Talented Trojans hand Cavs worst loss since 1984

By Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTESVILLE

As soon as a severe-weather alert was posted for central Virginia, fans at the Virginia-Southern California game were given permission to evacuate Scott Stadium.

Maybe the Cavaliers' football team should have accepted the invitation.

Actually, fans were told that they would be allowed re-entry if they chose to take shelter, but the only storm that materialized was between the white sidelines.

USC blew into Scott Stadium with the nation's third-ranked college football team and did little to diminish its status as a championship contender in a 52-7 romp over the Cavaliers.

It was the most lopsided loss for Virginia since it was beaten by Clemson 55-0 in the opening game of the 1984 season, and it came in front of a Scott Stadium-record crowd of 64,947.

Big crowds don't correspond to big wins for U.Va., which also had lost in front of its two biggest home crowds before Saturday. That included a 52-14 loss to Virginia Tech in 2005 that previously had been the most lopsided setback in Al Groh's eight-year U.Va. coaching tenure.

"USC was a big, powerful and fast team with superior quarterback play," Groh said. "We were anything but fast and powerful and we turned the ball over too many times. Our attitude about our team is it's not OK to play like that.

"We knew it was going to take a lot on our part to pull this off. We could have understood it a little differently if we had played better, but to have played as poorly as we did and lost is not acceptable."

Virginia failed to pick up a first down on its first three series of the game and USC was able to take advantage of good field position on touchdown drives of 56, 47 and 42 yards.

A 33-yard touchdown run by C.J. Gable gave USC a 21-0 lead with

4:01 left in the first quarter.

Virginia responded with its only touchdown, a 7-yard run by Mikell Simpson with 2:14 left in the first period, and the Cavaliers were able to play the Trojans on relatively even terms for the rest of the half.

Virginia had the benefit of a roughing penalty and a pass-interference call on its touchdown drive, but total yardage in the second quarter was 69-69.

"We were trying to hang in there," Groh said. "Maybe we got a little handle on the game. We went well into the third quarter, made a couple of plays and got them off the field. But we never got any pressure on their quarterback and they got a lot of pressure on our quarterback."

Sophomore Peter Lalich started at quarterback for the Cavaliers and basically played mistake-free until he was intercepted by Kevin Thomas with 59 seconds remaining in the third period.

The Cavaliers lost three fumbles in the fourth quarter, two by Lalich and one by tight end John Phillips. Lalich, who played in eight games last year as a backup, completed 18 of 35 passes for 155 yards.

"He did a pretty decent job," said Groh, who did not designate a starter until kickoff. "I think everybody who watched the game can see the type of throws he's capable of making without the opportunity to get much of a look at the defense. That pocket didn't hold up very long.

"He made some very positive throws, but you evaluate a quarterback on the total game. When you turn the ball over a couple of times like that, you've got to make a lot of awesome throws to balance it out. It's not about the good throws that you make; it's about how you conduct the overall game."

Trojans' quarterback Mark Sanchez was masterful, especially in the context of a preseason interrupted when he dislocated his left kneecap. Twenty-two days after the injury, Sanchez passed for 338 yards and three touchdowns as USC outgained the Cavaliers 558-187.

"My injury really made me step back and think about what I wanted this season to be," Sanchez said. "We came into camp with so many expectations and then my knee gives out. We have a big opponent (Ohio State) to prepare for, and I need every second of these next two weeks to get things right."

Virginia now must prepare for one of the nation's best Division I-AA teams, Richmond, which is coached by former U.Va. defensive coordinator Mike London. The Cavaliers were able to recover from a 23-3 loss at Wyoming in the 2007 opener and win nine games, but there have been significant personnel losses at key spots.

"This day was not good, obviously," U.Va. linebacker and co-captain Clint Sintim said. "Losing by 40 points humbles you as a player and a team. First, I have to evaluate myself. I don't feel like I performed well out there today and I don't feel I like I led my team.

"This was difficult but that's what you want. You want to assess your program by playing one of the better programs in the nation. If I had it to do all over, I'd do it again. I'd play USC. I'd play LSU. I want to play the titans of the game because that's where we want to be."