White: Curtain Falls on Disappointing Season
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 11/28/2009
By Jeff White

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Tyrod Taylor's pass floated into the end zone, where University of Virginia cornerback Chris Cook leaped to make the interception.
The home fans in the crowd of 58,555 at Scott Stadium roared. It was just past the midpoint of the third quarter, and UVa took possession trailing 14th-ranked Virginia Tech by only a single point: 14-13.
"I'm thinking we're going to win the game," senior quarterback Jameel Sewell said afterward. "As simple as that. We're going to go down there and take the lead. The defense is going to continue to do what they do -- hold 'em, stop 'em -- and we're just going to maintain that lead and win the game."
Instead, the Wahoos self-destructed, as they have so often this season.
Two plays after Cook's pick, tailback Mikell Simpson fumbled an option pitch from Sewell, and Hokies safety Kam Chancellor returned the fumble 15 yards to the UVa 10.
"The ball was a little bit behind [Simpson on the pitch]," said Sewell, a stand-up guy to the end.
Two plays later, freshman phenom Ryan Williams scored his third touchdown, and the rout was on. The final was 42-13, and only a smattering of UVa fans stayed to see the conclusion of Tech's sixth straight victory in the series.
The Cavaliers (2-6 ACC, 3-9 overall) closed the season with six consecutive defeats. They finished with a losing record for the third time in four seasons.
"It's been a roller-coaster," said outside linebacker Aaron Clark, one of 30 players honored in UVa's Senior Day ceremony before the game. "A lot more drops in this roller-coaster than climbs. I don't know. You try to learn from your experiences, let it make you a better person and use it in life to be successful in something else."
The scene late in the game Saturday could have been described as Lane Stadium North. Maroon dominated the stands, and merry Tech fans chanted, "Keep Al Groh! Keep Al Groh!" as the final seconds ticked off.
UVa is unlikely to follow their advice. Barring an unforeseen turn of events, Groh's 112th game as coach at his alma mater -- his record is 59-53 -- will be remembered as his last with the Wahoos.
His record against the Hokies as Virginia's coach fell to 1-8. Moreover, UVa finished with its fewest wins since 1986 and its most losses since 1982.
Groh is the only coach in UVa history to have lost at least as many as five consecutive games to the Hokies. The six-game skid matches the Cavaliers' longest in a series that dates to 1895.
Tech (6-2, 9-3) has won 10 of the past 11 games in this series, and another UVa class now departs without having beaten Frank Beamer's team.
"I feel very badly for the senior players in particular who had some very moving testimonies to their teammates yesterday about what this program has meant to them, about what this game meant to them," Groh said, "and for awhile there it looked like we might be able to give them the type of positive sendoff that we all would have felt gratified by."
Near the end of his postgame press conference, Groh was asked if the game might have been his final one at UVa. He responded by unfolding a sheet of paper, on which was written "The Guy in the Glass," a poem that former Virginia star Chris Long loved to recite.
Groh had read the poem to his players in the locker room after the game. Now he read it to the reporters and others in the room, including wife Anne, daughter Ashley Anne and grandsons Cameron and Connor.
The poem, by Dale Winbrow, reads in part:
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the guy staring back from the glass.
He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest
For he's with you clear to the end
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.
If this is the end, Groh seemed to be saying, he will leave with his head high.
"When I visited the guy in the glass, I saw that he's a guy of commitment, of integrity, of dependability and accountability," Groh said. "He's loyal. His spirit is indomitable. And he is caring and loving. I'm sure I will always call the guy in the glass a friend."
The atmosphere in the locker room when Groh read the poem "was very emotional," Sewell said.
"You could see it in his face. He's having a tough time, just like we're having a tough time, but we got each other's back. We're a real team. No matter what it is, we're going to stick it out together, all of us."
For nearly 40 minutes, an elusive victory over Tech seemed within reach of UVa. The 'Hoos scored on the game's opening possession, covering 73 yards on a drive that ended with Sewell's 15-yard touchdown run.
Tech pulled even on the first of Williams' four TDs, but sophomore Robert Randolph's 33-yard field goal sent UVa into the second quarter with a 10-7 lead.
The Hokies regained the lead on Williams' second TD, but a 41-yard field goal by Randolph, who finished the season 17 for 19, pulled UVa to 14-13 in the final minute of the first half.
Through two quarters, UVa dominated time of possession and rushed for 151 yards. Sewell accounted for 99 of them -- then a career best -- on 10 carries.
"We tried to frame the game in a particular way to get it to a particular point in the game where we would have our best opportunity, and actually it was rolling in that direction," Groh said.
Then came Simpson's fumble, and the touchdown (and PAT) that put the Hokies ahead 21-13.
"Very unfortunate circumstance right there that gave them one of those cheap scores that in this type of game it's very hard to overcome," Groh said.
"That one score seemed to pull all the dominoes out of the pile. After that, it just all fell down. Then the scrambles followed that, and the big plays."
Taylor (34 yards on six carries), a junior from Hampton, supplied the scrambles. Williams, a tailback who redshirted last season, supplied most of the big plays.
He finished with a career-high 183 yards, and his 20 touchdowns are an ACC record for a freshman. Williams finished the regular season with 1,537 yards rushing.
"He's a great back, and he's going to have a great career," Clark said. "A guy like him, you gotta take away the lanes, and we didn't do a good enough job of doing that."
As for Taylor, he's "the same class as Williams," Clark said.
The Hokies' other offensive hero was sophomore wide receiver Danny Coale, whose older brother, Kevin, played lacrosse at UVa. That connection notwithstanding, Groh did not offer Danny Coale a football scholarship, a decision the Cavaliers should now rue.
Coale had a career-high 135 yards receiving Saturday, on six catches. Most came against junior cornerback Ras-I Dowling, an all-ACC candidate.
In the first half, Coale had three receptions for 93 yards.
"We didn't win that matchup," Groh said, "but still it's 14-13 till we fumble the option pitch. So we overcame it. They were difficult things to overcome, but we fought back. We overcame those particular things, and those are the kind of things that usually crack the game open."
Sewell finished with a career-high 104 yards on 17 carries. He completed 12 of 22 passes for 120 yards and wasn't intercepted.
"The players put a lot into it," Groh said. "I'm very appreciative of their efforts. Jameel in particular was outstanding. His heart and his competitiveness showed why he's been the player his teammates have enthusiastically followed throughout the course of his career."
Sewell is the ninth UVa quarterback to have rushed for more than 100 yards in a game. Preceding him were Bill Dudley (1941), Ray Brown (1946), Bob Davis (1964), Gene Arnette (1967), Scott Gardner (1975), Shawn Moore (1989), Marques Hagans (2005) and Vic Hall (2008).
The 6-3, 225-pound left-hander, who redshirted in 2005 and was out of school on academic suspension in '08, will leave with 5,366 yards passing, third-most in UVa history. He ranks fourth in total offense, with 6,012 career yards.
"I feel like I gave it my all," Sewell said. "Not just this game, but all the time."
Sewell and the Cavaliers' other seniors talked during the week after wanting to win the finale for their embattled coach. That was one of many goals that eluded them this fall.
"It's just tough," defensive end Nate Collins said Saturday night. "I hope the best for Coach Groh. I love Coach Groh like he's a father."
Clark echoed Collins' comments and described a devastated locker room.
"Pretty raw," Clark said. "This is a tough one to deal with .... A lot of the seniors are pretty heartbroken."
 

