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The Cavaliers are ready to begin their ACC schedule at home. |
Things are really kicking into high gear for the Virginia football program this week. The Cavaliers will open ACC play this Saturday at home against a traditional conference and national power, as well as a rival with some bad blood. Jimbo Fisher and the Florida State Seminoles are on the warpath this season, hoping to return the program to its former pedestal. The Noles rolled over Wake Forest last week and are riding a two-game win streak into Charlottesville. There is a lot of history between these two teams, stemming back to when Florida State first joined the ACC. The Cavaliers are underdogs on paper this week, but many view this game as one that Virginia can win.
“What is most important is it’s our conference opener and it is at home. The other things that are going on behind the game with the white-out and raising the awareness within the community and the students are also important,” UVa coach Mike London said. “But to us – it’s a chance again to play in front of our home crowd, play to get better, have a better performance from all three aspects, offense, defense and special teams. We want to try to establish a culture of trying to play competitively and to win some games. I think that’s the biggest thing that this team is thinking about now is we have a home game, first conference game, chance to get better and a chance to play a really, really good team. I think they’re right outside of the top 25 and very easily a top 20 team.”
Florida State has a history of stumbling at Scott Stadium. In 1995, the No. 2 Seminoles were knocked off 33-28 in what was FSU’s first ever ACC loss – more on that game later. Virginia again frustrated Florida State, this time ranked No. 4, 10 years later by a score of 26-21.
Although the Seminoles are no longer the perennial powerhouse they once were, some things haven’t changed. They are still a program with a proud tradition and a lot of talent.
“I feel like when I was growing up I always remember Miami and Florida State kind of being the top of the ACC,” sophomore tight end Colter Phillips said. “Florida State hasn’t been there for a few years but they’re still a team I really respect and I’m excited to play this game.”
An ACC Throwback
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Anthony Poindexter still hears about the 1995 FSU win. |
There is one man on the Virginia sideline who knows exactly what it takes to beat Florida State. Special teams coordinator Anthony Poindexter is a hero in the eyes of many Cavalier fans for his role in the ’95 upset at Scott Stadium. Coach Dex, along with teammate Adrian Burnim stopped FSU running back Warrick Dunn on the Cavalier 1-yard line on the final play of the game.
“Obviously at that age, I was probably 18 years old the night of that game, I didn’t realize the magnitude of what had happened. I just thought we won a big game,” Poindexter said. “Almost 15 years later people still talk about it as one of the greatest games of all time here. I’m proud to be a part of it, not only that play but there were a lot of plays made that night to make it possible.”
However, many of the players on the current UVa roster are unaware of their coach’s involvement in one of the most historic wins in Virginia football history.
“We had a dinner where we actually watched the video, and then the highlight tape of Coach Poindexter making the play,” sophomore linebacker LaRoy Reynolds said. “It was a great play. Not too many people have those moments, it was great experience just watching it and seeing him in action.”
Coach Dex isn’t exactly concerned about the fact that many of his players have never seen his big moment.
“Most of these kids were in diapers in ’95. Some of them know, some of them don’t, but I’m pretty sure they’ve heard some stories,” Poindexter joked.
Opening The ACC Schedule
The first three games of the 2010 season can almost be viewed as a sort of “preseason” for the Cavaliers. Now that conference play is kicking off, it will be a marathon to the finish with nine straight weeks of football. The Florida State game is followed immediately by an away game at Georgia Tech, and a home contest against North Carolina. Regardless of the challenges ahead, the entire team is excited to open conference play, especially against such a high-caliber team.
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Kris Burd dove for a touchdown Saturday against the Keydets. |
“The ACC is a tough conference. As a team we’re definitely excited to get this ACC play on the road,” wide receiver Kris Burd said. “Before we’ve been a bottom tier team in the ACC and we’re ready to make a statement.”
The Seminoles bring an aggressive defense and an offense led by an experienced signal caller in senior quarterback Christian Ponder. Ponder, who garnered some preseason Heisman hype, is definitely the head of the snake as far as the FSU offense is concerned.
“He’s a guy that’s very accurate. I think his passing efficiency rating is very good, and he’s very, very athletic in terms of escaping a rush. I think in terms of attempts, he’s the second guy on their team with rushing attempts,” London said. “Now, I don’t know how many of those are his quarterback runs or some QB scrambles, but I’ll tell you what, he’s fast. When he gets out to the second level he does a great job because he’s hard to bring down.”
Florida State brings speed, talent, and an aggressive mindset. The Cavaliers are ready for them, and aren’t intimidated in the least while knowing a tough challenge awaits.
“Right now the confidence is as high as I’ve seen it since I’ve been here, and I’ve been here for four years,” offensive tackle Landon Bradley said. “Everybody’s excited, and everybody can’t wait to play on Saturday.”
Third Time’s The Charm
Colter Phillips’ many fans in Charlottesville had their faith rewarded on Saturday against VMI. Late in the fourth quarter, the sophomore tight end finally scored his first touchdown as a Cavalier, one that was undeniably inbounds and in the end zone with no flags thrown.
