Although an ACC championship or bowl game might be off the table for the Virginia football team, the Cavaliers still want one final high note in a season filled with ups and downs.
"We've got to win a road game," redshirt freshman tight end Jeremiah Mathis said. "I think that's the most pivotal thing right now. As a team, winning on the road gives you a lot of confidence. I think that's the confidence that we need as this team."
Standing in the way of that goal is Boston College (5-5, 3-4 ACC), who Virginia will take on in its final road trip of the season tomorrow. The Eagles are riding a three-game win streak and still clinging onto the hope of bowl eligibility. During that three-game stretch, the key for Boston College has been its defense, which has allowed just one offensive touchdown in the last 13 quarters.\n"There are a bunch of big and tough guys [on defense] that I know B.C. has always prided themselves on," Virginia coach Mike London said. "And they are big and thick and physical across the board there. They believe in keeping the ball in front of them, zone pressuring, making you make a mistake."
Leading the Eagles' defense is sophomore linebacker Luke Kuechly, who is first in the country with 146 tackles. Kuechly is the only player this season to have multiple 20-tackle games, the first against N.C. State and the second last weekend against Duke.
"[Kuechly] is that heart and soul of their defense," Mathis said. "There's not a lot of speed, but there's a lot of guys that play tough. They're big guys that will play hard right until the final whistle."\nBoston College's offense is not without talent either. Junior running back Montel Harris is averaging more than 100 rushing yards per game this season, and his 20 career 100-yard games make him the first ACC player to reach that milestone since Warrick Dunn from Florida State.
"Montel Harris is probably the best running back arguably in the conference," London said. "You have him tackled, and then all of a sudden, he gets out of the tackle or the scrum, so to speak. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. He also returns kicks and he's fast and he's elusive. The kid plays with passion and energy. All those things that you want your superstar players to have, he has those things."
The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are coming off a 42-23 loss against border-state rival Maryland. The game was much closer than the score, as Virginia held a 23-21 lead into the fourth quarter but was devastated by 16 penalties, one shy of the school record.
"Penalties are never good for you because you're going backwards," London said. "I'm responsible for that. The coaches that coach those positions are responsible for that, and the players ultimately are responsible for taking the coaching and teaching because they are being taught the right way. They have to execute."
The players understand they need to improve on that area, as well.
"We just have to be more conscious and disciplined, to know that refs know that we're a highly penalized team and that they're going to be looking for us," Mathis said. "I think we just need to be more conscious to things that we're not going to get away with. It's just something that we need to work on."
With all that in mind, Virginia is going into Saturday's game without one of its senior leaders in cornerback Ras-I Dowling, who has been battling injury all season and is now out for the year with a fractured ankle. Additionally, the Cavaliers announced yesterday that senior running back Keith Payne will miss the game because of a "lower extremity" injury. Payne leads the team in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns for the season.
Yet despite the loss of Dowling and the team's recent losses to ACC foes, the Cavaliers remain optimistic.
"We still have two games left," sophomore offensive tackle Oday Aboushi said. "We still have a great chance to be 6-6. Our bowl hopes aren't there anymore, but we want ... our seniors leaving on a positive note"
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