Virginia Head Coach Al Groh Quotes
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 11/28/2009

Virginia vs. Virginia Tech
Head Coach Al Groh Quotes
November 28, 2009

On the outcome of the game:
"We made a pretty good go of it for a while. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough to finish it off. There were two particular plays where the game seemed to come apart for us. Obviously, the fumble at 14:13 was a very unfortunate circumstance right there and then the fourth down in the fourth quarter where we get a needless personal foul. It was more than two plays in the game but certainly those were two where the game fell apart on us."

On QB Jameel Sewell:
"Jameel, in particular, was outstanding. His heart and his competitiveness showed why he has been the player his teammates have enthusiastically followed throughout the course of his career."

On Virginia Tech QB Tyrod Taylor:
"Tyrod did the same thing to us that he's been doing to everybody all year long on those scrambles. The plays that I remember about the second half were the ball we turned over and the completions that led to scores---completions that were the result of the quarterback scrambling and eventually running or finding the open receiver. He's an outstanding athlete."

On the second half:
"It was 14-13 well into the third quarter and then that one score seemed to pull all of the dominos out of the pile. After that it all fell down with scrambles and big plays."

On the Virginia seniors:
"I feel very badly for the senior players, in particular, who shared some very moving testimony with their teammates yesterday about what this program has meant to them and about what this game has meant to them. I feel badly that we couldn't do a little bit more for them today."

On the Virginia vs. Virginia Tech rivalry:
"This is an intense rivalry so it's an emotional game every year when we play them.


Man in the Glass
Coach Groh completed his comments by reading a version of "The Man in the Glass," (Dale Winbrow):
"When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day,
Then go to a mirror and look at yourself
And see what that guy has to say.
For it isn't your father or mother or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass,
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the guy staring back from the glass.

He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest
For he's with you clear to the end
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.

You may be like Jack Horner and chisel a plum,
And think you're a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum,
If you can't look him straight in the eye.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you've cheated the man in the glass.

Groh then commented: "When I visited the guy in the glass, I saw that he's a guy of commitment, of integrity, of dependability and accountability. He's loyal. His spirit is indomitable. And he is caring and loving. I'm sure I will always call the guy in the glass a friend."

Virginia Player Quotes
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 11/28/2009

Virginia vs. Virginia Tech
Virginia Player Quotes
Nov. 28, 2009

Freshman Defensive Back Javanti Sparrow
On returning underclassmen:
"We will have a lot of playmakers on this team next year. Today, things didn't go the way as planned, we weren't able to get it done for our seniors, but we have a lot of guys that will be able to contribute next year."

On seeing first action:
"It was great to be able to get out there and have a chance to make a play for the team. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to break a big one, but more importantly, we didn't reach our goals as a team."

On the crowd:
"It was a great football atmosphere today. You work so hard in practice to get a shot in a big game like this, but today, we didn't get it done. "

Senior Linebacker Aaron Clark
On Al Groh:
"He told us before the game that he stands behind us and he is proud of everything we do. We feel same way towards him."

On Virginia Tech's Ryan Williams:
"He is an incredibly tough runner who is going to have a great career in this league. He was able to make some big plays today."

On the second half:
"It happened last week, and it happened again today. We battle hard all game, and were able to go toe-to-toe for a half, but in the end, it didn't all add up to what we were looking for."

Sophomore Linebacker Cam Johnson
On Virginia Tech's Ryan Williams:
"He is a talented runner that always fights for the extra yard."

On returning talent:
"We have plenty of guys who will be able to slide in next year. We will have the talent and the leadership to be a successful team next season."

On containing Tyrod Taylor:
"He's a good athlete. Today there were a few plays where we didn't stay disciplined in our lanes, and he took advantage."

Senior Quarterback Jameel Sewell
On Virginia:
"I love these guys with all of my heart. They know that and I would do anything for them. I will never forget any of them and I want to tell them thank you for everything they have done for me."

On the offense in the game:
"We came out really strong because we knew we could beat them. We pounded them, and they were not ready for what we were bringing to the table. Then we faltered, we slowed down, and that hurt us. But we never quit fighting and that is what I love about my guys."

Freshman Linebacker Steve Greer
On ending the season with a loss:
"It is definitely not the way we wanted to end the season. We wanted to come out and send our seniors out with a win."

On Coach Groh addressing the team with a poem:
"I thought it was really good. Coach Groh always wants his players to carry themselves in a good manner, and I think the poem demonstrated that."

On facing Virginia Tech running back Ryan Williams:
"He's a good back, and I look forward to seeing him again next year. He is a good back and it is fun to face good backs, so I look forward to it."

Senior Fullback Rashawn Jackson
On ending the season with a loss:
"Of course I wish we could have ended on a higher note. I love Coach Groh and I love his effort. This season does not really describe Coach Groh, it was not his type of football, and hopefully the guys next year can turn things around. Unfortunately we could not do that tonight.

"We may have lost tonight but I am definitely not defeated. I am hopeful the team next year does not feel defeated, and can take motivation from this game."

On Coach Groh's poem:
"Coach Groh is a very well educated, smart, emotional man, and I think that poem captured his spirit. It takes a big man to stand in front of a team and read something like that. It was very moving."

On his career at Virginia:
"If I had to do it all over again, I would. I love the University of Virginia and I loved my career here. I want to thank all of the fans who supported me through the good times and the bad."

Senior Defensive End Nate Collins
On ending the season with a loss:
"It was a disappointing ending for us, but everyone on this team worked hard. Everyone in the organization fought hard and never quit, and I think that is what matters in the end."

On Coach Al Groh:
"I love Coach Groh like a father. He has been a father figure to everyone on this team."



 

Virginia Tech Head Coach Frank Beamer Quotes
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 11/28/2009

Virginia vs. Virginia Tech
Nov. 28, 2009
Virginia Tech Coach Quotes


Virginia Tech Head Coach Frank Beamer
Opening Statement:
"I am proud of our football team. They came in here and it was a battle. I thought a couple things happened for us that were good in the second half: the fumble that we recovered turned the game around for us. Give Virginia credit. I thought [Jameel] Sewell was pretty good today and ran hard. They are a different team when he's a healthy guy. It was tough sledding in there and fortunately we got a break and got the game going our way. I'm proud of our guys too - we came in tonight and really played hard and played well in the second half. Well, played well throughout, but I'm really proud of what happened there in the second half. I am proud of our program."

On containing Jameel Sewell in the second half:
"I thought the defense made some good adjustments there, getting their slide going toward the way he's running the little kick-out play. I'll tell you he is tough, he is athletic, and he can run."

On the fumble recovery with the score 14-13:
"It was a good play by us and it was a good play by Nekos Brown getting it down to the 10 [yard line]. In a game like this - rival games - one play kind of turns it around and I thought that one did."

On speaking with Virginia coach Al Groh postgame:
"It wasn't a conversation, but he congratulated us and that was it."

On the offensive play of Ryan Williams:
"You keep running him and he is pretty good about not getting tired. I thought [David Wilson] showed up out there today too. I thought that speed showed out there. That last touchdown was a nice run."

On the play of Danny Coale:
"He's as dependable as it gets. You know exactly what you're going to get - make the catch, make some tough catches. He and Tyrod [Taylor], when they hooked up for that first down, what a play that was. That's kind of rewarding: you come out there, your kids make plays in a big ball game like this. I am proud of our football team. I think we have improved after the two losses there in the middle of the year. It was a challenge to these kids and these coaches to get better and I think we have gotten better. I'm proud of what we are all about."

