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Special Features
Virginia's loss to North Carolina on Thursday night bumped the Hoos out of bowl contention and left the team with one final game - the rivalry showdown with Virginia Tech. It also exposed a defensive area that, simply put, needs to be addressed beginning as soon as spring practice starts. Receiver screens. The Sunday Sampler looks at that and much, much more.
The Virginia Cavaliers dominated the final 11:38 of the game and for the fourth time in his career quarterback Michael Rocco led the Cavaliers on a game-tying or game-winning drive in UVa's 41-40 victory over the University of Miami. The win was the fourth of the season and kept the Hoos' slim postseason hopes alive.
The theme of the week: Restart a Charlottesville streak. Virginia dominated North Carolina in Charlottesville from 1981-2008, winning every meeting at Scott Stadium. The Tar Heels finally broke their curse in 2010, however, with a 44-10 victory. The Cavaliers and older alums would love nothing more than to restart a streak of Charlottesville losing for the Heels this season.
After holding Fairfield to 15 points in the second half of a 54-45 victory Monday night, the Virginia Cavaliers (1-1) return to the court Tuesday night to face the Delaware Blue Hens (1-1) with a trip to Madison Square Garden on the line. Will the Wahoos finish this game in an Empire State of Mind, or will they lose their second game of the season to a CAA opponent? Find out in the Delaware Primer.
That. Just. Happened.
Virginia pulled out a heart-stopping last-second win against Miami on Saturday, 41-40, giving the Hoos back-to-back wins in November. The drama concluded with a Michael Rocco to Jake McGee touchdown pass that caused Scott Stadium to erupt. Breaking it down will be a true pleasure.
After a tough, season-opening loss to George Mason, 63-59, at the Patriot Center, the Virginia Cavaliers return to Charlottesville to square off against the Fairfield Stags of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in the opening round of the Preseason NIT. Can the Cavs turn things around with a win, or will they fall to 0-2 on the season? Find out in the Fairfield Primer.
In many ways Virginia's 41-40 victory over Miami on Saturday was a lesson in resilience. The Cavaliers faced several moments, including a 10-point fourth quarter deficit and a late safety during an attempted rally, that could have caused them to fold. They didn't. Then there were many of the individual stories that made winning possible.
The Virginia football team needed a fourth-quarter rally to take down Miami 41-40 on Saturday, but with the win the Hoos have won two straight games. Look back at the victory against the Hurricanes with photos of Michael Rocco, Dominique Terrell, Eli Harold, and more in this gallery! Photo galleries are free on TheSabre.com!
The Virginia football team looks to win two straight games for the first time since September when Miami comes to town Saturday. The Hoos opened the season with back-to-back wins against Richmond and Penn State before a six-game losing streak hit the books. The Cavaliers bounced back after the bye week with a convincing victory against NC State last weekend and they hope to add another one this time around. The Watch List takes a look at a few wrinkles that could appear in the UVa-Miami matchup.
In my grade and trend report last this week I said "I believe Virginia is looking at the losing end of another game with a 31-17 loss." That's why they play the game. In winning in Raleigh for the first time since 1999, Virginia dominated with the run, was efficient with its passing game and finally found a way to force more turnovers than it gave away. Let's look at the grades and prepare for the matchup with Miami.
A season after a convincing 68-48 victory over George Mason in the friendly confines of the John Paul Jones Arena, the Virginia Cavaliers travel up U.S. 29 to open the 2012-2013 season against Paul Hewitt's squad at the Patriot Center. Will the Hoos notch another victory against their northern Virginian neighbors, or will Hewitt record his first win against Tony Bennett? Find out in the George Mason Primer.
Build on that. The goal this week simply has to be "build on that NC State win." After all, there were some positive signs against the Wolfpack. With the Coastal Division leaders coming to town, the Hoos simply want to avoid a step backward against Miami. Let's take a close look at the match-up against the Hurricanes.
Whew, we really needed a win, didn't we? Yes, we did. It always is a little nicer to break down a win compared to a loss, something that I quickly remembered the last couple of days as I dug into the NCSU win. Here are a few Things I learned from the Cavaliers' 33-6 victory against NC State.
