Groh's Cavs are Gator Bowl bound
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
December 3, 2007

For the first time in 13 years, Virginia’s football team is headed to a New Year’s Day bowl game.

The Cavaliers (9-3) accepted an invitation Sunday to play Texas Tech (8-4) in the Gator Bowl, a contest held annually in Jacksonville, Fla.

Rick Catlett, the president of the Gator Bowl Association, said he was elated to welcome Virginia back - the Cavaliers’ lone previous trip to the contest was in 1991.

“Obviously, we are very excited about having Virginia because we haven’t had Virginia in a long time,” Catlett said. “They have continued to grow, coach Al Groh is doing a fabulous job there and they have a great defense.

“I don’t know that you get any better than that.”

While hope lingered into Sunday about a possible invite to the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta, UVa officials echoed Catlett’s sentiments about the pairing with the historic bowl game.

“The offer of a bid to participate in the 2008 Konica Minolta Gator Bowl is exciting and is the type acknowledgement that comes from a successful regular season,” Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage said in a statement.

“The coaching staff and players have done a great job in 2007 showing their character and work ethic. Those qualities will again be shown in the bowl game.

“Our goal is to get our fans equally excited about the game and that they will support the team by attending the January 1 game in Jacksonville.”

Cavalier fans can purchase tickets through Virginiasports.com or by calling the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-542-UVA1. The university said the ticket allocation and seating priority deadline will be 5 p.m. Dec. 5.

 

Cavaliers headed to Gator
The Gator Bowl bypasses Boston College and chooses Virginia to face Texas Tech. 4 decks.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

Virginia football coach Al Groh will take one of his teams to a New Year's bowl for the first time when the Cavaliers face Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla. on January 1.

The Gator Bowl took 21st-ranked UVa with its third choice of ACC teams, bypassing Atlantic Division champion Boston College, a 30-16 loser to Virginia Tech in the ACC championship game Saturday at 73,000-seat Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.

Gator Bowl officials have been hesitant to bring the same fan base to Jacksonville in a month's span and ticket sales of 53,212 for the ACC championship game made that an easy call this year.

As the conference champion, Virginia Tech will go to the Orange Bowl, with the Chick-fil-A exercising its second choice of ACC teams to select 15th-ranked Clemson (9-3 overall, 5-3 ACC).

Virginia, which moved up to 21st in The Associated Press poll announced Sunday, faces a Texas Tech team that is unranked but defeated No. 3 Oklahoma 34-27 in its last outing, Nov. 17.

The Red Raiders rank first in Division I-A in passing offense and, with 475.6 passing yards per game, are on the brink of their fifth consecutive NCAA passing title.

Junior quarterback Graham Harrell has completed 72.7 percent of his passes for 5,298 yards and 45 touchdowns. This week, he received the Sammy Baugh Trophy as the nation's top quarterback.

Harrell (6 foot 3, 203 pounds) ranks first in Division I-A in passing yardage per game and the Red Raiders' boast the nation's No. 1 receiver in Michael Crabtree, a 6-3, 208-pound redshirt freshman who has 125 receptions for 1,861 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Crabtree, the offensive newcomer of the year in the Big 12 Conference, is the first freshman since Georgia's Herschel Walker in 1981 to be named first-team All-America by the American Football Coaches Association.

After winning six of its first seven games, Texas Tech (8-4) lost three of its next four before upsetting Oklahoma in Lubbock, Texas.
 

U.Va. will play Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl
Virginia will try to slow down Texas Techs potent offense in the Gator Bowl.
BY MELINDA WALDROP | 247-4634
 

Virginia (9-3) will face Texas Tech (8-4) in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., in a New Year's Day matchup that will pit one of the country's top defensive players against the nation's second-best offense.

The Red Raiders, led by 1,861-yard receiver Michael Crabtree, are averaging 537 yards, behind only Tulsa's 542, and 42 points per game. Quarterback Graham Harrell has thrown for 5,298 yards and 45 touchdowns and leads the country with an average of 436 yards per game.

Harrell will go up against Virginia defensive end Chris Long, a finalist for four national awards and the ACC's defensive player of the year. He leads the league with 13˝ sacks and 18˝ tackles for loss.

Crabtree's 155 receiving yards per game are part of the Red Raiders' average of 476 passing yards, both No. 1 in the country. The Cavaliers, with injuries thinning their cornerback corps, gave up 210 passing yards per game in the regular season, sixth in the 12-team ACC.

The Cavaliers rebounded from last year's 5-7 season to come within a game of playing for the ACC championship, finishing second to Virginia Tech in the Coastal Division with a 6-2 league record.

