Swan Song
Always hard on himself, senior quarterback Marques Hagans will remember the games that got away as his Virginia career winds down.
BY DARRYL SLATER
247-4641
December 30, 2005

NASHVILLE, TENN. -- In the somber aftermath of Virginia's 52-14 loss to Virginia Tech on Nov. 19, Cavaliers quarterback Marques Hagans spoke with reporters about how embarrassed he felt, how nothing seemed to work that afternoon.

After most media members and players left the interview room, a couple TV reporters stuck around to get some more Hagans sound bites. One TV guy asked a question. Hagans paused.

"Hold on," he said.

He flicked his nostril with his index finger, attempting to dislodge something. Satisfied, he smiled. "OK," he said, looking up at the reporter, whose question about the defeat was lost in a suddenly light-hearted moment.

Though this season has been rocky for the 6-5 Cavaliers, Hagans managed to stay looser more than he did in any previous year. Always critical of himself, Hagans relished the good moments as often as he bemoaned the bad.

But it all ends at noon today, when the Hampton High graduate plays his final college game, as Virginia meets Minnesota in the Music City Bowl at The Coliseum.

During the offseason, while Hagans prepared for his second year as the full-time starter, Virginia coach Al Groh knew the Cavaliers needed him to be mentally steady. So the coach urged him to have more fun.

With that - and with Hagans' increased knowledge of U.Va.'s offense - came confidence and a widespread sense that Virginia was, for the first time, his team.

"He's definitely taken ownership of the team," said defensive end Brennan Schmidt, one of Hagans' best friends. "We wouldn't be us without him."

Groh thinks Hagans' larger role as team leader starter with a smaller development. "He feels so much more comfortable in his own position," he said.

Last season ended with tears, as Hagans wept in the locker room after Virginia lost its bowl game to Fresno State, 37-34 in overtime. He was similarly inconsolable this season after U.Va. lost 7-5 at North Carolina, a game in which, despite playing with an injured right hamstring, Hagans accounted for 135 of U.Va.'s 199 yards. Afterward, he sulked in the locker room and was one of the last players to leave.

He admitted that he was probably spoiled growing up, playing for successful recreation-league teams and winning two state championships at Hampton. During down times at U.Va., his self-critical emotions sometimes got the better of him.

"I think I've done a lot better job of coping with it this year as opposed to last year," he said.

But it should come as no surprise that, when asked what he'll remember most about his U.Va. career, Hagans doesn't mention this season's 26-21 win over Florida State, in which he completed 27 of 36 passes for a college-high 306 yards and two touchdowns.

"A couple of the games that we lost are the ones that stick out even more than that," he said. "Because our season could've went another way."

Though Hagans might blame himself for those losses, Schmidt won't.

"We've relied too much on Marques and not really picked up the reins with the rest of the team," he said. "Too often, if Marques didn't have his best game, we've lost. A team can't function like that. A team's got to be able to pick itself up from whatever angle. As great as Marques is, we can't rely on him to have his career game every game."

Hagans turned 23 Thursday, and after today's game must consider what comes next. He said he'd do whatever it takes to play in the NFL, even if it means not playing quarterback. As much a threat running as he is passing, Hagans played wide receiver for the Cavaliers in 2003, catching 28 passes for 262 yards. He also returned 29 punts in '02 and 28 in '03.

Minnesota coach Glen Mason compared Hagans to former Indiana quarterback Antwaan Randle El, now a receiver for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers. Hagans talked recently with former Hampton quarterback Ronald Curry about switching positions. Curry successfully transitioned to a receiver for the Oakland Raiders. But before Hagans becomes just another aspiring pro player, there's one more game with his team.

"It's gonna be hard to walk away," he said. "But it's time for me to move on and, after this game, begin a new chapter in my life."

Music City foes seem to be playing the same tune
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© December 30, 2005

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — They were supposed to be the next big thing in their conference. But for the past couple of years, they’ve had to settle for being a good team in a league with a handful of really good ones.

Last year, they started 5-0 , soaring in the rankings, only to fade down the stretch.

This year brought another promising start, and a breakthrough October win over a longtime nemesis. But any momentum was squandered the next week, when they lost a game they should have won.

Virginia? Minnesota?

Both.

The Cavaliers and Gophers, who meet today at The Coliseum in the Music City Bowl are a lot alike. Each team has stood on the brink of national significance but has been unable to take that next step.

Virginia won nine games in 2002, finished second in the ACC and appeared ready to join the national elite. A year later, Minnesota won 10 games for the first time in 98 years.

Neither has been able to build on that success. Virginia won eight games each of the previous two years and fell to 6-5 this year. Minnesota has won seven games each of the past two seasons.

Last year, U.Va. rose to

No. 6 in the AP poll, Minnesota to No. 13. The Cavaliers went 3-4 the rest of the way, the Gophers 2-5.

This year, Virginia beat Florida State for the first time since 1995. Minnesota toppled Michigan for the first time since 1986.

The Cavaliers fell at North Carolina the following week, and Minnesota lost at home to Wisconsin when the Badgers recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown with 30 seconds left.

“In a lot of cases, the Cavaliers’ performance has mirrored the Gophers’,” Minnesota coach Glenn Mason said Thursday. “At times, they’ve looked really, really good. At other times, there’s been room for improvement.”

Mason was speaking of this season, but could have been talking about the past few. He’s in his ninth year at Minnesota and has lifted the Gophers to a respectable level, but no higher. Groh, in his fifth at Virginia, has done the same.

The challenge is figuring out how to win in a tough neighborhood. Minnesota’s includes traditional powers like Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan. Virginia’s features stalwarts such as Miami, Virginia Tech and Florida State.

Neither coach expects to out-recruit those schools .

“It’s about sizing up the situation, and trying to adapt how you play to best fit the situation you’re in, to give yourself the best chance to be successful,” Groh said.

