Sabre Edge Features 
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Sabre Edge Features
The Virginia football team put together a solid all-around game in its 24-21 upset of Georgia Tech. The offense ran the ball well and the defense shut down the GT option and passing game, including a big interception from Chase Minnifield. Take a look back at the victory with 93 images of the Hoos on the 80th birthday of Scott Stadium.
In this week's edition about 287 Things I Liked About Beating Georgia Tech, we will discuss ... wait, Kris Wright is on the phone ... I'll be right back ... "Hi, Kris. What? I am only supposed to be writing 10 Things? But what if ... well, I could ... not paying me by the word for a 165,253 article? Well, okay, I understand. Got it." As I was saying, in this week's edition of 10 Things ...
It didn't take long. Just minutes after the Virginia football team finished celebrating its 24-21 victory over No. 12 Georgia Tech with fans on the field Saturday, the key question to date for the 2011 season was lobbed to coach Mike London. How can this time be different than last season's 24-19 upset of then-No. 22 Miami? It's a question that was repeated at Monday's weekly press gathering and one that likely will be the theme of the week leading up to the game with NC State this Saturday.
On the top of my note pad Saturday night I wrote 'all three phase for four quarters.' The Hoos weren't perfect but certainly, considering the opponent, Saturday's win over Georgia Tech qualifies as a complete game. Facing one of the top five offenses in the land and the first team in the NCAA to become bowl eligible for the 2011 season, winning required solid play across all three operations. That's exactly what the Cavaliers got.
At some point during Virginia's two-week hiatus, the team's former manager hit the practice fields alongside the McCue Center and played football alone. Snap, sprint out, and pitch ... to no one. Bewildered bypassers included some fellow Cavalier athletes, but Jacob Hodges didn't care. He had a mission. Get UVa ready for the vaunted triple option offense of Georgia Tech.
The Virginia football team posted a 3-2 record during the opening portion of its schedule, but lost its only ACC matchup of September against North Carolina. Nothing but league games remain the rest of the way and No. 12 Georgia Tech provides the second conference challenge for the Hoos this weekend. The Cavaliers hope that the rest and preparation of their bye week helps against the Yellow Jackets, who have rolled to a 6-0 record on the year. Let's take a closer look in the Georgia Tech Watch List.
Virginia entered the bye week with a 21-20 overtime win against Idaho. The Hoos are hoping for some more Scott Stadium success this weekend in ACC play as No. 12 Georgia Tech comes to Charlottesville. Can the Cavaliers pull off the upset to get their first conference win of 2011? Get fired up for the game with this 74-image gallery from the victory over the Vandals!
Transitions are traditionally accompanied by a period of discomfort, a period whose length is determined by one's willingness to accept its inevitable changes and adapt to a new method of attaining success. The college endeavor is one defined by "leaving the nest" and making it on our own. It's time to use our gifts and acquired endowments to become a unique individual, hopefully full of dreams and aspirations to not blend in. Through my experiences in athletics, academics and life in general, I have learned that just blending in can destroy dreams.
As expected, Virginia handled its non-conference schedule with reasonable success and a 3-1 record. William & Mary, Indiana, Southern Miss, and Idaho aren't exactly a murder's row of opponents, though, and the most challenging part of UVa's schedule remains. Seasons and records, after all, often are determined by how you do in conference games. Already 0-1 in conference play after a loss at UNC, the season-ending stretch of ACC games does not begin with an easy task. Georgia Tech brings a No. 12 national ranking and a 6-0 record to Charlottesville this week.
Thanks to a bye week on the schedule, the Virginia football team had an additional week to study Georgia Tech, a team that presents unique schemes - a triple option style on offense with a 3-4 formation on defense - on both sides of the ball. The consensus after the extra preparation time? The undefeated Yellow Jackets will be a handful when they come to Charlottesville this weekend for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.
