deserves to remain on staff as a recruiter.

Earlier this month, the 45-year-old assistant lured Brookville High School's Logan Thomas -- the No. 1 rated tight end in the nation by rivals.com -- to Blacksburg.

"He's a heck of a recruiter," Sturdivant said. "So I would give him credit there. He knows talent when he sees it."

Offensive lineman Nick Marshman said he ignores the growing criticism from the outside.

"I don't pay any attention to that," Marshman said.

"He's the offensive coordinator. I love him as a coach. People writing stuff out there, that's their opinion. They don't know the guy like we know him. They don't spent 17, 18 weeks with him. So if they think they know what they know then let them say what they say. He's a great guy."

Sturdivant doesn't have as much day-to-day contact with Stinespring as Marshman, but he said it's plain to see the offense needs more variety.

"I think that's the main key," Sturdivant said.

"Change up the plays, you know, so they can't get a feel for what you're doing. I think that would make a big improvement on the points we put up, the yards we put up."

Stinespring said he was "a little disappointed" with the Miami loss -- and particularly the third quarter -- but said practice has been good and indicated that this wouldn't be a distraction.

"You keep blinders on," he said. "You stay focused on what you can control. And what we can control is our attitude, our approach, our mind-set and how we go about getting ready for this."

(Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot reporter Kyle Tucker contributed to this story.


 

UVa Insider: Groh Safe, But Extension Iffy
ACCSports Staff ACCSports.com November 17, 2008 Al Groh will be back for the 2009 season. Beyond that? It may depend on the Cavaliers finish in 2008.
(Associated Press/Karl DeBlaker)

CHARLOTTESVILLE — A four-game winning streak at midseason ensured the return of Virginia football coach Al Groh for a ninth season in 2009. What remains to be determined in the next two weeks is whether Groh’s contract will get rolled over, too.

UVa athletic director Craig Littlepage has until the end of November to decide whether to add an extra season to Groh’s contract, which currently is set to expire in 2011.

Groh got the extension in 2007, at a point when the Cavaliers were 9-3 and he was selected as the ACC coach of the year for the second time in his UVa career. He had not received the extension following a 5-7 season in 2006.

To have given Groh an extension in 2006 would have left him with five years on his contract, which was not the intention when Groh’s contract was rewritten earlier in his tenure. However, if he does not get the rollover this time, it would leave him with three years for the first time.

Most coaches like to have at least four years on their contract for recruiting purposes, but it’s going to be hard for Littlepage to reward Groh if Virginia loses its next two games, which would mean a second losing season in three years, a four-game, season-ending losing streak and a seventh loss to Virginia Tech in eight seasons.

It always was going to be about the record this season, with some consideration given to the offseason losses of four players to academics, a fifth to an honors offense, two more to disciplinary offenses, and starting quarterback Peter Lalich after the season started.

Certainly, Groh has to take some responsibility for not running a tight ship, but after all he is only one year removed from the coach of the year award.

Predecessor George Welsh left a high standard, and Groh’s three losing seasons in eight years are three more than Welsh had in his last 14 seasons at the UVa helm. Plus, Welsh had multiple victories over Virginia Tech to his credit.

The Cavaliers will end the regular season at Blacksburg, but first they have Clemson on Nov. 22 at Scott Stadium. Virginia is 4-2 at home and could have won five straight games in its friendly confines if not for a 24-17 overtime loss to Miami in a game the Cavs had ample opportunity to win.

In Clemson, Virginia faces one of the ACC’s hottest teams of late. Indeed, the Tigers were considered the class of the ACC crop before the season, when UVa was a fifth-place choice in the Coastal Division. Then, Clemson became an early season bomb, and coach Tommy Bowden joined Groh on everybody’s hot-seat list.

Unlike Clemson, Virginia was not going to fire Groh during the season, but when the Cavaliers fell to 1-3 after a 31-3 loss at Duke, it would have been hard to predict a turnaround that would bring him back in 2009. When Virginia won its next four games, only a total collapse would have cost him his job.