Mason and Groh have taken similar approaches, each trying to field teams built around power running games and physical defenses.

Mason’s had more success of late .

How good is the Gopher ground game? Tailback Gary Russell averages 6.4 yards per carry, putting him in elite company among college running backs with 1,000 yards this season — just behind Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush, and his USC teammate, LenDale White.

Russell rushed for 18 touchdowns, a school record, and was honorable mention All-Big Ten. Yet he can’t crack the starting lineup.

That honor belongs to Laurence Maroney, a third-team All-American with 1,355 yards this year. When Russell and Maroney each went over 1,000 yards, Minnesota became the first team in NCAA history to have two backs top 1,000 yards in three straight seasons.

The tailbacks run behind a line anchored by Outland Trophy winner Greg Eslinger, the nation’s finest center. Guard Mark Setterstrom is a second-team All-American.

“I’ve enjoyed their running game from afar,” Groh said.

Groh said the Gophers reminded him of last year’s Virginia team, a big, physical bunch that led the ACC in rushing. The Cavs dropped to sixth this year, in part because of injuries along the line and to tailback Wali Lundy.

“We’d like to look like that again someday,” Groh said.

Keeping the ball away from Minnesota by moving it on the ground might be Virginia’s best defense. Minnesota’s defense certainly is vulnerable, allowing 28.5 points and 407.6 yards per game.

Both teams are striving for more prestigious bowl destinations down the road. Figuring out how to get there is the challenge they share.

 

Music City bowl notes
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
December 30, 2005

MASON TRIES TO FOCUS: Minnesota coach Glen Mason has had a lot on his mind since he arrived in Nashville this week.
In addition to planning for a fourth straight bowl game, Mason and his agent have been talking with school officials about a contract extension.

At midnight Saturday, the contracts for Mason's assistant coaches expire. Mason, who has a 58-49 record at Minnesota, has one year left on his seven-year contract.

"I'd be less than truthful if I didn't say that I've been thinking about [the extension] because it's important to a lot of people around me - my coaches, their families and my family," Mason said on Thursday. "But, I really try to put it to the back burner because a lot of responsibilities I have here, and I literally don't have any time to spend on it."

Virginia coach Al Groh does not have the same worries.

Groh, 36-26 in five seasons at UVa, had his contract renewed before the season started. He is making $1.7 million this season, which does not include the $25,000 bonus for playing in the postseason.

GETTING A SCOUTING REPORT: NFL scouts have probably seen all the video they need to see on Virginia left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson.

But with Ferguson on the same field as a number of other NFL prospects, at least 10 NFL scouts requested credentials for today's game.

Minnesota features two talented offensive linemen of its own - center Greg Eslinger and guard Mark Setterstrom. Like Ferguson, Eslinger was a first team All-American. Setterstrom was a second team selection.

Groh said it was "pretty amazing" that three of the top offensive linemen in the upcoming draft will be playing in the same bowl game.

"What's really interesting about these players ? all three of them started right at the beginning of their true freshman seasons," Groh said. "For them to have come in as true freshmen and started right away and to have built their careers like this is pretty remarkable."

NFL scouts will also get a chance to see a pair of juniors that may bolt the college scene for the professional ranks - Minnesota running back Laurence Maroney and UVa linebacker Kai Parham.

Maroney, who has rushed for 3,824 yards in his three-year career, said he would announce his decision after today's game. Parham is expected to wait a few weeks before announcing his intentions.

GOING OUT IN STYLE: Twelve Virginia players will be playing in their final college football games today.

Groh said he holds a special place in his heart for the group.

"They were the first class that signed up with us," Groh said. "They really cast their lot with us on hope. When we first came [to Virginia] we were just getting established. They believed what we told them was going to happen and it has happened, but part of the reason that it happened was because they have been a big part of it."

ROAD TRIP: Only nine programs in the country have played more true freshmen this year than Virginia.

Groh said last week that he would not burn any of the remaining players "redshirt" against Minnesota, but that didn't stop the coach from bringing the true freshmen who have not played this year to the bowl game.

"We bring them mainly because the whole team did this," Groh said of qualifying for the postseason. "Certain players played in the games, but the whole team did it. I think this is was of those things that you travel organizationally, not just with the guys that you play in the game.

"Obviously, it is different than a road game where we just go and we don't practice, we don't need anybody else than those guys that are going to play in a game but with three practice sessions over here we needed a lot of those players to help us out."

Groh said he gets a sense of enjoyment in seeing the rookies' faces when they travel for the bowl games.

"I have been in cities. This is just a game site to me, but I have to always remind myself that for a lot of these kids this is the first city that they have been to," Groh said. "It is one of those things that makes these postseason games exciting to some of them. You get into a city and see something different."

TACKLING SOME TIDBITS: The officials for today's game are from the WAC. ? The instant replay officials will be from the SEC, but the Big Ten instant replay model is being used for all 28 bowl games. Under the Big Ten's instant replay system, a technical adviser watches the contest from the press box and lets an official know if he has reason to review the events. The ACC system, which was modeled after the Big Ten's, was somewhat faster this season. The ACC had 78 stoppages, averaging 1:33. The Big Ten had 64 stoppages, averaging 1:44 per review. ? Virginia defensive end Brennan Schmidt is one of the few Cavaliers who can say that he has been to the Music City Bowl. Schmidt came to watch his brother, who played at Boston College, play in Nashville in 2001. ? Virginia tight end Tom Santi, a Nashville resident, will be playing in The Coliseum for the first time. Santi said he is an avid Tennessee Titans fans and has been to "about six games" at the stadium. ? Music City Bowl official Scott Ramsey said he expects about 8,000 Virginia fans to be in attendance for today's contest. ? The offensive plays for Virginia will be called today by quarterback coach Mike Groh and wide receivers coach John Garrett. The elder Groh said he hopes things run smoothly but "kinks usually have an ugly way of only materializing during the games."
 