Tearing an ACL twice within one year is frustrating. The first time whenever you have a catastrophic injury like that, you always wondering 'What now?' It was just one of those things. A freak accident. The second time I tore my ACL, I was really excited about the opportunity to play and the potential to even start this year. It was just one of those things where I guess this year just wasn't meant to be.
There's no way to ignore it. There are higher expectations for the Virginia men's basketball team this season. Experience and a growing talent pool usually lead to those sorts of things. So while the NCAA Tournament is a goal every season, the Cavaliers concede that this is their best opportunity to go dancing in Tony Bennett's tenure.
Against a team that it should beat, that game this weekend was far closer than it should have been, with an early lead fading and the home team having to find a way to pull out a win far later than really should have been necessary ...
... but enough about the Chicago Bears' win over the Panthers. We are here to talk about UVa's win over the Idaho Vandals. Now, remind me again, how did that game go?
Wins are a wonderful thing no matter how aesthetically pleasing the performance. But there was far more that gives cause for concern emanating from Saturday's overtime win over the Idaho Vandals than offering signs of hope. Maybe the most alarming observation is that five games into the season there seem to be elements of the team that are regressing rather improving. Let's take a closer look in Greg's Game Report.
When the Virginia football program signed one of the nation's top 25 recruiting classes in February, a lot of fans - hungry for success of any kind with the Hoos - immediately started to dream of what those youngsters could bring to the table this fall. Through five games, the true freshmen have piled up opportunities as UVa has posted a 3-2 record. The results, not surprisingly, have been mixed. Look no further than Saturday's 21-20 overtime win against Idaho for proof.
Former Virginia football players Marc Verica and John-Kevin Dolce have decided to continue their football careers. Verica signed with Les Cougars in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumone, France, northwest of Paris. Dolce has signed with the Indoor Football League's Tri Cities Fever in Kennewick, Washington.
Throughout the first four games of the season typically at least one operation, offense, defense or special teams has performed at a minimum, above average. For the first time this season, however, all three operations suffered numerous breakdowns and execution failures against Southern Mississippi and no unit graded out with a championship level grade. Let's look at Greg's Game Report.
When Will Hill sits down with the media Monday afternoon at the John Paul Jones Arena, it's hard not to think of Clark Kent. The studious spectacles and mild-mannered demeanor during the interview session are just reminiscent of the fictional reporter of Superman fame. Of course, Dr. David Banner may be the better comparison for football purposes.
Some losses are more painful than others, and this loss certainly qualified (particularly if one includes in the discussion how Michael Rocco's ribs feel this morning). The funny thing for me, however, was that the game was not as hard as many to breakdown, even if it was tough to swallow. Many of the problems on the day were obvious, after all, and other things that were not as obvious were, at the very least, interesting to me.
When it looked back at the game film, the Virginia football team must have lamented its third down defense during Saturday's 30-24 loss to Southern Mississippi. The Golden Eagles converted 10 of 21 chances on third down in their win and nine of those conversions came on scoring drives. The Cavaliers' inability to get off the field proved costly as they fell to 2-2 on the season.
For the second time in three weeks the Virginia football team faces the challenge of a no-huddle, spread-based attack. The Hoos handled it fairly well at Indiana, but still had to stage a late-game comeback to win 34-31. There's a marked difference between the Hoosiers and this week's opponent Southern Mississippi, though. The biggest? IU has been to nine bowl games in its history, while USM has been to nine straight bowl games and 13 in the last 14 years. In other words, the Hoos had better be on their toes this week as a program familiar with winning visits Scott Stadium for the first time. Here are a few things to monitor in the Southern Miss Watch List.
This week's contest marks the beginning of a four-game home stand for the Cavaliers. It's a four-game stretch that very well could determine the overall success of the season as the Hoos chase at least a 6-6 record and bowl eligibility. Among the next four games are two non-conference contests with Southern Miss and Idaho, two games most observers picked as needed wins if Virginia is going to reach the bowl plateau. That makes the Southern Miss game this week arguably one of the biggest of the season for UVa.
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