On the statement made with the last four wins:
"I think we are in there. We have a critical bowl game - I don't know where its going to be or who its going to be against, but I know if we can win it, it will be 10 wins and anytime you can win 10 - that's a days work. We are going to approach it just like last year. I told our guys we are going to go out there and practice next Saturday and make sure whoever we are playing against, we are going to be ready to play a great ballgame."

On throwing at Ras-I Dowling:
"He is aggressive over there and I think I ran by him a couple of times and then he started guarding deep a little bit and we threw one underneath him. I think we are getting to where we have a couple receivers that can, if it's one-on-one, have a pretty good chance. He's a good player; he's been a good player for them."

On physicality:
"There is no question [that physicality is a factor]. I give Virginia credit. They are tough guys and a tough program. We came in and one of the things we stressed was this was going to be a physical football game and I think both teams played that way. I was proud to see us hold up our end of the deal."

On one play changing the course of a game:
"I think when you make it an eight-point game instead of a one point game, in a game like this, I think it makes a big difference. I was glad for us to be able to continue to move the football and for us to be able to stop their offense because they came out and they were good today."

On continuing the series win streak:
"We certainly have respect for their program. We have been on a good run; we have been fortunate. When you go on streaks like this, I think they just go like that sometime. They have had some tough injuries. Like I said, I think they are a different team when Sewell is a healthy guy and he was healthy today. You know they have had some tough luck and I have been in this thing long enough to know that some seasons go that way. You have to give them credit-they hung in there tough and kept playing hard. I think you have to give them credit."

 

Virginia Tech Player Quotes
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 11/28/2009

Virginia vs. Virginia Tech
Nov. 28, 2009
Virginia Tech Player Quotes

Redshirt Sophomore Receiver Danny Coale
On the significance of this win:
"All wins are sweet but it was one of those games where you have to throw out the record and you know it is just going to be a dog-fight. I am proud of my teammates and how hard we fought, and I am happy to come out with the win."

On Tech's reaction to Ras-I Dowling's efforts:
"Absolutely we tried to take advantage of [Dowling's] aggressiveness. He is a great corner, he has a long reach and he competes. We just wanted to go right at him with everything we did and hit him right on."

On the rivalry:
"There is always a little extra to [the UVA vs. Tech] game. It is a battle for the state and it is always fun when we get together. This was no different. Whenever we get together it is always a physical game, but it is fun, and that's what makes it a great game. We were just trying to take what they gave us and take our opportunities to go down field. Luckily, we did."

On the VT offense and how it clicked:
"You have to help each other out. In order for the run to work, the pass has to work. They knew we could run it, and we have been running it well the past few games, and we really wanted to continue passing well, too. So whenever you can balance it there, you have a pretty good outcome. We had that outcome tonight."

Redshirt Senior Linebacker Cody Grimm
On the team's excitement with this end to their season:
"Not only is it a huge deal to beat UVa in a rivalry game, but it is also the last game of our season and we wanted to go out with a win. We didn't want to sit around and wait for a bowl game with a loss and have a bad taste in our mouths for a couple weeks. Any time you end your season with a win against your rival it is a pretty big deal, and we are excited about it."

On Bud Foster at halftime in the locker room:
"He understood. [Virginia] was hitting us with some stuff that made it harder on our defense. And he knows our defense so well that he knew whose fault it was so he just came in there and kept us calm. He was saying all week that it was going to come down to the wire with them. We made a few good adjustments at half time and Coach Foster picked up some other things that he felt comfortable with in terms of the blitz. So we started bringing some pressure and it paid off."

On UVa's offensive competitiveness tonight:
"They were really playing their tails off. Whenever they play like that you know defensively that the game could be put out of reach at any series. When we came out and scored our first touchdown in the second half we said we have to get us the ball back. And all of a sudden it was a 15-point game. It put a lot more motivation on us to get on the field and give it back to the offense so they can drive and do what they had been doing. Coach Foster made great adjustments at half time, and you saw the outcome."

Redshirt Freshman Tailback Ryan Williams
On his remarkable season:
"It was good. I think I have done the unexpected. I really did not set any goals for the season. My main goal was just to try and help the team as best as I could to win. I think I did that very well, and that is the only thing I really wanted. Yardage, touchdowns, ACC teams - none of that really mattered to me. You can be the best person on the field but if your team isn't winning it does not really mean anything. I am a team player. It just feels good. The offensive line was blocking great and the wide receivers did a heck of a job going down the field, and it just feels good to have guys like that willing to block and do their part so we can execute the plays from the first play to the last play."

On the VT offense in the last three games and Coach Stinespring:
"I think he gets the bad end about what our offense and what he does and doesn't do. But he is a great coach and he calls our plays. He calls the plays and it is our job to execute them. When we do not execute them, that is when points do not get scored. When we do, that is when things like this [win] happen, or we put 30+ points on the board. Our offense is 10 times better than it was last year, and we feed off of all the play-makers on the team. The biggest difference this year is that Tyrod [Taylor] is very confident, and very confident in all our receivers. All our receivers have a year under their belts, so then having a quarterback that is confident and who can make plays with his arms or with his feet just makes the plays run a lot more smoothly. It takes a lot of pressure off of me. On the second touchdown two or three guys pressured him and it gave me the wide open run."

Senior Free Safety Kam Chancellor
On his fumble recovery in the third quarter:
"The defense needed to make a big play to turn the game around and that is what I did. It changed the game for us."


 

Groh watch begins after loss to Virginia Tech
By Michael Phillips
Published: November 29, 2009
Updated: November 29, 2009
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CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Before the muffed option, before the chanting and the poem and the speculation, there was fun.

It was Jameel Sewell, on senior day, rushing for 99 yards in the first half. Finally healthy, he was running and cutting all over the field, and it didn't appear there was anybody in a bright white jersey that could stop him.

"It was fun," the Hermitage grad said. "That's what it was. It was very fun."

For a while, it appeared this wouldn't be a record-tying sixth-straight loss to Virginia Tech. It looked as if it would be a revival, a reminder of the good days, a fitting way to send out coach Al Groh and his senior class.

But that's not how things are going these days in Charlottesville. The high of a Chris Cook interception was followed by the low of a fumble, and from there, it all went south.

"We tried to frame the game a particular way, to get to a particular point in the game," Groh said. "Actually, it was rolling in that direction. Then that one score seemed to pull all the dominoes out of the pile."

That wasn't Groh's most noteworthy postgame quote, of course.

Standing in the locker room to address his team, he pulled out a sheet of copier paper, folded twice over, and began to read, quoting a poem by Dale Wimbrow, titled "The Guy in the Glass."

The poem is about how, at the end of the day, you have to be able to look yourself in the mirror and be proud of yourself, no matter how the world views you. Groh recited the poem, then added an extra stanza, reflecting how he viewed himself.

"When I visited the guy in the glass, I saw that he's a guy of commitment, of integrity, of dependability and accountability," Groh said. "He's loyal. His spirit is indomitable. And he is caring and loving. I'm sure I will always call the guy in the glass a friend."

And with that, Groh walked out of the locker room.

"It was very emotional," Sewell said. "You could see it on his face. He's having a tough time just like we're having a tough time, but we've got each other's backs. No matter what it is, we're going to stick it out together. All of us."

The coach also recited the poem to reporters, again leaving the room at its conclusion. He was joined in the press room by his extended family, including his wife Anne, who held a yellow rose. It's traditional for outgoing seniors to present loved ones with a flower on senior day.

As of last night, there was no official notice that Groh's contract had been terminated -- he has two years remaining and is owed $4 million if he is fired. But all indications are that notice will be given within the next few days, if not today.

