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Coach Mike London |
The Hoos spent last week riding high after an upset victory over No. 22 Miami. However, this week the team is learning serious lessons in humility and resiliency. After a frustrating 55-48 loss to perennial cellar-dweller Duke, this week will be a crucial test of mental toughness for Mike London’s team.
To London, building a winning program, and instilling a new attitude in the players, involves changing everything from the ground up. In this rebuilding season, starting from scratch means starting with the individual players’ mindsets and how they deal with losses.
“We’re all ruled by the psychology of results. And if you’re losing all the time, then it’s easy for you to associate yourself with being a loser. If you’re winning all the time, then your mindset associates yourself with being a winner,” London said. “I have no choice but to be positive with these guys. If you’re trying to change a culture of who they are and what they are, then that’s what we talk about, about the positive, about what will happen when this happens and if you keep working then this will happen.”
There’s no time to look back and dwell on the Duke loss; Atlantic Division foe and traditional rival Maryland heads to Scott Stadium this week for Virginia’s final home game of 2010. This is the last chance for London’s team to win one for the home crowd and the Cavaliers desperately want to get back to .500.
“I think these guys have bought into it. They want to do it,” London said. “They want to play well – and we just have to do it. We just have to get on the field and do it.”
Terrapin Turnaround
In 2009, Ralph Friedgen’s Maryland Terrapins were in worse shape than Al Groh’s Cavaliers. The Terps only won two games last season, disappointing many fans in College Park. Although long-time starting quarterback Chris Turner graduated, Maryland has found a way to win this season through tough defense and its own version of the Wildcat offense. Maryland’s offense resembles Duke’s in that it forces defenders to spread horizontally across the field to create holes. However, the Terrapins utilize redshirt freshman Danny O’Brien and junior Jamarr Robinson as dual quarterbacks, with Robinson entering the game as an option quarterback to confuse defenses.
“You have to address it with your linebacker reads and the keys that you use. When you have a quarterback that can run it, then that makes it even better, because now basically the quarterback is the unblockable guy because you’ve got guys on the line of scrimmage that are accountable for everyone else,” London said. “And I think Jamarr Robinson does a great job for them when they do employ it. It’s another offense that you’ll see, you’ll probably see O’Brien and you’ll see Robinson come in. I’m sure they’ll mix it up. And I’m quite sure they’ve seen some of the success that other teams with this style have had here against us. We will have to prepare for Danny O’Brien and also the slash Wildcat spread offense.”
The Terps went from two wins to bowl eligible in one year. Much of their success can be attributed to a certain amount of continuity with the players and coaches. Head coach Ralph Friedgen kept his job, much to the surprise of many, after last season’s debacle, and skill players like Torrey Smith returned to provide a spark.
“They have a system and a plan of attack both on offense and defense now and have a consistency with their coordinators, with their coaches. They have players that are very skillful,” London said. “I know they don’t necessarily have a two-quarterback system but O’Brien is the one that comes in and then No. 11 comes in and does their Wildcat type of offense. So they complement each other well. Defensively they are under Coach [Don] Brown and are a year into his system, guys know what they’re doing, know where they need to be.”
Trickeration
Bobby Bowden made trick plays famous as a regular part of his arsenal at Florida State, and Les Miles continues to use them to great effect at SEC powerhouse LSU. Mike London is making a name for himself at Virginia as a trick play artist of sorts. Punter Jimmy Howell threw a touchdown pass on a fake punt against Eastern Michigan and the next week placekicker Robert Randolph lined up for a 55-yard field goal which was then converted to a quick kick punt to pin the Miami Hurricanes deep in their own end.
The icing on the cake, and one of the few bright spots of the Duke game, was a fake field goal that would have made LSU’s Mad Hatter proud. Virginia took a leaf out of Les Miles’ book, and holder Jacob Hodges flipped the ball over his head to Randolph on a fake field goal. Randolph took it 20 yards to the end zone, breaking a tackle and picking up a crucial block from Colter Phillips.
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Robert Randolph has picked up steam as the season progresses. |
“We’ve done it enough times where I don’t know if it came second nature, but Robert did a good job of catching it and running. So whatever the rules are, we try to take what’s allowable and take it right to the edge about what you can do, alignments and all that, and try to utilize that,” London said. “We’ve been practicing that for a while. We practiced a lot of plays like that because you never know when you have an opportunity to use them. And that one presented itself at that moment in the game.”
Trick plays, going for it on fourth down – London said it’s all part of instilling that winning mentality. The “won’t quit” Cavaliers play to win every game.
