Your 14-7 finalPosted Oct28, 2006 at 10:19 PMBack in Roanoke, freshly sated with the best generic Mexican-American food Charlottesville has to offer, we bring you some notes and quotes from Virginia's 14-7 win against N.C. State: Clicky for our ... three ... game ... articles and Aaron McFarling's column. Notas: - N.C. State was held to its lowest point total since a 23-6 loss to East Carolina on Nov. 20, 1999 (Mike O'Cain's last game at Wolfpack coach). The Pack hadn't been scoreless entering the fourth quarter since its last shutout loss, a 14-0 decision against Baylor on Sept. 23, 1995. - This was UVa's third shutout (also UNC, Duke) and fourth first-half shutout (also Maryland) of the season. - Career bests: P Ryan Weigand, 58-yard punt; TB Cedric Peerman, 53-yard kickoff return. - WR Fontel Mines extended his team-high streak of consecutive games with a reception to 20. (Not much by way of notes today, unfortunately.) Quotas: Closing it outPosted Oct28, 2006 at 03:08 PMN.C. State ties it, Virginia unties it and Tony Franklin saves it. At least that's how it looks now, with 30 seconds left and the Cavaliers protecting a 14-7 lead with a couple kneeldowns. We're heading down to the interview rooms. Back later with postgame fun ... Third quarteringPosted Oct28, 2006 at 02:30 PMWe remain, irrevocably, stuck at 7-0 after three quarters. A few tidbits from a game sorely lacking in them: - I can only echo Aaron's halftime praise for the job Virginia's defense is doing. The run stuffers have been stout, and the pass rush has forced QB Daniel Evans to make quick and/or off-target throws. If completed, the Cavaliers are making sure, aggressive tackles. - Mike Brown has been flawless in catching N.C. State's eight punts. - What is this "to the left," "to the right" hip-hop thing with all the clapping? Between college football and World Series baseball on TV, I can't escape it lately. I feel old. (And yes, I'm turning 27 on Tuesday. In my day, we got jiggy wit' it -- and we were happy with that, dammit.) Halftime: Virginia 7, N.C. State 0Posted Oct28, 2006 at 01:33 PMChlorophyll? More like bore-a-phyll. Or punt-a-phyll. Or philcollins-a-phyll. Yep. It's early for us sportswriter types. But we still come through with "Billy Madison" ripoffs and original, totally awesome puns that make perfect sense. Here's a fact for you: In their past four ACC games the Virginia Cavaliers have given up zero first-half points. Think about that for a second. They shut out North Carolina, Duke, Maryland and now N.C. State in the first half of every one of those games. That's some serious coaching preparation on the part of defensive coordinator Mike London, and obviously some great execution of that plan by the players. Adjustments? Those have been hit or miss. We'll see what happens today. QB Jameel Sewell has been steady again. He's 5-for-9 for 60 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. He did throw one pass that could have been picked, a floater down the left sideline, but he got away with it. (He also went 0-for-4 in quarter two after 5-for-5 in quarter one.) The teams have combined for nine punts, and all three punters (John Deraney for N.C. State and Ryan Weigand and Chris Gould for UVa) are doing well. I know that's not very sexy to point out, but it's been key thus far. Nobody's gotten a short field to work with. State has outgained UVa 170-113. QB Daniel Evans is 14-for-19 for 127 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. The Cavs are 1 of 5 on third-down conversions, but the Wolfpack entered the game as the best team in the ACC preventing third-down conversions, so that's not overly surprising. Special Edition!!!Posted Oct28, 2006 at 01:15 PMA few horrible puns inspired by this afternoon's scintillating action (10 possessions, 9 punts): - Punt-oween came early for Virginia
