"Sunshine go away today/ I don't feel much like dancing."
Jonathan Edwards first crooned the opening words of "Sunshine" in 1971 as an anti-war protest. On an overcast Saturday afternoon at Scott Stadium, as I watched Virginia lose its second winnable game in as many weeks to Southern Miss, 30-24, I found Edwards' lyrics particularly fitting for another reason.
I spent Friday night getting my groove on at Trinity for "Mallard Ball," a duck hunt-themed date function touted as "A Night of Fowl Play." Rocking a camo hat and a T-shirt sporting several ducks and the slogan, "If it flies, it dies," I came ready to play. The DJ, evidently, did not, as he fed me and my fellow revelers a steady diet of despicable techno trash and came close to pounding our poor eardrums into metaphorical foie gras. He even had the audacity to refuse repeated requests for "Build Me Up Buttercup," and only a half-dozen FratMusic staples saved Mallard Ball's musical malady from becoming a complete catastrophe.
Against the Golden Eagles, the Cavaliers traded camo, orange vests and hunting rifles for blue uniforms, black cleats and V-sabres. They got a dominant second-half performance from the defense and an electrifying last-ditch effort by freshman quarterback David Watford, who came a fourth-down completion away from winning it at the death. Whereas a half-dozen decent beats salvaged my Friday night, however, a half-dozen big-play collapses on defense doomed Virginia to its second straight defeat.
During midweek practices and press conferences alike, the Virginia coaching staff focused on keeping pace with the Golden Eagles' high-octane offense, and that focus seemingly paid off for long stretches Saturday. It may sound odd to talk of a defense - not an offense - finding a rhythm on the field, but that was exactly what happened for a Virginia defensive unit which almost looked too comfortable. Led by linebacker LaRoy Reynold's team-high 12 tackles and forced fumble, the Virginia front seven repeatedly stuffed Southern Miss runs at the line of the scrimmage and held the Golden Eagles to a measly 1.7 rushing average for 61 yards, and the defensive backs similarly closed quickly on the short outs and bubble screens of their opponents' rapid-fire aerial attack.
The Virginia defense clamped down on the Golden Eagles for long stretches but crucially let its guard down at key moments and succumbed to big plays - none bigger than the first play of the second quarter. On fourth-and-15, Southern Miss seemed poised to punt the ball out of its own end zone. Instead, punter Danny Hrapmann sprinted to his right like a bat out of hell for a gutsy 31-yard gain. The fake punt catalyzed the Southern Miss offense, which rode Davis's right arm to a 14-13 lead on 7-of-9 passing for 64 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown toss. With four minutes and change left before halftime, the senior signal caller threw his third touchdown pass to a ridiculously wide open Kelvin Bolden on what Virginia defensive coordinator Jim Reid deemed busted goal line coverage.
Thereafter, the defense buckled down by surviving two consecutive Michael Rocco interceptions before halftime and miraculously holding Southern Miss to just three second-half field goals as Rocco's third pick, two subpar Jimmy Howell punts and a failed fourth-down attempt repeatedly gave the Golden Eagle offense great field position. When it mattered most, however, the Virginia defense suffered yet another big-play breakdown. Trailing 27-24 and desperately needing a stop late in the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers surrendered an improbable first down on third-and-23 when wide receiver Tracy Lampley rocketed down the sideline for 41 yards and a subsequent security blanket field goal.
The Golden Eagles converted 10-of-21 third-down opportunities against a Virginia defense which never seemed fazed by their hurry-up attack; on the contrary, the purportedly fast-paced Southern Miss attack seemed to lull the Cavaliers to sleep before delivering a few, well-timed daggers with assassin-like speed and effectiveness. Coach Mike London conceded that "there [were] a couple of times with that hurry-up tempo that they got us," and defensive coordinator Jim Reid went even further.
"Again we got beaten by big plays," Reid said. "It was a problem last year, [and] it's a problem again this year, so we've got to stem that."
The glaring inability of Virginia's otherwise stout defense to make key stops ultimately determined the final score, but it didn't help that Rocco - who limped off the field after his third interception - wasted numerous opportunities to regain the lead and demonstrate his supposedly improved leadership and playmaking in the pocket. With the sophomore relegated to the bench to nurse a midsection injury, Watford displayed plenty of freshman jitters early but eventually justified London's faith in him with the two biggest plays of his young career. With the game hanging in the balance, Watford rallied the team to a 10-play, 76-yard touchdown drive which he capped with a one-yard touchdown toss and two-point conversion to bring Virginia within three, 27-24, with five minutes remaining. During Virginia's subsequent drive, down 30-24, Watford even channeled his inner Michael Vick and escaped from an almost certain sack for a 15-yard scramble to keep the nail-biting drive alive with less than a minute to play.
For the more than 40,000 Scott Stadium faithful desperately holding out hope for their own proverbial "Build Me Up Buttercup" - a game-winner from Watford - the night-saving song never came. After Rocco lost the crowd, Watford won them back, but the freshman could do nothing but hold his helmet in frustration after Kris Burd's drop on fourth-and-four sealed another winnable loss. Optimists can look to the final lyrics of "Sunshine" for hope that this football season is going to turn around, but after back-to-back nights of foul play, forgive me if I don't feel much like singing.
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