That certainly seemed possible when UVa fell behind 28-3 at the half at Wake Forest. If the Deacons had kept their feet on the pedal and thrashed the Cavaliers to the tune of 45-3 or 52-10, and then Clemson and Virginia Tech could have heaped more abuse on the Cavaliers, Littlepage might have had a different answer when reporters e-mailed him for his thoughts.

Instead, Virginia held Wake scoreless in the second half, got a pair of touchdown passes from sophomore quarterback Marc Verica, who passed for 237 yards in the second half, and basically avoided embarrassing itself. Groh’s fellow UVa alumnus, Jim Grobe, helped matters by dialing back the Deacons’ offense, but the Cavaliers outgained Wake 225-75 in the second half.

Home Farewell For Seniors:

Clemson certainly has the goods to beat Virginia at Scott Stadium, but nobody is calling for a rout. For one thing, it will be the final home game for a prideful group of UVa seniors headed by co-captains Clint Sintim, Cedric Peerman and John Phillips.

Sintim has been terrific over the last seven games and went into the Clemson game with an ACC-high 11 sacks. Phillips also has had an All-ACC season, with his 46 receptions the all-time high for a UVa tight end not named Heath Miller.

Peerman frequently has been described as the heart of the team, and he played a huge part Oct. 25 in Virginia’s lone road victory, a 24-17 shocker at Georgia Tech. However, his fumble in overtime was UVa’s last gasp against Miami. He did not lose a fumble in the first 443 touches of his career, then lost two in his next four touches, including an early fumble against Wake.

Peerman also dropped two passes against the Deacons and rushed for only 43 yards in 12 carries, but he didn’t merit any more blame for that second statistic than did an offensive line that, among other things, couldn’t keep from false-starting. Phillips and veteran offensive tackles Eugene Monroe and Will Barker had four false starts among them.

At his best, Peerman can win games by himself; witness his back-to-back scoring runs of 79 and 60 yards that flattened East Carolina. He has averaged 5.4 yards per carry during a season when 2007 phenom Mikell Simpson had averaged just 3.0 before a broken collarbone against Miami ended his year.

Verica A Stand-Up Guy:

Turnovers, however, have killed Virginia of late, including a pair of Verica interceptions against Wake Forest, the second of which was returned 53 yards for a touchdown.

Verica, who essentially has played in eight games, has been intercepted 12 times. On top of that, he has lost three fumbles, one at a critical time in the Miami game.

If there is a word for Verica, however, it is conscientious. When he makes an error, he does not dismiss it. At the start of the season, when UVa was considering three quarterbacks for the starting job, Verica was described as the most athletic. However, he is not a dangerous runner in the class of fellow ACC quarterbacks Tyrod Taylor, Christian Ponder and Russell Wilson.

What the coaches have discovered is that he is unusually accurate, sometimes going entire practices with no more than one or two incompletions. It may not have looked that way when Verica was 23-for-45 at Wake Forest, but he did finish the game 19-for-29. The Cavaliers will need the second-half Verica against Clemson.

They also could use a supportive crowd, which they are likely to get, but it won’t be the 60,000 they have come to expect in recent years. Outside of the record 64,947 who turned out for the opener against Southern California, UVa hasn’t had an announced crowd higher than the 53,308 who turned out for homecoming against Miami.

UVa officials blame the economy for part of the drop and acknowledge that a re-seating plan may have alienated some long-term season-ticket holders, but clearly there had to be some early disenchantment with Groh. While the economy ultimately could have influenced Virginia’s decision not to buy out Groh, it also could affect any extension.

 

Highlights from Al Groh's Weekly Press Conference
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 11/18/2008

Virginia plays its final home game of the season this Saturday against Clemson. The game is scheduled to kickoff at noon and will be televised on the Raycom/ACC network. The two teams haven't faced each other since the Cavaliers' 31-10 win four years ago; no current Cavalier has ever played against Clemson. Both teams are 5-5 on the season and are fighting to become bowl eligible. Virginia has lost two in a row and is coming off a bye last week. The Tigers have won two of their last three, including a 31-7 home win against Duke last Saturday.

Virginia head coach Al Groh held his weekly press conference Tuesday. Here are some of the highlights as he talked about Saturday's game.

