Football Features 
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The rest of the October schedule features home games for the Virginia football team. The Cavaliers hope some hometown magic can help stop a four-game losing streak after another road loss at Duke last week. In order to get a win, the Hoos must deal with a stout Maryland defense and an offense with a lot of variations. The "Watch List" breaks down some wrinkles to keep an eye on during this week's game.
The Hoos netted their worst combined grade average of the season as the defense, offense and special teams averaged a dismal 68.5 average. There were some bright spots with the offensive line play and Phillip Sims did some nice things in his debut, but for the most part the issues that have kept the Hoos in the loss column for four consecutive weeks simply have not gone away as we will see in this week's report.
Stop the slide. For Virginia, this week's mission is really simple. Stop a four-game losing streak. While the last three opponents during the Cavaliers' skid own a combined 14-2 record, any hopes of salvaging the 2012 season rest on finishing October with two wins in two home games. The next comes against Maryland on Saturday.
Brad Henson, Jr. has been starting on Monsignor Donovan's (Toms River, N.J.) varsity football squad since his freshman year. Now a senior and only a year away from being a student-athlete at the University of Virginia, the 6'5", 275-pound offensive lineman reflected a bit on his high school career.
Mired in a four-game slump, the Virginia football team has tried to stay positive and focused on small goals to turn the tide. For now, UVa coach Mike London said Monday during his weekly media meeting, the Cavaliers have dialed into this month and the two home games left on the October slate. The Hoos face Maryland this weekend and Wake Forest next weekend before their bye week on the schedule.
A rough few weeks, eh? No argument there. Breaking down another loss might not be the most fun task, but it is the task before us nonetheless. So let's look a few things that I learned from the Duke game this past weekend.
Fans are frustrated. Losing to Duke, improved and 5-1 or not, does that to people. Ultimately, however, the single loss isn't what has ruffled feathers so far in 2012. No, the perceived lack of improvement and margin of defeat along with some disturbing patterns six games into this season are what's truly bugging fans thirsty for sustained football success.
For the fourth straight week, the Virginia football team fell behind by at least three scores in the second half and lost in disappointing fashion. The Cavaliers continued struggling to score and lost the turnover battle again as they got beat in all phases of the game in a 42-17 loss to Duke on Saturday. The Blue Devils have three straight victories in Durham against Hoos.
Virginia has lost to Duke in its previous two trips to Durham, but this week's game is a big one for both teams' hopes of chasing down bowl eligibility. What can the Cavaliers do to snap a three-game losing streak and get back to .500 on the season? The Watch List takes a look at some of the match-up areas in Saturday's game between UVa and Duke.
We may look back Virginia's 44-38 loss to Louisiana Tech as the defining game of the 2012 season. Not so much from a won-loss perspective, but from a wake-up call perspective. Even after posting 625 yards and a 7.81 yards per play average against the 122nd ranked defense in the nation, Virginia still could not win a game on its home turf. Why not? Missed tackles, no power running game, poor pass coverage, and coaching blunders. If Saturday's game showed us anything, it shows that there is a drastic need for Virginia's rah-rah head coach to get in the faces of coaches and personnel and make some changes in who and how his team plays the game.
The Cavaliers have lost three straight games and sit below .500 on the season at 2-3 so the theme of the week appears to be "get back on track" for the Virginia football program as it searches for back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2004-2005. The recent losing skid combined with offensive struggles and turnovers has led to a week of change for the Hoos as well. Michael Rocco, who has started 18 straight games at quarterback for UVa, has been replaced by Phillip Sims, assuming a leg injury doesn't keep him out of action in Durham.
It is Duke week as Virginia heads back into conference play for the rest of the 2012 season. Of course, that's not what most of the questions were about at UVa's weekly media meeting. No, as most fans probably expected, the conversation quickly turned to the Cavalier quarterback position.
Ouch. Losses are never fun, and it is not like UVa was a big favorite to beat Louisiana Tech this past Saturday, but still ... I mean ... you know ... ouch. There is plenty for Virginia to learn coming out of this game, a game that could have been won. Let's discuss a few of those Things here.
In a game full of penalties and self-inflicted wounds for Virginia, it is only fitting that the game with Louisiana Tech on Saturday was decided on an infraction. On a day when the Hoos were flagged 16 times, a final 5-yard infraction gave the visitors a first down and the Bulldogs ran out the clock with a 44-38 victory in front of a crowd of 42,027 fans at Scott Stadium.
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.
The 2012 Fork Union Military Academy (VA) postgraduate football program features two players -- defensive tackle/offensive lineman Tyrell Chavis and tight end/defensive end Max Valles -- from the University of Virginia's 2012 recruiting class. I caught up with longtime FUMA postgrad coach John Shuman for the latest on these two, on and off the field.
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?
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