The Virginia football team heads up to Syracuse this weekend for its first road contest of the season. This road game, however, is different from any other road game this season.
The game will be played in Syracuse's Carrier Dome, which seats 50,000 people. The notoriously difficult place to play features a crowd that will be loud and rowdy, creating a tough atmosphere for one of the youngest teams Virginia has ever had.
"You [have to] know your environment and know what things you [have to] adapt to and still stay on your game," Virginia senior defensive end Brennan Schmidt said. "We're just going to focus on the things we need to do to win. [We have] to focus those things out, like the noise and the crowd being on top of you and all that type of stuff."
Virginia has had an extra week to prepare for this weekend's matchup. Therefore, the Cavaliers have had some more time to rest and think about the obstacles that come with playing in a venue like the Carrier Dome.
"We made sure everyone got rest, a little bit of a mental break before this week of preparation for Syracuse," Schmidt said. "It was needed, and we appreciate it a lot from Coach [Groh]. It gives us time to get away and take a deep breath. I think we'll be more focused this week."
Many may wonder what effect the tough environment has on young Virginia players such as redshirt freshman running back Cedric Peerman. He is one of several freshmen who probably will see action in his first college road game. Despite Peerman's solid performance against Western Michigan, it will be interesting to see how he and his fellow classmates are able to handle the noise.
Another difficult aspect of playing in the Carrier Dome is the ability of the opposing team's quarterback to communicate with his players. Although an experienced senior, Brian Barthelmes played center for the first time since coming to Virginia two weeks ago against Western Michigan. His ability to hear the play count from Hagans will be key to Virginia's offensive success.
"I don't think you can really prepare for the crowd noise," Hagans said. "The main thing is working with hand signals in practice, [working with] audibles and just getting everybody on the same page."
Another facet of playing in the Carrier Dome is the field's new artificial surface, which is basically synthetic grass. The field turf was put in place this August, and it replaces the astro turf that had been in use since 1993. Players will be able to wear the same type of cleats as they wear on the grass at Scott Stadium. Regardless, it is a surface Virginia has never played on.
"I've never played on it," Virginia senior linebacker Bryan White said. "It's just like grass, from what I've heard. Coach Groh is real helpful with that -- he talks with other teams to see what they do."
For the most part, Virginia is treating the game like any other road game and thus is not making any special preparations for playing on a different surface.
"It really doesn't matter whether it's grass, artificial turf, artificial grass -- whatever you call it," Hagans said. "We don't care. We're just going to go out there and play. The surface or where the game is doesn't matter -- we've just gotta go out there and play."
The Carrier Dome will be just one of the tough road environments Virginia will encounter this season.
"We look at it as a challenge, but it's always fun to play somewhere new," White said. "It'll be fun to play in the Dome. We want to be a team able to play on the road, so this is our start."
Saturday, Cavalier fans will see if this young Virginia team will be able to overcome the challenges of a hostile environment and pick up an important road win.
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