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SabreMail - Dec. 3rd, 2004 |
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Things went from bad to worse to Boise for the Virginia football team this week. First, the Cavaliers lost to Virginia Tech. Ugh. Then President John Casteen announced that UVa would not participate in a bowl that conflicted with its Dec. 13-21 final exam schedule, which ruled out its most likely suitor, the Dec. 21 Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando. Double ugh. Then, when other possibilities fell through, the Wahoos were forced to accept an invitation from the Dec. 27 MPC Computers Bowl in Idaho. Sigh. A 2,500-mile trip to play in the ACC's No. 6 bowl isn't what anyone had in mind this season, especially when Virginia was 5-0 and ranked in the top 10. A 3-3 finish crushed high hopes of an ACC title and BCS berth, but an 8-3 team ranked No. 18 surely deserved better than this. So what happened? And who's to blame? Posters presented all sorts of theories, opinions and villains over the course of an emotion-fueled week on the message boards. I offer my own take on the bowl fiasco in a column today. No doubt the discussion will continue until the snow melts in Idaho. Fortunately, Wahoo fans also have happier subjects to contemplate, such as the undefeated men's basketball team and the soccer team, now three wins away from a national championship. Those topics and more are covered in this edition of SabreMail, along with the latest recruiting news and holiday gift ideas from the SabreShop.
John Galinsky |
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Recruiting News | ||||||||||
This Week In Recruiting By Chris Horne Football recruiting...
The UVa staff has been on the road recruiting this week. Some of the remaining targets who received an in-home visit included RB Toney Baker, RB Mikell Simpson and LB Brian Cushing. Cushing has scheduled an official visit to UVa on the weekend of January 21st. His first visit will be to Louisville on December 17th. He will definitely take official visits to Miami and Southern California and may take an official visit to Notre Dame depending on how he feels about the new head coach. Simpson will head to UCLA this weekend for an official visit. Right now, Virginia and Alabama are his top two schools. If UVa misses out on Baker, I believe that will put them in excellent position for Simpson. His weekend visit to UCLA will determine whether or not UCLA joins the Tide and the 'Hoos at the top. Following this weekend's visit, Simpson has one more allotted official visit if he wants to take it. Things have been quiet on the Toney Baker front. UVa coach Al Groh visited his home this week, as did N.C. State coach Chuck Amato. UVa and N.C. State have been at or near the top of Baker's list for quite some time, and the decision could easily come down to those two schools. Don't rule out North Carolina or Tennessee, though, and Virginia Tech remains in the mix.
For more recruiting information and updates, please see Sabre Edge.
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News, Notes and Fan Discussion | ||||||||||
Reluctantly, Cavs accept bid to MPC Computers Bowl It was no secret that the Virginia fooball team wanted no part of Boise. When it was clear they couldn't go to any of the ACC's top five bowls, the Cavaliers angled for an invitation from the Independence Bowl, played in Shreveport, La., on Dec. 28. Independence officials wanted UVa, but the love match never worked out. That's because it was contingent on the MPC Computers Bowl getting another team, perhaps from the Big East, and releasing Virginia from the ACC's contractual obligation to fill one of the bowl's slots. But once the bowl's executive committee met in Boise, they decided they'd be crazy to let the Cavs go. They issued an invitation that the 'Hoos could not refuse, so they got a Virginia-Fresno State matchup that should be the best in the bowl's history. For more on the bowl announcement, please click the link below.
Oh, how we hate the Hokies Of course, if it wasn't for Virginia Tech, the Cavs never would have been in this bowl mess. Had they beaten the Hokies last Saturday, the Wahoos would have clinched a share of the ACC title and probably would be on their way to the Peach Bowl, if not a BCS berth. Instead, the 24-10 loss at Lane Stadium dumped Virginia down in the bowl pecking order and send Virginia Tech to a de facto ACC championship game with Miami tomorrow. It was a frustrating day for the Cavaliers, who squandered several scoring chances in the first half, then suffered a series of defensive breakdowns in the second. It was UVa's fifth loss in six years to the Hokies and put the Commonwealth Cup back in Blacksburg after a one-year stay in Charlottesville. For a recap of the Virginia Tech loss, please click the link below.
Pearman nominated for Dudley Award Each year the Virginia football coaches have to nominate one player for the Dudley Award, which goes to the top player in the state. Sometimes that's a tough decision. This year it was probably pretty easy.
