Although the Virginia Cavaliers enjoyed a 48-29 victory over Akron this weekend, coach Al Groh made it clear during his weekly press conference that his team's focus already shifted to this week's conference game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
"Conference play begins after three weeks time and we're anxious to get into it," Groh said. "We'll stay in [ACC competition] for the next five weeks. It will obviously be a significant stretch of the season if we're going to do anything in the conference race."
Wake Forest beat the Cavaliers last season, breaking a 17-game losing streak to Virginia with a 34-30 win in Charlottesville.
"Wake Forest is definitely a team that has improved from last year," senior linebacker Angelo Crowell said.
For Virginia to avenge last year's loss, they will have to contain the Demon Deacon running attack. Wake Forest leads the ACC in rushing with 230.5 yards a game. Last week, the Deacons ran for 248 yards in a 24-21 upset of Purdue. These statistics do not bode well for a Virginia defense ranked last in the ACC in yards allowed.
"They're a tough ball team to beat these days," Groh said. "We're going to have to go down there and play solid football if we're going to beat those guys."
While Wake Forest has improved over the last two seasons, the Cavaliers have undergone substantial growth and development as well. The most notable change has been that of quarterback Matt Schaub. Once an inconsistent and timid decision-maker, Schaub has transformed into a confident gunslinger and now is the undisputed leader of the Cavalier offense.
"He's a more experienced and more mature player," Groh said. "He's been through this game preparation" before.
Schaub's maturity has paid off for the Virginia offense. In the last five halves of competition, he was on fire throwing the football, passing for 560 yards and 11 touchdowns. During that span, he completed over 70 percent of his passes and threw only two interceptions.
Schaub's impressive production numbers are partly attributed to the performance of his offensive playmakers. So far, a number of players have stepped up to take the reception load off of All-American wide receiver Billy McMullen. In the win over Akron, Schaub threw five touchdown passes, all of them to different receivers.
Tight ends Heath Miller and Patrick Estes are two of Schaub's main targets this season. Groh noted Estes' development, claiming he has become a much more rugged player than he was last season. The two tight ends combined for seven touchdown catches this season, and it is almost certain they will be a major part of the game plan against Wake Forest.
Saturday's matchup is a crucial one both for Virginia's hopes in the ACC and for its development as a team. Groh sounded convinced his players would not take the Demon Deacons lightly.
"That's part of how a team learns to be in the hunt," he said. "They have to learn that every game is an 'A' game"
Read More
Football lands three additional transfers
By Peter Kriebel | YesterdayOne common trait that stands out with this most recent batch of transfers is size.
Men’s basketball suffers road drubbing versus California
By Emory Huffman | YesterdayVirginia submitted another rudderless performance.
