WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.-After three minutes Saturday, the Virginia football team looked on the verge of blowing out Wake Forest, a mediocre conference opponent, in a game where a lopsided win would have allowed all the Cavs, and coach George Welsh especially, to avoid persistent questions about the coach's job security.
But 57 minutes of play later, the Cavs had managed only an efficient but unremarkable 27-10 victory, and the questions remained. After the game, Welsh, along with most of his players, was asked not about Virginia's 17th straight win over the Deacons, but instead about the latest controversy surrounding comments by athletics director Terry Holland about Welsh's future with the Cavaliers.
Perhaps if the Cavs had dominated the Deacons like Clemson and North Carolina did before them, the focus would have been on the play on the field. The Cavs played well enough to win, but not spectacularly and certainly not impressive enough to answer any questions about the team's weaknesses left over from last week's 31-10 loss to Clemson.
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Everybody had a criticism. Welsh griped about the Cavs' nine penalties and their poorly played fourth quarter. Quarterback Dan Ellis said there were "too many penalties" and "I could have been more accurate." And running back Antwoine Womack, even after he ran for a career-high 180 yards, said "I could have been better. We could have been better. I don't think we played to our full potential."
Why such a damper on a 17-point win? Part of it stems from the vulnerability of the opponent. Two weeks ago, the winless Deacs (0-4, 0-3 ACC) allowed Clemson 55 points, but the Cavs (3-2, 2-1) couldn't manage even half of that. Against a team that has a great shot at losing all 11 games, Virginia gained 416 yards of total offense and allowed 307, which are great numbers until you consider that Wake Forest was averaging 442 yards allowed to only 167 gained.
The win was not without its bright spots, though. Womack started the game with a 40-yard touchdown on the Cavs' first drive and had 85 rushing yards before halftime. As Ellis struggled with his accuracy, the junior tailback carried the Virginia offense and allowed Welsh to go with a run-heavy attack. The Cavs called 47 rushes to only 27 passes, and Womack ran 26 times for 180 yards, a 6.9 yards-per-run average in his third career start.
"I need to do this every week," Womack said. "I really need a breakout game. I still feel rusty, though. There were some runs that I could have broken."
After David Greene kicked a field goal on the Cavs' second drive to make the score 10-0, Virginia lost some of its momentum when the Deacons put together their first effective drive of the game. In his first-ever appearance under center, backup quarterback James MacPherson - who played last season as the backup punter - started with three straight completions and led Wake Forest on a 51-yard drive that ended with Tyler Ashe's 38-yard field goal.
MacPherson, a sophomore, split quarterbacking duties with true freshman Anthony Young and played drop-back passer to Young's scrambling runner. As opening day starter C.J. Leak sat on the sideline with an injured knee, the duo played effectively, although with the lack of confidence expected from underclassmen.
MacPherson started six drives and completed 12 of 26 passes for 113 yards. Young started five drives and passed sparingly but rushed 12 times for 112 yards, causing further concern about the Virginia defense's ability to contain quarterback rushes. Last week, Clemson's Woodrow Dantzler ran all over the Cavs for 220 yards and two touchdowns, and Virginia still has to face two more Dantzler-type quarterbacks: North Carolina's Ronald Curry and Virginia Tech's Michael Vick.
"When you have a quarterback who can get outside the pocket, it can be distracting," Cav linebacker Byron Thweatt said. "With Young, you have to make sure you play the quarterback and pressure him. Otherwise, he'll get away."
After running back Tyree Foreman ran for a short touchdown to make the score 17-3, Virginia took a 17-point advantage on Greene's 47-yard field goal with 47 seconds to go in the half. That was as large as the lead would get.
On Wake Forest's first drive of the second half, Young passed only once but rushed three times for 60 yards and put the Deacons at the Cavs' two-yard line with a 53-yard scamper up the middle of the field. Three plays later, speedy wide receiver John Stone lined up in the backfield and ran off-tackle for a one-yard touchdown, the Deacs' only one in their best offensive game thus far. Before Saturday's 307-yard offensive performance, Wake had peaked with a 181-yard game in its season-opening loss to Appalachian State.
However, the Virginia defense was satisfied with its performance. The secondary played especially well and came up with a momentum-changing play in the second quarter. Cornerback Tim Spruill intercepted a MacPherson pass at the Wake Forest 41 and returned it 10 yards. Eight plays later, Foreman scored his touchdown, and the Cavs took a 14-point lead.
"I just rolled with [the receiver] down the seam and came up with the interception," Spruill said. "A lot of people thought [Wake Forest] could pass on us, but we proved them wrong."
Ellis finished 16 of 27 passing, including a 48-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Coffey in the third quarter. The quarterback would have had a better game statistically, however, if two potential touchdown passes had been hauled in by receiver Billy McMullen. But McMullen dropped both, the Cavs won unimpressively by 17 and the questions remain.
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