Wes’ Ways To Win – MTSU

BATTLE ROYAL – WINNER TAKE ALL?

Can Mike London’s defense outduel G.A. Mangus’ offense?

You know the name Mike London. You probably don’t know the name G.A. Mangus.

After spending two seasons as his coaches’ show host when he was the head coach of Delaware Valley College, I can tell you he’s the reason that I’ve been telling the Virginia faithful to watch out for this game on the schedule. Two young coaches, two bright minds in one football game matched up against each other? Could make for a lot of fun.

The offensive coordinator, a product of Steve Spurrier’s offense while at Florida, is one of the upcoming names in college football and he may have just found his sidekick in true freshman quarterback Dwight Dasher. Mangus, a former quarterback himself at Florida, watched his signal caller go 10 of 15 for 240 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 58 yards and two scores in his second career start last week.

“The whole basis of our offense is trying to get touches for our playmakers, and I think he’s shown in the last two or three weeks that he might be our best playmaker right now,” said Mangus to The Tennessean. “The guy that makes the most plays is the one I’m going to get the ball to. And the beauty about having a quarterback who can do that is the snap is going directly to your playmaker.”

Dasher, who will make his third career start with injured starter Joe Craddock (back) on a week-to-week basis, leads MTSU on the ground with 111 yards rushing and has not had a turnover in 45 passing attempts and 127 total snaps.

“They are a different team now than they were. It really kind of started in the fourth quarter of the LSU game, when the young quarterback [Dwight] Dasher came in,” said UVa coach Al Groh. “And he is just that, he is a dasher. You can just see on the tape he’s got that little presence about him. In trying to paint a picture for the players, he’s a Marques Hagans-style quarterback. [He] gains a lot of his yards as he has escaped from pressure, changing directions, stop-start runs, those kind of things that are very electrifying to those people who are cheering for his team, but not much fun for the other side. Their team has really changed dramatically with his presence and his style of play, so that’s what we really have to get ready for not the preceding games.”

Truth be told, Dasher just beat a Florida International team that has the longest losing streak in the country and hasn’t played a defense like Virginia with the exception of that spot-duty appearance against LSU where he only put up 4 passes on 22 snaps.

Virginia can’t allow Dasher to sit in the backfield with time to make plays. On the opposite hand, when forcing him out they need to keep contain, work within their lanes, and watch backside escapes by Dasher and running backs DeMarco McNair and Phillip Tanner, who exploded for three TDs and 144 yards on just nine carries vs. Louisville.

Virginia’s defense already has accumulated 12 turnovers and 16 sacks toward its 36-36 quest. London’s unit has prevailed against three straight inexperienced quarterbacks in T.J. Yates, Taylor Bennett, and Pat Bostick by taking it to them. London will probably go after Dasher this week too. But MTSU likes its speed and Mangus knows how to use it. That means London and Mangus will be locked in a strategic battle.

KEEP ON CAPITALIZING

Over the past two weeks, the Cavaliers have capitalized on almost every field position opportunity or turnover they’ve caused.

Two weeks ago, Jeffery Fitzgerald not only hauled in a tipped pass but returned it for a touchdown. One play after Aaron Clark leveled Georgia Tech’s punt returner and Trey Womack recovered the fumble, Jameel Sewell hit Staton Jobe for the game-winning touchdown. Up until that point, Georgia Tech had lost just six fumbles in two years and Yellow Jacket quarterback Taylor Bennett hadn’t thrown an interception all season.

Last week, the Cavaliers’ ability to turn key situations into points was the main reason for their first quarter explosion that essentially put Pittsburgh away early. A Pitt mistake on an onside kick led to a touchdown. A very good punt return by Vic Hall to midfield? 13-0. A fumbled Pitt kickoff … 20-0. Another Hall punt return to the Panthers’ 20 = first quarter 27-0 blowout.

If the Cavaliers can put down the Blue Raiders early, it will make the night a lot more manageable in Murfreesboro.

WIN THE THIRD QUARTER; KEEP THE FIRST QUARTER MOJO

Sooner or later, the moment will come where the Cavaliers will find themselves trailing at halftime. It would be wise to prove to themselves that they can score in the third quarter with the lead rather than being forced to perform under pressure while behind on the scoreboard.

Just like Cavaliers, the Blue Raiders are failing to produce in the third quarter, having been outscored 44-7 this season in that frame. Virginia, who came out with its hair on fire last week at home, has continued to struggle on offense immediately after the half, being outscored 27-3 in third. In fact, Virginia has not scored a third quarter touchdown since Game 8 of last season’s win vs. North Carolina.

Don’t blame play-calling either. Sewell’s inconsistency last week and the lack of production by both quarterbacks is a main component. Take a look at the third quarter passing numbers by Sewell and Peter Lalich this season: 6 of 9 vs. Duke, 2 of 6 with 3 sacks vs. UNC, 3 of 9 vs. GT with an interception, and 0 of 4 vs. Pittsburgh.

Virginia doesn’t need balance. The Cavs don’t need to pace their offense. (Are you really going to trade in 27 first quarter points for 10 in the third?) The Cavaliers simply need to kick it in gear after the half like they do at the start.

The Blue Raiders ended a run of slow starts last week against Florida International. Prior to Saturday, MTSU had scored only once this season on its first possessions of the first and second halves. On its first possession last week, Middle drove 61 yards for a touchdown to start the game.

Virginia, meanwhile, has scored on its first possession each of the last four games. During that four-game winning streak, the Cavaliers have combined to outscore their opponents early with 72 first quarter points.

PREDICTION: VIRGINIA 35, MTSU 21


Wes McElroy is a sports talkshow host for ESPN 840 AM in Charlottesville. The Final Round with Wes McElroy airs week days from 4 to 6 p.m. Listen live on the Web site.