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Ottowa Anderson caught this pass on the opening play for 57 yards. |
Virginia opened its 2005 season by winning a close game, something it failed to accomplish in 2004. That’s the good news. The bad news? The game shouldn’t have been close to begin with.
Facing 33-point underdog Western Michigan, a team without its starting quarterback and tailback, the 25th-ranked Cavaliers jumped to a three-touchdown lead but had to hang on for a 31-19 victory tonight. The Broncos drew within five points before Cedric Peerman ‘s 1-yard run with 5:38 remaining sealed the victory.
“I’m pretty pleased with the way the team responded from start to finish,” said UVa coach Al Groh, in no mood to sweat the details afterward. “They (the Cavs) got off to a fast start, they got challenged and they finished fast. Were there certain things within the game we could do better? That would certainly be the case. But we went in realizing everything wasn’t going to be perfect. There were going to be a few things, as is the case in every game, forget about ’em, move on, believe in what you’re doing, trust in what you’re doing and it’ll work out in the end. And the players did a real good job with that.”
A crowd of 61,244 came to Scott Stadium expecting a blowout but instead witnessed a competitive game, thanks to a mistake-filled evening by the home team and some inspired play by the Broncos.
It started out well enough. Marques Hagans connected with Ottowa Anderson on a 57-yard bomb on the game’s first play and Virginia surged to a 24-3 lead early in the second quarter.
But things unraveled from there. Western Michigan used a 55-yard interception return late in the first half and three field goals to draw within 24-19 in the third quarter.
The young Cavalier defense, playing without Ahmad Brooks , had no answer for WMU’s superb receiver, Greg Jennings, who caught 16 passes for 156 yards. With starting quarterback Ryan Cubit out because of shin splints, backup Robbie Haas completed 33 of 49 passes for 271 yards. Backup tailback Mark Bonds bulled his way to 119 yards on 30 carries in place of suspended starter Trovon Riley.
The Broncos had a chance to go ahead early in the fourth quarte, driving 50 yards following a missed Connor Hughes field goal before the ‘Hoos stopped them on downs at the 30. Tony Franklin and Jermaine Dias tackled tight end Brandon Ledbetter for a one-yard gain on fourth-and-4.
Peerman, Virginia’s third-team tailback, then carried 10 times for 48 yards on the ensuing 70-yard drive, which he capped off with a plunge up the middle. He was in the game because starter Wali Lundy suffered a sprained left foot in the first quarter and didn’t return. Lundy’s backup, Michael Johnson, fumbled twice, as did Jason Snelling (though the Broncos recovered only one of those fumbles).
Hagans completed 17 of 25 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown, but he also tossed two interceptions and was sacked four times.
“A win is a win,” said freshman guard Branden Albert . “We’ll take it.”
(For complete coverage of Virginia’s game with Western Michigan, please sign up for Sabre Edge. In the next few hours, Edge subscribers will be able to read John Galinsky’s game analysis and listen to audio of Coach Groh’s postgame press conference and interviews with Branden Albert and Cedric Peerman . A photo gallery of the game will be posted for Edge subscribers Monday.)
