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Special Features
The Virginia football team led early, but gave up 34 unanswered points as Louisiana Tech stormed ahead. A late Cavalier rally came up short Saturday and the Bulldogs prevailed 44-38. Check out 40 free photos from the game, including a look at the retro uniforms worn in recognition of halftime honoree Frank Quayle.
The Virginia football team enters this week's contest with Louisiana Tech with a 2-2 record. The Cavaliers would like to end their two-game skid with a win, but that won't be an easy task. The Bulldogs have one of the nation's highest-scoring offenses. Of course with Tech's shaky defense on the other side of the ball, the media has been forecasting a potential shootout this week at Scott Stadium. Take a look at the "Watch List" to prepare for some wrinkles to monitor during the game.
Neither offense nor defense showed well against TCU and some old ghosts like dropped passes, missed tackles and poor execution haunted the Hoos. In this report I'll take a look at three trends that have affected Virginia's play over the last few weeks and I'll look at how poor tackling, assignment football and an improving running game could impact Virginia's game against Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
Deja vu? For the second straight season, the Virginia football team enters the fifth game at Scott Stadium with a 2-2 record and a WAC opponent on the docket. Last season, the Cavaliers pulled out a 21-20 overtime win against Idaho and that jumpstarted a 6-2 finish to the regular season. Can the Hoos get some momentum going again with 2011 WAC Champion Louisiana Tech in town?
There were a few things to take out of Virginia game against TCU, even if not nearly as many as anyone - coach, player, or fan - would have liked. In what always set up as a challenging season, going on the road to TCU certainly qualified as a challenge, but there are a few things worth discussing from the game ... and that is the task before us.
There's a disturbing trend developing for Virginia's defense this season: giving up big scoring plays. The Cavaliers allowed another huge touchdown play against TCU on Saturday in a 27-7 loss. Horned Frog receiver Brandon Carter sprinted to a 68-yard touchdown reception that put the Hoos behind on the scoreboard in the first quarter and they trailed the rest of the way. The Sunday Sampler takes a look at that and more in the aftermath of the TCU loss.
The Virginia football team travels to Fort Worth on Saturday to face a fast and tough Texas Christian squad. Throughout the week, much of the discussion has focused on TCU's strong defense that shuts down the run and makes it hard to score. But the Horned Frogs offers some other challenges too and this week's Watch List article takes a closer look.
There really is no other way to say it, Virginia got beat in every phase of Saturday's contest with Georgia Tech. Out-coached, out-hustled and out-played. The Yellow Jackets were more physical too. JHoo's weekly column had it right when he wrote that this was a brutally difficult mismatch, especially the Tech spread-option against the inexperienced UVa defense. Can the Hoos regroup for TCU? Let's take a look at the grades and some things to keep tabs on in Texas.
For an offense that is struggling in several areas, Fort Worth isn't ideally where you'd start a search for answers. Fort Worth, after all, is home to the Texas Christian University football team and the Horned Frogs don't make things easy on opposing offenses. In fact, it's outright hard to score on the TCU defense.
For me, it just would have been better if this week of football hadn't happened. I mean, I thought the Chicago Bears game on Thursday night was bad - it was - but Saturday wasn't much better for the Hoos. Remembering the game won't be much more fun than watching the game was over the weekend, but that's the task before us. Here are some things I learned from the Georgia Tech game.
The Virginia football team did not play well Saturday in a 56-20 loss at Georgia Tech. That's an obvious statement. As coach Mike London said in the aftermath, "There are always things when you lose a game like this, you're quick to point fingers, you've got to do this, you've got to teach that." Certainly, a long list of issues could be compiled from the defeat: poor tackling, big plays allowed, no running game, inconsistent pass blocking, turnovers ...
The Sunday Sampler dives into some of the topics.
The fears of an inexperienced defense facing Georgia Tech's spread option offense turned into nightmares for Virginia on Saturday in Atlanta as missed assignments and poor tackling led to a big-play bonanza for the Yellow Jackets. So when the UVa offense struggled for the second straight week and a shootout didn't materialize, the scoreboard turned ugly in a 56-20 loss for the Hoos.
It's been said that most teams realize the most improvement from week one to week two. Let's hope for the Cavalier offense that is more like week 2 to week 3. Aside from the three scoring drives, the Penn State game was an ugly, unimpressive performance by the Virginia offense. Of the team's 11 chartable offensive possessions, only three received an above average grade. Let's look at the grades at the trend report to prep for Georgia Tech.
Al Groh vs. Virginia. OK, that's not really the storyline for this week, though that situation does still carry some intrigue behind it for some fans. The real theme for the week from UVa's perspective, however, is two beginnings. This game it marks the team's first game on the road in 2012 and it opens ACC play for the Hoos as well.
In search of its first back-to-back winning seasons since 2004-2005, the Virginia football team opened on the right foot with a 2-0 start for the second straight year. Things get tougher this week for the Hoos as they open ACC play and hit the road for the first time as well. The Cavaliers face a powerful option attack and Al Groh's defense at Georgia Tech. Read about that, Demetrious Nicholson, Drew Jarrett, and more in this notes article.
The Virginia football team squeaked out a 17-16 win against Penn State on Saturday thanks to a late touchdown drive from the offense and quarterback Michael Rocco. Relive some of the action with this photo gallery that features 101 images of the Hoos, including Rocco, Steve Greer, Tim Smith, and more!
One week after receiving some criticism for their pass coverage performance against Richmond, Virginia's linebackers responded in a major way Saturday against Penn State. Starters Steve Greer, Henry Coley, and LaRoy Reynolds finished among the team's top four tacklers in the 17-16 win. Read about that and much more in The Sunday Sampler.
Saturday's outing against Penn State won't land in the top spot of worst offensive performances under the current coaching staff. It didn't miss by much, though. The Cavaliers struggled from the first play of the game on a day filled with penalties, turnovers, dropped passes, poor blocking, and more. So while the offense pulled a late-game rabbit out of its hat in a 17-16 win, plenty of work lies ahead for that unit this season.
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