"The coaching staff and players have done a great job in 2007 showing their character and work ethic," Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage said in a release. "Those qualities will again be shown in the bowl game."

This will be Virginia's 17th bowl trip and second to the Gator Bowl. The Cavs lost 48-14 to Oklahoma in Jacksonville in December 1991. In U.Va.'s last bowl appearance, it defeated Minnesota 34-31 in the Music City Bowl in December 2005.

Texas Tech is making its eighth straight bowl appearance and has won four of its last five bowl games.

The Red Raiders tied for third in the Big 12 South at 4-4 and finished the regular season by knocking off then-No. 3 Oklahoma 34-27. Texas Tech has 31 bowl appearances, three in the Gator. Its last bowl appearance was also a win against Minnesota, a 44-41 overtime victory in last season's Insight Bowl.

"The opportunity to play on a national stage against a great conference is one of our goals each season," Tech coach Mike Leach said in a release. The 62nd Gator Bowl will kick off at 1 p.m. at 77,000-seat Jacksonville Municipal Stadium and will be on CBS.

Virginia fans can purchase tickets by logging onto virginiasports.com and clicking on the Bowl Central link. Tickets also are available by calling 1-800-542-UVA1 or in person at the school's athletic ticket office at Bryant Hall.

 

Cavs face Raiders' air attack
Gator Bowl-bound Texas Tech's passing game is ranked No. 1.
By Garry Smits, The Times-Union


The Konica Minolta Gator Bowl didn't get its dream matchup of Texas vs. Clemson. But Jacksonville's New Year's Day bowl game promises to score big for its entertainment value as Texas Tech and Virginia were extended invitations Sunday night to play at the Municipal Stadium on Jan. 1.

Texas Tech (8-4) and coach Mike Leach will bring No. 1 passing offense in the nation to the First Coast in quarterback Graham Harrell (5,298 yards, 45 touchdown passes) and wide receivers Michael Crabtree (125 receptions) and Danny Amendola (103).

Against that kind of production, Virginia (9-3) will offer up the Atlantic Coast Conference defensive player of the year in defensive end Chris Long, who had 14 sacks, 19 tackles for losses and 22 quarterback pressures this season.

Coach Al Groh, who has guided the Cavaliers to five bowls in six years, was named the ACC coach of the year. Virginia made history this season by becoming the first NCAA Division I team to win five games by two points or less.

"This is going to be a lot of fun," said Gator Bowl Association chairman Kelly Madden. "We've got two teams who haven't been to Jacksonville in quite some time, which we hope will get their fans to buy a lot of tickets and travel here, and spark interest among our local fans."

Texas Tech fans traveled well to the 2005 Cotton Bowl and the 2006 Holiday Bowl. Virginia's bowl support has improved in recent years.

Gator Bowl Association president Rick Catlett took note that he received more than 100 e-mails Saturday from Virginia fans imploring him to choose the Cavaliers over Boston College, which lost to Virginia Tech in the ACC title game.

"From every indication we've received, Virginia's fans will perform well by buying tickets to the game and traveling to Jacksonville," Catlett said.

Each team is required to guarantee the purchase of 12,750 tickets. The payout to each team is $2.25 million.

After a steady diet in recent years of teams such as West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Florida State and Georgia Tech, the matchup should be a novelty for the First Coast.

Tech will be the first Big 12 team to play in the Gator Bowl under the terms of a four-year affiliation deal that began last year. The Gator Bowl can invite a Big 12 team twice and a Big East team twice (and can by-pass a Big East team for Notre Dame once), against an ACC team. Last year, West Virginia played Georgia Tech.

The last time a Big 12 team played in the Gator Bowl was in 1991, when Oklahoma beat Virginia 48-14.

Texas Tech has made three prior appearances in the Gator Bowl, beating Auburn 35-13 in 1953, losing to Georgia Tech 31-21 in 1965 and beating Tennessee 28-19 in 1973.

"We're excited to accept this invitation to the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl, which is one of the most prestigious and storied bowl games in college football history," said Tech athletic director Gerald Myers, in a statement posted on the school's football Web site Sunday night. "We appreciate the opportunity to display our football team ... in front of a national New Year's Day audience."

Raiders coach Mike Leach, who has guided his team to a bowl in each of his seven years in Lubbock, said his team was deserving of the invitation, after closing the regular season by beating eventual Big 12 champion Oklahoma.

"The Gator Bowl is a great reward for the efforts put forth by our staff and student-athletes this season," Leach said, according to the school's Web site.

Virginia will be making its second trip to the Gator Bowl.

"The offer of a bid to participate in the 2008 Konica Minolta Gator Bowl is exciting and is the type acknowledgment that comes from a successful regular season," Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage said.