"He's a very educated man, very smart, very emotional," fullback Rashawn Jackson said. "And I think that poem described it all . . . described how he felt. It takes a big man to stand up in front of a team and read something like that."

The team nearly delivered Groh an incredible farewell victory. At halftime, the Cavs trailed only by one, as four seniors were playing prominent roles on offense.

Sewell was finding his groove as a runner, Jackson was eating up yardage in the backfield, and Mikell Simpson and Vic Hall were substituting in to provide fresh legs.

But just like last year, the Cavs hung close, but couldn't find a way to break through.

A sellout crowd announced at 58,555 seemed split down the middle, providing a raucous atmosphere. But at the end, it was just the maroon fans left, chanting for another year of Groh, who defeated the Hokies only once during his nine-year tenure.

That's going to mean another long offseason in Charlottesville, though during those long winter months, they can remember the first half of yesterday's game, when for a rare half-hour, there was fun at Scott Stadium.

The beat goes on: Virginia Tech 42, Virginia 13
By Darryl Slater
Published: November 29, 2009
Updated: November 29, 2009
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CHARLOTTESVILLE - The ball fluttered toward Virginia tailback Mikell Simpson's hands as he reached back to catch quarterback Jameel Sewell's pitch. Later, Simpson would say that he ran too far ahead of Sewell on the option play, while Sewell would blame himself for flicking the ball too far behind Simpson.

But the whys didn't matter in this moment with 6½ minutes left in the third quarter, after which the Cavaliers' game against Virginia Tech would never be the same. Only the hows.

How the ball bounced off Simpson's hands, hit him in the face mask and fell to the grass. How Tech free safety Kam Chancellor scooped it up, giving the Hokies possession at Virginia's 10-yard line. How the Hokies scored a touchdown two plays later, the first of 28 unanswered points, and won 42-13, continuing to dominate a series that barely resembles a rivalry anymore.

"I think that play was that point where we could start dominating from there," said Tech redshirt freshman tailback Ryan Williams, who churned out a season-high 183 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries.

"It felt like they eased up. Looking in those guys' eyes before that play, they were hungry. They were ready to take our heads off at any second of the game. But after that, a lot of heads on their team started to drop, slouching around. They didn't really just seem like the same team [as they were] before that play."

Maybe the No. 14 Hokies (6-2 ACC 9-3) would have pulled away eventually anyway. There certainly were other moments that favored them yesterday at Scott Stadium, where they ended the regular season - and likely Virginia coach Al Groh's nine-year tenure in Charlottesville - by beating the Cavaliers (2-6, 3-9) for the sixth consecutive game, and the 10th time in the past 11 meetings.

Williams led an offense that scored at least 36 points for the third straight game. With 1,538 yards, he needs 110 in the Hokies' bowl game to break Kevin Jones' single-season school rushing record, set in 13 games in 2003.

Sophomore wide receiver Danny Coale, whom Virginia did not offer a scholarship, caught six passes for 185 yards and beat cornerback Ras-I Dowling for catches of 36 and 41 yards on Tech's first drive, which ended with Williams' first touchdown.

And the Hokies' defense was stingy again. Tech, which led 14-13 at halftime, held Virginia to 96 yards in the second half. The Hokies did it by shutting down Sewell, who ran 10 times for 99 yards in the first half, including seven for 91 in the first quarter, then five times for 24 yards in the second half, not counting sacks. Tech allowed two offensive touchdowns in the regular season's final four games, all wins.

Yet the game turned on that option play, second and 4 at Virginia's 26, with the Hokies up 14-13. Virginia cornerback Chris Cook had just picked off Tyrod Taylor's 25-yard pass in the end zone. Scott Stadium was buzzing. This was the Cavaliers' chance to end their misery against the Hokies.

It started auspiciously enough. Virginia took over on the 20 and handed off to Simpson for a 6-yard gain, after which Chancellor popped him, head-on. Chancellor believes Simpson was thinking about the hit when he tried to catch Sewell's pitch on the next play.

"He had his eyes on me instead of the ball," Chancellor said. "I could see him looking at me. It looked like he was saying, 'Don't hit me, please.' The eyes were just bigger. You could tell he was expecting a hit as soon as he got the ball."

After the game, per Tech tradition, Chancellor knelt in the end zone, plucked some grass with his hand and deposited it in a black metal lunch pail, the talisman of Tech's defense.

The second-tier bowl where the Hokies take it next remains unclear. As they wait for the invitation, they feel satisfied by how they responded to back-to-back losses to Georgia Tech and North Carolina - with a 4-0 finish, including the final three wins over conference opponents, none of which is eligible for a bowl, by 27, 28 and 29 points.

"I think the way we've been winning lately is still proving to people that we can play with the top teams in the country," said Taylor. "I'd take my team against any team in the nation."

Virginia coach Al Groh takes bizarre postgame approach
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By DAVID TEEL
Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)
Published: Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009 - 12:00 am

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Al Groh was self-absorbed and defiant until the humiliating end.

He exited the Scott Stadium turf as the University Virginia's football coach for the final time at 6:43 p.m., Saturday to a chorus of Virginia Tech fans chanting, "Keep Al Groh! Keep Al Groh."

Hard to blame the devilish Tech faithful. The Hokies had just routed the Cavaliers 42-13, their eighth victory in nine games against Groh, whose termination likely will come today.

As if that weren't bizarre enough, Groh then concluded his post-mortem news conference by unfolding a piece of paper and reading "The Guy in the Glass," a 1934 poem written by Dale Wimbrow.

Call it Take II, for Groh had done the same in the locker room.

"Coach Groh is a very well educated, smart, emotional man, and I think that poem captured his spirit," fullback Rashawn Jackson said. "It takes a big man to stand in front of a team and read something like that. It was very moving."

Perhaps it was moving in the locker room, where Virginia mourned the conclusion of a 3-9 season, 2-6 in the ACC. Perhaps Groh appeared big to his players, who appear to respect, admire, and yes, love him.

But in the media room it was calculating, awkward and just plain weird. In the media room, Groh looked as beaten as his team.

The five-stanza verse challenges readers to look in the mirror and reflect on their deeds, a time-honored and worthy theme.

But again, that wasn't enough for Groh. He then launched into the following self-description:

"When I visited the guy in the glass, I saw that he's a guy of commitment, of integrity, of dependability and accountability. He's loyal. His spirit is indomitable. And he is caring and loving. I'm sure I will always call the guy in the glass a friend."

Last we checked, no one doubted Groh's commitment and loyalty to his alma mater and players. No one questioned his integrity-he never ran afoul of NCAA regs-or spirit.

What darn near everyone questioned, with good reason, was Groh's ability to lead a major college football program.

Virginia will fire him because this is the Cavaliers third losing season in four years and their fourth in his nine. George Welsh, Groh's predecessor, had two losing records in 19 seasons despite inheriting a laughingstock.

Virginia will fire Groh because 3-9 is the program's worst finish since 2-9 in Welsh's 1982 debut, and because fans abandoned the product in record number.

Saturday's crowd of 58,555 was nearly 3,000 shy of capacity, and probably half the folks here were Hokies. The season average of 47,986 was easily the worst since the stadium's 2000 expansion.

Groh must be held accountable for that precipitous decline.

That decline was startlingly evident in Saturday's second half, when the 14th-ranked Hokies (9-3, 6-2 ACC) outscored the Cavaliers 28-0 and outgained them 262 yards to 95.

Tech was clinging to a 14-13 lead when Virginia cornerback Chris Cook intercepted Tyrod Taylor in the end zone for the game's first turnover midway through the third quarter. But two plays later, Cavaliers quarterback Jameel Sewell and tailback Mikell Simpson mishandled an option pitch, which Kam Chancellor recovered for the Hokies and returned to the 10-yard-line.