Q: Clint Sintim said earlier today that it was a good week for everybody (to have a bye week). Do you kind of feel the same way?
Groh: It was. The players were very focused, especially the first two days. Our goal was just to not look at it like on an extended period of time, but just have a good practice each day. And to start with the attitude that usually is the foundation of those type of practices; the players responded as was requested and as was necessary, which was obviously a very positive sign that we could really have their attention on what the possibilities are coming up.

Q: John Phillips was talking about one play, I guess a pass play you’ve run 12 times this season, and every time it’s worked and gotten yards. Do you have breakdowns of every play you’ve run, how many yards you’ve gained and how much does that go into your game plan at this point in the season when you have a big body of work?
Groh: We do. Sure, quite a bit. Obviously we would like to continue to do what we have found out that we can do well; we ‘d like to do less of what we found out that we’re not doing as well. Sometimes it’s things that we did very well in the past but the current personnel perhaps is not such that it plays to their strength. Or sometimes we uncover certain things as the season goes on that, ‘gee, this particular team and this particular player seems to have a good disposition to doing this well.’ Sometimes we find out that we’re doing something an awful lot in a particular circumstance and so we might do something different the next time.

We might, let’s just say theoretically, we uncover that there is a certain down and distance on which we’ve never run the ball. Then in the next game, we might just run the ball in that circumstance and everybody is going to boo because they can’t understand why we ran it. Well, sometimes you just do to break the tendency.

Q: What kind of adjustments do you guys have to make with an offense that’s potentially explosive as Clemson’s is?
Groh: Well, certainly they’re eye catching (with) the speed that’s there. There is clearly a well thought out plan to get the ball frequently to those players who can cause a defense a lot of trouble on a one-play basis. And that‘s what they do.

That’s probably one of the reasons why Clemson was so highly rated going into the season because there is a lot of them. Obviously with (Aaron) Kelly we have the all time leading receiver in the conference, we have two outstanding backs, maybe the two best backs in the conference, on the same team. Certainly the fastest back if we go by confirmed NCAA results. And a very, very fast receiver who I think he ‘s got 44-45 times but he is not a marquee player just because he’s just kind of got to wait his turn till these other three move out of the way a little bit. But we are very familiar with him as a player from when he was at Fork Union, so there’s a lot of firepower.

Q: You mentioned previously where Clemson was in the preseason. Are you surprised to see where they are at this point in the season, given what they had in the preseason?
Groh: I think a lot of people probably were there at midseason. It’s one of those things that, was the team not winning games or were they playing bad ball? They were just not winning games; they lost a very close game to Maryland, they lost a very close game to Georgia Tech, they lost a very close game to Wake Forest. Those are all the kind of games that determine what shows up on the ledger.

But, in fact a play or two here or there doesn’t change how the team played it just changes the results. They weren’t playing bad football, obviously they weren’t dominating with that personnel, but now they clearly are on track the way they’ve played here recently, particularly on offense.

Q: Because C.J. Spiller can do so many different things, is he just about the most dangerous guy you’ve faced this year?
Groh: Very definitely. There has been no more dangerous kick returner that we’ve played. There certainly is no more dangerous runner that we’ve played. And as he has indicated here of late—he’s had an 83-yard touchdown catch against Duke. He had a 50-something catch against Boston College, so he’s doing all the things that the most dangerous wide receivers do and things that hardly any backs can do.

Q: Your seniors have played Wyoming twice, Pittsburgh twice, Connecticut twice, but they’ve never played Clemson. Is that one of the just unavoidable negatives of expansion that you’re just going to have these period where you don’t play teams in your same conference?
Groh: Yes. I think coaches probably stay pretty well versed on what’s going on around the conference. Obviously you’re going to know your constant opponents better than somebody that you haven’t (played). But in the cross over of game tapes and what not, clearly you’re not going to be an expert on the team you haven’t studied, but you have a pretty good sense of, ‘hey, this the system that this team runs.’

