Virginia football coach Al Groh promised he would get more aggressive with the play-calling this season. And if Saturday's 31-19 win against Western Michigan was any indication, he plans to make good on that guarantee.
Showing a willingness to go to the air that was missing for much of the 2004 season, senior quarterback Marques Hagans went deep early and often Saturday, completing passes of 57 and 40 yards in the first quarter -- both of which set up Cavalier touchdowns. Hagans completed 17 of 25 passes for 252 yards on the game and one touchdown.
But even with the new wrinkles in the playbook, No. 25 Virginia still struggled to finish against a Bronco team that went 0-11 in 2004, was featuring a new coach and was starting a quarterback who had never attempted more than nine passes in his career.
Still, a win is a win, and as Groh said, "I'm real happy to win -- I told the players that. I feel like I haven't felt in nine months. We won. That's a pretty good feeling. Now we've got one more win than Oklahoma's got," referring to the Sooner's 17-10 loss Saturday against TCU.
Senior Ottawa Anderson made his triumphant return after a year away from the team and the University and was on the receiving end of Hagan's 57-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage. Anderson finished with three catches for 109 yards.
But it wasn't Virginia's aerial attack that caught the eye and the ire of the Cavalier faithful. Rather, it was the team's inability to hold the lead against a pesky Bronco team that cut a 24-3 second-quarter deficit to a 24-19 five-point, third-quarter margin when Nate Meyer connected on his fourth field goal of the game with 6:12 remaining in the third.
With the home crowd of 61,244 stunned and silent, red-shirt freshman running back Cedric Peerman entered and sealed the victory with a one-yard touchdown run with 5:38 remaining in the game, following a 12-play, 69-yard drive during which he rushed 10 times for 47 yards.
Peerman "ran like he wanted the rock -- he ran hard," Anderson said. "His first game ever playing, he went out there and showed a lot."
With the departure of senior running back Wali Lundy midway through the first quarter due to a sprained foot, Virginia employed a tailback by committee approach the rest of the way, giving fullback Jason Snelling and tailbacks Michael Johnson and Peerman ample playing time. The three combined for 180 rushing yards behind the newly minted offensive line that proved solid for the running game but at times had trouble stopping the Western Michigan pass rush, forcing Hagans to flee the pocket on multiple occasions and resulting in four sacks. Hagans was also intercepted twice, his second pick being returned 55-yards by C.J. Wilson for the Bronco's only touchdown of the game.
Western Michigan quarterback Robbie Haas made his first college start with first-string quarterback Ryan Cubit sidelined due to shin splints. Haas completed 33 of 50 passes for 271 yards, continually throwing under the Virginia defense for completions of four to five yards and completing 16 passes to wide-receiver Greg Jennings for 156 yards. Western Michigan's five-step-and-throw strategy kept the Virginia defense from fully having time to put pressure on Haas, and he fed his receivers a steady diet of short screens and outs that methodically moved the Broncos downfield throughout the game.
"It's kind of tough to stay patient [against the short passes], but you know you have to stay patient," cornerback Marcus Hamilton said. "If you don't stay patient, then over the top the ball goes and six points. You can have the underneath stuff, and we'll play another down."
In the end, Groh looked towards the scoreboard for defensive solace.
"The only statistic that we look at on defense is points allowed, and our defense only allowed 12 points," he said. "That's a pretty good night"
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