Two Ryan Williams bursts later, Tech led 21-13.

"After that it all fell down," Groh said.

Why? The deficit was only eight points.

Virginia players had spoken throughout the week about this being their bowl, about ending Groh's five-game losing streak against Tech. And an eight-point margin crushed their spirit?

Again, the coaching staff is accountable.

"We made a pretty good go of it for a little while," Groh said of the game.

He might as well have been referencing his Virginia tenure, which included four straight bowl invites from 2002-05 but concluded with a six-game losing streak and a 59-53 record.

Senior linebacker Aaron Clark described the locker room emotions as "pretty raw. That's a tough one to deal with. A lot of the seniors are pretty heartbroken. ...

"It's tough to go out like this. We really wanted to give this to Coach Groh. ... He's a great guy, he's a great coach, and I love the guy."

As Clark spoke, Groh's family lingered. His daughter, Ashley Anne, was in tears, holding her children's hands. His wife, Anne, clutched a yellow rose in her right hand.

Al Groh had left the room.

Time for Groh to go
By Paul Woody
Published: November 29, 2009
Updated: November 29, 2009
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CHARLOTTESVILLE As Al Groh went through the excruciating detail and minutia of another loss, this one to archrival Virginia Tech, summing up another game in which his Virginia Cavaliers were lacking in talent, depth and the ability to compete in the ACC, one invisible elephant sat in the room.

Does Groh expect to coach again for Virginia?

When the question was asked, Groh was prepared.

He unfolded a piece of paper and began to read, not his resignation, but a poem, "The Guy in the Glass" by Dale Wimbrow.

The poem's meaning is simple: You have to be able to look yourself in the mirror and know you did your best, then hold your head high and be proud of your effort.

When you come to a football post game press conference and a poetry reading takes place, you know something unusual is about to happen.

Soon, maybe today, certainly by tomorrow, Groh will be dismissed as Virginia's football coach.

Groh had his chance. It's time for a change.

Groh's poetry reading indicates he knows the end is near.

Groh expounded on his feelings as his wife, son, daughter and several grandchildren listened in the back of the room.

"When I visited the guy in the glass, I saw that he's a guy of commitment, of integrity, of dependability and accountability," Groh said. "He's loyal. His spirit is indomitable. And he is caring and loving. I'm sure I will always call the guy in the glass a friend."

Groh is not the only one who feels that way. Senior linebacker Aaron Clark echoed the sentiment of every player who came to the post-game interviews.

"He's a great guy. He's a great coach, and I love the guy," Clark said. "He's passionate about the game, passionate about his players, intense, smart. I could go on for days."

All that might be true, but it fails to overcome the primary fact in major college football.

The man Groh sees in the glass has not been a successful coach at the University of Virginia.

The Cavaliers finished this season 3-9, and that is on the heels of a 5-7 record in 2008. In nine seasons at Virginia, his overall record is 59-53, 36-37 in the ACC.

Virginia has one victory over a team with a winning record this season, North Carolina, and lost to perennial ACC doormat Duke (5-7) for the second year in a row.

Yesterday's game, a 42-13 loss, was a glaring display of where the Cavaliers stand as a program.

They trail the Hokies, and most other ACC teams in talent, depth and hope.

Virginia Tech lost Darren Evans, who gained 1,265 yards last season as a redshirt freshman, in the preseason. Ryan Williams stepped in and has gained 1,596 for the season, including 183 yesterday.

Behind Williams are two backs, Josh Oglesby and David Wilson, who could start for Virginia.

If Mikell Simpson is healthy - a big if the past two seasons - the Cavaliers have one ACC-caliber running back on the roster.

Yesterday, Groh and his players focused on one game-changing, back-breaking play - a botched pitchout from quarterback Jameel Sewell to Simpson. When that play ended, Virginia Tech had the ball on the Virginia 10-yard line. Two plays later, Williams scored and the Hokies had a 21-13 lead.

When a game turns on one touchdown that gave Virginia Tech an eight-point lead with 5:51 left in the third quarter, it speaks volumes about Virginia football.

The Cavaliers lack the ability to overcome a bad play against a good, but not great, team.

The responsibility for that rests not with the players, but with the head coach who recruits, directs and deploys those players and controls every aspect of the program.

If Groh sees a man of accountability when he looks in the mirror, he can come to only one conclusion. It is time for the man in his mirror to go as Virginia's coach.

UVa's Groh deflects queries about his future with poem
UVa's coach chooses not to directly address his future after another loss to Tech.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- When asked Saturday about the possibility that he had coached his last football game at the University of Virginia, Al Groh unfolded a piece of paper and read a poem.

"Well, here's what I got," he said.

It was the same poem, "The Guy in the Glass," that he had read to his team only moments earlier.

It begins: "When you get what you want in your struggle for self and the world makes you King for a day, then go to the mirror and look at yourself, and see what the guy has to say."

Groh substituted the word "self" for "pelf," meaning riches and wealth, in the original version penned by Dale Wimbrow in 1934, but nobody in the media gathering questioned him.

By almost any standards, it was a bizarre end to a coaching tenure, if in fact, that's what a 42-13 loss to Virginia Tech brought.

Groh never actually addressed the issue of his job status, and got up and left the room as soon as his reading was finished.

Players came in and out of the interview area as Groh's wife, two of his children and several grandchildren stood in the back of the room and waited for him.

While it took a question about his future for Groh to read the poem to the media, the players didn't make that connection.

"I didn't take it like that at all," said wide receiver and return specialist Vic Hall, a two-year co-captain. "It was a message. Even tough things didn't go right, we're a brotherhood. When you look in the mirror at the end of the day, you know you gave it everything you had."

The Cavaliers' loss was Groh's eighth in nine meetings with the Hokies as Virginia coach and saddled UVa with a six-game losing streak to end the season. It was the first nine-loss season for the Cavaliers (3-9 overall, 2-6 ACC) since 1982.

Moreover, it was the third losing season in four years for Virginia, which had not suffered back-to-back losing records since 1981-82.

Groh has two years remaining on a contract that pays him more than $2 million, but athletic director Craig Littlepage has said UVa has the resources to offer a buyout, if so desired.

Littlepage declined to exercise a rollover clause in Groh's contract after the 2008 season, but that option no longer exists, nor does a Nov. 30 deadline to determine the coach's fate.

Although Littlepage did not respond to voice or text messages Saturday, it is known that he hopes to complete an evaluation of the program by Monday.

It is unlikely that the evaluation will turn out favorably for Groh, but players said he offered no indication that he had coached the Cavaliers for the last time.

"We don't know anything about that," co-captain Aaron Clark said.

Fifth-year running back Rashawn Jackson said it would be common season-ending procedure for the team to have a meeting today, and that he expected to receive a text message in the morning.

"I'm not thinking about it at all," sophomore linebacker Cam Johnson said.

The first UVa player to come into the interview area was Clark, a fifth-year linebacker from Rockbridge County who described the emotions in the Cavaliers' locker room as "pretty raw."

The Cavaliers had trailed 14-13 at the half and went on to stop Tech on its first two possessions of the second half.

The Hokies' second series ended on an end-zone interception by UVa cornerback Chris Cook, but two plays later, the game changed when quarterback Jameel Sewell and running back Mikell Simpson could not connect on an option pitch.

After Tech's Kam Chancellor recovered the fumble and returned it 15 yards to the UVa 10-yard line, the Hokies needed only two plays to score the touchdown that stretched their lead to 21-13.

