The Cavalier Daily relives some of 2014's brightest moments in Virginia athletics.
After racking up 123 tackles in 12 starts as a rookie, Virginia freshman free safety Quin Blanding was Tuesday named the ACC Defensive Freshman of the Year by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.
I am angry. Angry that Virginia posted its third straight losing season. Angry that we missed a bowl.
The Virginia football team fell to Virginia Tech 24-20 Friday night in Blacksburg, leaving coach Mike London’s Cavaliers a win short of a bowl game and sending the Hokies to their 22nd consecutive bowl-game appearance under coach Frank Beamer.
Saturday was a great night to be a Virginia football fan, as the Cavaliers dominated Miami, 30-13.
Virginia (5-6, 3-4 Coastal) seized a 13-7 halftime lead against the Hurricanes and only improved after the break, when the Cavaliers shut out Miami until garbage time and scored 17 points to post a 30-13 win on Senior Night.
Nearly two weeks later, the Cavaliers (4-6, 2-4 ACC) prepare to host Miami (6-4, 3-3 ACC) in a must-win game this Saturday. With four losses by less than eight points, Virginia has made its days ahead more difficult. But bowl eligibility is still achievable if the team can win this week and next week vs. Virginia Tech.
It has been more than two years since Bayside High rising senior Taquan “Smoke” Mizzell committed to Virginia over North Carolina and West Virginia, affirming the Cavaliers’ considerable influence in Southeastern Virginia’s Hampton Roads region.
Simply shoring up perceived deficiencies won’t put Virginia in position to really compete with teams like Florida State. To do that, the Cavaliers must take a lengthy step forward.
The Virginia football team (4-6, 2-4 ACC) dropped its fourth game in a row Saturday with a 34-20 loss to No. 2 Florida State (9-0, 6-0 ACC) in Tallahassee. The Cavaliers now must win their final two games if they hope to reach bowl eligibility.
Redshirt senior tight end Zachary Swanson has two touchdowns in his Virginia football career. The first came two years ago, when he gloved a short pass from quarterback Phillip Sims as time expired at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium.
The Cavaliers (4-5, 2-3 ACC), staring adversity straight in the face, will now prepare for their toughest test of the season. The No. 2 Florida State Seminoles eagerly await Virginia for a Saturday homecoming game in Tallahassee under the lights.
Can Virginia pull off the upset? If it plays anything like it did in 1995, the Seminoles had better watch out.
The discrepancy in rushing yardage doomed Virginia (4-5, 2-3 Coastal) to a 35-10 defeat before 46,657 fans at Bobby Dodd Stadium on a windy, cool day in Atlanta.
The Cavaliers (4-4, 2-2 ACC) have veered onto the rocky path of 2012 and 2013 and face an uphill climb to reach a bowl game, let alone contend for the Coastal Division title. The most direct challenge will come this weekend, however, on the road against ACC opponent Georgia Tech (6-2, 3-2 ACC).
With Saturday’s head-scratching loss to North Carolina, the Virginia football team fell to 4-4 on the year. Our team this year is obviously much better than last year’s edition, but the Cavaliers still have several enormous flaws which could keep them from reaching bowl eligibility.
Virginia (4-4, 2-2 ACC) played the role of front-runner from the opening minutes of the first quarter in its Homecomings game, but most of the season-high 45,200 fans in attendance ultimately departed the stadium with a bitter taste in their mouths.
Driving back to Charlottesville after a tough defeat at Duke last Saturday night, Ross Burbank watched pieces of North Carolina’s 48-43 comeback win against Georgia Tech.The junior center’s attention was divided. The Tar Heels and Yellow Jackets were scoring in bunches, and the game was exciting, to be sure — but he was also watching “Gladiator.”
The year was 1892. Ellis Island had newly opened as an immigration center, and the first public basketball game had been played in Springfield, Massachusetts. American football, meanwhile, was already well-established.
As a University student committed to the Honor Code and a longtime Cavalier sports fan who has seen her fair share of player dismissals, it seems odd to me that Winston would continue playing despite his troubled past and the new allegations against him.