Randall probably will win the honor, but Pearman has had a superb senior season. In 11 games, he has rushed 186 times for 985 yards, caught 26 passes for 381 yards, returned 28 punts for 314 yards and returned four kickoffs for 164 yards. He has scored 11 touchdowns (nine rushing, one receiving, one punt return) and leads the ACC by a wide margin with 167.6 all-purpose yards per game. He even has four tackles on special teams. Pearman also has carried the Cavalier offense in the second half of the season. Against Virginia Tech, he rushed 28 times for 147 yards, caught a 32-yard touchdown pass and added 64 return yards for a grand total of 243 all-purpose yards. If only Virginia had 10 more players just like him. Men's basketball stays unbeaten
In five games this season, the Wahoos have outrebounded every opponent and held each team to 60 points or fewer. Last season UVa grabbed an average of 5.3 fewer rebounds than its opponents and held just three of 31 teams under 64 points. Now that's progress. Even though their shooting has been inconsistent, their effort has been outstanding. Elton Brown already has recorded four double-doubles, including 15 points and 12 rebounds in a 48-44 triumph at Northwestern in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday. It was the fewest points the Cavs have allowed in Pete Gillen's seven years as head coach. Having earned a No. 24 ranking, Virginia will try to keep up the good work tonight against Auburn (5-0) at the Siegel Center in Richmond. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. For a recap of Virginia's win over Northwestern, click on this link.
For more information on UVa men's basketball, please see the link below.
Another Gill, another Glading in men's lacrosse class Conor Gill helped Virginia win the NCAA championship as a freshman in 1999. Billy Glading did the same as a senior in 2003. Let's hope their little brothers make the same kind of impact for the Cavaliers in the future. Gavin Gill and Danny Glading are among the 10 recruits who signed letters-of-intent with the UVa men's lacrosse team. Both will come to Charlottesville with high expectations, if only because their brothers were All-Americans, but each is a highly-regarded player in his own right. Gill is among the nation's top high school attackmen, having led his St. Paul's team in Baltimore to the MIAA championship as a junior. Glading, a midfielder, is the nation's No. 1 recruit, according to some analysts. He had 45 assists last season for Georgetown Prep in Bethesda, Md. To read about the entire men's lacrosse recruiting class, please see the link below.
Men's soccer outlasts Lobos in NCAA third-round shootout One penalty kick away from extinction, the Virginia men's soccer team survived to play another day. The fourth-ranked Cavaliers hosted No. 1 New Mexico in the third round of the NCAA tournament last Saturday, and the 1,510 fans at Klockner Stadium witnessed a game that could not have been any closer. Jeremy Barlow scored an early goal for UVa, but the Lobos (seeded 13th despite their top ranking) tied it up later in the first half and the teams ended up going scoreless the rest of the way. After two overtimes, a penalty kick shootout determined the outcome. New Mexico had a chance to win on the seventh attempt, but goalie Ryan Burke made the save. After Nico Colacula converted in the eighth round for Virginia, Burke stopped the next kick, giving the Cavaliers a dramatic victory. Virginia (18-4-1) still needs three more wins to claim the national championship. Next up is No. 17 Duke (17-5) on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Klockner. The Cavs have beaten the Blue Devils twice this season by scores of 3-2 and 3-1. For more information about UVa men's soccer, please see the link below.
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TheSabreShop.com - The Place for Wahoo Gear! | ||||||||||
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What's New on TheSabre.com? | ||||||||||
Bowl talk dominates discussion on CavTalk
Greg Waters and Mike Andrews, the co-hosts of CavTalk, discuss Virginia's bowl situation with Ed Miller of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot. Edge subscribers can listen to an archive of Tuesday's show at the link above. Sabre Edge articles and columns from the past week
A converted tailback playing safety. Three young cornerbacks. Little experience and little depth. The secondary started the season as a potential problem for Virginia and, unfortunately, it proved to be just that. Though the defensive backs turned in some good performances, they were inconsistent and gave up too many big plays all season, despite playing in a scheme that specifically tries to prevent long passes. Virginia Tech managed to expose the Achilles' heel of UVa's defense on Saturday, resulting in a 24-10 loss that now has the Cavaliers going someplace even more remote than Blacksburg - Boise.
Quoting from last week's Absolutes and Desirables column: "Virginia cannot turn the ball over. It cannot obliterate drives or help sustain Tech drives with penalties, especially stupid ones involving personal fouls. Tech has shown a more diverse offense than in years past, so maintaining containment on Randall and playing good assignment football is a must. And finally, Virginia must avoid the special-teams breakdowns and turnovers that have driven Frank Beamer's teams for years. A short field is the Hokies' friend and a recipe for getting beat." The Cavaliers followed all of those recipes for getting beat, and that's exactly what happened at Lane Stadium. As a result, almost every unit gets a low grade, including the coaching staff.
Like Al Groh said early in the week, the pot doesn't get much bigger than it was for today's game. But if there's one thing we've learned from watching poker on television, it's this: Sometimes, to win a big pot, you've got to gamble. Once again, Virginia wasn't willing to do that in its last chance for a signature victory this season. Because of that, the 2004 Cavaliers may be remembered as a team that folded whenever the stakes got high. Sabre Edge recruiting updates from the past week Our resident recruiting expert, Chris Horne, provides updates for Edge subscribers about UVa's commitments and recruiting targets in football and men's basketball. To sign up for an Edge subscription, please see the sign-up promotion below. If you're already on board as an Edge subscriber, click the links below to catch up on recruiting. Football
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