First quarteringsPosted Oct28, 2006 at 12:49 PM- UVa leads, 7-0, after an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive highlighted by a 23-yard screen pass to Jason Snelling (blocks by Ian-Yates Cunningham and Jordy Lipsey) and a 24-yard pass on which Kevin Ogletree got inside N.C. State cornerback Jimmie Sutton, catching the ball at the 1. - The crowd is still waking up, it seems. The student section and the Hill are not nearly full -- not unusual for a noon kickoff. - Chris Long = beast so far for the Virginia defense. His 14-yard sack came after he split a double team by the left tackle and guard. - Jameel Sewell has completed all 5 of his pass attempts for 60 yards. - The Wolfpack needs to sort out its issues with penalties. Four in the first quarter and another here as the second quarter gets underway. - It is exceedingly annoying to write about a team with a collective singular nickname. - Esteemed colleague and corporate cousin Ed Miller of the Virginian-Pilot notes that the red-and-white varsity letter jacket Chuck Amato has on makes him look like an extra from "Happy Days." Offensive startersPosted Oct28, 2006 at 12:17 PMTaking over at their 25 with 2:49 elapsed, Virginia's offensive starters: 10 QB Jameel Sewell Back with more at the end of the first quarter ... Defensive startersPosted Oct28, 2006 at 12:12 PMVirginia opened in a 3-4 set and with its fourth nose tackle in as many games: 95 DE Jeffrey Fitzgerald About to startPosted Oct28, 2006 at 11:50 AMA couple things: - This is only the third time since the formation of the ACC that Virginia (3-5, 2-2) and N.C. State (3-4, 2-2) have both had losing records at the time of their meeting. (In 1966, both were 2-4; in 1971, both were 1-6.) - Redshirt freshman DE Jeffrey Fitzgerald leads the nation's freshmen with 6 sacks and 12 tackles for loss. He needs 4 sacks to tie OLB Darryl Blackstock's 2002 UVa freshman record (DE Sean Scott had 8 in 1984 and DL Stuart Anderson also had 6 in 1978). Fitzgerald needs 2 tackles for loss to tie Blackstock's team record in that category (ILB Ahmad Brooks is second with 13). - I like record watches. - Today's random segue from the UVa pregame notes: "A bronze is an alloy of copper and other metals, most often tin, but also aluminum and silicon. However, this season the Cavaliers are finding gold when they go with Copper, specifically sophomore inside linebacker Jon Copper." - The inclusion of WR Andrew Pearman is the most notable item from today's dress list. - Freshman TB Raynard Horne, the scout team player of the week, joined captains Chris Long, Deyon Williams and Marcus Hamilton for the coin toss. Virginia won it and deferred its choice to the second half. Shooting the breezePosted Oct28, 2006 at 11:48 AMAccording to weather.com, it was 63 degrees at 11:25 a.m. in Charlottesville's 22903 zip code, with 15-mph winds gusting to 26 mph. Weather.com also said it "feels like" 63 degrees, but under the overhang here in the outdoor UVa press box, it feels closer to 50. The sun hasn't been out for a while (OK, at 11:59 a.m., here it comes). I think it's safe to say that wind could be a factor today, but in which direction, you can't say. It's tougher to throw the football in windy weather, but the respective quarterbacks, redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell for the Cavaliers and sophomore Daniel Evans for the Wolfpack, would seem to be an even match. On paper, State has the stronger running game. I made my usual pregame check for injured players, but UVa has been remarkably injury-free this season. "That's giving them the kiss of death," UVa sports information official Michael Colley informed me. A couple of Roanoke-area notes that I picked up on the way to the game: Virginia linebacker Jon Copper from Northside High School was engaged Thursday to UVa student Holly Dixon, a former standout athlete at Glenvar High School. Also, there was an Alan Castro sighting on the UVa sideline during pregame warmups. Castro, prolific sophomore quarterback for North Cross, was accompanied by his father, Armando, formerly one of his son's assistant coaches in 2005 at Cave Spring. Hello, helloPosted Oct28, 2006 at 11:44 AMGreetings from Scott Stadium, where it is a lovely fall day and the Cavaliers are again wearing blue on blue on blue. N.C. State is wearing white helmets, white jerseys, white pants and red socks. Red stripes on the pant legs keep the ensembles from being quite as unitard-like as Clemson's all-white look at Lane Stadium on Thursday. [end fashion analysis] Doug's working on his epic opening (and closing) post. Back soon. High school football postponementsPosted Oct27, 2006 at 01:12 PMMagna Vista at Bassett, Saturday, 7 p.m. Will be updated as needed Your 24-7 final...Posted Oct26, 2006 at 11:55 