"Doubt is a thief that often makes us fear to tread where we might have won," Shakespeare wrote. Two conflicting forces - confidence and doubt - play huge roles in sports. And at no time is there greater doubt for a team than during a losing streak. So I believe one of the hardest things in coaching is to keep a team focused, working, and believing during a string of losses. The challenge grows with every setback. That was the task facing Mike London and the Virginia football program.
The Virginia football team resumes play this week with a trip to Raleigh, a location where UVa is 8-16 all-time against NC State. Can the Hoos find a way to win against the Wolfpack and snap a six-game losing streak? The weekly Watch List article takes a look at some in-game details that could impact the outcome from both sides of the ball.
Tyrone Lewis played in two different schemes for two different coordinators at Virginia, manning a defensive back position in both a 5-2 and 4-3 defense. The scheme didn't matter much, though. Lewis and his fellow teammates in the secondary were a fierce group of competitors that proved to be a force to be reckoned with while wearing the orange and blue. Lewis answered some questions about playing safety for TheSabre.com's "Ask the Experts" series.
The Virginia football team is looking for a bye week boost. And there's a lot at stake for the Cavaliers as they prepare for NC State after an open date on the calendar. UVa has lost six straight games to stand at 2-6 on the season and another loss mathematically eliminates the team from postseason play. Further, this group is trying to avoid becoming the first Cavalier team since 1981 to lose seven straight games. UVa coach Mike London said that the Wahoos "desperately" want to win a game and that they used the bye week to focus on improving things that can help get them back in the win column.
A superb effort by the Virginia defense was not enough to overcome bad specials teams play, turnovers, penalties, dropped passes, and stalled drives. Yep, we've seen this movie before. For grading purposes, I held Virginia's offense and special teams responsible for 13 of Wake's 16 points. Sorry defense. Let's break down the grades against the Deacons, compare this season's grades to last season, and look at some trends that could be a factor against NC State.
The Virginia men's basketball team lost quite a bit of experience and production from the 2012 NCAA Tournament team. Gone are Mike Scott, Sammy Zeglinski, and Assane Sene. Plus, for the start of the season at least, Jontel Evans will be coming back from fall surgery. Yes, those four players started many of the game last season. The Cavaliers hope a pair of small town shooters can help the program sustain success while a talented, though young, roster finds its way.
UVa secured a talented class of recruits in the 2012 class, but Justin Anderson, Taylor Barnette, Evan Nolte and Mike Tobey weren't the only key acquisitions for the Cavaliers this past offseason. There was also 6'8", 230-pound power forward Anthony Gill, who at this time last year was preparing for his freshman season at the University of South Carolina.
I caught up with Gill at UVa basketball's media day several weeks ago, and he addressed his transfer and many other topics.
Virginia lost its sixth straight game this past weekend, falling to Wake Forest on Saturday 16-10. This was a tough one, no question. Tough for the team, tough for the coaches, tough for the fans. Even worse, it was a tough loss - in a very winnable game - going into a bye week. So everything that we break down, just like everything the team breaks down, is going to linger.
From the opening kickoff of Virginia's 16-10 loss to Wake Forest on Sunday, changes were evident on special teams as the Hoos unveiled a different alignment to receive that kick. Unfortunately, the scheme shift was more sanguine than successful as a multitude of errors proved costly again on special teams. The Sunday Sampler takes a closer look at that and the game against the Demon Deacons.
Another week, another read option team. The Virginia football team welcomes Wake Forest to Charlottesville this weekend and the Demon Deacons will bring variations of the popular spread offense and read option schemes to town. What are some other wrinkles this week with Wake? The Watch List takes a peek at some items to keep an eye on this week as UVa tries to snap a five-game losing streak.
In high school, Eli Harold admits, it was easy to rush the quarterback. He often was just faster or stronger than the opponent so he could get into the backfield and make plays regularly for Ocean Lakes High School. Now a college freshman at Virginia, things aren't as simple, but the elite recruiting prospect is starting to catch on now.
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