Last-minute kick drops Cavs in Gator Bowl

By Hawes Spencer | editor@readthehook.com
Published online 5:49pm Tuesday Jan 1st, 2008

The University of Virginia Cavaliers, whose fans didn't chomp tickets as fast as hoped, lost to Texas Tech 31-28 today after a last-minute field goal defeated the Wahoos in Jacksonville, according to the AP.

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6 comments

Music Lover January 2nd, 2008 | 8:05am

Congratulations to the Cavs on a very good year! I call this team the Miracle Cavs. As in, it took a miracle to win 9 games and play on New Year's Day with no backup quarterback or even one half-decent wide receiver. And even the starting QB was sub-mediocre - Sewell threw more interceptions than touchdowns, and his yards-per-attempt was the lowest in the ACC and almost a full yard below DUKE'S!

If they had a backup quarterback without that deer-in-the-headlights look, they win yesterday. If they had a wide receiver who could spread out the defense, they win BIG yesterday. Gotta give them a ton of credit for eeking out a loss.

Virginia has a decent but definitely not great running game and an absolutely anemic passing game (seriously - how can a Division I football team in a major conference not have a wide receiver who can play? Virginia's highest-ranked wide receiver is Staton Jobe - ranked #60 in receptions IN THE ACC!). Their saving grace this year was their discipline (fewest penalties in the ACC) and a good defense with the best defensive end in the country. And they were very, very lucky this year.

Here's hoping Al can finally recruit a wide receiver or two - since 2002 Virginia has had a total of 4 wide receivers in the top 24 in the ACC. That means on average the other teams in the ACC have two wide receivers better than the best on Virginia's roster. They haven't had a true threat at wide receiver since Billy McMullen in 2001.

Music Lover January 6th, 2008 | 10:57am

Tight ends do not stretch the field like wide receivers do. Having two of the top 4 tight ends is nothing to brag about - and imagine what they could do with them if they did have somebody outside to draw coverage away. Did you see that route Phillips ran across the middle in the Texas Tech game? it was like he was running in slow motion.

It's not ALL about speed, but speed is increasingly important in today's game and it's one thing Virginia as a team lacks. And as far as stats go, if Virginia had any speed and talent at wide receiver they'd be thrown the ball. If you watched any games this year, you may have noticed that they almost never got open and were generally handled by single coverage. They present no threat and don't require any game planning to shut down.

Virginia didn't have a single player in the top 120 in receiving yards for 2007. As good as Virginia's tight ends are, none of them are in the top 120 for receptions, either. Virginia's passing game was #90 this year, and #10 out of 12 in the ACC. Their running game was #80. They were #88 in first downs/game, and #102 in total yards per game.

In short, Virginia's offense is really, really bad. The word "sucks" does come to mind.

Tight ends are great for ball control, but not so good if you need to score a lot of points - and when you're playing the top passing team in the country you are probably going to need to score a lot of points.

Once in a generation a Heath Miller comes around and can do anything. I seriously doubt Santi, Stupar, or Phillips are headed for the first round of the NFL draft like Miller. At this point they'll each be lucky to be first-day picks, frankly.

Virginia's defense carried the team this year. But as satisfying as it is to play in a bowl game, let's not loose sight of the fact that the team won 5 games by 2 or fewer points. While they did finish the regular season 9-3 they could easily have been 4-8.

And they are getting out-recruited by Tech in a very big way. In the coming class, Tech has 22 players ranked for their positions or their athleticism. UVA has 9. Even Duke has 10. Virginia has two wide receivers coming in, and both of them stand tall at 5-10, 180 pounds. Unless they're the second coming of Santana Moss that's pretty tiny for wide outs. But most alarming, of the 16 players committed to Virginia, only 2 are from Virginia. UVA has effectively abdicated the state to Tech, who has 20 incoming Virginians. It's starting to feel like the only Virginians Groh gets are the ones that Beamer doesn't want, need, or have room for.

So let's hear it for those tight ends! But let's not get carried away and start calling Virginia "Tight End U" just yet. It's not really much to hang your hat on.

Paul Maxey January 3rd, 2008 | 4:52pm

Hawes:

If you lived in Lubbock and talked that much smack about the Raiders you would no longer be able to write. The Cavalier's game was outstanding and they should be commended on their coaching, attitude, and tenacity. The only thing UVA did wrong was to realize that Tech plays 60 minutes of football and never allows a piss-poor attitude like yours to enter their minds.

Your comments are an insult to Texas Tech, UVA, and the Gator Bowl.

Sincerely,

Paul Maxey, life long Red Raider

The Maxey's of Virginia
The Maxey's of Texas

Dave McNair January 4th, 2008 | 12:06am

Mr. Maxey,

What in tarnation you talkin' about? Talked that much smack? It's one sentence long. Besides, I'm reading Mr. Spencer's post and I can't find anything remotely insulting toward anything or anybody about it. It simply reports the facts. Folks in Lubbock must be real touchy.

Oh, and while I'm sure Tech has an outstanding attitude, that Tech fumble officals missed sure didn't hurt. :)

Music Lover January 4th, 2008 | 8:00am

Seriously - the ONLY thing on this page that seems to disparage the Texas Tech Raiders is the notion that in Lubbock they do nasty things to people who are critical of the home team!

But I'm glad we've cleared up at least one thing: the only thing Virginia did wrong is realize that Texas Tech plays 60 minutes. Perhaps if they hadn't realized that they might have won.

Wow - talk about sore winners.

B January 5th, 2008 | 9:20pm

Hey music lover...

Maybe the reason UVA doesn't have the gaudy stats for wideouts is the fact that they have the tight ends with both the 3rd and 4th most receiving yards (as well as #11 on that list) Santi, Stupar and Phillips are also #2, #4, and #9 in receptions by tight ends this year... and back before them there was this guy named Heath Miller at tight end who is playing with the Steelers right now...