Virginia was not shut out all season but failed to score in the second half in three of its final four games.

"It's been a roller-coaster but with a lot more drops than climbs," Clark said of a season that started with three losses, followed by three consecutive victories.

Sewell had 10 carries for 99 yards in the first half Saturday, when the Hokies outgained the Cavaliers 221-200. That differential was 262-95 in the second half.

Sewell ran for 29 yards on UVa's first play of the second half and the Cavaliers had a first down at the Tech 45, but then they lost yardage on three straight plays.

Sewell was one of the players who had said he wanted to win the game for Groh.

"From what everybody's telling me, they're saying that things might change," Sewell said. "I've done a lot of worrying about what's next for me and for the program. I want things to go well."

UVa football notebook: Cavaliers stung by boyhood UVa fan
By Doug Doughty | The Roanoke Times

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- In a rivalry that has been as lopsided in prospects' living rooms as it has been on the field, it was easy to see where Virginia might have had an inside track with Lexington-bred wide receiver Danny Coale.

If the Cavaliers had made him an offer, that is.

Coale, whose older brother played lacrosse for the Cavaliers, continued to show UVa the error of its ways Saturday in a 42-13 Virginia Tech victory at Scott Stadium.

Coale, who had a season-high five receptions in a 2008 meeting with the Cavaliers, finished with six catches for 135 yards Saturday.

Virginia cornerback Ras-I Dowling, the only Cavalier named to the preseason All-ACC team, had no answer for Coale.

Virginia coach Al Groh didn't act as if the Cavaliers didn't want Coale in the summer of 2006, when he was preparing for his senior year at Episcopal High School in Alexandria.

"We were familiar with Danny," Groh said. "It's an interesting story. I guess it's one of those things where events play into things. We were planning on Danny coming to our camp and working out for us one day and, the day Danny was supposed to be here, it rained.

"So, we couldn't go outside and do anything. At that time, camp was over. Before we could get him back here the next time, he had committed over there."

New look

Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell carried 17 times for 104 yards, including seven carries for 91 yards in the first quarter.

It was the second 100-yard day by a UVa player this season and a career high for Sewell.

While the Cavaliers employed the Wildcat formation on several occasions, with slot receiver Vic Hall taking direct snaps from center, many of Sewell's runs came out of UVa's spread formation.

"It was fun to be able to pound the rock the way we were able to do with me, Vic and Rashawn," Sewell said. "They really didn't have an answer for it the first half.

n Mikell Simpson (five carries for 16 yards) was slowed by a pulled hamstring and said he was not 100 percent Saturday.

By the numbers

Rob Randolph converted both of his field-goal attempts and finished 17-for-19, the second-highest field-goal percentage (89.5) in school history. Connor Hughes was 23-of-25 in 2003. ... A crowd of 58,555 that may have included as many as 25,000 Tech fans ended a streak of three straight Scott Stadium crowds of fewer than 45,000. ... UVa has lost six straight ACC home games.

Odds 'n' ends

The jersey of former two-time All-ACC selection Jim Bakhtiar was retired before the game. Bakhtiar, known as the Persian Prince, led the ACC in rushing in 1957 and is UVa's "ACC Legend" being recognized at next week's ACC championship game.

Personnel

Tucker Windle, a true freshman from Charlotte, N.C., started and played the whole game as regular inside linebacker Darren Childs missed his final college game with an ankle injury.

Tech takes UVa's best shot, then crushes rivals
By Aaron McFarling

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- They still have fun with this. All of them.

The Virginia Tech players, who hold the Commonwealth Cup in the huddle like it's their birth right, which it might as well be now.

The Tech coaches, who no matter how many missteps they might have along the way, always seem to be at their best come Thanksgiving week.

The Tech fans, who traveled to Scott Stadium en masse on Saturday and chanted "Keep Al Groh!" as the final minutes of a 42-13 victory over Virginia ticked off the clock.

That's six straight wins in the series for the Hokies. Drama-seekers yawn yet again.

But these guys? They know drama is for suckers. That's why they play this rivalry game like they want to extend the streak to 20.

And the way these programs look right now, nobody should bet against it.

Every year, it seems, Tech-UVa week plays out the same. The days leading up to the game, the Cavaliers dominate the storylines. They're the ones with something to prove. Can they keep it close? Can they put it together for one day? Can they perhaps pull the upset?

Then they play the game, and the answers spill forth in capital letters: NO. NO. NO.

"I look forward to this game every year," Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor said.

Like a child on Christmas eve.

As has been the trend in recent years, the Hokies are peaking at season's end. Taylor is at the center of it all. Last week against N.C. State, he played a leisurely game of catch with Jarrett Boykin. This week, Danny Coale became his top target. The trust he shows in this receiving corps in undeniable, and he's repeatedly used his scrambling ability to keep plays alive.

Taylor's passing, coupled with another huge day from tailback Ryan Williams (24 carries, 183 yards, four touchdowns), led to a 483-yard day for the offense. During their past four games, the Hokies have averaged 436 yards per game to climb up the offensive rankings.

"They're really playing their tails off," Tech linebacker Cody Grimm said of the offensive players. "Whenever they play like that, defensively you know the game can be put out of reach in any series.

"When we came out in the second half and scored our first touchdown, we were like, we've got to get them the ball back. All of a sudden this game is a 15-point game. It puts a lot more motivation for you to get back on the field and give it back to our offense so they can drive down and do what they've been doing."

Rivalry games aren't supposed to be this easy, and Tech's players insist that this one wasn't. Williams, a redshirt freshman, said he realized the intensity of this series when he looked out the window of the bus and saw all the single-finger salutes from tailgaters.

Once the game started, trash talking abounded. Tech free safety Kam Chancellor said that UVa receiver Kris Burd kept telling him it was going to be a long game.

"I know," Chancellor remembers replying, "it's going to be a long game ... for you."

Turns out Chancellor was right. But at halftime, when Tech led just 14-13, it was hard to be sure.

"They thought they were going to win, and they played like it," Grimm said of the Cavaliers. "We just stuck with our basics and basically wore them down."

The Cavaliers were reduced to another off-season of what-ifs. Groh turned to poetry to soothe his battered soul, reading "The Man in the Glass" in the postgame interview room. The players tried to take comfort in their effort.

"We gave everything we had," UVa running back Mikell Simpson said. "Everything."

And it wasn't enough. Again. The Hokies can be proud of that fact in particular. They faced a team with so much to gain emotionally, so much desire to win, and they rendered it all moot.

U.Va.'s Groh poetic after what was likely his last stanza
Posted to: Bob Molinaro College Football Sports
Bob Molinaro
Virginian-Pilot sports columnist
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The Virginian-Pilot
© November 28, 2009
CHARLOTTESVILLE

Al Groh went out with a defeat, but not a loss of words, many that rhymed.

The elephant in the room in his post game conference was Groh's anticipated dismissal as Virginia football coach. When asked about it, he unfolded a piece of paper and began to read:

When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf,

And the world makes you King for a day,

Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,

And see what that guy has to say.

So began Groh's bizarre recitation of a poem written in 1934 titled "The Guy in the Glass."

With his wife, Anne, his daughter and two grandchildren in the back of the room, Groh went on reading, getting to the heart of the piece in the second stanza.

The feller whose verdict counts most in your life,

Is the guy staring back from the glass.

The surreal pity party continued as reporters in the room made a note to Google the poem once they got back to their laptops.

In finishing up, Groh added his own flourishes.

