One of the hallmarks of my time here at Virginia has been a general sense of jadedness when it comes to our football program.
“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up” That mantra, coined by legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi, encapsulates the mindset that the Virginia football team will try to embrace after a disappointing loss to Ball State.
Virginia has been flagged 35 times this season for 278 yards. The team earned 13 of those penalties Saturday, setting them back 93 yards on the field, but far further in actuality.
Defensive miscues and careless penalties gave Ball State (5-1, 2-0 MAC) good field position and the Cardinals took advantage, pulling away in the third quarter as the Cavaliers (2-3, 0-1 ACC) failed to provide many answers. “It was embarrassing,” coach Mike London said.
Previews for all the Virginia teams in action this weekend.
The fourth and final installment in The Cavalier Daily’s examination of Virginia’s strong recent recruiting record.
Going into the week’s practices, Virginia head coach Mike London went to work on his offense, scrambling the offensive line and promoting young receivers to try and jumpstart productivity. Sophomore quarterback David Watford, however, refused to pin the Cavaliers’ offensive woes on anyone other than himself.
Three weeks ago, freshman linebacker Max Valles was just another name along the Virginia sideline, watching in awe of Oregon’s hypersonic offense. Fast forward to last Saturday and Valles is the Cavaliers’ starting outside linebacker, leading the team with 2.5 sacks against a potent Pittsburgh offense.
Because you can’t spell “elite” without #GoACC, each week we will provide conference-wide football power rankings.
Virginia welcomed Pittsburgh to the ACC with a tale of two teams — the defensive unit and offensive unit.
Though a 14-3 conference loss to Pittsburgh is nothing to write home about, a few points — not all bad, surprisingly — stood out in Virginia’s first ACC meeting with Pitt.
Playing outside its home stadium for the first time this season, the Virginia football team looked out of its element Saturday.
Early in his tenure as coach, London addressed his inaugural freshman class as a group for the first time. He walked with confidence into the McCue Center, looked each anxious young man in the eye and told them that things would get better.
It’s a weekend of firsts for the Virginia football team. For the first time since last Nov. 24, the Cavaliers (2-1, 0-0 ACC) will hit the road Saturday when they travel to Heinz Field to take on Pittsburgh.
“When it rains, it pours.” That was the theme for Virginia this past weekend as they took down the Virginia Military Institute with an offensive onslaught that racked up 580 offensive yards.
During an afternoon when sophomore quarterback David Watford looked to be off his mark early — throwing a pair of first quarter interceptions — Virginia needed a catalyst to kick-start its offense. The Cavaliers found what they were looking for and then some in their rushing attack, running for over 300 yards for the first time since 2004.
In the two weeks between Virginia’s 59-10 loss to Oregon and its matchup against Virginia Military Institute, Mike London had talked at length about the Cavaliers needing to find their identity on the field. Through one quarter Saturday, it looked as though Virginia was having an identity crisis.
Current Bayside High School star safety Quin Blanding arrived in Charlottesville Aug. 31 to watch his childhood friends play college football.
Senior defensive tackle Brent Urban is a gentle giant for the Cavaliers. But there is nothing gentle about his on-field prowess, as some professional scouts are beginning to notice.
From an incredible one-handed catch against Penn State that put the Virginia football team in a position to kick a game-winning field goal, to a clutch game-winning catch against Miami in the back of the endzone, junior tight end Jake McGee had his fair share of highlights in last year’s otherwise disappointing football season. He continued to shine in spite of an overall dismal offensive outing against Oregon, snagging eight passes, twice as many as his previous single-game best. In doing so, McGee has emerged as one of the anchors of the Cavalier offense.
