The Sunday Sampler 2011 – Maryland

Mike London and the Hoos picked up a key win this week.

The magic number is six.

All the way back on Aug. 2, I wrote those words about the Virginia football team. I believed the program needed to get to six wins in 2011 in order to give itself the best possible opportunity to recapture long-term success. After four losing campaigns in the last five seasons, three straight losses to Duke, and no wins against Virginia Tech since 2003, my simple reasoning was as follows:

“Which is why 2011 is so important and why the Virginia football program needs at least six wins this go round. The you-piqued-my-interest crowd moves on fairly quickly. The wait-and-see gang needs results to fully get on board. The never-gonna-happen skeptics certainly need proof pudding to change outlooks. Future recruits need to see results too. ‘New era’ and ‘playing time’ pitches only carry weight for so long – when a prospect’s former high school teammate is sloughing through losses, it has an impact.

There’s also the issue of bowl team practices. Teams that earn postseason invites log an extra month on their season and often only the final few practices are game plan specific. That means you’re getting a postseason training camp of sorts to clean up issues, fast forward player development, and work in wrinkles to your system.”

Well, Virginia, there are bowls this holiday season. With the ACC’s eight bowl tie-ins (and a conditional ninth option) and likely a maximum of nine eligible teams, the Hoos are essentially locked into a trip somewhere in the postseason. That means extra practices are forthcoming for the 12 true freshmen and 26 total Cavaliers earning their first playing time in 2011. That also means a relatively young roster with just 21 listed seniors gets an extra month with the coaches for development.

More importantly, however, getting that magic sixth win should awaken the Virginia faithful. Many, many Cavalier fans have been waiting for the football program to show them something before making an invested return to the fandom. I’ve written about it, said it on sports radio, and heard it in casual conversations. ‘Prove it to me’ had become the mantra of fans worn down by the struggles of the program. It’s just too hard to emotionally invest in something with little promise of exciting returns after all.

And face it, for the better part of the last three seasons, there was little hope. Fans either patiently or impatiently have lingered through weary seasons, the final days of Al Groh , teasing signs of hope, steps in the process, accepting the first-year of rebuilding, the ‘used to it’ feeling, waiting for progress, and a lack of offseason buzz to get here.

To get back to this magic number. The program and its fans have longed to rejoin the postseason parade, to actually care about bowl projections. To matter.

That’s all tied in to why I though the program and its fans needed at least six wins this season:

“So Virginia needs to win in 2011 for one simple, yet abstract, reason. It’s not about immediately stuffing the stands, claiming a few more recruiting victories, or to gain some bowl practice and exposure. UVa needs to win to change the culture of the program. To reboot the system. To break the cycle. The players and recruits need to see that winning and Virginia go together. The team, the media, outside observers, and everyone else need to see that London can walk the walk at UVa just like he did at Richmond. The fans need to see that the winning kind of fun, not just the going for it on fourth down kind of fun is back. That’s why the magic number is six. That’s why Virginia needs six wins. Change the culture. That’s what’s at stake in 2011.”

Guess what, UVa accomplished all of those things with its 31-13 win at Maryland on Saturday. That’s why this victory is as big as any in recent seasons. It’s symbolic. Virginia and winning do go together again. But the most exciting part of it all? There are three games to play and there is a new magic number. It’s seven. And if the Hoos topple Duke, it will become eight. And …

So, yeah, the fun is back. All aboard!

