Just days after the Virginia football team wrapped up its 2005 season with a Music City Bowl victory over Wisconsin, Virginia coach Al Groh began to fill the voids created by departed players and coaches. The spring saw the promotion of Mike Groh to offensive coordinator and the hiring of Mike London as defensive coordinator, and the summer brought in a young, relatively inexperienced squad. The Cavaliers' first test finally arrives tomorrow as the Cavaliers take on a challenging University of Pittsburgh team.
The Panthers are led by senior quarterback Tyler Palko, who takes center stage for Pitt for the third straight season.
"[Palko] is a great quarterback, and they have a solid returning offensive line," junior Chris Long said. "[Palko] is the center of their offense, and he is a really great player."
Palko averaged 217.5 yards per game and threw 17 touchdown passes, ranking second in the Big East in both categories. Additionally, the Pitt offensive line has four players who are juniors or seniors, and each player on the line weighs at least 300 pounds.
Palko can "throw great balls into tight coverages and makes it look easy," sophomore Clint Sintim said. "He's a veteran quarterback in a veteran system, and he understands where he has to be and what he has to do to help his team win."
On the defensive side, Pitt features middle linebacker H.B. Blades. Blades led the Pitt defense with 121 tackles, 40 more than the next highest player.
"Being on the inside in a 4-3 defense, he's the main guy going in each direction," Al Groh said. "He's got a lot of experience. He's compact and has got a lot of punch. His reactions are very quick for a college linebacker."
Leading the Pitt secondary is junior Darrelle Revis. In 2005, he led the Panthers with four interceptions and nine broken up passes. Additionally, Revis takes punt returns and averages 11.6 yards per return.
"He's an excellent return man," Al Groh said. "When you have a corner who is also doing return, that's a pretty good indication of his overall athletic ability. He's a very good player with a good future in front of him."
Al Groh also looks for his receivers to be tested by the entire secondary. Senior Fontel Mines and junior Tom Santi head up the receiving corps as two of the more experienced leaders on the team.
"They're going to work very hard to take your wide receivers out of the game," Al Groh said. "They were very successful at that last year, as they were sixth in the country in pass defense."
Pitt's head coach is former Miami Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt. He is in his second year since returning to his alma mater. Wannstedt led the Panthers to a 5-6 record in 2005. The previous year, they finished 8-4, losing in the Fiesta Bowl to Utah.
Virginia has a .694 winning percentage in season openers, and against Big East teams, the Cavaliers have won six straight games. Under Al Groh, Virginia is 3-4 in non-conference road games since 2001.
The Cavaliers gear in to action at 7 p.m. at Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, in hopes that their young, unproven team hits the field and competes like seasoned veterans.
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