But for players because there is, what is it a four-year interval with the cross over games?, players can very much be out of touch with teams in their own conference. Particularly this one in this particular circumstance because of the geographical separation of these two teams and where the pool of players on their rosters come from; there are probably very few players on either team that were recruited by the other team.

Q: Given that Tommy Bowden was among the longer tenured coaches in the league, will it be strange not be playing against him?
Groh: It will be, One of the plus signs of teams that you don’t play very often is ... we see the coaches two or three times at conference events, but not really competitive (situations). There have been no results here recently so I’ve always enjoyed Tommy’s company.

Q: This is the last home game for the seniors. I guess every group is special but do you have a sense that this group is particularly close?
Groh: This group really seems to be, and has throughout the season, ... overtly wearing their status. ‘We’re the seniors, we have a lot of responsibility and this is really significant to us. We’ve been here through a lot and this is the last time through.’

You can clearly see that it’s been part of their group personality throughout. I think that had a lot to do with their holding course and giving direction here through early stages of the season.

Q: The seniors spoke about the tradition of speaking to the team before their final home game. On those occasions have there been times when you learn something about a player that you didn’t know before?
Groh: All of us who are in the room when that occurs learn about the player’s feelings about his experience and in particular about his teammates. There have been on occasion some pretty emotional exchanges about what being part of the program has meant to the player and the relationships that he’s established with his teammates.

From our standpoint a lot of times it’s been very reassuring that what we have been trying to create in terms of the unity of team and the commitment to each other and becoming part of the culture that we’re trying to establish has taken place and when you hear it come directly from them without prompting from their hearts, it is reassuring.
 

Swinney turns up defense’s intensity
Interim coach is taking a hands-on approach to help make the defense more aggressive
By PAUL STRELOW - pstrelow@thestate.com
 

CLEMSON — Clemson defensive coordinator Vic Koenning reportedly walked into a defensive backs meeting last week with two sheets of paper in his hand, telling players those pages contained the pass coverages they would run against Duke.

The greater surprise, senior safety Michael Hamlin said, was when Koenning said the Tigers were going to use more press man-to-man coverage at interim coach Dabo Swinney’s behest.

Press man — in which defensive backs line up directly across from receivers and try to stick with them stride for stride — is considered high-risk, high-reward.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney argues his point with a referee in the second quarter of their game.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney talks with his players during a timeout in the second quarter of their game.

Hamlin said that goes against the principles advocated by Koenning, who prefers his defensive backs keep a cushion ahead of receivers to reduce the risk of getting beat deep.

“All the DBs were kind of excited,” Hamlin said. “All defensive linemen want to do is rush the passer, all linebackers want to blitz. All the defensive backs want to do is play press man. But we also know you can’t do them all the time.”

The change in philosophy showed the degree to which Swinney is molding the defense in his image.

After stating Saturday’s noon game at Virginia will match the Cavaliers’ strength (passing offense) against the Tigers’ strength (passing defense), Swinney said Tuesday he has had “input” in steering the Tigers from being a defense that relies on reactive coverage to one that applies pressure more frequently.

Part of the reason was the matchup problem it was intended to create against Duke, but Swinney said he believes Clemson needs to mix up its approach and pick spots to apply more heat.

“Vic and those guys, they know what they’re doing over there,” Swinney said. “But it’s probably good for them to know if you want to bring a house blitz, the coach is all for it. It’s on me if we give up a big play. I think they haven’t been hesitant at all in dialing those things up.”

Koenning agreed the Tigers have not been hesitant.

Nor, he argued, have they ever been.

Koenning said the defense used more man coverages the game before, against Florida State, and have used the same types of man coverage all season, making only subtle adjustments in how they align their safeties.

He estimated bringing pressure on 45 percent of the defense’s snaps this season, with man coverage applied on 25 percent of snaps.

“I think all that stuff works if it works,” Koenning said. “If it doesn’t, then somebody’s band is going to play, and it isn’t always yours. For most of my career, I have felt it you always have somebody ... back (such as a safety to help), then that gives you a chance to get them down.”

Koenning tried to shoot down implications that Swinney might be undermining his power, suggesting there is a distinction between making decisions and enforcing one’s will.

