An increasing trend in football is for players to hold up four fingers before the fourth quarter to symbolize that it is crunch time and time to get to work. The Virginia football team might want to take that symbolism to heart the next time one of its players holds up four fingers.
Due to a lack of production offensively and defensively, the Cavaliers performed below expectations in the fourth quarter of their 28-17 loss to No. 14 Boston College. Simply, many felt the Cavaliers failed to execute down the stretch.
"It just comes down to the fourth quarter," Virginia offensive lineman Brad Butler said. "They executed better than us, and that's simply it."
Offensively, the game came down to missed opportunities. Virginia's Deyon Williams had three dropped passes that either cost Virginia downs or a crucial touchdown to bring the game within one score. Also, Virginia's inability to convert on three third-downs in the fourth quarter cost the Cavaliers possible points.
"If we can make the play [on one of those third downs], we are going to change the game," Groh said.
Defensively, Cavalier fans had even more reason to be depressed. After allowing 21 points against Maryland Oct. 1 in the fourth quarter, Virginia failed to remember the old phrase, "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
After allowing a 35-yard touchdown run to Maryland running back Lance Ware in the fourth quarter last week, Virginia allowed another 35-yard touchdown run to Boston College running back Andre Callender in the beginning of the second quarter.
"Different play, same result," Groh said. "There was a gap that wasn't defended, and the result was upsetting."
Groh, however, said he feels that the defense improved over last week's performance.
"We did better," Groh said. "But I think there's a lot of phases today that had we done even better than that, the outcome might have been different."
Hopefully for Cavalier fans, one of the phases Groh thinks could have affected the outcome more positively is on third down. Three times in the fourth quarter the Cavaliers had a chance to take Boston College off of the field, but Virginia could not take advantage.
"BC made more third down plays in the fourth quarter than we did," Groh said.
In the special teams department, the biggest swing in momentum come off a blocked kick that allowed Boston College to have the ball at the Virginia one yard line.
Groh said he believes it was a lack of communication that caused the blocked punt to occur.
"For whatever reason, someone changed the protection call from what it had been on all the previous and all the ensuing plays," Groh said. "It was an unfortunate mental lapse, and I'm sure we'd like to have it back again."
Virginia punter Chris Gould took some responsibility for the team's mistake.
"Everything felt normal," Gould said. "But when it came down to it, the punting didn't get it done today."
Virginia did not have much success throughout the game, but especially in the fourth quarter. Butler pointed out that the lack of execution in the fourth quarter is not usual for the Cavaliers.
"My freshman year we were known for being a team that would come back in the fourth quarter, even if we were down by 14 or 21 points," he said. "It's disappointing this has happened two games in a row."
If Virginia hopes to turn around its two-game losing skid, it might want to start by putting some investment in those four fingers.
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