The luster of the 2002 Virginia football season has begun to wear off. The Cavaliers have dropped two games in a row to fall to 6-4 overall, and 4-2 in the ACC. The conference-title hunt has all but ended, and the novelty of the freshmen class is beginning to subside. Yet, the season is not over, and the Cavaliers have much work left to do.
Virginia hosts N.C. State this weekend in a battle of two struggling ACC teams. The game will be televised at noon, and likely will decide third place in the conference. The N.C. State contest provides Virginia with its best chance to reach the magical seventh win needed for bowl eligibility.
"I think it creeps in the back of everyone's mind, but we just want to concentrate on winning some games," junior quarterback Matt Schaub said.
However, taming the Wolfpack will be no easy task.
"Since I've been here, they've been as good as any team in the conference," Virginia coach Al Groh said.
Currently, N.C. State suffers from a losing streak of its own. After starting the season 9-0, the Wolfpack have dropped two straight games, including last week's 24-21 heartbreaker at Maryland. Still, they should prove a more than formidable opponent.
"That psychology business is so tricky, that I just assume that every team is going to be jacked up and ready to go," Groh said. "So I look at the talent and schemes of which there is plenty
and I know that personally, [N.C. State coach] Chuck Amato is ready for every game."
In his press conference yesterday, Groh addressed the difficulty of the season's stretch-run. He noted that games grow harder to win later in the season because of injuries and familiarities with other teams' styles.
"By this time of the year, everyone's flaws and strong points are known," Groh said. It's going to be harder to play to your strong points
and your flaws are going to become more vulnerable."
If Virginia has had one flaw this season, it has been the inability to run the ball. In the Cavaliers' last two losses, opposing defenses have exploited this shortcoming, and Schaub has had to pick up the slack. The junior quarterback played admirably, but has had trouble putting the ball in the end zone.
"We've got to do a better job taking advantage of our opportunities," Schaub said.
The Cavalier running game has been snake-bitten by injuries all season. Running backs Alvin Pearman and Michael Johnson both have been hurt, and their performances have suffered as a result. Against Penn State, Pearman was injured early in the first half. Groh reinserted him in the lineup after halftime, but Pearman pulled up lame and fumbled on his first carry. Similarly, Michael Johnson has had trouble coming back from an ankle injury. Against Penn State, he often found himself swallowed up by the massive Nittany Lion defense.
"He never really got a fair chance to get started on his runs," Groh said. "He's a lot less vulnerable to speeding tickets than he was earlier in the year."
Virginia has not been to a bowl game since 2000 and has not won one since 1995. A win Saturday would be the first step toward reversing both of those trends. Even more so, it would save some of the sparkle of Groh's season.
"I'd like to see it happen for the players," he said. "In our case it would be tangible evidence of a successful season. I'd really like them to be able to say that they did that."
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