PMWas there ever any doubt Virginia Tech would completely control this game? I mean, maybe if you listened to ESPN and all the other knuckleheads picking Clemson, you might have been led astray. But here you get good predictions. Here you get the TRUTH! Umm...OK. So maybe I picked Clemson, too. Whatever. Moving on... Credit goes all over the place tonight. Start with Branden Ore, of course, who posted his second straight 200-yard rushing performance. His 37 carries were five off the Tech record held by Cyrus Lawrence. So much for running backs coach Billy Hite's vow that he would never run a guy that much again. But hey, can you blame him? The defense has to get a bunch of kudos, too. Holding the nation's best scoring offense to seven points? Shutting down running backs James Davis and C.J. Spiller? Not bad at all. And I thought Tech's offensive line was solid throughout. One play by Brandon Frye really caught my eye. For details of that play, see tomorrow's column (shameless plug). But really, the O-line play may be the best sign of them all for the Hokies, who have to face Miami in the Orange Bowl next week. Quotes are lean tonight as the Roanoke Times staff was busy gathering material for print and follow-up stories. But here are a few thoughts from Frank Beamer: Opening thoughts: On whether Ore used the Davis-Spiller hype as motivation: On why Tech's defense was so successful: On how far Tech has come in two weeks: That's all for tonight. Join us next week, when we'll be in Miami to chronicle the next game in this zany season. Thanks for stopping by, and if you've learned nothing else tonight, it is this: My predictions smell a bit like Branden Ore's arm pits after 37 carries. Halftime: Hokies 10, Tigers 7Posted Oct26, 2006 at 08:49 PMAny lead is a good lead against this Clemson team, so the Hokies should be pleased with their three-point edge heading into the locker room. The credit goes to the Tech defense, which has held the nation's top scoring offense to 111 total yards (Tech has 164 total yards). James Davis (22 yards, 7 carries) and C.J. Spiller (19 yards, 6 carries) haven't gotten much going yet. Meanwhile, Tech TB Branden Ore has 108 yards on 19 carries. He had some strong words before this game about who the best tailback in the ACC was -- so far, he's backing them up Tech dodged trouble late in the half. After QB Sean Glennon fumbled to give Clemson the ball in Tech territory, Tigers QB Will Proctor turned right around and fumbled a snap, and Tech's Barry Booker recovered. Because Clemson had used all three of its timeouts in the first 7:05 of the game, Tech was able to run most of the clock out. Still haven't seen backup QB Ike Whitaker yet, and we probably won't as long as Tech still leads or the margin either way is thin. Roanoke native Lee Suggs in in the house tonight. The former Tech and Cleveland Browns running back was cut by Miami several weeks ago. He was honored in between quarters as part of the NFL Flashback, whatever the heck that is. Either way, good to see him again. Hokies grab 10-7 leadPosted Oct26, 2006 at 08:44 PMNice field position -- starting at the Clemson 49 -- sets up a 10-play, 29-yard drive culminating in a 37-yard Brandon Pace field goal. TB Branden Ore had a nice run on third-and-2 that helped keep the drive alive -- running through a couple of defenders. Guard Ryan Shuman will not return to the game, according to the Tech sports information folks. 11:36 to go in the second, Tech 10, Clemson 7. First quarter ends: Tech 7, Clemson 7Posted Oct26, 2006 at 08:32 PMNot a bad job so far by the Tech defense, which has made Clemson earn everything it's gotten. The Tigers' touchdown drive required two third-down conversions and 11 plays. If the Hokies can keep avoiding the big strike, they'll be in this one until the end. Branden Ore had a nice drive last series after struggling on Tech's first possession. CouragePosted Oct26, 2006 at 08:29 PMGutsy call by Frank Beamer early, going for it on fourth-and-inches inside his own territory. QB Sean Glennon picked up two yards on the keeper, then later scored on a 1-yard keeper to tie it at 7. Branden Ore had a 40-yard run on the 84-yard drive -- the longest drive against Clemson this season. First quarter winding down, Tech 7, Clemson 7. Shuman hurtPosted Oct26, 2006 at 08:18 