If there was ever a treatment to cure the bitter feeling after a terrible loss, the Temple Owls would be it. Luckily, the Virginia football team has the chance to be healed.
After the Cavaliers' embarrassing 7-5 loss against North Carolina Oct. 22, Temple comes to Charlottesville Saturday in a game expected by many to be a blowout.
Why is Temple considered the preferred treatment for a team feeling the blues? Consider the following facts from the history of Temple football: They have only won 41 percent of the games they have ever played. They have won only one bowl game, the 1979 Garden State bowl, a bowl no longer in existence. They have won only one conference championship -- the 1967 Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Corporation championship.
The most disturbing event in Temple history, however, occurred in 2001. The presidents of schools in the Big East Conference voted to expel Temple out of the conference for financial reasons.
As for the present day, Temple is 0-9 this season. They are coming off a 41-14 blowout loss to mid-major Miami (OH) on senior day. Besides a three-point defeat at the hands of Western Michigan, all of their other losses have occurred by a margin of greater than 24 points.
For the Cavaliers, it also helps if senior quarterback Marques Hagans, a.k.a. "The Magician," can brew together a spell to help the Cavaliers Saturday.
Hampered by a hamstring injury against the Tar Heels, Hagans was limited to 109 yards passing and 26 yards rushing. However, one game alone does not diminish his importance to the Cavaliers this season. He is the third leading rusher on the team with 213 yards, and he averages 207 yards passing per game. Teammates are quick to praise Hagans' value this season.
"You can't really ask for more from a quarterback as a receiver," junior receiver Fontel Mines said. "He's a great player; he silenced all the critics about the height issues. He played through injuries, through fatigue. He went out there and made plays -- you can't really ask for any more than that."
Even though Hagans has battled injuries lately, he doesn't use that as an excuse for the loss against North Carolina.
"Marques doesn't take any extra credit when he wins, and he doesn't make any excuses when he doesn't," Virginia head coach Al Groh said. "I won't make any excuses for him either because I think that's the way he'd like it."
Hagans would also like nothing else than victories for the Cavaliers. While the Carolina loss hurt the team, they are still a tight-knit group.
"Our teammates pick each other up," Hagans said. "We have nobody else but us between those lines. We've got to keep fighting all year."
The Cavaliers know, as harsh as the North Carolina game might have been, that they have the rest of the season to try to gain bowl eligibility and finish in the upper-tier of the coastal division of the ACC.
"Wins or losses, you've got to put it behind you," sophomore safety Nate Lyles said. "We're getting ready for the next team."
Read More
Virginia baseball has an ace up its sleeve and in its bullpen — Dean Kampschror
By Xander Tilock | 4 hours agoThe senior pitcher is exactly what the Cavaliers need to succeed in 2025.
Wrestling gets blown out 34-9 on long road trip to Stanford
By Ryan Weiner | YesterdaySolid performances from its most reliable trio were not enough for Virginia.
Freshman excellence powers No. 5 men’s tennis past Boise State, No. 19 Alabama
By Thomas Baxter | 2 days agoVirginia, unlike many other regional hosts, held serve as its quartet's top seed.