“I didn’t know what to do. I kind of looked back and saw the ref was giving me the good sign, and I kind of had to think about it for a second like, ‘Really? You’re not going to take this one away, too?'” Phillips said. He was ruled short of the goal line against Richmond and was denied an opportunity to make a big special teams play against USC due to an officiating error. “Yeah, it was fun. Everyone was making fun of me during film for not knowing what to do. I just kind of stood there with the ball and everyone came up to me. It was a fun time.”
Phillips also had another surprise on Saturday; he entered the stadium ahead of the rest of the team with the captains prior to the game. It was a special moment for him, and for his mother who was in attendance.
“It’s tough for her because I’m on the East Coast and my older brother’s on the West Coast. She’s got a lot of frequent flyer miles. We also have a great family support, from family friends and close relatives,” he said. “My brother’s game against Notre Dame last weekend, he had about 10 people from my family or extended family at the game. If my mom’s not there I’ve got support from family members. She’ll be at Florida State this weekend.”
He also has a ton of support from the Charlottesville community and his UVa family. Everyone still in attendance during his touchdown catch gasped audibly while the ball was in the air, and erupted into cheers when it was ruled a touchdown. Hopefully, Phillips will continue to excite his fans and supporters with many more touchdowns this season.
A Family Affair
Defensive back Chase Minnifield has truly come into his own this season. With the early injury to senior Ras-I Dowling, Minnifield has had to step up and become a more vocal leader on the field. Luckily for the junior, he has an extra coach in his corner.
Minnifield’s father, Frank, was a Pro-Bowl cornerback for the Cleveland Browns from 1984-1992. Frank Minnifield has played an essential role in his son’s development as a player, and continues to provide insight and advice for Chase’s collegiate career.
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Chase Minnifield has a Pro-Bowl caliber mentor in his father, Frank Minnifield. |
“My dad coached me all the way growing up, and I’ve been watching film since I was seven years old in peewee football. I approach the game pretty professionally,” Minnifield said. “I talk to him every day. It’s amazing what technology can do, and how he can view tape of myself here and he’s in Kentucky, and he can Skype me on video chat and show me what I’m doing wrong and what I’m doing well. We’ll be up for two hours at night.”
Having a practiced eye reviewing his game film has been a tremendous boon for Minnifield, but does it ever get frustrating to have your game constantly picked apart?
“He knows the game in and out, and he sees all my little details all my mistakes,” he said. “I get frustrated sometimes because he’s picking out little picky things, and even with a good result I still got things I need to work on. I understand at the end of the day he’s just trying to make me better.”
Worth Noting
- The only two contests Virginia has ever won against Florida State have been in Charlottesville, and both were major upsets.
- The defeats of No. 2 FSU in 1995 and No. 4 FSU in 2005 are the highest-ranked teams Virginia has ever beaten.
- This is the first time since 2006 the two ACC teams have faced one another. Coach London was the UVa defensive coordinator and Coach Poindexter was the running backs coach during that contest.
- The loss to Virginia in 1995 broke Florida State’s 29-game ACC winning streak. Bobby Bowden was still sore about it at the 2009 ACC Media Days.
- The winner of the Florida State-Virginia game will capture the Jefferson-Eppes Trophy for the first time since 2006.
Worth Quoting
“There’s a story behind my middle name, but I ain’t going to tell you all that. I have to leave that at the crib.” – Chase Minnifield , who wouldn’t even say what his middle name is at Monday’s press conference.
“I feel like other than quarterback, tight end is one of the hardest positions to play because you need to know everything on the line along with everything the receivers do, so it’s difficult but Coach Wach[enheim] is a great coach. Joe Torchia and Paul [Freedman] have been really great, because especially when I came back, I didn’t know anything. I was two weeks behind on everything. They’ve been great at helping me out and getting me up to speed. All the coaches have been great at helping me out and getting me comfortable out there.” – Colter Phillips
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True freshman Morgan Moses saw time vs. VMI. |
“He doesn’t show too many highlights of himself, but other coaches show highlights of him and how he plays his game.” – LaRoy Reynolds on Coach Poindexter.
“If Keith Payne is behind you, you just want to hit them in the mouth and he’ll be right behind you whether there’s a hole or not.” – Landon Bradley on the styles of UVa’s different running backs.
“It’s a whole new league now. We haven’t played them in four years. When I was here we played them every year, the conference was looking different.” – Coach Poindexter on Florida State, then and now.
“Well, Morgan looked like a freshman, a freshman that just got a couple reps. Well, actually he got almost 30 reps. That’s something that you want to have, a guy having a chance to get reps and get experience. Sean Cascarano , he played, Luke Bowanko , Mike Price, those are guys that are on the depth chart and it was good to see them get an extensive amount of reps – because you only get better by playing in the games, the game is a whole different arena.” – Coach London on his younger players getting snaps against VMI.
