I think I can speak for thousands of Virginia fans when I say I am still letting out a sigh of relief that began when Wyoming kicker Aric Goodman's extra-point attempt sailed wide right Saturday evening to give the Cavaliers an unsightly 13-12 overtime win over the Cowboys at Scott Stadium. A home loss to Wyoming would have been so devastating that I do not even want to think about how close that circumstance came to occurring.
Throughout a contest in which Virginia's offense made me want to gouge out my eyes (quarterback Christian Olsen may be a model, but he sure isn't nice to look at when he can't hit an open receiver or avoid the pass rush), it was Virginia's defense that saved the day on numerous occasions. Wyoming's most effective offensive play was the fake punt (run twice successfully for 29 and 31 yards) and those came against Virginia's special teams unit, not the defense.
A week after he was embarrassed by allowing a Pittsburgh touchdown after he tripped, senior cornerback Marcus Hamilton showed why he is both a team captain and an All-American candidate. With Wyoming already up 3-0 and threatening to score again as it marched deep into Virginia territory, Hamilton picked off a Jacob Doss pass at the four-yard line and returned it 29 yards to the Virginia 33-yard line. Considering how poorly Virginia's offense was playing (three-and-outs on six of the first eight possessions), the game may well have been over if Wyoming had scored a field goal or touchdown at that point.
Other defensive stars for the Cavaliers included cornerback Chris Cook (12 tackles), linebacker Jon Copper (11 tackles, one sack), linebacker Clint Sintim (five tackles, two sacks) and defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald (three tackles, three quarterback hurries and one sack). All in all, it was an excellent day for Virginia's defense, especially coming only a week after a terrible performance in Pittsburgh.
The same cannot, however, be said for the offense. I'll get to the quarterback situation in a second; but first, something needs to be done about Virginia's running game. It actually regressed from the Pittsburgh game. Against the Panthers, Virginia ran the ball 21 times for 52 yards and an average of 2.5 yards per carry. Against Wyoming, the Cavaliers ran the ball 22 times for 32 yards and an average of 1.5 yards per carry. Some of this regression may be attributable to the fact that senior tailback Jason Snelling had to sit out the Wyoming game due to the lingering effects of an ankle sprain suffered last week. But the larger issue was an offensive line that could not open up holes for sophomore Cedric Peerman, whose talent as a tailback is not that far below Snelling's. The lack of a dangerous running game will of course hurt the passing game, which segues nicely to the quarterback question.
Over the first two games, the offense looked downright atrocious under Olsen. He was 29-55 for 222 yards with two interceptions and zero touchdown passes in seven quarters. Of the 20 drives he led this season, 11 were three-and-outs. Virginia coach Al Groh recognized the need for a change at the start of the fourth quarter Saturday when he replaced Olsen with Kevin McCabe. Now it's time for Groh to recognize the need to make that change permanent.
In one quarter of play plus overtime, McCabe was 8-13 for 85 yards and an overtime touchdown pass that proved to be the game-winner. That 25-yard strike to Kevin Ogletree was five yards further than Olsen's longest completion of the season.
Without McCabe, Virginia may well have lost to Wyoming. Just for that, he deserves the opportunity next week (and perhaps after that) to see if he can be as effective over the course of an entire game.
Immediately following the missed extra point, I saw a very classy moment that deserves mention. Rather than most of Virginia's players, who were prancing about as if they had just won the Super Bowl (guys, Wyoming was 2-6 in the freaking Mountain West conference last year), place kicker/punter Chris Gould and Hamilton immediately went to console several Wyoming players who were lying on the ground devastated by the close loss. Not only did that show good sportsmanship, but Gould and Hamilton also acted like they've been there before (in terms of winning). I understand that a win is a win, but a one-point overtime victory in a game for which you were 9.5 point favorites does not merit a raucous celebration at midfield. The rest of Virginia's players should take a cue from Gould and Hamilton for how to act after a win.
It was a crazy weekend in the ACC. N.C. State lost to Akron at home, Florida State trailed Troy in the fourth quarter in Tallahassee before pulling out a win, Clemson lost to Boston College in overtime and Wake Forest was taken to the wire by lowly Duke. Once again, a win is a win, but I'd feel much better next week if Virginia could come out strong and beat Western Michigan by a few touchdowns.
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