Koenning declined to share details of how the game plan was put together because, he said, one way or another, it would open someone to unjust criticism.

Swinney could be construed as a micromanager or authoritarian. Or, conversely, it could be implied that Tommy Bowden was too hands-off.

“I did what I want to do in the game,” Koenning said. “I didn’t do anything that I was told to do or not told to do or this or that, if that is the direction you are going. The same thing with Florida State within a few parameters.

“If my boss tells me to do something, then I’m going to do what my boss tells me to do. I’m not going to go against him, and I’m not going to be bitter if it doesn’t go my way.”

 

November becoming Cavaliers' nemesis COLLEGE FOOTBALL
November 19, 2008 12:36 am
BY TAFT COGHILL JR.
CHARLOTTESVILLE--

When Al Groh was moving up the coaching ranks, many of his colleagues were former players for legendary ex-Arkansas head coach Frank Broyles.

Groh said his fellow coaches often repeated a phrase that Broyles constantly emphasized to them: "They always remember what you do in November."

Well so far, Groh's University of Virginia team hasn't given its supporters much to remember this November.

The Cavaliers lost on Nov. 1 to Miami and on Nov. 8 to Wake Forest.

They're coming off a bye week as they prepare to host Clemson on Saturday at noon in an Atlantic Coast Conference contest that will help determine the fate of their season.

Virginia is one win away from gaining bowl eligibility with the Tigers and Virginia Tech remaining on its schedule.

"These last two games should really define our season," Virginia senior outside linebacker Clint Sintim said.

It didn't have to come to that.

The Cavaliers were sitting atop the Coastal Division of the ACC after a four-game winning streak that was punctuated by an impressive 24-17 road victory over a then-nationally ranked Georgia Tech team.

But the Cavaliers blew a fourth-quarter lead against Miami and were soundly beaten at Wake Forest.

Virginia and Clemson will be equally desperate on Saturday, as both teams are one win away from bowl eligibility with state rivals on the horizon the following week.

"I think it's big. I think it's big for our seniors. I think it's big for our whole team," Virginia senior tight end John Phillips said of these final two weeks. "That's what you play college football for: to get in the postseason and play in a bowl I don't care if we play in D.C., Boise or somewhere else, as long as we get to play in a bowl."

The ACC has nine bowl tie-ins this season. Eight teams are currently bowl-eligible, and Virginia or Clemson will become the ninth. Every team in the conference has at least four wins and an opportunity to win the required six games.

Virginia is still mathematically alive for the Coastal Division crown and a trip to the conference title game on Dec. 6 in Tampa, Fla., but it's a long shot.

First, the Cavaliers must figure out a way to beat a conference opponent that ironically they haven't played since a 30-10 home win in 2004.

Virginia players said the game is also meaningful because it's the final home contest for several seniors.

"It's a lot riding on this game, and it's really not just being able to become bowl-eligible," Virginia sophomore quarterback Marc Verica said. "It's sending guys like Cedric Peerman, John Phillips and Clint out with a win."

SAYING GOODBYE

Virginia has a tradition of having its willing seniors speak to the team before their final home game.

The Cavaliers are looking forward to what this year's group has to say. Groh said it's the most tight-knit contingent of seniors he has coached at Virginia.

He said that closeness helped the Cavaliers overcome their 1-3 start. Groh said the group as been "overtly wearing their status as 'We're the seniors. We have a lot of responsibility.'"

 

Ogletree not finished yet
By Jay Jenkins
Published: November 19, 2008

When Virginia’s 24 fourth- and fifth-year players align with family members in the end zone prior to Saturday’s Senior Day showdown with Clemson, wide receiver Kevin Ogletree will be there.

That action should not alarm Cavalier fans.

Ogletree, Virginia’s top pass-catching option with 50 receptions for 640 yards, boasts another year of eligibility stemming from his medical redshirt in 2007.

“I will be doing the ceremony just so I can be out there with my guys I came in with,” Ogletree said Tuesday. “I’m not doing it because I think it will be my last game.”

The possibility does remain, however, that the contest will mark the final home game for the wideout from Queens, N.Y.

