Louisiana Tech Heads To Town

By: Kris Wright |

Sabre TV

Miranda Mason catches up with running back Khalek Shepherd .

Virginia’s opponent this week may not carry the most recognizable name for fans, but Louisiana Tech and its high-octane offense may get everyone’s attention Saturday at Scott Stadium. The Bulldogs, after all, bring a 3-0 record to Charlottesville after putting up more than 50 points in all three games. UVa’s players already know that they have a challenge on their hands this week.

“They’re kind of similar to TCU, a spread team. They put up their numbers. They’re a good team like we play week in and week out,” Cavalier linebacker D.J. Hill said.

The Virginia defense doesn’t need to look very hard to see that it faces a tough task this week. This Tech team is near the top of the Football Bowl Subdivision in virtually every offensive category. The Bulldogs rank 22nd nationally in rushing offense (232.33 yards per game), 22nd nationally in passing offense (304.33 yards per game) and 11th in total offense (536.67 yards per game). Their scoring offense ranks third nationally at 54.67 points per game. If you take out Football Championship Subdivision opponents, however, LT ranks No. 1. All three of its opponents have been FBS teams.

So while Tech lost its top tailback Tevin King to a season-ending knee injury, the offense’s balanced attack will still be a handful to slow down.

“I don’t know if you slow them down. They scored 50-something – first two games – 56 points, last game – 52 points. They have given up some points, as well, so it’s kind of been a back and forth, coming from the WAC conference, there’s a lot of spread out, throw the ball all over the place,” UVa coach Mike London said.

As London pointed out, LT has allowed quite a few points this season too so the media at Monday’s press conference – outside of Virginia’s quarterback situation – dialed in on the shootout theme after looking at the statistics. It makes sense. After all, as impressive as those offensive numbers are, the defensive numbers are the polar opposite. Louisiana Tech ranks 77th nationally in rushing defense (168 yards per game), 117th in passing defense (330 yards per game), and 115th in total defense (498 yards per game). The Bulldogs sit 111th in scoring defense by allowing 37.7 points per game.

If you’re keeping track at home, that means the averages in Tech’s games to date have featured 54.7 points for the Bulldogs and 37.7 points for their opponents. In other words, the HooVision folks probably should be ready for a busy scoreboard day.

“I think we are going to have to score some points. We are going to have to hang on to the ball and put some drives together and with the style of offense, because they will run a ball, they will run a play and then they will throw deep, touchdown. You will see that – you go back and look, there’s probably been several times during the course of the season you look after three or four plays, touchdown, because that’s what they do. It’s up to us to stay on the field and limit that, and when we get the ball and score ourselves,” London said.

Turnovers may be the most concerning area for the Cavaliers entering the game, though. So far in 2012, UVa is tied for 114th nationally in turnover margin at a minus-1.75 average per game. Virginia has recorded 2 fumble recoveries and 1 interception but has lost 5 fumbles and 5 interceptions. That’s a 3-10 ratio of turnovers gained vs. turnovers lost.

Louisiana Tech, meanwhile, is tied for sixth in the same turnover margin category with a plus-2.0 average per game. The Bulldogs have 9 fumble recoveries and 1 interception but only 4 fumbles lost on the other side of the ledger. That’s a 10-4 ratio of turnovers gained vs. turnovers lost.

“I think last year they were No. 1, or high in the category of turnovers, and you know what you see, they are up there again, in a passing league like that, underneath routes and things, the linemen peeling and running, and a lot of times the most unsuspecting is the lineman coming up the line and stripping the ball,” London said. “They do pay a lot of attention to gang tackling and second guy in, ripping the ball out, they do that very well, and you do see that. And that’s not a misprint or anything like that. That’s kind of a philosophy.”

Hill Enters Spotlight

Senior linebacker LaRoy Reynolds injured his right hand in the second quarter of UVa’s game at Georgia Tech on Saturday, Sept. 15. Reynolds returned with a heavily casted hand to play in the second half, but did not make the trip to TCU last week after needing surgery on last Friday. Rumors last week surfaced saying it was a broken bone on the ring finger. Reynolds likely will not play this week against Louisiana Tech.

That gave sophomore D.J. Hill a shot for extended snaps against the Horned Frogs. The Georgia native played fairly well in his first career start, leading the team with 8 tackles. He made 5 solo stops.

“I played pretty good for my first game I feel like. I had a couple of mental mistakes, but not too many. I think I played pretty good for my first game,” Hill said Monday. “I wasn’t too nervous because that’s what I came here for is to play football, [that’s] what I’ve been doing all my life is playing football. It wasn’t too much different. Not too much went through my head. I was just excited if anything.”

“Actually D.J. played 61 plays. He graded out a winning percentage and made some tackles. You never know, again, he’s one of those guys that you never know, all of a sudden your number is called and now you’re going to have an extended amount of reps in the game and also special teams plays,” London said. “Now it’s another window of opportunity – as well as Demeitre Brim , true freshman that will be playing at that position, and just one of those young linebacker positions that he stepped up and did an admirable job.”

That WILL linebacker spot had been manned by Reynolds for the majority of the last 16 games after he moved from the strong side to the weak side at the start of the 2011 season. But as a senior captain, Reynolds and his 178 career tackles will need to be replaced after the 2012 campaign concludes.