PMStarting left guard Ryan Shuman is helped off the field...we'll get you an update if we get one. Clemson on the board...Posted Oct26, 2006 at 08:15 PMTwo third-down conversions keep Clemson's second drive going, and James Davis caps it with a 6-yard run around left end. Clemson leads 7-0 with 6:09 to go in the first. Branden Ore got nothing going on Tech's first drive, a three-and-out. Let's see if that changes here... Greetings from Blacksburg...Posted Oct26, 2006 at 06:31 PMAbout an hour until kickoff here at Lane Stadium as Clemson and Virginia Tech loosen up on the field. Man, this should be fun. I expect an atmosphere we haven't seen here in at least two years. A lot of Clemson fans walking around the parking lots, or so it seemed when I walked by them about an hour ago. Of course, with all the orange here it's tough to know just by scanning the stands. Caught Shanna the Forecasting Cow this week. She says: Tech 20, Clemson 17. That's the same score ACC guru and Virginia beat man Doug Doughty had, except he had Clemson winning. I picked the Tigers in the paper because they're better. That doesn't mean I'm confident they'll win, though. I'm very flimsy on that pick, just as I have been with most of my Tech-related picks this year. We should know after the first quarter whether Tech has a shot tonight. It'll be pretty simple -- is Branden Ore finding any holes? If he is, the Hokies have an excellent shot. But nothing we've seen out of this offensvie line in big games (Georgia Tech, BC) has given us reason to believe it will happen. The big boys looked good last week against Southern Miss, which I'm sure was good for their confidence, but if they start the game with the same familiar problems -- poor protection, missed run blocks -- then everything could revert to the form shown in the BC game, and Clemson would be in total control. The Hokies are wearing their all-maroon uniforms -- something they kept under wraps all week. The last time they wore these was in 2003. Clemson is in all white. Typical night game blog plan this evening -- I'll definitely have something at halftime and after the game, plus any injury news or quick thoughts. UPDATE: A few quick notes handed to me by the friendly Tech sports information staff: -Tailback George Bell was a late addition to the Hokies' dress squad. He is expected to play only in an emergency. Bell has missed the past five games, resting his bothersome knees. He was encouraged to give up the sport by running backs coach Billy Hite, but Bell has decided to tough it out...Can you imagine the story if he does something tonight? -The Hokies went 4-1 in all maroon in 2003 against Texas A&M (win), Syracuse (win), Miami (win), Boston College (win) and the Insight Bowl against Cal (loss). Thoughts from Martinsville Cup weekendPosted Oct23, 2006 at 11:59 AMDale Earnhardt Jr. blew a golden opportunity--perhaps his last of the season--to make up a ton of ground in the Chase. With points leader Jeff Burton sidelined early with a blown engine and other Chase contenders--Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth--never getting a whiff of the top five, this was Earnhardt's chance to capitalize. Your 36-6 finalPosted Oct21, 2006 at 10:55 PMSolid game all around for Virginia Tech, which got a career-high 207 yards from tailback Branden Ore and six sacks out of its defense to turn away Southern Miss. Coach Frank Beamer talked a lot about pride after the game. The Hokies got some back tonight, no doubt. It wasn't just the win, but the way they won that mattered. At least that's what I'll argue in my column in tomorrow's paper. Oh, and Ike. Yes, we saw Ike -- or at least those of us who weren't staring at our keyboards trying to make deadline saw Ike. Whitaker finished 2-of-5 passing for 14 yards, no touchdowns and no intereceptions. His best play was an 18-yard run on fourth down that kept Tech's last touchdown drive going. Beamer said he likes the extra dimension Whitaker can bring the offense and mentioned that the coaches would talk tonight about how to get him involved in the coming games. No extensive quotage tonight because of the looming deadline, but here's a keeper from Beamer: "They still winnin'?" That was the coach's question about Clemson, which was still playing at the time of the press conference and