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COLLEGE FOOTBALL Reeling Cavaliers seeking good bye
Reeling Cavaliers need one more win for bowl eligibility
Date published: 11/10/2008
BY TAFT COGHILL JR. WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.-- Usually, college football players prefer to take the field every Saturday, especially after unsettling defeats. But Clint Sintim is a realist.The senior linebacker knows the Virginia Cavaliers (5-5, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) need time to regroup if they want to earn the sixth bowl trip in head coach Al Groh's eight-year tenure. Virginia is one victory away from the mandatory six wins to become bowl-eligible, and it's been that way since a 24-17 victory over Georgia Tech on Oct. 25. Since then the Cavaliers have lost two straight games, most recently a lackluster 28-17 setback to Wake Forest on Saturday at BB&T Field. They've dropped from first place in the Coastal Division of the ACC to fifth in two weeks. That's why Sintim said the Cavaliers desperately need the upcoming bye week to prepare for a Nov. 22 home date with Clemson. They need to beat the Tigers or Virginia Tech on Nov. 29 to become bowl-eligible. "I think the bye week might be good for us," Sintim said. "I think it will give us a chance to focus on the things we didn't do well [on Saturday]. We're obviously not a perfect team." The Cavaliers have been far from perfect the past two weeks. They committed four turnovers and nine penalties against Wake Forest. Senior tight end John Phillips said the Cavaliers may have been focusing too much on the ACC race. "We might have got ahead of ourselves a little bit," Phillips said. "Coming into this [Wake Forest] game, we knew we could kind of control our own destiny as far as the ACC went." That's no longer the case. And some of the reasons have been perplexing to the Cavaliers. Senior running back Cedric Peerman went 443 career touches without a lost fumble, but has suffered two the past two weeks. "I guess it's just the Lord's way of humbling me," Peerman of his sudden fumbling problems. His teammates have been humbled, too. Sophomore quarterback Marc Verica earned plenty of praise during Virginia's four-game winning streak, but he's been partly to blame for its current woes. He threw three interceptions against Wake Forest, bringing his season total to 12 compared to eight touchdowns. Groh appreciates what Verica has done as a former fourth-string signal caller, but he's growing worried about the turnovers. "There's a lot of good plays there. He's doing a lot of good things," Groh said. "But clearly, what has to stop is the interceptions." One of the picks on Saturday wasn't Verica's fault. The ball bounced out of the arms of intended wide receiver Kevin Ogletree and into the hands of Wake Forest safety Kevin Patterson, who turned the interception into a 53-yard touchdown sprint. The play is typical of the many kinks the Cavaliers must work out this week if it hopes to be away from home for the holidays. "We have the capability of having some good games. We just didn't play one [on Saturday]," Sintim said. "So I think the bye week is definitely necessary to straighten out some of the things we didn't do well."
Taft Coghill Jr.: 540/374-5526
Date published: 11/10/2008
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