The Virginia football team plays their first match in a crucial five-game stretch of conference football as they head south to take on Wake Forest tomorrow at Groves Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. Game time is 6:30 p.m.
Virginia and Wake Forest enter with identical records (2-2 overall, 0-1 ACC) and are beginning the primary stretch of their ACC schedule.
"It's going to be a challenge
-- we're back in the ACC," senior linebacker and co-captain Angelo Crowell said. "If we want to be in the ACC race, we're going to have to beat this team."
It was not always a challenge for the Cavaliers to knock off the Deacons; Virginia had boasted a 17-game winning streak against the team until Wake Forest won last year, 34-30, at Scott Stadium. Virginia enters with the momentum of soundly defeating Akron last week, while Wake Forest will ride the wave of their 24-21 upset of Purdue.
"They're a hard team to beat these days," Crowell said. "We knew even before they beat Purdue that this was a pretty good ball team."
Virginia's offense clicked against Akron en route to a decisive 48-29 victory. Junior quarterback Matt Schaub looked especially impressive, tossing five touchdown passes. Particularly notable is the wide arsenal of weapons at Schaub's disposal, as a different receiver caught each touchdown pass.
Freshman Wali Lundy and Sopomore Alvin Pearman led the way for the Cavalier ground attack, combining for 183 of the team's 212 rushing yards. More surprisingly, however, was the presence of reshirt freshman quarterback Marques Hagans occasionally aligned as a running back. Hagans also returned two punts and intercepted a pass on Akron's failed punt fake.
Hagans is "very versatile for us," Schaub said. "With his talent, it's hard to keep him off the field."
Returning to the conference schedule generally means teams are more familiar and better acclimated to each other's style of play -- this is usually the case, but Virginia's bounty of freshmen have faced only powerhouse FSU in the ACC before. But Coach Al Groh is confident the team will be able to get its bearing, based on Wake Forest's similarities to recent opponents and strategies culled from archived game tapes.
"Their defensive system is along the same style as South Carolina and Clemson," Groh said. "There are some notable differences, but it gives us a good orientation point with the players."
Wake Forest presents a unique style of offense, combining several different formations and types of rushing plays. The Deacons led the ACC in rushing last year (221.6 yards per game) and are averaging even more this year (230.5 ypg). They have employed a host of featured backs, five of whom have aaccumulated at least 125 but no more than 225 rushing yards.
"Offensively, they're probably quite unique to the teams that we've played this year," Groh said. "I can see elements of bi-formation, power running, wishbone offense and a little wing-T. In terms of comparison, they're a blend of Air Force and Nebraska. They run it more and pass it less than anybody."
Wake Forest relies on senior quarterback James MacPherson to spread the wealth, handing off frequently and being a reliable passer -- his 56.2 completion percentage, zero interceptions and 128.2 quarterback rating attest to his proficiency in taking care of the ball.
Senior wideout Fabian Davis is both their leading receiver (14 catches, 213 yards) and third leading rusher (172 yards and 9.6 yards per carry). The head of the team's running back by committee is junior Nick Burney.
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