went on to shell Georgia Tech 31-7. What a challenge those Tigers are going to pose Thursday night, and Beamer said the preparation would begin immediately. Not much else to say about this one. Strong win, gritty win, classy win. And now comes the hard part. Xavier Adibi shaken up...Posted Oct21, 2006 at 09:28 PMearly in the fourth quarter for the second time tonight. Tech assistant sports information director Bryan Johnston reports that both incidents were stingers, and the linebacker will not return tonight. Halftime--Virginia Tech 19, Southern Miss 6Posted Oct21, 2006 at 08:26 PMThe Ike Whitaker experience didn't last long, as he was in for one series that went three-and-out. Whitaker threw a short pass to tight end Sam Wheeler for a 2-yard gain on first down, handed off to Branden Ore on second down for two more and lost three yards on a designed run on third down. On the first play of Tech's next drive, Sean Glennon had his "Remember Me?" moment, hitting Josh Morgan for a 38-yard touchdown pass. Tech's oft-criticized offensive line isn't having many problems with this undersized Southern Miss defensive front. What Glennon has confirmed so far tonight is that if he has time to throw, he can hit his targets. The interception kept came not under duress, but as he was rolling to his left and didn't get enough on the throw. This begs the question: Will this line show enough improvement to block Clemson and Miami at least long enough for Glennon to set his feet? If it can, I think you definitely stick with Glennon. If you can't...well, then you have to give Whitaker a closer look. Oh, perhaps we should mention that Branden Ore has 93 yards on 14 carries and that Tech's defense has caused two fumbles. The other good news for the Hokies: Punter Nic Schmitt has pinned Southern Miss deep on both of his punts. That's an area where Tech has struggled in the past few games. And without further delay, the announcement of your homecoming queen: Amy Gray, an English major from Chester, Va. The king is Sumeet Bagai of Vienna, Va. Seriously, I had no idea they did that in college. There was a tiara and everything. Congrats to the winners. Ike Whitaker is in the gamePosted Oct21, 2006 at 07:57 PMJust entered with about 11 minutes to play in the second quarter. First quarter thoughts--Virginia Tech 7, Southern Miss 6Posted Oct21, 2006 at 07:00 PMBryan Stinespring quieted everyone for the moment by unleashing Sean Glennon's arm on the first play from scrimmage, and the quarterback connected with Eddie Royal for a 40-yard gain. Since then, it's been a steady diet of Branden Ore, who has 36 yards on seven carries through the first quarter. There was a smattering of boos when Glennon threw an interception late in the period. Greetings from Blacksburg...Posted Oct21, 2006 at 06:28 PMRoughly 30 minutes to kick here at Lane Stadium as Virginia Tech and Southern Miss get in their final warmups. It's a brisk night with a light breeze -- really good football weather, if you ask me. The Hokies look like they'll go off as a 16 1/2-point favorite, which seems a bit high after their performances the past two games. We'll see. As usual, the two people who will be under the most scrutiny tonight will be quarterback Sean Glennon and offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring. Both could really use a good night to quiet the critics for at least one more night. And, of course, it will be interesting to see how much backup QB Ike Whitaker plays tonight -- he seemed pretty sure during the week that he'll see some action. Missed Shanna the Forecasting Cow on the way in tonight, although she lost some credibility when she picked the Hokies to beat Georgia Tech. Then again, a lot of us did. Typical night game fplan or the blog -- we'll take you up to halftime and then probably leave you on your own until after the game. Your 23-0 finalPosted Oct19, 2006 at 11:41 PMSorry, kiddos, no postgame quotes from me. Deadlines prevented Aaron and me from joining the fun downstairs in the interview room. But here are some notes on Virginia's 13th straight home win against UNC, courtesy of the UVa media relations staff: - As reported by The Blog, today was QB Jameel Sewell's 19th birthday. - This was Virginia's second shutout of the season (also Duke) and the third time (182 yards) it