Trying to end season on right note
For U.Va., Minnesota, victory would put positive spin on inconsistent year
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Dec 30, 2005

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Minnesota won seven football games in the regular season, no small feat. But to say the Golden Gophers were satisfied would be a stretch. They also lost by 30 points to Penn State, by 14 to Ohio State, by 24 to Iowa.

Virginia won six games in the regular season to become bowl-eligible for the fourth consecutive year. U.Va. collapsed late in losses to Maryland and Boston College, however, and lost by 38 points to archrival Virginia Tech - at Scott Stadium, no less.

"I think in a lot of ways that the Cavaliers' performance mirrored the Gophers' performance, or vice versa," Minnesota coach Glen Mason told reporters yesterday. "At times, they looked really, really good. At other times, you'd think, 'Well, there's some room for improvement there.'"

Whether that improvement comes today or not, one of these teams will leave The Coliseum happy. In the first meeting between the schools, Minnesota (7-4) plays Virginia (6-5) in the Music City Bowl at noon.

The Gophers, who have won 19 consecutive games against non-Big Ten foes, are seeking their fourth consecutive postseason victory. U.Va. is trying to avoid closing the season with three consecutive defeats and finishing without a winning record for the first time since 2001, Al Groh's first year as their coach.

"To get that monkey off our back and send next year's team into the offseason with positive energy and to see the seniors go out on a winning note would be a big thing," said Marques Hagans, U.Va.'s senior quarterback.

The difference between 7-5 and 6-6, Virginia players said, is immense.

"It can change the way you look at a whole season," said sophomore defensive end Chris Long, who didn't play in last year's MPC Computers Bowl, in which Fresno State rallied for an overtime win over U.Va.

If the teams combine for 80 points today, no one should be shocked. The Gophers rank 10th nationally in scoring (36.2 ppg) and rang up 40 or more points six times in the regular season. Virginia (26 ppg) scored 31 or more four times. Couple that with the fact that neither team has a strong defense, and the potential exists for a shootout.

"We would take 99-98," Groh said, as long as his team had the 99, of course. "That's all you come for in the postseason, to get one more than the other guys."

U.Va.'s record in bowl games is 6-9. The Wahoos are 2-1 in the postseason under Groh, the wins coming against West Virginia in 2002 and Pittsburgh in '03, both in the Continental Tire Bowl.

Each of those opponents featured marquee players - tailback Avon Cobourne for WVU and wideout Larry Fitzgerald for Pitt - and Minnesota is no different. Gophers senior Greg Eslinger, a first-team All-American, recently collected the Outland Trophy (as college football's top interior lineman) and the Rimington Trophy (as the nation's best center). Senior offensive guard Mark Setterstrom made The Associated Press' All-America second team, and junior tailback Laurence Maroney was a third-team choice.

Those three players, along with backup tailback Gary Russell, power the nation's No.2 rushing attack. The Golden Gophers have two 1,000-yard rushers - two more than U.Va. has faced all season - and average 279.9 yards on the ground.

"I'm an old-fashioned guy," Mason said when asked about his devotion to the running game.

Today's game will be the last as Cavaliers for numerous players, among them such high-profile seniors as Hagans, offensive tackles D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Brad Butler, defensive end Brennan Schmidt, center Brian Barthelmes and tailback Wali Lundy. They've experienced exhilarating victories and crushing defeats in their college careers. To bow out on a high note, they know, won't be easy.

"I just think this is going to be a game that goes down to the wire," Butler said. "I don't know what the score's going to be, but I think the offense and the defense are going to have to play continually through four quarters. I don't think by the end of the third quarter the game's going to be decided."
 

Up to standard
Marques Hagans perseveres to be successful at Virginia.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- From the time he started playing football, Marques Hagans was always the youngest player on his team. It was the same way in school, where Hagans figured out, in the ninth grade, that he was the same age as some of the seventh-graders.

"I don't know how that happened," Hagans said recently. "I've been meaning to talk to my mom about that."

Hagans was 14 when he became the starting quarterback at Hampton High School, one of the state's elite programs, and he was a 15-year-old junior in 1998 when the Crabbers won the first of back-to-back state championships.

"All my life, I've always played up," Hagans said. "I came in here as the youngest person on the team but, what's funny is, now I'm leaving as the oldest person on the team."

Actually, fifth-year senior linebacker Bryan White is almost a year older, but Hagans observed his 23rd birthday Thursday -- hardly the time or the setting for much of a celebration.

"We'll have football practice, a team meal, meetings, curfew and then I'll call it a night," Hagans said before leaving for Nashville.

Besides, there will be plenty of time for partying after the game.

"Now, Dec. 30, that will be a different story," he said. "But, if things don't go well on the field, just chalk that one up. That's one birthday that will be gone."

If you don't believe Hagans, consider his reaction to a 37-34 overtime loss to Fresno State in last year's MPC Computers Bowl in Boise, Idaho. Hagans didn't even change out of his uniform after the game and said he would have walked home if possible.

"If he's 1-for-30 and we win, he's happy," UVa coach Al Groh said. "That's the great thing about him. He's played for his team at whatever position he's been needed and played with as much heart and unselfishness as anybody."

After a last-second victory over Syracuse early this season and while teammates visited with parents and friends, a cramping Hagans remained in the Cavaliers' locker room, receiving fluids intravenously for more than an hour. After a 7-5 loss at North Carolina, he was also the last player to leave the locker room, but for other reasons.

"After the North Carolina game, it was just the two of us in there," Groh said. "We were both miserable and we kind of commiserated about that. He's really spent after a game. If he's not physically spent, he's spent emotionally."

The odds would not have been great for Hagans to become a college athlete when, as an infant, he was diagnosed with Erb's Palsy, a condition that left one side of his body paralyzed but from which he had complete recovery.

He was not a good enough student to get into Virginia out of high school and few people know how close he came to enrolling at Indiana, which sold him on the idea of succeeding another multi-dimensional quarterback, Antwaan Randle El.