Other Items In The Sunday Sampler …

Khalek Shepherd

  • Khalek Shepherd added another long kickoff return to his season production with a 48-yard return on the opening kickoff. He really has emerged in the last month: 2-69 vs. Georgia Tech, 2-72 vs. NC State, 2-36 vs. Miami, and 2-74 vs. Maryland. Shepherd has posted high returns of 25 yards (Southern Miss), 29 (GT), 48 (NCSU), 28 (Miami), and 48 (Maryland) this season.
  • The first Cavalier run of the game was taken directly from the Boston College film. BC used that exact formation (2 receivers, 1 H-Back, 1 tight end, 1 running back) with that exact motion/crossing action (H-Back across the formation) and that exact pulling guard movement (Austin Pasztor behind the line and into the lead hole) to gash the Terps’ defense last weekend. UVa used it to spring Perry Jones for a 47-yard touchdown to open the game. I discussed pulling guards and the running game in the Maryland Watch List article, which also talked about inside runs (as color commentator Riley Skinner noted, the Hoos went to these runs more in the second half). JHoo will have more on the opening Jones’ touchdown in his 10 Things article.
  • Defensive end Jake Snyder played the speed option perfectly on the first play of Maryland’s second offensive series. He stayed committed to his assignment and forced the pitch.
  • An example of what increased team speed gives you: Halfway through the first quarter, Virginia ran a blitz package that required defensive end Bill Schautz to take coverage of a receiver releasing on a wheel-style route up the sidelines. Schautz was able to stay with the coverage and only an underthrown ball allowed a potential catch. A Terp penalty negated the whole play.
  • Turnovers should come with a Surgeon General’s warning. They are hazardous to an offense’s health.
  • That Hardee’s cheese biscuit commercial is weird.
  • UVa wasted a lot of good field position in the first half. The offense failed to gain even 10 yards (on four plays!) and a first down midway through the second quarter when it took over inside of Maryland territory.
  • It seems like Virginia’s offensive line has trouble at times with smaller, quicker defensive lines. Southern Miss, NC State, and Maryland have all caused more problems than lines with more star power like UNC and Miami. The Terps didn’t do much again the Hoos on Saturday, but they did cause a few problems periodically in the first half.
  • For blitzes to work on defense, you need the coverage behind it to be better than was shown in the second quarter at Maryland.
  • When reviewing the Maryland-BC game, one thing stood out about the Terrapins’ defense in particular: the linebackers struggle in coverage and in pursuit. That’s why drag routes to Kris Burd and Paul Freedman with a Michael Rocco play-action bootleg for example were so open in this game. And as I was writing this note, a Terp LB blew the coverage on 3rd-and-4 and a wide-open Kevin Parks easily scored on the play. Attacking the linebackers in coverage clearly had a place in the game plan this week.
  • Rocco on that touchdown pass to Parks: “It was a hot read for me, so I just held on to the ball until the last second and let KP make a move and hit him in the open space.”
  • As frustrating as the first half was for Virginia fans – and apparently, in some ways, to coach Mike London based on his halftime interview – the Hoos still managed to lead 14-13.
  • The announcers praised Perry Jones for “moving the pile” on his first carry of the second half, but I think center Anthony Mihota and fullback Terence Fells-Danzer may deserve a little of the credit. They plowed in behind the play like it was a rugby scrum.
  • It’s hard to believe that tight end Colter Phillips’ first catch of the year came in game nine even though he missed time with an injury.
  • It was interesting to see the reactions on the In-Game Chat message board when Coach London opted to go for it on fourth down from the 1-yard line in the third quarter. I thought after the incomplete pass on second down that two running plays, including one on fourth down if needed, should follow it. It just felt like the right play there to me. After driving the length of the field, three points wouldn’t have felt any different than zero to me.
  • UVa started the second half exactly the way you would draw it up as a coach. Three and out for the defense followed by a long, methodical touchdown drive by the offense. Then, the Cavaliers grabbed an interception on defense and followed that up with a touchdown drive again.
  • Tim Smith did an outstanding job on his route for a 30-yard completion late in the third quarter. He sprinted off the line showing an outside stem (go route), but then planted his outside foot and took the deep crossing route to the inside to become an open target for Rocco. That much room is an easy pass and catch at this level.