“Hopefully when you have a team that you’re trying to infuse a little bit of mental toughness, when you’re 4th-and-short, we have the mentality that we’re going to go for it. I want them to know they’ve got a coach that believes in them – we practice these things, not just doing them to practice them, we’re practicing them to use them in the game,” London said. “In the last couple we’ve been pretty successful with these fourth down opportunities. We’re just going to keep on trying to find ways to get us opportunities to keep moving the chains.”
Senior Sendoff
For the Cavalier seniors, this Saturday’s game marks their final game at home in Scott Stadium. It has to be a little bittersweet for fourth- and fifth-year guys whose careers have run the gamut of football success and failure. Four years ago, they were the young guns of the Cardiac Cavaliers, en route to a Gator Bowl showdown with Texas Tech; this week, they are senior leaders on a young team still trying to find an identity and close out an up-and-down year on a high note.
“It’s always tough when your seniors are transitioning out. The fact that I know all of them, there’s emotional connection to it,” London said. “But as I look at this whole thing about building a program, as we are here today, as we’re moving forward, it’s a transition of players that are moving out with the transition of players that are being recruited that are being redshirted that are moving in. That’s just the evolution of football.”
A packed house on Saturday would be a special thing for these Cavalier seniors. It has to be disheartening for them to see a half-full (never half-empty!) stadium on Saturdays considering all the effort they put forth week in and week out.
“I’m hoping that this Saturday being the last game for our seniors, a guy like Ras I [Dowling] and those guys have been around for a while, that people come out, with our students and get everybody out to support these seniors,” London said. “They deserve at least an acknowledgment of thank you for the four years or five years that they put into this program.”
A Senior Season Full Of Setbacks
Speaking of senior cornerback Ras-I Dowling, his senior season must be feeling like something of a letdown. Dowling doubtlessly has a fruitful NFL career ahead of him, but his final year in Charlottesville (which he opted to return for despite being projected as a high-round draft pick in 2010) has been a little lackluster.
Dowling has suffered myriad injuries dating from the preseason. He has dressed for each game, warmed up for most, and even participated in a few series. However, he has been a step off all season, and has sometimes even opted himself out of games when he hasn’t been feeling 100 percent in pregame warm-ups.
“Well, again, when you’re dealing with your own body and how you feel and you’re playing a skilled position where you rely on backpedaling and turning, and he’s a veteran player. I rely and defer to ‘How are you feeling today?’ ‘I’m feeling pretty good today,'” London said. “The next day it could be a little stiff, a little sore. Game day it could be ‘Went out there, tried it. Just didn’t feel right.'”
Dowling has been an exemplary student-athlete at Virginia; the impetus behind his decision to return was the prospect of graduating and receiving a degree. The senior is an emotional leader for the team this season, despite his limited participation on the field. Dowling was one of several veteran players who presented Coach London with the game ball after the win over Miami. Fans aren’t the only people who would love to send him off after a successful outing on Saturday.
“Hopefully, last home game, with the practices that he practices and the time he puts into it he feels he can get out there and give us a few reps or more,” London said.
Worth Noting
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Senior quarterback Marc Verica will make his final home start against the Terrapins. |
- Virginia defensive coordinator Jim Reid will be on the sidelines instead of in the coaches’ box for the first time this season.
- The Cavaliers have three straight wins over the Terrapins.
- Thirty-two players will be honored on Saturday during the pre-game Senior Day ceremony.
- Senior quarterback Marc Verica will close out his home career the way it began; his very first home start was against Maryland in 2008.
Worth Quoting
“Yeah, we’re going to try to kick it on I 64 somewhere so he doesn’t get a chance to return. He is the most dynamic that we’ve seen on film and played against. There’s nothing against Benjamin from Miami or the guy from USC. But he’s definitely an outstanding punt returner and he’s fearless.” – Mike London on Maryland return man Torrey Smith.
“He’s obviously has every NFL scout coming by to see him and they know about him. His junior year stands on what it is and what it was. Frustrating that he hasn’t had a senior year opportunity to do some of the same things. But his skills are not diminished. Still great character person. A lot of the things they liked about him then, back then, they still like now.” – London on senior Ras-I Dowling’s NFL prospects.
“Guys were joking with him because when he got in the end zone he actually tripped into the end zone, fell on his stomach and had no celebration dance or anything. But it was fun to see him score and our guys celebrate with him.” – Mike London on Robert Randolph’s first career “trip” to the end zone.
“You always run well when somebody’s chasing you.” – London on Randolph’s running ability.