Hagans signed a letter-of-intent with the Hoosiers and was within days of travelling to Bloomington, Ind., in the summer of 2000 when he learned that he had not qualified for freshman eligibility under Proposition 48.

"They told me I could come to school right away," Hagans said. "They wanted me to 'prop,' but you lose a year under Prop 48. I didn't want to do that and my high school coach [Mike Smith] didn't want me to do that, so he made a call to Coach [John] Shuman at Fork Union. I wanted all my turns to play."

Between a postgraduate year at Fork Union and a redshirt year at Virginia, almost three years lapsed between Hagans' final season at Hampton and his UVa debut, and he almost didn't get to that point.

As a redshirt freshman in 2002, Hagans received a warning from the dean's office to the effect that he could be dismissed for academic negligence.

"Coach Groh and I joke about it now," Hagans said, "but he almost didn't let me travel to Wake Forest because I didn't have my books. And that was like the seventh game of the season."

Actually, it was the fifth game, held Sept. 28.

"I've come a long way since then," Hagans said. "I've tried to pass on my experience to the young players on what not to do so they don't have to go through what I went through. I had to meet with a couple of deans. I was right on the edge.

"Coach came to me on a Wednesday and said, 'If you don't have your books by Friday, you're not traveling. I went to get my books that night, but the bookstore was closed. I was there first thing in the morning, before they opened. I wasn't even really going to class."

Hagans turned himself around academically and received his undergraduate degree on time, walking at commencement ceremonies last May. He took another walk recently, when he was accompanied by both of his parents at his final home game.

"Football is great," said Hagans, who lived with his grandmother after his parents split up when he was kid. "Not only does it bring families together. It brings different ethnic backgrounds together. It's funny how we don't see black and white on our team. We just see teammates."

A year that Hagans spent as a wide receiver and punt returner in 2003 might help him latch on with some pro team, but his relative lack of stature (5-foot-10, 210 pounds) might prevent him from playing quarterback at the next level.

Hagans won't be remembered as the greatest quarterback in UVa history, but he belongs in a group just below former ACC players of the year Shawn Moore and Matt Schaub. He compares very favorably with another Hampton High School quarterback, Ronald Curry.

Curry was considered the No. 1 prospect in the country in 1997-1998 and actually committed to Virginia before signing with North Carolina, where he passed for a then-UNC record of 4,987 yards and 28 touchdowns. Going into today's game, Hagans has passed for 4,519 yards and 25 touchdowns.

Hagans has completed 61.5 percent of his passes, as opposed to Curry, a 49.6-percent passer.

Groh once quoted as saying he had a clear image of what a top Division I-A quarterback should be like -- maybe something along the lines of Schaub, who was in the 6-5, 230-pound range -- but he doesn't talk like that anymore.

"There are a lot of teams with 6-5 quarterbacks who'd like to have Marques Hagans," he said.
 

From start to finish, Schmidt was always there for U.Va.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Dec 30, 2005

An hour or so before kickoff of the Music City Bowl today, Brennan Schmidt will leave Virginia's locker room, head to the field and attempt to run himself into the ground or induce an asthma attack, whichever comes first.

It's OK, a doctor will be there to approve every gasp, wheeze and exhalation.

All of which is to underscore the point that you won't find many run-stuffers who also need to get a handle on bronchoconstriction. Brennan Schmidt is of that minority.

He's asthmatic. His freshman year against Clemson, he had an attack that scrubbed him from the lineup for a quarter. The next week against North Carolina, the medical staff suggested getting his breathing difficulties out of his system (so to speak) by running pregame sprints and shuttles and inflicting on him- self a mini-attack from which he'd have time to recover. Schmidt gave it a try.

Made eight tackles that day.

Been following the regimen ever since.

Resolute guy, Schmidt. He started the first game of the season when he landed on U.Va.'s varsity in 2002. He'll start again today against Minnesota. He's started every game in between. That'll make a school-standard 51 consecutive starts in all when Schmidt peels off his No.96 jersey for the final time.

Not bad for a plugger.

Not bad for a guy who didn't get a sniff from a big-time program till his senior year at DeMatha High in Maryland and was grateful just to have a chance. That he's made something quite handsome out of it speaks volumes about his backbone and want-to.

"If I do leave a legacy here, I hope it's just toughness," Schmidt said recently. "That single word right there. A lot of people take that word for granted and use it loosely, but it's a word I take very seriously. I take a lot of pride in it."

This hasn't been the greatest of seasons for Virginia. The Cavs struggled to put away pedestrian opponents early and were whacked by Virginia Tech late, and their in-between was brightened only by bowl-eligibility takedowns at home of Florida State (stunner at the time) and Georgia Tech (less so). They're 6-5. They've taken a step back.

Brennan Schmidt kept moving forward. He's a defensive end, a 6-3, 290-pound rock. He won't wow you with spin moves and video-game bursts into opposing backfields. He isn't a highlight reel. He's not Mario Williams or Darryl Tapp or Mathias Kiwanuka, to name three fellow ACC occupants of the spot he plays.

Defensive end is a glamour position of sorts, and those three are glamour players. Brennan Schmidt isn't like that. He's steady. He's reliable. He's good.

That's not faint praise, mind you. Schmidt doesn't just occupy space. He's third among Cavaliers and tops among down linemen in tackles with 58 - 43 of them solo and 10 for losses. He has four sacks. He's productive, in other words. He gets the job done.

He's also overcome obstacles larger than an offensive tackle. Yeah, he's had a privileged upbringing - nice homes, private schools, creature comforts. But he also lurched some through childhood with Attention Deficit Disorder and still takes medication to aid his classroom efforts. And, as chronicled, there's the asthma to deal with.

And he's made it. ACC All-Academic (he's a sociology major). Four-year starter. Never dislodged from the lineup. Always game-ready. Never sat one out or mailed one in.