"When I visited the guy in the glass," he said, "I saw that he's a guy of commitment, of integrity, of dependability and accountability. He's loyal. His spirit is indomitable and he's caring and loving. I'm sure I will always call the guy in the glass a friend."

With a terse, "Appreciate it," he was up and gone.

Players who filtered in a few minutes later reported Groh read the poem in the locker room following U.Va.'s 42-13 loss to Virginia Tech.

"Pretty raw," senior linebacker Aaron Clark said.

But just moments before Groh had insisted that the week leading up to the game wasn't particularly gut-wrenching.

"It's a big rivalry, and there are a lot of emotions that come with that," he said. "Outside of that, it wasn't any different for me."

Then he whipped out the poem, and commenced with his maudlin adieu.

It was a bizarre valediction for a sometimes peculiar coach whose nine-year career at U.Va. once seemed full of promise. But with a second-consecutive losing season - the Cavaliers dropped their last six to finish 3-9 - the handwriting was on the wall.

It's just that nobody expected it to include rhyming couplets.

Before he turned the press conference into poetry corner, Groh noted, "Well, we made a pretty good go of it for a little while."

They did, trailing by only one at the half before the game turned ugly for the Cavaliers. U.Va.'s Chris Cook had just intercepted a Tyrod Taylor pass in the end zone, but the Cavs immediately turned the ball back over to Tech when Jameel Sewell's pitch was bobbled by tailback Mikell Simpson.

Hokies safety Kam Chancellor returned the loose ball to the 10. Two plays later, Tech was in the end zone and the rout was on.

"That one score," Groh said, "seemed to pull all the dominoes out of the pile."

Against a deeper, more-talented opponent, Virginia's margin of error was razor thin. It always looked like U.Va. was holding on, and that it was only a matter of time before Tech made a backbreaking play on offense or defense, the kind of play the Cavaliers haven't been able to make this season.

Virginia's new coach will have his work cut out for him. But he'll be able to honestly tell recruits that just about every position on the team is wide open. The Cavs are badly in need of an infusion of talent.

Groh, meanwhile, will be well compensated for his angst - U.Va. is prepared to pay him $4 million for the remaining two years of his contract.

With his golden parachute, Groh will have plenty of time to catch up on his poetry reading.

Groh gives a special postgame message
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: November 29, 2009
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When Al Groh walked out of Scott Stadium on Saturday night, most likely for the last time, the Virginia football coach was surrounded by his family.

Normally, his wife, Anne, is the one waiting outside the locker room, just as she has throughout a long coaching career with stops from West Point to the Texas plains, to the Rockies of Colorado, to Boston and New York, then to Charlottesville, where they’ve spent the last nine years — their longest stay in any town.

This time it was different.

Anne and two of her children — son Matt and daughter Ashley Anne, who came down from Ohio — two grandsons and a few others stood at the back of the press room where post-game interviews are conducted, taking in perhaps Groh’s final press conference as the Cavaliers’ coach. It was painfully obvious that the family was struggling with the situation.

A poetic ending

Groh had just delivered his postgame media chat, and when he was asked if this was the end, the coach pulled out a sheet of paper.

A somewhat scholarly guy, Groh knew that he wanted to say something special to his team. He found something in his office Saturday morning, a poem entitled “The Guy in the Glass.”

It’s a lot about being able to look oneself in the mirror (the full text appears at the end of this column) and liking what one sees — or, in some cases, not liking what one sees.

Groh read the poem to a very emotional UVa locker room after the 42-13 loss to visiting Virginia Tech. Then he read it at the end of his press conference before telling media that he “appreciated” the opportunity, and exited the room, coming back later to join his family.

If Groh has coached his last game at Virginia — and every indicator says that’s the case — then he walked out with his head high.

“When I visited the guy in the glass, I saw that he’s a guy of commitment, of integrity, of dependability and accountability,” Groh told media after reading the poem. “He’s loyal. His spirit is indomitable. And he is caring and loving. I’m sure I will always call the guy in the glass a friend.”

If this was Groh’s way of giving a final farewell, it was a classy way of doing so.

Tributes from players

“Coach Groh is a very well-educated, smart, emotional man,” said UVa running back Rashawn Jackson. “I think that poem captured his spirit. It takes a big man to stand in front of a team and read something like that. It was very moving.”

For the Cavaliers, the 91st meeting of the crusty old rivals followed the same pattern of many of Virginia’s nine losses this season.

The Cavaliers opened with a good plan that worked through the first half before everything unraveled in the second.

For the first 30 minutes, it was the kind of game that the 58,555 fans expected from a rivalry. The Hokies held a 14-13 halftime lead in a well-played game by both teams.

In fact, Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell believed that teammate Chris Cook’s interception in the end zone, squelching a Tech scoring threat midway through the third quarter, might have been just enough of a momentum swing to inspire the Cavaliers to an upset.

However, everything changed quickly two plays later when Sewell’s option pitch to tailback Mikell Simpson was fumbled and the Hokies recovered at the UVa 10. Thirty-one seconds later, Tech’s sensational freshman tailback, Ryan Williams, scored the third of his four touchdowns to lift the Hokies to a 21-13 lead.

The monumental collapse had begun, and on UVa’s ensuing possession, senior Vic Hall darted for an apparent first down at the Tech 49. But a holding call brought the ball back to Virginia’s 32, eventually leading to a poorly-executed 23-yard punt.

Williams, clearly destined for stardom, took care of the rest, as he methodically tore through the Cavaliers’ defense for some of his 183 rushing yards and to his fourth score of the evening. Tech led 28-13 and the rout was on.

“We made a pretty good go of it for a while,” Groh said afterward. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough to finish it off.”

He pointed to those two plays as his team’s downfall, the sixth straight loss by Virginia in the series and the 10th loss in the last 11 meetings between the state rivals.

Certainly, the Cavaliers’ inability to beat Tech but once during the Groh era put the embattled coach in a sticky spot.

While some of the UVa players stubbornly stuck to their belief after the game that the gap between the two programs isn’t wide and that the Cavaliers’ talent isn’t that different from Tech’s, the disparity in overall talent was obvious.

As aforementioned, Virginia has been able to hang with opponents for a half, sometimes through three quarters, but the talent and depth shows up in the fourth quarter, when the Cavaliers have been collectively outscored 111-41 this season.

Used to be that the Cavs, even throughout the first half or more of the Groh era, were difficult to beat at home. Yet, with the advantage of seven home games this season, Virginia managed to win only one of them (against Indiana of the Big Ten), and only one of its last nine home contests dating back to last season.

When discussing the sea change in UVa’s ability to defend its own turf earlier in the week, Groh’s explanation was simple.

“Talent,” he said. “Talented teams win at home and on the road.”

The inability to acquire and keep talent in the program surely has been a major contributor to its downfall.

Surely, this is not how Groh envisioned walking out of Scott Stadium for the last time when he left the New York Jets to return to his alma mater.

Now, it’s UVa’s call on what to do with one of its favorite sons.

According to sources, the private money has been committed to buy out the final two years of Groh’s contract for approximately $4 million. While that kind of money, mind-boggling to the average Joe, might seem like a nice consolation, if Groh is fired in the coming days, it won’t change the pit of his stomach where the desire burned to do better.

The guy in the mirror will know that he gave it his best, but sometimes the best just isn’t enough.

