Cavaliers switch gears

For better or worse, Virginia’s football players are given a game plan for their upcoming contest on a weekly basis.
At no point, however, have the back-to-back plans been of greater variety as what Virginia (3-4, 2-1 ACC) will face in transitioning from Georgia Tech to Saturday’s tilt with Duke (4-3,
2-1) at Scott Stadium.
The Yellow Jackets, en route to a 34-9 victory over UVa, ran the ball throughout.
Don’t expect that from Duke — the Blue Devils rank 5th in the nation in passing, using the run sparingly.
“It is definitely going to be tough going from polar opposites, going from an extreme running team to an extreme passing team,” Virginia linebacker Steve Greer said. “It is definitely going to be a different week of practice. I am sure coach will get us ready and change practice around to get us ready for that.”
When facing Georgia Tech’s triple option, “you’ve got to do your job,” Virginia coach Al Groh admitted on Monday.
“Clearly, that’s the case here once again,” he said. “You’re just deploying the same principles against a different set of variables. Where probably best continuity of preparation is that the defensive alignments by the two [Georgia Tech and Duke] are not dissimilar.
“Perhaps there is some good in that given we
didn’t do a very good job with those alignments [on offense on Saturday], but to make sure we figure out how to do a better job against those alignments than we did last week.”
Switching to a pass-happy opponent will include the consistent usage from the Cavaliers’ dime package, one of the team’s best units. Last week, Virginia sent the dime package onto the field for merely two plays.
Groh did not say just how much the dime, which includes cornerback Chase Minnifield and Dom Joseph, would play.
“That always becomes an ongoing situation-by-situation decision,” he said. “That is do we want to match personnel or do we want to leave the regular in there, because there is an overlap in what we can do from a coverage standpoint between the two.
“Not entirely the same, but because there is an overlap, we have that option. And in the past in circumstances like this we’ve worked that option both ways.”
If the season’s results are any indication, don’t expect an inordinate amount of pressure to impact the play of Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis.
“I think they’ve only given up … they’ve thrown the ball more than any team in the conference, and they’ve only given up 12 sacks this year or something to that number, 12 or in the low teens,” Groh said. “So that is always a function of a number of different things. But one of the things that we know for sure, even with real good pass protectors if it’s in the low numbers like that, the ball’s coming out very quickly.
“Even the very best pass protectors can hold the rush out for so long.”
The lesser known
Nate Collins, the ACC co-defensive lineman of the week, and Zane Parr combined for 28 tackles against Georgia Tech.
Their play overshadowed a solid performance, however, from a first-time starter on the defensive line.
John-Kevin Dolce, once a linebacker, drew praise from the players and his coaching staff.
“He played great,” Virginia linebacker Denzel Burrell said. “It was exactly what we needed on that side of the field.”
Groh added: “[Dolce] didn’t have the kind of numbers that the other two did, but he certainly gave us a very positive performance. There was one play early where he was in the backfield and had a chance for a negative play on the quarterback, and [Yellow Jackets QB Josh] Nesbitt eluded him. But there were really very few plays in the game that you could realistically or honestly say, ‘Oh, gee, we wish somebody else was in there other than John-Kevin.’”
Haunted on Halloween?
Virginia will play on Halloween for the 14th time in program history on Saturday.
It will mark the first time at Scott Stadium, however, since 1992.
The Cavaliers record? The team is 5-8.