Now he's about done, with no NFL future guaranteed. But that's OK. He could live with finality.

"I've had the best college career you could imagine," he said. "I'm not one of those kids who thinks football is going to last forever."

He's only made it seem that way.

 

Music City Bowl foes had similar highs, lows
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
December 30, 2005

NASHVILLE - Today's Music City Bowl marks the end of another season of 'what ifs.'
What if a couple of those close games had gone their way? What if they kept momentum rolling after upsetting the conference's traditional power? What if they had just one more win in league play? Would they even be here right now?

Which team is it? The Cavaliers? Sure. The Gophers? Yup. Them too.

Few teams understand their bowl opponents' situation better than Virginia (6-5, 3-5 ACC) and Minnesota (7-4, 4-4 Big Ten), who square off in the Music City Bowl today at noon.

The programs have had similar seasons. Both struggled to break out of the middle of the pack in two of the deeper conferences in the country. Both posted marquee wins over longtime nemeses (Minnesota beat Michigan for the first time since 1986; Virginia topped Florida State for the first time since 1995) only to follow it up with bizarre, letdown losses to rivals (Minnesota to Wisconsin on a late blocked punt; Virginia to North Carolina by a 7-5 final).

"I think in a lot of ways that the Cavaliers' performance mirrored the Gophers' performance or vice versa," Minnesota coach Glen Mason said. "At times, they look really, really good. And at other times, you think, well, there's some room for improvement there. But certain games look spectacular. (They) just jump at you."

But the parallel plight of these programs stretches beyond 2005. Like Virginia in the ACC, Minnesota has not been able to break into the upper echelon of the Big Ten. In nine years, Mason has led the Gophers to respectability but never a major bowl game.

This is their third trip to Nashville in the last four years. Virginia is making its fourth straight bowl appearance, but all have been of the second-tier variety.

That doesn't mean the game won't be interesting. For offensive line aficionados, this is as good as it gets. Minnesota boasts two All-Americans, Outland and Rimington Trophy winner Greg Eslinger at center and Mark Setterstrom at guard. Virginia tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, another All-American, is a potential top-five NFL Draft pick come April.

The Gophers also possess the nation's second-best running game, averaging 279.9 yards per game. Minnesota had two backs top the 1,000-yard mark for the third straight season, becoming the first college team to do so. This season was Laurence Maroney (1,355 yards) and Gary Russell (1,045) racking up the yardage.

Somewhere, Virginia has seen this kind of rushing attack before.

"It actually looks to us somewhat similar to our team of last year," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "They've got two big, veteran tight ends. We had two big, veteran tight ends last year. They have two guards who can get out and run. We had two guards who could get out and run. They have a somewhat undersized center who is very effective with what they're running. We had a player who wasn't quite as good as this player, but Zac Yarbrough was a very good player for us."

Virginia's defense comes in at less than full strength. Linebacker Ahmad Brooks is out because of a back injury and safety Tony Franklin is suspended after being charged with marijuana possession. Even with those two, the Cavaliers ranked second-to-last in the ACC at stopping the run in conference games.

The task of stopping this Gophers rushing attack is made tougher by Virginia's coaching defections. Defensive coordinator Al Golden left to be the Temple head coach and outside linebackers coach Danny Rocco took the head coaching job at Liberty. Though Rocco is coaching in the bowl game, his duties were more geared toward gaining information on Minnesota.

The new coaches on defense have gotten along well, though.

"There seems to be the best compatibility we've had yet between our secondary coach and our linebacker coach," Groh said.

"And they seem to do everything exactly the way the defensive coordinator wants it done, which is very pleasing to the head coach."

That would be because Groh is assuming all of those roles.

"I'm sure nothing gets lost in translation," UVa defensive end Brennan Schmidt said.

"He's told us that he's having a blast. He doesn't know if he wants to go back to head coach because he's having so much fun coaching the defense and you can definitely see it."

 

MUSIC CITY BOWL NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Dec 30, 2005

TEPID SUPPORT: Final figures aren't in, but preliminary numbers indicate that, contrary to what Virginia Athletic Director Craig Littlepage told Music City Bowl officials, U.Va. fans weren't especially interested in following the school's football team to Nashville, Tenn.

Virginia (6-5) meets Minnesota (7-4) today in the Music City Bowl at The Coliseum.

Each school received an allotment of 10,000 tickets for the game. As of yesterday morning, U.Va. had sold about 5,135 tickets. The school purchased about 1,500 for internal use, meaning about 3,400 from its allotment weren't sold.

Minnesota, in the Music City for the third time in the past four seasons, reportedly has sold fewer tickets than U.Va.

HISTORY BUFF: The first meeting between these schools in football holds special meaning for Minnesota coach Glen Mason.

"I'm a big Thomas Jefferson fan, so it's kind of exciting for me," he said yesterday. "I read as much as I can about that fine gentleman."

AWKWARD SITUATION: Mason has yet to agree on a contract extension at Minnesota, and his tenure there could be nearing its end. Mason, who has a year left on his contract, said yesterday afternoon that he didn't know if he'd get an extension before tomorrow night, when his assistants' deals expire.

"I'd be less than truthful if I didn't say that I've been thinking about it because it's important to a lot of people around me - my coaches, their families and my family," said Mason, who has a 58-49 record in nine years with the Golden Gophers. "But I really try to put it to the back burner because [of all the] responsibilities I have here, and I literally don't have any time to spend on it."

According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minnesota and Mason probably would part after this season if an agreement on a new deal isn't reached soon. The newspaper reported that the university would have to pay Mason a buyout of about $2 million.

Mason and Virginia coach Al Groh have the same agent, Neil Cornrich.

TIME WELL SPENT: With Nate Lyles sidelined with a neck injury and Tony Franklin out because of off-field issues, Virginia's top three safeties are freshman Byron Glaspy and sophomores Jamaal Jackson and Ryan Best. Among them they have two career starts, both by Glaspy, who like Best is a walk-on.