“Man in the Glass” by Dale Winbrow, with comments from Virginia coach Al Groh:

“When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day,
Then go to a mirror and look at yourself
And see what that guy has to say.
For it isn’t your father or mother or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass,
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the guy staring back from the glass.
He’s the fellow to please, never mind all the rest
For he’s with you clear to the end
And you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.
You may be like Jack Horner and chisel a plum,
And think you’re a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you¹re only a bum,
If you can¹t look him straight in the eye.
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.“
Groh’s comments: “When I visited the guy in the glass, I saw that he’s a guy of commitment, of integrity, of dependability and accountability. He’s loyal. His spirit is indomitable. And he is caring and loving. I’m sure I will always call the guy in the glass a friend.“
 

Commonwealth Crushed
By Chip Knighton
Published: November 28, 2009
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With 149 seconds left to play, a collection of Virginia’s players were tangled up in a shoving match with their counterparts from No. 14 Virginia Tech.

To some, the penalty-producing skirmish appeared to be the lone time that the Cavaliers actually showed fight after halftime.

Held scoreless in the second half for the third time in a four-game window, Virginia was eventually throttled by Virginia Tech 42-13 as a season-best crowd of 58,555 watched on a picturesque afternoon at Scott Stadium.

With the loss, the worst season at Virginia since 1982 came to a close. Finishing with their first six-game losing streak in 28 years, the Cavaliers completed the campaign at 3-9 overall and 2-6 in the ACC.

Virginia Tech, however, kept its stranglehold on the Commonwealth Cup, winning it for the sixth straight year. The Hokies (9-3, 6-2 ACC) await their postseason fate.

Virginia merely awaits the fate of coach Al Groh, something that is likely to be determined today or Monday.

For one half, it appeared that Groh would walk out of Scott Stadium with his second victory over his in-state rival.

Trailing just 14-13 in the third quarter, Virginia cornerback Chris Cook intercepted Virginia Tech’s Tyrod Taylor in the end zone.

“I am thinking, ‘We are going to win the game,’” Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell said. “‘We are going to go down there and take the lead and the defense is going to continue to do what they do — hold them, stop them — and we are just going to maintain that lead.’”

Two plays after the Hokies’ turnover and facing a second-and-4 at the Virginia 26, Sewell tried to run an option play with tailback Mikell Simpson trailing to his left.

Sewell’s pitch missed its target, clanging off Simpson’s hands and then his right shoulder. It was promptly scooped up by Virginia Tech free safety Kam Chancellor at the 25-yard line and returned 15 yards.

“I just didn’t get the ball in front,” Sewell explained. “The ball was a little bit behind. He couldn’t bring it in.”

Simpson, who finished with five carries for 16 yards, said the play is designed for him to be five yards to Sewell’s left and one yard behind him.

“I got in front of it,” said Simpson, one of 30 seniors to be honored before the game. “When he went to pitch it, he was expecting me to be another yard back and I just wasn’t.

“That’s why the ball went to my back shoulder. I couldn’t pull it in.”

Virginia Tech scored two plays later, going up 21-13, as rookie running back Ryan Williams rumbled into the end zone from four yards out.

“It was 14-13 well into the third quarter, and then that one score seemed to pull all of the dominos out of the pile,” Groh said. “After that it all fell down with scrambles and big plays.”

Simpson noticed the importance of the miscue.

“It was a turning point, but once again, we were only down one score after that turnover,” he said. “We can blame it on that, but we really can’t. It was still a one-score game, and if we would have got the ball back and went down and scored, the game would have been tied up.

“We really can’t put that one focal point on the game, but I would say it was very important.”

It was the first of 28 unanswered points for the Hokies, who rushed for 298 yards.

“I think when you make it an eight-point game instead of a one point game, in a game like this, I think it makes a big difference,” Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. “I was glad for us to be able to continue to move the football and for us to be able to stop their offense, because they came out and they were good today.”

In the fourth quarter, Williams added a 2-yard touchdown run with 12:50 remaining and appeared to have another one one possession later when he broke off a 51-yard run to the Virginia 10-yard line.

Chasing in pursuit, Virginia cornerback Ras-I Dowling punched the ball loose from Williams and it rolled into the end zone. Also trailing the play, Virginia Tech wideout Jarrett Boykin dove onto the ball in the right corner of the end zone.

Trailing 35-13, there was a mass exodus of Virginia fans from the stadium following the touchdown.

“It is just one of those things where it demoralizes the team because we worked so hard to try to make up for a bad play and turn it into a good play,” said defensive end Nate Collins. “And to see them fall on it in the end zone was kind of tough for us.

“That’s the way the ball bounces sometimes.”

Virginia Tech added its final touchdown with 2:43 remaining as back-up running back David Wilson scored on a 10-yard run.

Virginia’s seniors retreated to the locker room for the final time, only to hear Groh recite a poem, “Man in the Glass,” something he also did for reporters as he finished what could be his final press conference at Virginia.

“It was very emotional. You could see it in his face,” said Sewell, who rushed for a career-best 104 yards and passed for an additional 120. “He was having a tough time, just like we are having a tough time.

“We got each other’s back. We’re a real team. No matter what it is, we are going to stick it out together.”

In the first quarter, Virginia took its first lead as Sewell capped off the opening drive with a 15-yard touchdown run.

Williams answered on the ensuing possession, scoring the first of his four touchdowns on a 5-yard scamper.

The Cavaliers completed the opening half with a pair of field goals from Robert Randolph that sandwiched a 20-yard touchdown run by Williams.

For the game, Williams rushed 24 times for 183 yards.

Virginia, which was outscored 111-41 this season in the fourth quarter, finished with 298 yards of total offense.

“I think that I can speak for the team and say we can all look in the mirror and realize that we gave everything we could,” Virginia right tackle Will Barker said.
 

UVA NOTES: Cavaliers honor Bakhtiar
By Whitey Reid
Published: November 29, 2009
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Falling under the category of “What took so long?” Virginia honored former star Jim Bakhtiar’s No. 34 jersey during halftime of Saturday’s game.

Bakhtiar, a former fullback, linebacker and kicker, was an All-ACC performer from 1955-57.

In 1957, Bakhtiar led the ACC in rushing and was named an All-American.

Streakin’

Virginia senior offensive tackle Will Barker made his 49th career start on Saturday — the second-most in school history.

Former defensive end Brennan Schmidt owns the record with 51.

Sewell shines

Jamell Sewell’s first quarter rushing touchdown (15 yards) was his seventh rushing touchdown this season and the 15th time he has run for a score in his career.

“I thought Sewell was really good today and was running hard,” said Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer. “He got healthy. They’re a different team when he’s a healthy guy, I can tell you.”

Bowlin’

Beamer said he didn’t have any preference at all on which bowl his team winds up playing in.

“Wherever,” he said. “Like I said, I’ve never been to a bad bowl — never been to a bad bowl.”

Groh fan

Beamer was asked what he felt for Virginia coach Al Groh, who was likely coaching his final game.

“He’s a good football coach, he runs a good program,” Beamer said. “They do it the right way and he’s a good, good person. That’s what I know about Al Groh.”

Aces

Virginia tennis players Michael “Showbiz” Shabaz and Dom Inglot were honored during a timeout on Saturday. The duo won the NCAA doubles championship last spring.

Extra points

UVa’s scoring drive to open the game marked just the fourth time this season an opponent has scored a touchdown on the Virginia Tech defense. ... Freshman defensive back Javanti Sparrow had his first touch in a game this season when he returned a kickoff during the first half. ... Freshman linebacker Tucker Windle recorded his first career start. ... Tech center Beau Warren returned to the starting lineup after missing the last three games with a sprained medial collateral ligament. ... The pregame Power of Orange flag was raised was by former Cavalier standouts Aaron Brooks and Ahmad Hawkins.