Amid all the hype and hoopla surrounding the Cavaliers' first two wins and their highest ranking since November 1998 remains one glaring concern: the secondary.
Virginia's defensive backfield was hardly tested against Temple. They limited the Owls to just 132 yards, but a lot of that success was a result of the front seven producing five sacks and two quarterback hurries. Against North Carolina, when the Cavalier pass rush was only able to muster one sack and zero hurries, Virginia's pass defense fell victim to 299 yards and three touchdowns.
Most disturbing for Virginia was its susceptibility to allowing the big play, as the Tar Heels completed three passes for more than 45 yards. Two of those completions came on long passes against coverage from Cavalier cornerbacks, setting up 17 Carolina points. A third deep ball down the sideline was dropped by UNC's Derrelle Mitchell.
In a closer game, those big passes could have proven more costly.
"Coach [Al] Groh talked about it all week -- we've got to eliminate the big plays," freshman cornerback Philip Brown said. "If I give up one big play the whole game, then that will kill us right there."
The Cavalier secondary and particularly the corners lack the experience of other units. Sophomore Tony Franklin started the final six games of last season, but starting counterpart Marcus Hamilton is only two games into his career as a starter. Before the season even started, Hamilton's coverage of the long ball was already in question.
"Marcus has had the ball thrown over his head twice in some situations when he probably should have been more alert," Groh said during training camp.
Brown, a true freshman, completes the corner rotation as the top substitute and nickel back.
While Groh understands that his corners are young, he also emphasizes the importance of defending against a possible game-changing long pass.
"Two and a half of the three are really playing for the first time," Groh said. "I thought we erred on some deep balls that we can't afford to err on in close games."
Akron's Charlie Frye, who ranks fourth in the NCAA for active career passing yards, will present another challenge for Virginia Saturday. Frye threw for 337 yards against the Cavaliers two years ago.
News and Notes
The Cavaliers currently lead the 11-team ACC in total offense (526.5 yards per game) and rushing offense (292.5 ypg) after ranking sixth and eighth in those categories last year when the ACC had only nine teams. ... Groh revealed that most of Virginia's production on the ground against UNC came on repetition of the same three running plays. He added that it was not unusual, as the Indianapolis Colts called the same run 34 times Thursday night en route to 202 team rushing yards. ... Sean Johnson has kicked all four of Virginia's punts this season, but the job is not securely his just yet. Groh said that, for the punters, "the season hasn't started yet" because of the limited number of kicks. ... Saturday's game starts at 3 p.m. and will not be televised. Virginia is 54-4 since 1989 in games not broadcast on television. ... The Sept. 18 matchup with Syracuse will be a 3:30 p.m. kickoff and also will not televised.
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