Hill played in 11 games as a true freshman in 2011 so he wasn’t a complete rookie on the field when he got the start at TCU. Hill, who recorded 10 interceptions and returned six for touchdowns during his junior year of high school, said he didn’t get nervous about it. He knew during the week that he would get the start with Reynolds out and looked at his first career start as an opportunity to impress the coaches.

“Definitely, that’s exactly how I looked at it actually. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity. I had a pretty good camp, but I felt like for the coaches to have confidence in me they’ll have to see it throughout the game,” Hill said. “So that’s how I looked at it going through last week. Playing good this week could solidify or help me with a front-runner spot next year at the position.”

The Quarterback Topic

Michael Rocco

The message board debate on the UVa quarterback situation roared on after the Hoos dropped their second straight game to take a 2-2 record into the last week of September. As long as the offense struggles to score points – 14.7 points per game against FBS competition this season – that’s a conversation that will continue to dominate fans’ chatter.

That’s the nature of the quarterback position. It is the most visible position on the field so everyone saw what Michael Rocco or Phillip Sims did on this play or that play. So while the interior of the offensive line has stumbled out of the gates, while receivers have dropped some passes, while the running game has stalled … well, those topics don’t rage on as long as a quarterback debate. It’s the glamour position and a spot that fans like to discuss.

Rocco has started 17 straight games for UVa. He’s 10-7 as the starter and helped the team earn a trip to the Chick-fil-A Bowl last season. So far in 2012, Rocco has completed 74 of 123 passes (60.2%) for 838 yards. He has 4 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. There was also a fumble on a center-quarterback exchange.

Sims has seen action in all four games this season, mostly for mop-up duty when the scoreboard leaned heavily one way or the other. He has completed 18 of 29 passes (62.1%) for 174 yards. He has 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Sims also has lost two fumbles while being sacked.

Of note, UVa has scored nearly half of its 87 total points this season in the fourth quarter. Of the 41 total points in the final frame, Rocco’s drives produced 14 points while Sims’ drives produced 27.

When asked about the starting quarterback spot on Monday, London said: “Nothing has changed as far as our approach going into this game. Practice, the way we practice, how we handle the game plans, I mean, that will all be evaluated. So not only the quarterback position, but there’s other positions that have to do well, play well and eliminate some of the mistakes and errors.” He also noted that the coaching staff takes into account the strengths of players when developing a plan. In the case of the QBs, that means there are “a menu of plays for players to feel like they can be successful at” when they are in the game.

Phillip Sims

As for picking a starting quarterback, London said that Rocco has shown in games that he can be successful. He also said that both quarterbacks know that they need to perform better for the offense to be more productive.

“Well, Michael started because he’s been a starter, and you know, he’s played in games and demonstrated his performance in games. Phillip is a talent that’s learning the offense and making some headway, he will garner some attention and consideration,” London said. “As I said, when you look at the game and you have enough throws, both of them have to make the type of throws and eliminate the type of errors of interceptions and reads. But both of these guys are very talented. I think right now, as I said, Michael is in a position now that how he does on the field – him being on the field, that’s not saying anything negative against anyone else.

“I mean, it’s the same way if a right guard is not blocking a guy he’s supposed to block, then, you know, on a consistent basis, then there has to be consideration to move him or put someone else in there. You know, as long as he’s consistent and gives us a chance to win; then he’ll play there,” he continued. “So the quarterback position, it’s no different than any other. It’s important, now don’t get me wrong, it’s very, very important, but I think that the two of these have to understand that and the offensive staff understands that, and more importantly, both of them are ready to perform and play. But you know, this is the type of game, once again, that we’ll be able to tell a lot – you know what I mean, Game 4 into Game 5, the style of defense that we’re going to go against. It’s going to be important that we throw the ball where it’s supposed to be thrown, [to create] catch and run opportunities, and before we go into league play, this is the last of the outer conference games and this is one that it’s an important game for this program.”

Worth Noting

  • UVa is one of 11 teams in the nation that faces four teams who played in 2011 bowl games through the first five weeks of the season. The Cavaliers are the only team in the ACC that can say that.
  • Reporters asked Virginia running back Khalek Shepherd on Monday if he noticed an up-tick in first-team reps for Phillip Sims at practice. Shepherd said no and added that both quarterbacks have been taking the same reps with the first-team offense throughout the season.
  • Shepherd also told reporters he’s a big college football fan so he did recognize Louisiana Tech when he saw the schedule. In fact, Shepherd said he watched LT’s bowl game last season. The Bulldogs fell 31-24 to TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl.
  • Virginia linebacker D.J. Hill said his weight checks in at 225 pounds. The roster read 210 pounds from last season.
  • Hill said it’s pretty “brutal” playing on the road so it feels good to be back home this week.
  • UVa’s game at Duke on Saturday, Oct. 6 will kick off at 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast by regional sports networks.
  • Louisiana Tech is Virginia’s lone first-time opponent on the 2012 schedule.
  • The Cavalier coaching staff will be wearing a Coach to Cure MD patch to raise awareness and funding for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research during this week’s game. Fans are encouraged to donate online at www.CoachtCureMD.org or donate $5 by texting CURE to 9099.