If you missed the radio broadcast of the Cavaliers' 27-10 victory over Wake Forest Saturday, you didn't miss much.
Aside from Antwoine Womack's 40-yard touchdown run and Kevin Coffey's 48-yard touchdown catch, Virginia did just enough to take care of business on the field.
The question on everybody's minds had to do with what happened off the field this week.
Wednesday, TheSabre.com, an independent Web site for Virginia sports, posted a letter from Virginia athletics director Terry Holland. The letter was an attempt to stem the tide of criticism that washed over Virginia coach George Welsh and the team in the Cavs' 2-2 start. But it left questions about the timing of the message and Welsh's future with the Cavaliers, especially with Holland's mention of a "public transition timetable" for Welsh's eventual departure.
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"My job is to support the coach and that's what I was trying to do," Holland said before Saturday's game. "What I said was: If the transition is something that concerns you, we'll show you how we'll keep our focus at the end of the year. There's going to be a change sometime and we have to deal with that. If fans are questioning us, then maybe [high school] prospects are too."
Holland said he met with Welsh Thursday to discuss the subject and address his concerns about the letter being a possible distraction. But in the postgame press conference, Welsh said the Internet posting did not affect the team's play.
"I didn't mention it to the team," Welsh said. "I don't think there was [much distraction]. I thought we came into the game in the right frame of mind. They knew it was going to be a crucial game in the conference and I thought we were focused."
If the players were distracted by the hubbub, they did a good job hiding it after the game. A few players said they knew of the message, but many of them maintained they didn't find out until the media brought it up after the game.
"I don't know anything about that, to tell you the truth," senior quarterback Dan Ellis said. "But you guys know me; the Internet is taboo for me."
Junior running back Tyree Foreman said he heard Welsh would be evaluated at the end of the season, but joined several other teammates in questioning the midseason speculation.
"Whatever happens, I'm behind him," Foreman said. "He's the guy that got us here, so we can't turn our backs on him now when we're going through some adversity."
Holland said nothing would change before the end of the year and hoped that Virginia students especially understood that the purpose of the letter was to support Welsh and encourage others to do the same.
"Probably more students read [the letter] than the general public," Holland said. "The main thing is to support the team until the end of the year and then if there are any complaints to be made, make them to me and I'll make sure Coach Welsh gets them and we'll address them. I can promise you that because nobody wants to be good more than we do"
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