has held an opponent under 200 yards (also Duke, Western Michigan). - This is the first time the Cavaliers have shut out 2 ACC opponents since 1990 (Duke, N.C. State). - Since 1996, UVa has 21 rushing touchdowns against UNC. The Tar Heels have only 5 in those games. - Career high: RB Jason Snelling's 131 rushing yards on 19 carries. - Career firsts: ILB Antonio Appleby's huge second-quarter sack, CB Chris Cook's first-quarter forced fumble. - Career long: TB Cedric Peerman's 19-yard run on the final drive of the first half. - DE Jeffrey Fitzgerald's sixth sack of the season ties him for third on Virginia's season list for freshmen. Darryl Blackstock had 10 in 2002, Sean Scott had 8 in 1984 and Stuart Anderson had 6 in 1978. - PK Chris Gould's 31-yard field goal in the first quarter made him 7-for-7 inside 40 yards this season. He is 4-for-9 beyond that distance, including a pair of 43-yard makes tonight. - WR Fontel Mines has a catch in 19 consecutive games, the longest streak of any current Cavalier. Halftime thoughts: Virginia 9, North Carolina 0Posted Oct19, 2006 at 09:17 PMYou want action? You want thrills? You want excitement? Hey, I do too. Instead we've got this. From the Virginia perspective, though, that was a strong half. The defense came up with the big plays when it needed to -- a forced fumble by Chris Cook here, a drive-crippling sack by Antonio Appleby there -- to rid itself of the memories of Saturday's second half against Maryland, when it couldn't stop the Terps at critical moments. Quarterback Jameel Sewell is 11-for-18 for 92 yards, but he's seen four catchable balls fall incomplete. The one Kevin Ogletree couldn't handle over the middle in the first quarter looked like it could have gone for six. Sewell's UNC counterpart, Cam Sexton, has completed three passes -- and two of them were for negative yardage. I'm a little surprised UVa's throwing the ball on first down as often as it is. Carolina is ranked 113th in the Division I-A in rushing defense, and Jason Snelling had little problems finding running room when he did get the ball. Snelling gained 61 yards on 11 carries for a 5.5-yard average. Cedric Peerman has the longest running play of his career, a 19-yarder that led to UVa's final field goal. Let's just say there's probably nobody in that UVa locker room relaxing after what happened last week. Jim Reedy will have the postgame blog for you with thoughts from players and coach Al Groh. 1Q thoughtsPosted Oct19, 2006 at 08:17 PMFirst-quarter odds and ends: - The Virginia offense looked good on the opening possession, motoring 65 yards before stalling at the UNC 13. (A missed block by TE John Phillips on WR Kevin Ogletree's end-around didn't help matters.) But since then, several receivers have been plagued by the drops and the Cavaliers have twice gone three-and-out. - Ryan Weigand has indeed replaced Chris Gould as Virginia's punter. His first two efforts weren't great -- a 33-yarder out of bounds off the right side of his foot, and a very returnable, 40-yard line drive. - The 2006-07 Virginia basketball teams were introduced at the quarter break. Seniors J.R. Reynolds and Jason Cain will be captains for the UVa men. Three and outPosted Oct19, 2006 at 08:03 PMUp 3-0 after a 31-yard Chris Gould field goal on the first possession, the Virginia defense opened in a 3-4 set and forced a three-and-out: 95 DE Jeffrey Fitzgerald Note that Crawford gets the start at nose instead of Allen Billyk or Keenan Carter. Back later with some first-quarter observations ... And we're offPosted Oct19, 2006 at 07:46 PMVirginia began the game's first possession with two tight ends: 10 QB Jameel Sewell So much for superstitionPosted Oct19, 2006 at 07:15 PMVirginia had never worn blue pants, blue jerseys and blue helmets before last Saturday, when the Cavaliers lost 28-26 to visiting Maryland. That would be enough for most coaches to go back to their old color scheme, but the Cavaliers were back in all-blue for tonight's ESPN game with North Carolina. Virginia has 95 players in uniform, which speaks to the kind of year it has been for the Cavaliers, who have been remarkably injury-free. Only wide receiver Andrew Pearman and linebacker Denzel Burrell are not in uniform and Pearman has started running again after arthroscopic knee surgery. With 23 minutes