  • Boy, Mike London can’t win with the quarterback substitution this season. When David Watford checked in for fourth quarter mop-up duty, a pass bounced off of the intended target’s shoulder pads and was intercepted. When Watford checked back in near the 5:00 mark, a huge hit forced him to fumble.
  • On that fumble, analyst Riley Skinner noted that the read of the defensive end should have led Watford to hand the ball off on the read option play. As I’ve noted throughout the season, the read option reads are something that he has struggled with all the way back to William & Mary.
  • Jake McGee showed excellent reflexes to recover the punt that bounced into a Maryland player.
  • The look of Maryland’s assistant coach on the sidelines right after that turnover tells the story of the Terps’ season I think.
  • Kris Burd gave UVa two receivers 100 yards receiving in the same game in style. Rocco’s pass was behind him, but he made a one-handed grab to add to his team-high receiving total (9 catches, 112 yards). The Cavaliers posted two receivers with 100 yards in the same game for the first time since 1998 when Terrence Wilkins and Kevin Coffey did it at Virginia Tech. Tim Smith added 5 catches for 101 yards Saturday.
  • Burd continues to climb the career charts at Virginia. He passed Patrick Jeffers (1,785 yards) for No. 6 on the career receiving yards list. Burd has 1,886 in his career. Germane Crowell ranks fifth with 2,142 yards. Burd also took over No. 3 on the all-time receptions list – with 142 career receptions, he passed Alvin Pearman (138). He’s three catches from taking over the No. 2 spot from Heath Miller (144). Burd now has seven 100-yard receiving games in his career, tied for fourth on the all-time UVa list.
  • UVa’s defensive linemen are getting the hang of this strip sack thing. This time, Bill Schautz burst around the end and knocked the ball free while making the sack.
  • Rodney McLeod , a senior safety, intercepted three passes against Maryland. He’s the first Cavaliers to do that since Anthony Poindexter snared three against NC State in 1996. McLeod now has 6 INTs in his career.
  • Kicker Robert Randolph has moved into a three-way tie for No. 6 all-time at UVa in career scoring. Randolph has 210 points in his career and that’s tied with a couple of legendary names at Virginia in Frank Quayle and Tiki Barber.
  • A stat worth knowing: Virginia has given up a total of 10 points in the first quarter this season, which is tied with Stanford for the national lead for the fewest opening quarter points allowed.
  • Speaking of Stanford, when I see college football highlights or read about other teams, I feel like Virginia is trying to build an offensive model similar to Wisconsin and Stanford, a pair of nationally ranked programs. Power running with play-action passing. Defensively, I think the models are at places like Virginia Tech, Florida State, and even LSU. Fast defenses at every position with a lot of depth in the front seven.
  • An interesting note, particularly considering the offensive struggles late in Al Groh’s tenure: UVa has surpassed 400 yards of total offense in 11 of 21 games during offensive coordinator Bill Lazor’s tenure.
  • Virginia has won the Time of Possession battle in every game this season but one (NC State). UVa dominated that category against Maryland 34:10 to 25:50. In the decisive third quarter, the Hoos had the ball for 10:39 while the Terps had it for just 4:21.
  • Revisiting the three keys: 1. Contain the QBs. Check. C.J. Brown had just 24 rushing yards out of the read option and carried the ball just twice, while Danny O’Brien completed just 16 of 36 passes for 241 yards with 2 INTs. 2. Keep ’em off balance. Check. Virginia mixed things up offensively with 45 rushing attempts and 36 passing attempts, often against formation or down/distance tendencies. The result was 307 yards passing and 220 yards rushing. 3. Penalties and turnovers. Check, mostly. After committing too many first half penalties (5 for 40 yards) and coughing up a first half fumble, the Hoos had 2 turnovers and 0 penalties after halftime. Most importantly, the Hoos won the turnover category and was essentially even in penalty flags. Oh, I nailed the score prediction too. Good times!
  • A closing quote that’s been popular on the message boards Sunday comes from Maryland quarterback Danny O’Brien: “They did mix some things up. I thought they did a nice job of mixing up their pressures. The first pick kind of made us hot; it gave us a look we hadn’t seen. It was just the fade out concept – they got us on that one. They did a good job on third down mixing it up, whether it was me or C.J. [Brown] in there. They did a good job, so I credit them, but at the same time, there were a lot of plays to be made on or side of the ball that we didn’t make.”

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