Glaspy, Jackson and Best have benefited from the extra practice time leading up to the Music City Bowl.

"There was some catch-up and some development there on their part [this month] that I would hope make things a little cleaner for them, say, in this game than it was in the latter games of the season when they had to kind of rush to the front," Groh said. - Jeff White

 

Athletic success can’t depend on non-revenue teams
London speculation seemingly has merit
By Doug Doughty
THE ROANOKE TIMES

Two numbers on page C-11 of this morning’s edition of USA Today make for an interesting debate on Virginia athletics.

One was the updated standings in the Sports Academy Directors’ Cup, which show Virginia in 13th place after all of the fall sports except football.

The other number was the Sagarin men’s college basketball ratings, which showed the Cavaliers at No. 112 out of 334 teams.

That number isn’t too disturbing because everybody knows that Virginia has seven able-bodied scholarship players but has recruited well under first-year coach Dave Leitao and seemingly has a promising future.

Without having the numbers at my fingers, my impression is that the 13th-place Directors’ Cup standing is good for this time of year. Virginia usually makes up considerable ground in the spring, but the Cavaliers may have had their best cross-country season ever – men and women included.

What the Directors’ Cup standings don’t show is the fact that Virginia is unlikely to score any points in football. A school needs to finish in football’s final Top 25 to gain Director’s Cup points and the Cavaliers aren’t going to finish in the Top 25.

In basketball, a team needs to make the NCAA Tournament to receive Director’s Cup points, so for the 10th time in 11 years, don’t look for the Cavaliers to get any Director’s Cup points in men’s basketball.

If a Division I-A school isn’t finishing in the Top 25 in football or making the NCAA Tournament in men’s basketball, how successful an athletic program can it have?

The fact of the matter is, the Director’s Cup is skewed toward non-revenue sports. The Cavaliers could finish 26th in men’s and women’s cross country and get a nice ratings boost, but, if they’re 26th among vote-getters in the final poll in football – immensely more important to the program’s well-being – they get nothing.

That’s one of the arguments I get from Virginia Tech fans, who, I’m sure, wouldn’t trade their 2004 ACC football championship and top-10 rating for any number of non-revenue Director’s Cup points. Athletic director Jim Weaver can say that the Director’s Cup is important but many Tech fans couldn’t care less, providing the football team is winning.

The Hokies could stand to be a little more passionate about their other sports, even men’s and women’s basketball, but Virginia’s athletic department can’t pat itself on the back until its football and basketball programs get on a good track.

UVa football is at a higher level than basketball right now, but some chinks have been spotted in coach Al Groh’s armor. Media gadly Jeff White and I were discussing UVa ticket sales for Friday’s Music City Bowl – the total as of Thursday morning was 5,134 – and agreed that it was something of a referendum on fifth-year coach Groh.

The best the Cavaliers can finish is 7-5 – a dropoff from 9-5 in 2002, 8-5 in 2003 and 8-4 in 2004 – but the fans can’t receive a pass on this one. They complain all the time about being short-changed in the bowl-selection process; then, when they finally get a break, as they did this year, they don’t turn out.

Could it be that UVa fans don’t realize that Nashville, Tenn., is roughly the same driving distance from locations like Charlottesville and Roanoke as those cities are from Atlanta? I drove from Roanoke to Nashville in just over 6 ½ hours and, once settled, had little trouble negotiating the downtown area.

The forecast for game time is 50 degrees and partly sunny, with a 10-percent chance of rain and a high of 56. You can’t ask for much more than that in late December.

I’VE BEEN CAUTIONED about thinking that Mike London is certain to return to Virginia after one season as the Houston Texans’ defensive-line coach but I still think there is a high probability.

Coaching sources point out that London accepted a three-year contract for making the jump, but Texans’ coach Dom Capers is almost certain to be fired and I can’t see Houston holding London to his contract.

It could take some time before Houston hires a new head coach and what are the chances that he would know London, exclusively a college coach until last year, much less not have somebody else in mind for the defensive line?

Money was a consideration in London’s original decision and, while the Cavaliers may not be able to match his NFL salary, the coordinator’s job would merit a hefty raise over what he was making at UVa in 2004.

Mostly, London would have to be tempted by the coordinator’s title. When he was interviewed for his alma mater, Richmond, after the 2003 season, London was left with the impression that his lack of experience as a coordinator was a detriment.

With the NFL regular season scheduled to end this weekend, London could be available as early as next week. He and Groh left on good terms – to Groh, there are few callings higher than the NFL – so, I don’t see a lot of possible hold-ups.
 

It's bowl time
Cavaliers, Gophers to clash
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
December 30, 2005

NASHVILLE - Five years ago when Wali Lundy was being recruited to play football at the University of Virginia, coach Al Groh told the tailback that if he came on board, he would play in four bowl games.
And while it might have seemed like a farfetched idea at the time, that dream will become a reality today when Virginia (6-5) plays Minnesota (7-4) in the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl (ESPN). It will be the fourth straight postseason game for the Cavaliers.

Of course, Lundy and his teammates would have preferred a trip to Florida instead of two trips to Charlotte, N.C., and last year's excursion to Boise, Idaho, but they will take it.

"If somebody would have told me that I was going to play in four bowl games, I would have believed them," Lundy said. "I just believed in the coaching staff and this program. I am not surprised at all."

With a win today, Lundy and a majority of the senior class will finish their careers with a 32-19 record and a 3-1 mark in bowl games.

Winning will not be easy.

Minnesota, a 4-point favorite, brings the second-best rushing attack in the country into the contest. The Golden Gophers have rushed for 3,079 yards this season, while churning out 5.5 yards per carry.

With a two-headed monster in the backfield - running backs Laurence Maroney and Gary Russell both rushed for over 1,000 yards this year - the Golden Gophers have gotten Groh's attention.