Following the season, Ogletree said he will use every measure available to analyze what his stock would be for the 2009 NFL Draft.

“You would be an idiot not to take a look,” Ogletree said. “That will be a circumstance where a lot of things would have to turn up.”

Ogletree, the ACC’s second-leading receiver, has seen firsthand examples of players properly prepared to leave early and those who needed further seasoning.

Last season, left guard Branden Albert declared early for the draft and selected 15th overall and inked a five-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.

From the opposite end of the spectrum, former Virginia linebacker Kai Parham elected to forgo his final year of eligibility and went undrafted in 2006.

“You don’t want to be in that situation,” Ogletree said. “At least I have some time.”

For now, Ogletree is merely going to enjoy the moment with the players that entered in his class as Virginia (5-5, 3-3 ACC) attempts to become bowl eligible with a win over Clemson (5-5, 3-4).

“It should be a special day.”

Bowl fever

With a victory Saturday or in the regular season finale at Virginia Tech on Nov. 29, a game that will start at noon or 3:30 p.m., Virginia will join a logjam of teams from the league already worthy of being selected to play in one of the nine bowl games with ties to the ACC.

In fact, the winner of the UVa-Clemson game will become the ninth team from the league to become eligible, which matches the number of allotments the ACC has this season. The ACC would have to scramble to find an at-large match should the number of teams exceed the games linked with the league.

Should Virginia finish 6-6, the Cavaliers would likely slip to one of the lower-tiered bowl games, a group includes the Eagle Bank Bowl (Washington, D.C.; Dec. 20) against Navy, the Emerald Bowl (San Francisco; Dec. 27) or the Humanitarian Bowl (Boise, Idaho; Dec. 30).

“I don’t care if we play in D.C., Boise, or somewhere else as long as we get to play in a bowl,” senior tight end John Phillips said. “I think it’s big. I think it’s big for our seniors. I think it’s big for our whole team.”

Extending the season would also provide additional practice time for a program that boasts 35 underclassmen on the offensive and defensive depth charts, respectively.

It also provides a unique time for players to bond without their academic workload complicating schedules.

“There is nothing like college atmospheres, nothing like college competition and to be fortunate enough to play a bowl game and be with your teammates and have fun with them is something that you’ll cherish forever,” senior linebacker Clint Sintim said. “Last year in Jacksonville [at the Gator Bowl], that’s something I’ll remember forever, even though we lost the game.

“That was a great experience for us. I bonded with a lot of guys I normally don’t even talk to. I just want to experience that again and I want other people to experience it.”

Virginia could have more than a bowl berth to play for on Saturday. The Cavaliers, despite their current two-game losing streak, will remain alive in the race to win the Coastal Division should Georgia Tech upend Miami on Thursday night in Atlanta.

Heading into that contest Thursday, nine teams remain mathematically alive to play in the ACC title game in Tampa on Dec. 6.

“It makes it real exciting because you never know what is going to happen, you never know how the cards are going to fall,” Phillips added. “When you have so many teams fighting to play one championship game … you have to get ready every week to play.”

In addition to needing a loss from Miami against the Coastal Division foe, UVa would need to win its final two games and get help from North Carolina (the Tar Heels must win out to force a multi-team tiebreaker into effect).

All alone on the outside

Due to injuries to Aaron Clark, Jared Detrick and Cam Johnson, Virginia has only one player listed as a reserve at its two outside linebacker spots.

Aaron Taliaferro, a redshirt freshman listed at 6-foot-2 and 222 pounds, is the top reserve behind Sintim and junior Denzel Burrell.

“Aaron has done a nice job,” Virginia coach Al Groh said of Taliaferro, who is from Gloucester. “Actually, we were a little bit surprised when he got elevated to the game day roster without actually getting a lot of turns in our system over the preceding weeks. Actually, he stepped in and performed better in practice than he did eight weeks ago when he was getting regular turns during training camp.

“Hopefully, it’s a sign of his readiness, but most particularly a positive sign of his readiness to maybe challenge for some time next year.”

