It is almost assuredly safe to say that Virginia’s 59-16 romp over Western Michigan is exactly what Virginia head coach Al Groh expected to see from his 2003 version of the Cavaliers. Only it was with the hands, and feet, of a very different quarterback. Sophomore Marques Hagans started in place of an injured Matt Schaub and an ineffective Anthony Martinez to resurrect a derelict Virginia offense en route to 403 yards and 38 offensive points.
Hagans, who was unavailable to practice at quarterback the week before the debacle against South Carolina, showed why he is such a versatile player in leading UVa’s offense to their highest point total in seven years. Considering that he had not practiced at quarterback since late December before this week, Hagans was extremely impressive, connecting on 12 of 20 passes for 162 yards and three touchdowns.
After a defensive stand on first and goal in the early going made the game 3-0, Hagans led the Cavaliers on their first sustained drive in two weeks, connecting with Art Thomas for Virginia’s first touchdown of many. More importantly, however, Hagans completed 3 passes for 38 yards, letting the Broncos know that the Cavaliers would have a passing game to go to this week.
Hagans would go on to throw for two more touchdowns to freshman Deyon Williams , who scored on his first snap as a Cavalier, and Brandon Isaiah, whose role has increased with Jason Snelling out for the year.
With Western Michigan having to concentrate a little more on Virginia’s passing game, a few more holes opened up for Cavalier running back Wali Lundy in the early going. While Virginia could only muster 119 yards on the ground last week, Lundy, who did not have much “juice” last week, went for 121 yards on 26 carries to outgain the entire Cavalier effort for last week.
On the Cavaliers’ second scoring drive it was all Lundy, as the sophomore running back ran for 51 yards on four straight carries to move Virginia deep into Bronco territory. After a Hagans scramble brought the Cavaliers down to the seven-yard line, Lundy barreled into the end zone to give Virginia a 14-3 lead and cap off an impressive first quarter that saw the Cavaliers gain 108 yards on the ground.
As the Virginia offense came back from a tough week against USC, the Cavalier defense played yet another solid game that included forcing six turnovers, reminiscent of last season. While the Cavaliers were actually outgained on the day by the Western Michigan offense, 408 to 403, almost half of WMU’s yards came in the fourth quarter, when the game was over and Al Groh was checking out some of his younger players on the defensive side of the ball.
While there were quite a few big plays and turnovers for Virginia’s aggressive defense, Western Michigan’s first series on offense might have been the most important of them all for Groh’s improving defense. After a three and out and a poor punt gave the Broncos terrific field position, Western Michigan marched down to the three-yard line, apparently going in for an easy score.
Like last year, however, Virginia had a bend-but-don’t-break-mentality, and stopped the Broncos from scoring an opening touchdown. When Virginia scored on its next possession, it was obvious that momentum had changed, and it was because of the Cavaliers big defensive hold.
Virginia’s first turnover came at a crucial time in the game, as it appeared as though Western Michigan might creep closer and make it a close game. After Bronco signal caller Chud Munson drove Western Michigan down the field for a score to make it 24-10 with 5:00 left in the 2nd quarter, Virginia gave the ball back soon after.
With a couple minutes left in the quarter, WMU had a chance to go down the field and come within a touchdown. However, on the Broncos’ first play, Jermaine Hardy put a vicious hit on wide receiver Antonio Thomas, causing a fumble. Jamaine Winborne, who also had an interception on the day, picked up the fumble and rumbled down to the Broncos’ 20-yard line. Three plays later, Lundy went in for his second touchdown that put away the Broncos for good. Later in the game, when it was out of control, both Muffin Curry and Tony Franklin picked off passes and scampered downfield for touchdowns to put the game further out of reach.
While both the Virginia offense and defense had terrific games on the day, certain parts of the special teams unit looked as though they need some work before facing Wake Forest in two weeks. In addition to poor coverage on kicks, Tom Hagan had a rough day punting the ball, as he only averaged 34.7 net yards per kick, leaving Virginia in some bad positions at times.
The sophomore punter appears to have the pooch punt down, as he had downed the ball within the 20-yard line seven times this season, but he has trouble when he needs to get the ball downfield. Hagan must improve his deep punting as Virginia makes its way farther into its ACC schedule.
Needless to say, coach Groh got what he was looking for in Saturday’s romp over a MAC team. With Schaub throwing passes up to 25 yards in length before the game, it appears he is closer to returning every week, but for right now, Hagans is Virginia’s quarterback, and he appears to be a pretty good option.
Stay tuned for a full analysis with quotes and an in depth look at the game early next week on the Sabre Edge.
