UVa’s Losing Streak Grows Against Wake

Coach London and the Hoos are frustrated this season.

Virginia’s 2012 season has become a broken record and that is heart-breaking for Wahoos everywhere.

Turnovers, penalties, special teams miscues, and a points-averse offense wiped out UVa’s chances of a win against Wake Forest on Saturday as the Demon Deacons grabbed a 16-10 victory. Those same issues have reigned supreme for much of the season and the Hoos have six straight losses to show for it.

“It seems like we can’t catch a break, but we just have to push it each and every week. It wasn’t specifically one thing that caused us to lose the game; it was a lot of stuff,” said Virginia receiver Tim Smith , who 4 catches for 79 yards and 1 TD. “We left a lot of plays out there on the field so we can’t point fingers or anything like that. We just have to take it for what it is.”

What it is is frustrating. That may be the best way to describe the team’s mood after the Hoos fell to 2-6 on the season.

“We’re playing well and we have to continue to build off it, keep practicing well, and keep giving ourselves a chance to win,” said UVa linebacker Steve Greer , who led the team 14 tackles. “It’s frustrating. I don’t think there’s one person on this team that likes to lose, so we just have to use this bye week and fix some of these mistakes so we stop beating ourselves.”

The Cavaliers certainly aren’t helping their own cause each week. Against Wake Forest, the same issues reappeared as Virginia lost the battle of turnovers, penalties, and special teams yardage.

Wake’s Kevin Johnson makes an INT.

For example, they entered this week’s game ranked 119th out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in turnover margin and the Hoos dropped that category again Saturday. Kevin Parks lost a fumble, Phillip Sims threw an interception, and Khalek Shepherd botched a punt to leave UVa with three turnovers on the day. Wake Forest, meanwhile, had none.

All three mistakes came in the second half and the final two snuffed out Virginia’s remaining comeback hopes in the fourth quarter. Sims’ interception came on 2nd-and-1 from the Wake 34-yard line as he targeted Darius Jennings on a deep threw up the home sidelines. Thrown off his back foot with pressure in his face, the pass fluttered and Jennings didn’t come up with the effort needed to break up the interception.

“We talk about practicing in the red zone and throwing the ball high and to the outside so if Darius [Jennings] doesn’t get it then it goes out of bounds. Right now, without seeing the film or talking to Phillip, it looked like it fluttered up in the air a little bit,” London said. “But the throw, which is practiced and practiced, is to throw it to the outside shoulder, so that if he can’t catch it the defender can’t either. But the defender made a great play. The other thing is that if the ball looks like it’s going to be caught by the defense, then the wide receiver is taught to become the defensive back and play to the hands of the defender, who is now the wide receiver in that situation.”

“I saw times today where he kept getting better and better. He saw things better as he was out there. I’m certain that he will keep getting better. We have to make sure that we aren’t giving them the ball, which has been a problem for a long time for us. We clearly haven’t addressed that enough and we will continue to address it,” UVa offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said.

Sabre TV

Miranda Mason reports on Virginia’s loss to Wake Forest.

“It was a double move. The corners on both sides did a good job covering it. We had a little bit of pressure so I tried to get it out there and give it a chance. I wanted to put it where he could get it or nobody could get it. I kind of got hit so it took a little bit off the throw,” said Sims, who completed 22 of 39 passes for 253 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. “I have to make a better decision like that in the red zone.”

Shepherd’s fumble on special teams, meanwhile, came with approximately two minutes remaining in the game. The running back ran forward quickly to try to fair catch the high-sailing kick at the UVa 39-yard line, but it bounced off his shoulder pads and the Deacs recovered to seal their win.

That mistake had company on special teams. Poor lane integrity and coverage on the game’s first punt led to a 60-yard return by Wake’s Lovell Jackson, which set up a 16-yard touchdown run for Josh Harris less than three minutes into the game. After that sequence, a snooze-fest followed for the much of the first half before Sims evened the score with a 13-yard touchdown pass to UVa’s Tim Smith with 20 seconds to go before intermission.

The 7-7 tie was short-lived. On the kickoff, the coverage unit gave up a return to the WFU 40-yard line and tacked a 15-yard personal foul penalty on top of that when Kyle McCartin hit the returner out of bounds. That gave the Deacs the ball at UVa’s 45-yard line and they hit a big 41-yard pass play to steal three points and a 10-7 halftime lead.

Later in the third quarter on a Wake Forest punt, Henry Coley drew a block in the back flag that occurred behind the line of scrimmage and turned 4th-and-11 into 4th-and-1 for the Deacons. They converted that play and eventually put up a field goal on the drive. So in the end, special teams issues and penalties (the Hoos had just 5 for 40 yards on the day, but 3 of the 5 flags arguably affected the score directly) contributed to 13 of Wake’s 16 points on the day.

“[It feels] bad because I think it’s costing us football games. I’m responsible for it. I need to identify the problem and whoever keeps creating the same problems and the same issues, you just can’t play them,” said special teams coordinator Anthony Poindexter, who called the penalties uncalled for after the game. “It’s sad. For us to play like we did on defense … I mean 213 yards, you’ve got to beat teams when you do that. Bottom line. It’s just a mess.”

The challenge now at hand is keeping the team focused entering a bye week on the schedule in an effort to turn things around. Virginia is one loss away from a losing record in 2012 so each game in November will be critical to the season’s final tally.

That won’t be an easy task for London and his staff. This team is full of inexperienced and young players, many of whom don’t have much experience with losing. After six straight defeats, the Hoos’ confidence may be wavering.

“For guys like me, being young and never having had this happen to me, it’s starting to take a toll on me, but when people say that someone always has it worse than what you have, that’s true. Those seniors, I know they’re feeling way worse than I do,” UVa true freshman Eli Harold said solemnly.

Final Stats