Cavs' bowl hopes hinge on ending pair of losing streaks

The Roanoke Times

Cedric Peerman had committed to Virginia in 2003 when, as a senior at William Campbell High School, he watched from the stands as the Cavaliers beat Virginia Tech in Charlottesville.

It's a sight that few of his teammates have experienced. None has participated in a victory over the Hokies, not even Peerman and his fellow fifth-year seniors.

Their final chance will come at noon today at Lane Stadium, where Tech (7-4 overall, 4-3 ACC) will be bidding for its fifth consecutive victory over the Cavaliers (5-6, 3-4) and a spot in next week's ACC championship game.

"I think there would be some sort of void there," said Peerman of the possibility of going winless against the Hokies.

Less than a month ago, Virginia stood atop the Coastal standings after beating favored Georgia Tech 24-17 in Atlanta, but November has not been kind to the Cavaliers. U.Va. has lost three games in a row, the first in overtime to Miami, and the last two when it committed a total of eight turnovers.

Virginia has another motivation to win today: A victory would make the Cavs bowl eligible - though there is no assurance a bowl slot would be open for them. Nine ACC teams already have six or more wins, and N.C. State can join Virginia at that level today.

The fact that Virginia stands between Tech and a title shot is secondary to the Cavaliers. There has been little of the animosity that has characterized some Tech-U.Va. reunions, at least partly because most of the Hokies were unavailable to the media this week.

Senior safety Byron Glaspy, though, likes the idea of the spoiler's role.

"That would be a nice thing to do, send them home unhappy," he said.

"I definitely wouldn't say that I hate Virginia Tech, but I think it's understood that that's the game we look forward to the most every year," added Glaspy, who was born in Virginia but moved to New Jersey with his family when he was 4. "That's the team we want to beat to have the sense that we're the best team in the Commonwealth this year and have bragging rights for the next year."

Virginia hasn't had much to brag about this season since a four-game winning streak ended with the loss to Miami. Sophomore quarterback Marc Verica passed for 200 yards or more in six straight games but has been intercepted 15 times - the high for a U.Va. quarterback since 1976.

Virginia has scored more than 17 points only twice, causing some to wonder if Groh might yet take a look at Vic Hall. He has made 24 consecutive starts at cornerback but set state records for total offense and passing yardage at Gretna High.

Groh added to the intrigue Thursday when he said on a teleconference that Hall had received some work with the offense before a Sept. 13 game at Connecticut. That coincided with the announcement that former starter Peter Lalich would not make the trip.

Verica had a critical role in the Cavaliers' turnaround after a 1-3 start but has been less effective of late. Fifth-year senior Scott Deke is Verica's backup, but no other quarterback has taken a snap since Lalich's transfer to Oregon State.

"If there was ever a circumstance in the previous games where we'd been down to the third quarterback, then (Hall) probably could have gone in and run two or three plays." Groh said.

Verica has made enough plays to keep the Cavaliers competitive. And in the Hokies, Virginia faces a team that is similarly challenged on offense. Tech is 109th out of 119 Division I-A teams in total offense, while Virginia is 102nd. Tech is No. 89 in scoring and U.Va. is 115th.

"If either team could get up to 17 or 18 points," Groh said, "that's probably a good spot to aim for to give yourself a chance."