"This is quite a good assault," Groh said. "Most teams are proud of having a 1,000-yard rusher, and they've had two 1,000-yard runners in each of the last three seasons. They're very intricate and very precise, and they're very physical running the ball."

Minnesota's attack starts with its powerful yet mobile offensive line. That unit features a pair of senior All-Americans - center Greg Eslinger and guard Mark Setterstrom - and thrives on zone-blocking.

Unlike many of the top rushing attacks in the country, however, Minnesota likes to mix in the pass. Quarterback Bryan Cupito averages 229.5 yards per game through the air and ranks 21st in the nation in passing efficiency.

"That old saying 'using the run to set up the pass,' they really do that," Groh said. "One of the things that is very apparent in preparing for Minnesota is that while they run the ball very well, they like to pass the ball. As a result they pass for a lot of yardage.

"You can't be fifth in the country in total offense just running the ball as much as they do."

To Virginia's credit, they will attack Minnesota's powerful running attack with the 3-4 defense, something Gophers' coach Glen Mason said he has not faced this year.

"It is a little bit different," Mason said of the 3-4, which features three down linemen and four linebackers. "It does present a different problem, but that defense has been around longer than water."

It doesn't help that Virginia's defense will be without some of its star power. Linebacker Ahmad Brooks (back) and safety Tony Franklin (suspension) did not travel to the Music City. Those two will be replaced by true freshman Antonio Appleby (ILB) and sophomore safety Jamaal Jackson.

Virginia does get two defensive linemen back for today's game - nose tackles Keenan Carter (ankle) and Ron Darden (migraine headaches) - and that depth could help if Minnesota has a number of lengthy, time-consuming drives.

In a 41-18 win over Michigan State at the Metrodome on Nov. 12, the Golden Gophers had two touchdown drives that lasted more than seven minutes.

"We are going to try to get them off the field like we would in any game, but if we need the reserves, the guys in the rotation on the defensive line, we can get that going too," said UVa defensive end Chris Long. "It's going to be real interesting to see who is going to hold onto the ball longer."

Although some critics have said Virginia's 3-4 will struggle to stop the run like it did against Virginia Tech (55 carries for 333 yards) or Maryland (46 carries for 250 yards), Long remains confident in the scheme.

"You have to be really good at what you do, but [the 3-4 defense] can definitely stop the run," Long added. "We just have to do our techniques right and then we can stop the run. A lot of times when you see us get run on, we are just not playing techniques right. We just need to do that [today] and we will be fine."

The key to the game might not lie in Virginia's defense, but rather with its offense.

Minnesota's most glaring weakness is its defense, which allowed an average of 433 yards and 34.1 points per game against Big Ten foes.

Like he has in most games this season, quarterback Marques Hagans is expected to be the key. Hagans passed for 2,134 yards this season and 12 touchdowns (nine in UVa's wins; three in the five losses).

Mason admitted on Thursday that he had not faced a quarterback comparable to Hagans this season. In fact, Mason said he has not faced a signal caller with Hagans' athletic ability since playing against former Indiana University QB Antwaan Randle El.

"I say that because it's not just an athlete that's taking the snap from center and has abilities to do things. [Hagans is] a darn good quarterback," Mason said. "Besides throwing and the mobility, [Hagans and Randle El] have that unique ability that when you think you have got them and then you don't, that's when really something bad happens. And it's not just him pulling the ball down running, sometimes he will pull it down and run, and sometimes he will pull it and stop and throw it deep."

While Minnesota's defense may struggle containing Hagans, the poor stats the Golden Gophers posted this season had more to do with their opponents according to UVa right tackle Brad Butler.

Minnesota's four losses came against Wisconsin, Ohio State, Iowa and Penn State. Those four powerhouses combined to go 35-10 this season.

"They have had a tough schedule this year and had to play tough teams," Butler said. "They are a big, strong, tough group. Anytime you go against a group like that, you know that they are not going to quit. They are going to play the whole game. This is going to one of those games that's going to go down to the wire.

"I don't think anybody is going to jump out to a 24-0 lead and the game is just going to be over with right there."

 

Cavs' Hagans came close to being a QB in the Big Ten
Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
December 30, 2005

NASHVILLE - If things had gone a certain way, Minnesota coach Glen Mason might have seen a lot more of Virginia quarterback Marques Hagans in the last four years.
Hagans originally committed to Indiana in 2000 to be the heir apparent to Antwaan Randle El, the versatile, shifty quarterback who gave Big Ten defenses fits for four years.

Hagans didn't qualify academically coming out of Hampton High, however, and instead enrolled at Fork Union Military Academy not far from Charlottesville. The Cavaliers recruited him out of FUMA and he joined UVa in 2001.

Mason said his Gophers haven't seen a quarterback quite like Hagans this season, but he remembers clearly - though not exactly fondly - of Randle El's exploits against the Gophers. That's why Hagans worries him.

"It's not just an athlete who is taking the snaps under center who has the ability to do things," Mason said. "It's a darn good quarterback. They add a dimension. Besides throwing and mobility, they've got that unique ability that when you think you've got them, you don't. That's when something really bad happens."

Conference call

Wide receivers coach John Garrett and quarterbacks coach Mike Groh will jointly call the plays for the Cavaliers in today's game, filling the void of former offensive coordinator Ron Prince, who earlier this month took the head coaching job at Kansas State.

Garrett, as he has all season, will continue to coach from the box while Groh will stand on the sidelines.

Experience aplenty

Today's game features three players with some of the longest current starting streaks in country. UVa defensive end Brennan Schmidt will make his 51st career start.

Meanwhile, Minnesota center Greg Eslinger and guard Mark Setterstrom will start their 50th straight game. All three have started every game they've played in college.

Only LSU offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth, who has started 51 straight games, has a longer streak in Division I-A.