 

Virginia: gridiron prowess
Monday, Dec 03, 2007 - 12:06 AM
By BOB LIPPER
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST

Can we now agree this has been one dynamite football campaign for our fair dominion?

Banner headlines?

Ringing bells?

Cheerleaders doing flips and pompoms shakin' on high?

The whole nine yards?

(OK, 10 yards.)

From Chincoteague to Cumberland Gap, from the supersized big-timers to the D-3 pluggers, from Bud Foster's D to Dave Clawson's O, from Al Groh's frown to Frank Beamer's "I'm tellin' you, they're scary," from Chris Long's motor to Sean Glennon's moxie, there's been something for most everyone in the commonwealth to high-five.

Virginia Tech: ACC champs, Orange Bowl-bound.

Virginia: More skin-of-their-teeth survivals than any team in history, Gator Bowl-bound.

Richmond: CAA champs, national semifinalist, still in the mix for a national title.

Hampden-Sydney: ODAC champs.

Randolph-Macon: Tied its rivals atop the standings.

Virginia Union: Played for the CIAA championship, 9-3 record.

James Madison: Made playoffs for third time in four years, lost by a point in opening round at Appalachian.

U.Va.-Wise: Finished 14th in the NAIA rankings.

And did I mention the bangup seasons for individuals? Long was voted the ACC's defensive player of the year and Groh its top coach. UR tailback Tim Hightower has gobbled real estate like Ted Turner on a binge buy in Nebraska. H-SC wideout Drew Smith caught just about everything in sight (only way he could've done more was haul in 111 balls instead of 110). VUU quarterback Lamar Little was the CIAA's offensive player of the year.

And Sean Glennon was named MVP of Saturday's ACC championship game.

This is the same Sean Glennon who lost his starting job at Tech six quarters into the season to a raw freshman. It was a raw moment, too. Glennon wasn't happy and let everyone know it. He could've gone either way. His team might've gone either way as well.

But Glennon stuck with it, never caused discord, re-emerged as co-No. 1 at quarterback with Tyrod Taylor -- his confidence intact.

"He told us we were going to need him to win the ACC," said Tech coach Frank Beamer, "and he was exactly right."

He surely was right on-target Saturday, passing for three touchdowns in the 30-16 conquest of Boston College. The last of them was a big-time throw on which Eddie Royal made a big-time catch with 7:12 left to put the Hokies ahead for the first time and for good. It took about that long for Tech to solve BC quarterback Matt Ryan and tilt the field its way.

"That first half just wasn't going right, and they were hot and they were hitting the right offensive play," Beamer said. "You know, for our guys to hang in the way they do, keep on going, it's kind of like the last five ball games."

Tech won each of those starts -- partly by pitching five fourth-quarter shutouts since the Oct. 25 collapse against BC, largely with contributions from both sides of the ball.

"At times when the defense was having trouble with Boston College, the offense would respond," Glennon said after this title win. "And early in the second half when we were having trouble moving the ball, the defense was making huge stops for us. At the end of the game, we scored when we needed to. They stopped BC when we needed to."

A few hours later in Spartanburg, S.C., Hightower and UR's defense would perform similar fourth-quarter magic. In Jacksonville, the Hokies danced in celebration of that winning formula.

"I can't tell you how proud I am of our football team," said Beamer.

Not to get all gushy/provincial here, but you could say the same for a bunch of teams within our borders this year.

 

Zeglinski playing through pain
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
December 3, 2007

It’s hard to come into the ACC as a freshman and make an immediate impact. It’s even harder when you’re not 100 percent healthy.

That has been the case for Virginia frosh Sam Zeglinski.

Zeglinski, according to sources, has a right ankle injury that has severely hampered his effectiveness.

Apparently, the Philadelphia native has chosen to play through the discomfort until the end of the season. At that point, Zeglinski will likely undergo surgery.

Zeglinski has appeared in six of the team’s seven games this year, but has only played a combined 52 minutes. Still, the pass-first point guard has managed to hand out 13 assists - the third highest total on the team.

However, Zeglinski has looked as if he’s favoring the ankle. He hasn’t seemed nearly as quick as he did during Virginia’s Elite Camp over the summer.

Fortunately for UVa, coach Dave Leitao has a few other backcourt options.

Freshman Jeff Jones has started every game alongside Sean Singletary; and walk-on Calvin Baker has played beyond most people’s expectations.

Leitao also has Mustapha Farrakhan at his disposal, although the freshman hasn’t been able to crack the rotation yet.

Zeglinski suffered sprains to both ankles during the preseason, then aggravated the one to his right at a practice the day before Virginia’s upset win at Arizona.

UVa (6-1) hosts Syracuse on Wednesday.