In addition to Burrell, Clark (if he returns for a fifth year, as expected), Detrick, Johnson and Taliaferro, the Cavaliers should also have Darnell Carter back in the fold. Carter is currently in the final semester of a school-imposed academic probation period.

Extra points ...

... Groh said rookie Robert Randolph continued to show improvement during the bye week and remains ahead of Yannick Reyering on the depth chart at placekicker. … Clemson is currently listed as a three-point favorite. … The Cavaliers and Tigers have not played since 2004, meaning that no current player on Virginia’s roster has seen game action against Clemson. UVa won the last meeting 30-10 at Scott Stadium. … Virginia running back Mikell Simpson, who was lost for the season with a broken collarbone against Miami, is progressing well, according to Groh. … The Cavs are cuurently ranked 111th nationally in scoring offense, averaging just 17.6 points per game.

 

Cavs get back to the usual
By Whitey Reid
Published: November 19, 2008

As much fun as Virginia fans had watching their team play small ball and post gaudy, video game-like stats in the season-opening win against VMI on Sunday, they’re probably in for a much different type of show tonight.

When UVa takes the floor against South Florida at John Paul Jones Arena, the tempo of the game figures to be more conventional.

Ditto for Virginia’s starting lineup.

Against VMI, UVa coach Dave Leitao inserted freshman guard Sylven Landesberg into his lineup and slid Mike Scott from forward to center in an attempt to counteract the Keydets’ breakneck style.

The strategy worked perfectly as Landesberg and Scott were able to take advantage of mismatches and Virginia scored a whopping 107 points.

“It was fun,” said Landesberg, who had 28 points, eight assists and eight rebounds in his debut en route to being named ACC rookie of the week. “The energy in the building was just ridiculous. I just went out there and played my game.”

Now, the question is: Who does Leitao start against USF?

Does he put a big man like Tunji Soroye or Jerome Meyinsse (neither of whom played against VMI) into the lineup? And, if he does, whom does he take out?

After the kind of game Landesberg had on Sunday, Leitao would seem hard-pressed to remove the freshman. That would likely mean a trip to the bench for either Calvin Baker or Mustapha Farrakhan.

Scott, for his part, doesn’t seem to care whether he’s at forward or center.

“I really have no problem with [playing center],” said Scott, who had a career-high 26 points and 18 rebounds against VMI. “As long as I’m getting boards, I don’t care what’s going on.

“[As long as] I’m getting rebounds, our team is running, we’re defending and we’re winning — that’s basically what it comes down to.”

South Florida had no problems in its season opener, cruising to a 14-point home victory over Southern Methodist. The Bulls allowed just 46 points and held the Mustangs to 27 percent shooting, the lowest figure since coach Stan Heath took over the reins of the program two years ago.

Last season was a roller coaster for Heath’s squad. USF started the 2007-08 campaign strong, posting a seven-game winning streak, including wins over Florida State, Richmond and UAB.

However, the Bulls proceeded to drop 15 of their last 17 games — including a 10-game losing streak — and wound up tied for last in the Big East with Rutgers.

USF returns four starters this season, most notably guards Dominique Jones and Jesus Verdejo, two of its top three scorers from a year ago. Last season, as a freshman, Jones led the Bulls in scoring, averaging over 17 points per game.

Since USF’s best players are guards, there’s a chance Leitao could stick with his small-ball lineup.

Whatever Leitao does, he has to feel pretty good after beating a VMI team that had won on the road at Kentucky two nights earlier. It was only one game, but Leitao said he learned a lot about his young players.

“We have some more things that we can hopefully count on than we did coming into the season,” he said.

Dunks

Tonight marks the first-ever meeting between Virginia and South Florida. UVa has won its last 18 games against first-time opponents. The Cavs’ last loss in a first meeting came against Gonzaga in the 2001 NCAA Tournament. … Dave Leitao has a 2-1 record against USF from his days as coach at DePaul when the schools were members of Conference USA. … There has still been no word on the status of freshman 7-footer Assane Sene’s eligibility. Sene was held out of the VMI game, pending a resolution. … Mike Scott’s 18 rebounds against VMI were the most by a Virginia player since Travis Watson had 20 in a win over Wofford in 2003.