Four Virginia players will tie a school record by starting their fourth straight bowl game. That group includes Schmidt, kicker Connor Hughes and offensive tackles D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Brad Butler (E.C. Glass). Three Cavaliers - punter Will Brice, guard Jeremy Raley and linebacker Jamie Sharper - started four straight bowl games from 1993-96.

One is enough

Injured safety Nate Lyles helped put UVa over the top in the rib-eating contest between select members of the two schools on Tuesday. Virginia won 45-44, with the 197-pound Lyles more than holding his own with his heftier teammates, offensive linemen Brian Barthelmes, Ian-Yates Cunningham and Butler.

It wouldn't surprise many if the score of today's game was as high-scoring as that contest. Virginia head coach Al Groh, who is overseeing the defense in Al Golden's absence, wouldn't mind.

"We would take 99-98," Groh said. "That's all you come for in the postseason is to have one more than the other guy."


 

Coach Mason has fair share of stress, too
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
December 30, 2005

NASHVILLE
Virginia's Al Groh isn't the only coach in the Music City Bowl dealing with stress over issues other than today's game. Minnesota's Glen Mason has his share of pressures, too.

Groh, of course, has put recruiting and hiring replacements for his offensive and defensive coordinators, on the backburner until after the game. Mason can't seem to escape questions surrounding his contract, which has one year remaining, but negotiations about a new deal have snagged.

Mason spent much of his time with media on Thursday dancing around his contract and tried to concentrate on the football game.

It's quite obvious that Mason's Golden Gophers are going to attempt to play ball control offense with the nation's No. 2 rushing offense, the No. 5 total offense in the country. If that means Minnesota's time of possession keeps Virginia's offense off the field, all the better for the Gophers.

Struggling defense

You see, as good as Minnesota's offense may be (No. 10 nationally in scoring), the Gophers' defense isn't much to e-mail home about. Out of 117 teams in Division I-A football, Minnesota ranks 87th and has given up an average of 34 points in games against quality opponents this season.

So, a scoring battle favors the Gophers, even though Mason wouldn't admit it just before his team had its walk through at the Coliseum, home of the NFL's Tennessee Titans.

"I like those defensive battles to be honest," Mason said, trying to avoid the subject.

Minnesota has scored 40+ points on six occasions this season. But in four losses over the last seven games, opponents scored 52, 45, 44, and 38 points, all against Big Ten competition.

It's just another example of why the Gophers have struggled to break into the elite of their conference after nine years of Mason's direction. The success hasn't been built on smoke and mirrors even though Mason feels like he's winning with players overlooked by the Michigan's, Ohio State's and Penn State's of the world.

Recruiting woes

"Every year since I've been there, we've been ranked probably 10th or 11th [in the Big Ten] in recruiting," Mason said. "We never finish 10th or 11th though. So, what does that mean? It means one of two things."

Mason waited for a nearby scribe to take the bait.

"Either you're coaching 'em up, or ..."

The sportswriter never got to finish. Mason wouldn't let him.

"I'll go with that one," Mason interrupted, laughing. "Or it means it's a bunch of hoo hoo anyway."

While he believes there's good high school football in the state of Minnesota, he doesn't think there's enough players around, so the recruiting has to expand into other states. But he also realizes he can't recruit nationally, so when the rest of the college football world clamors over hotshot high school quarterback Tim Tebow out of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Mason doesn't flinch.

"I don't waste one 37-cent stamp because he's not going to look at us," Mason said. "We don't get into recruiting battles like that. We're always looking for the guy who has some upside potential."

Such is the case with All-American center Greg Eslinger, winner of both the Outland and Rimington trophies. Eslinger is from Bismark, North Dakota, not exactly a hotbed of high school football recruiting.

He indeed takes these kids who aren't highly recruited and does coach 'em up, enough to put the Gophers in four consecutive bowl games, the longest such streak in Minnesota history.

While much of the football world is going with spread offenses and posting magical passing numbers, Mason admits he's a bit old-fashioned. He likes the running game, sprinkled with enough passing to keep defenses honest.

But he learned a long time ago that passing numbers are normally losing numbers.

"All this hasn't happened overnight," Mason said. "When I first went to Kent State in 1986, it was a losing program. I studied the programs [statistically] around the country that were losing at the time."

The common denominators that jumped at him were: a) those teams couldn't run the football; and, b) couldn't play any defense.

Many of them were lighting up the passing statistics, but losing.

When he moved to Kansas shortly afterward and eventually lost to George Welsh's Virginia teams 59-10 in 1990, and 31-19 in 1991, he began to build a running game.

"When I got to Kansas they couldn't run the ball the length of this table," Mason said. "The first play we put in was the I isolation and in our first scrimmage we ran 60 plays, 58 of them were isolation. Same thing when we got to Minnesota. Of the 117 rushing teams in the country, Minnesota was probably No. 117. We weren't very good to begin with but we stuck with it."

And how.

That is Virginia's biggest worry going into today's showdown at high noon (Eastern time). Stopping a sophisticated running attack that features an athletic offensive line led by Eslinger and two 1,000-yard rushers.

"We don't have a lot of plays," Mason said. "We run the inside zone, the outside zone and the toss. But there's a lot of different blocking [schemes] that goes on in there."

Including Eslinger pulling out and leading the toss, taking out a linebacker, sometimes a free safety, acting more like a fullback than a center.

It's all about fundamentals as far as the Minnesota coach is concerned.

"I think there's two types of coaches," he said. "There's the schemers and the fundamentalists. Fundamentalists win games because they teach blocking, tackling, and holding onto the ball. Bottom line is, I don't care what kind of offense or defense you're running, if you're fundamentally sound, you're pretty good.

"If you're not, I don't care what you're doing, you're not going to be good unless you just have superior athletes like some of those national teams that we all know," Mason said.

Both Virginia and Minnesota are pretty fundamentally sound heading into today's slam dance. Old-fashioned football will probably get the job done.

Some may describe it as boring football, but what's ever been boring about winning?