to go before game time, both teams have now retreated to the locker room. Before leaving, Virginia's whole team converged on a punt by Ryan Weigand, a 2005 junior-college transfer who has punted only once in two seasons at UVa. Head coach Al Groh's comments during the week have left every impression that he would like to divide the place-kicking and punting duties so far handled by Chris Gould. Groh said he is not disappointed with Gould's 39.8-yard average but that he hasn't been happy with the way the punts have looked and that Gould's average is at least partly attributable to some favorable rolls. One of the issues with Weigand is that he regularly takes longer to gets his punts aloft than Gould in practice, which could be interesting if the Tar Heels attempt to come after him. Hello, helloPosted Oct19, 2006 at 06:59 PMGreetings from Scott Stadium, where it is a tad humid under cloudy skies. The Cavaliers are wearing blue-on-blue-on-blue outfits, as they did last week. And if you didn't hear, it's QB Jameel Sewell's 19th birthday today. Forty-six minutes to kickoff. Back soon with more ... Your 28-26 finalPosted Oct15, 2006 at 01:46 AMHaving fled the scene of the crime, I am safely ensconced in my Roanoke apartment and ready to go to bed. But first, your long promised wrapup. It really wasn't the disaster you might think it was. Heck, the Cavaliers looked like a college football team, which hasn't always been the case this season. A good step for a team that clearly trying to find itself this season. It would be a different story if the Terps had systematically taken over the game, but by and large, they just made a handful of important plays to steal the game. Despite a pit stop at the famed Sheetz in Fishersville -- ask Doughty -- I'm too wiped out to provide much more analysis than that. But here are some notes and quotes. Read all about the game here, here, here and here, and tune in Thursday night, when we'll do this all again -- probably with a bit less hardcore blogginess, given that ESPN will be providing details to a national television audience ... Notes, courtesy of the UVa sports information gurus: Dead nowPosted Oct14, 2006 at 06:32 PMThe UVa defense can't get the ball back and Maryland closes out a 28-26 win. I'm heading down for postgame interviews. We'll have more for you in a bit. Not dead yetPosted Oct14, 2006 at 06:24 PMA nice punt return by Mike Brown immediately precedes a 44-yard TD strike from Jameel Sewell to Kevin Ogletree. On the 2-point conversion, though, Maryland CB Josh Wilson jarred a catch away from Ogletree, and the visitors maintain a 28-26 lead. The Terps have the ball at their own 25, second-and-9 with 1:53 left. WowPosted Oct14, 2006 at 06:06 PMThe doors have officially come off. Leading 21-20 after an 84-yard touchdown drive, Maryland got another huge lift when linebacker Erin Henderson jumped Jameel Sewell's ill-advised pass to tight end Jon Stupar in the flat. Stupar couldn't make the tackle and Henderson jetted 45 yards for the Terps' fourth TD in five possessions. Sewell still has a chance, though. Virginia needs a touchdown and a 2-point conversion, and is driving with 6:13 left. The Cavs have it inside the Maryland 25. Special teams?Posted Oct14, 2006 at 05:36 PMOne minute into the fourth quarter, Virginia's lead suddenly has shrunk to 20-14: - Maryland is in the game only because Emmanuel Byers fumbled a punt, leading to a 1-yard TD drive for the Terps, and Chris Gould just had a 16-yard punt after either his leg or the ball got tipped. Maryland cashed in there, too. - Can't say enough about Jameel Sewell today. This performance (10-of-13, 171 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions) would be good for a veteran quarterback, much less a redshirt freshman. (Whither Maryland's fifth-year senior, Sam Hollenbach?) The UVa coaches have taken a lot of heat; they deserve some credit for putting Sewell in a position to succeed today. - Jason Snelling won't end up with a ton of yards today (75 on 18 carries) or a very good per-carry average, but he has been a workhorse. - The Cavaliers also have avoided penalties, drawing only 2 for 10 yards. Halftime thoughts: Virginia 20, Maryland 0Posted Oct14, 2006 at 04:52 PMOne of the great things about covering games at Virginia is that unlike most pres |
