Ogletree not finished yet

When Virginia’s 24 fourth- and fifth-year players align with family members in the end zone prior to Saturday’s Senior Day showdown with Clemson, wide receiver Kevin Ogletree will be there.

That action should not alarm Cavalier fans.

Ogletree, Virginia’s top pass-catching option with 50 receptions for 640 yards, boasts another year of eligibility stemming from his medical redshirt in 2007.

“I will be doing the ceremony just so I can be out there with my guys I came in with,” Ogletree said Tuesday. “I’m not doing it because I think it will be my last game.”

The possibility does remain, however, that the contest will mark the final home game for the wideout from Queens, N.Y.

Following the season, Ogletree said he will use every measure available to analyze what his stock would be for the 2009 NFL Draft.

“You would be an idiot not to take a look,” Ogletree said. “That will be a circumstance where a lot of things would have to turn up.”

Ogletree, the ACC’s second-leading receiver, has seen firsthand examples of players properly prepared to leave early and those who needed further seasoning.

Last season, left guard Branden Albert declared early for the draft and selected 15th overall and inked a five-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.

From the opposite end of the spectrum, former Virginia linebacker Kai Parham elected to forgo his final year of eligibility and went undrafted in 2006.

“You don’t want to be in that situation,” Ogletree said. “At least I have some time.”

For now, Ogletree is merely going to enjoy the moment with the players that entered in his class as Virginia (5-5, 3-3 ACC) attempts to become bowl eligible with a win over Clemson (5-5, 3-4).

“It should be a special day.”

Bowl fever

With a victory Saturday or in the regular season finale at Virginia Tech on Nov. 29, a game that will start at noon or 3:30 p.m., Virginia will join a logjam of teams from the league already worthy of being selected to play in one of the nine bowl games with ties to the ACC.

In fact, the winner of the UVa-Clemson game will become the ninth team from the league to become eligible, which matches the number of allotments the ACC has this season. The ACC would have to scramble to find an at-large match should the number of teams exceed the games linked with the league.

Should Virginia finish 6-6, the Cavaliers would likely slip to one of the lower-tiered bowl games, a group includes the Eagle Bank Bowl (Washington, D.C.; Dec. 20) against Navy, the Emerald Bowl (San Francisco; Dec. 27) or the Humanitarian Bowl (Boise, Idaho; Dec. 30).

“I don’t care if we play in D.C., Boise, or somewhere else as long as we get to play in a bowl,” senior tight end John Phillips said. “I think it’s big. I think it’s big for our seniors. I think it’s big for our whole team.”

Extending the season would also provide additional practice time for a program that boasts 35 underclassmen on the offensive and defensive depth charts, respectively.

It also provides a unique time for players to bond without their academic workload complicating schedules.

“There is nothing like college atmospheres, nothing like college competition and to be fortunate enough to play a bowl game and be with your teammates and have fun with them is something that you’ll cherish forever,” senior linebacker Clint Sintim said. “Last year in Jacksonville [at the Gator Bowl], that’s something I’ll remember forever, even though we lost the game.

“That was a great experience for us. I bonded with a lot of guys I normally don’t even talk to. I just want to experience that again and I want other people to experience it.”

Virginia could have more than a bowl berth to play for on Saturday. The Cavaliers, despite their current two-game losing streak, will remain alive in the race to win the Coastal Division should Georgia Tech upend Miami on Thursday night in Atlanta.

Heading into that contest Thursday, nine teams remain mathematically alive to play in the ACC title game in Tampa on Dec. 6.

“It makes it real exciting because you never know what is going to happen, you never know how the cards are going to fall,” Phillips added. “When you have so many teams fighting to play one championship game … you have to get ready every week to play.”

In addition to needing a loss from Miami against the Coastal Division foe, UVa would need to win its final two games and get help from North Carolina (the Tar Heels must win out to force a multi-team tiebreaker into effect).

All alone on the outside

Due to injuries to Aaron Clark, Jared Detrick and Cam Johnson, Virginia has only one player listed as a reserve at its two outside linebacker spots.

Aaron Taliaferro, a redshirt freshman listed at 6-foot-2 and 222 pounds, is the top reserve behind Sintim and junior Denzel Burrell.

“Aaron has done a nice job,” Virginia coach Al Groh said of Taliaferro, who is from Gloucester. “Actually, we were a little bit surprised when he got elevated to the game day roster without actually getting a lot of turns in our system over the preceding weeks. Actually, he stepped in and performed better in practice than he did eight weeks ago when he was getting regular turns during training camp.

“Hopefully, it’s a sign of his readiness, but most particularly a positive sign of his readiness to maybe challenge for some time next year.”

In addition to Burrell, Clark (if he returns for a fifth year, as expected), Detrick, Johnson and Taliaferro, the Cavaliers should also have Darnell Carter back in the fold. Carter is currently in the final semester of a school-imposed academic probation period.

Extra points ...

... Groh said rookie Robert Randolph continued to show improvement during the bye week and remains ahead of Yannick Reyering on the depth chart at placekicker. … Clemson is currently listed as a three-point favorite. … The Cavaliers and Tigers have not played since 2004, meaning that no current player on Virginia’s roster has seen game action against Clemson. UVa won the last meeting 30-10 at Scott Stadium. … Virginia running back Mikell Simpson, who was lost for the season with a broken collarbone against Miami, is progressing well, according to Groh. … The Cavs are cuurently ranked 111th nationally in scoring offense, averaging just 17.6 points per game.