Repeat after me: There is no quarterback controversy.
Whether in politics, gossip or football, there's nothing better than a good fight. Well, I'm sorry to disappoint, but we have no such thing here in Charlottesville.
We've got something much, much better. We've got sophomore Jameel Sewell and freshman Peter Lalich. And why choose only one?
"It's not a competition," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "It's utilizing all the weapons that we have and using all the players in their best capacity."
Groh planned to use both players when the game began. When Sewell started cramping in the first quarter, Groh decided it was time to start switching things up.
"We were just looking to switch in to a little different style of play," Groh said.
Different style of play? Wasn't the team winning 14-2 at this point? If there's one thing Groh believes, it's "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Was Sewell broken?
Well, he had good numbers Saturday, going 9-14. But he threw for only 60 yards, and he didn't throw downfield until the end of the first quarter. His longest pass of the day was 14 yards. His next longest was seven.
Nevertheless, there are things he can do that Lalich can't.
"What [Lalich] didn't have was much knowledge of what to do," Groh said, though he also complimented Lalich's poise and physical ability.
On a third down, with the ball a few yards out of the end zone, Lalich failed to see a completely uncovered Staton Jobe standing in the end zone trying to get Lalich's attention.
It's a freshman mistake. And even when Lalich completes 13 of 18 passes for 131 yards, he's still bound to make freshman mistakes.
Sewell is a quarterback who can run with the ball -- he had four carries for 33 yards Saturday -- and throw it outside the pocket. There's no reason why Virginia should throw away an element to its offense.
It doesn't matter who the "starter" is, because the starter is just the quarterback who plays the first play. That's it.
Now don't for one second think the Cavaliers have found the answer to their offensive woes.
They haven't. Wyoming was no fluke.
Duke had its game plan Saturday, and it almost worked.
"Make sure [the] quarterback doesn't get destroyed today," Groh said of the Duke system. "Get the ball out of there in a hurry, short drops, quick throws."
Duke played conservatively, minimized mistakes and made sure the Virginia offense didn't control the game.
Three bad snaps from freshman Danny Aiken and a fumbled kickoff from junior returner Andrew Pearman and suddenly Virginia has almost beaten itself.
Down 17-10, Duke was six yards away from tying the game. But sophomore Nate Collins had two stops and Duke could only get halfway there. Settling for a field goal, Duke still had 16 minutes left in the game to climb back.
But it was Lalich who was able to do something that Virginia hadn't done all day
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