Cavs face off with familiar opponent

It may be only fitting that a handful of coaches with experience working alongside Virginia coach Al Groh are slated to be a part of Saturday’s “Retro Day” contest against the University of Richmond.

That collection includes former Virginia defensive coordinator Mike London, now in his first year leading the Spiders’ football program.

The Cavaliers (0-1), at this point, would likely settle with merely flashing back to last season.

After a disheartening loss last year at Wyoming in the opening game, the Cavaliers promptly won their next seven straight games and climbed into the national polls for the first time since 2005.

Finding the formula for success could be rather tricky. Last year, Groh said the focus was merely on trying “to get better” on a weekly basis.

“This time a year ago we were just trying to win a game,” he said. “Who knew that we were going to win seven games in a row? We just tried to win the next one. After we had won four, we just tried to win the fifth one.

“Had we pulled off a miracle on Saturday, we would be saying the same thing. We are not trying to go on a two-game winning streak. We are just trying to win the next one.”

Although Richmond (1-0) looms on Saturday, for now, Virginia is focusing internally on glaring problems showcased during the 52-7 loss to Southern California. Groh cited five bad snaps, back-to-back procedure penalties, a poor punt and a block in the back on a kickoff return as prime examples.

“Those weren’t USC things; those were Virginia things,” Groh said. “Those are the things that we have to understand. Teams that win a lot of games, part of the formula is that they are teams that understand what causes them to lose and go about eliminating those things.”

Virginia safety Byron Glaspy said it was promising to know that many of the mistakes were “correctable,” which was a similar scenario after the opening loss in 2007.

“I would say that the biggest thing that comes out of a loss is the feeling that you get, that terrible feeling that you know you don’t want to ever feel again,” Glaspy said. “That helps just drive you all the more during the week and throughout the season. You understand how much better and harder you have to practice and prepare yourself to keep from something like that happening again.

“Pretty much the mindset on the team [last year] was that’s enough. Enough is enough and we are ready to be a good team and have a good season and do whatever it takes to get there. That is what drove us last year to propel us through that seven-game winning streak and the rest of the season.”

For obvious reasons, winning the “next one” does not appear quite as daunting. While Richmond is ranked sixth in the Football Championship Subdivision rankings, the Spiders have defeated UVa only twice in 28 previous meetings, with their last win coming in 1946.

But with London and host of former Virginia graduate assistants on board as assistant coaches, the Spiders do have a familiarity with the Cavaliers.

The same cannot be said for Virginia. Groh said the Spiders do not use schemes similar to what London or the program’s offensive coaches have employed in Charlottesville.

“Since [Richmond’s] offense nor the defense seems to resemble what we are doing, I’d say probably other knowing Mike’s workout routine and what he prefers on his pizza, there’s not much that we are going to be able to apply,” Groh said with a smile.

“Really other than acknowledging what Mike’s familiarity is with our team and whatnot, for this week it is very impersonal. Mike’s a dear friend and was a colleague here and he did an awful lot for us while he was here, but for this particular week, there really are no personal feelings about it. It is just what do we have to do to get our team ready to play them.

“We are pretty sure that they are not going to take it easy on us because Mike likes us either.”

Down and out

With an idea of the severity of his injury, Aaron Clark picked up the phone Sunday and called fellow outside linebacker Denzel Burrell.

Clark, now out for the season with what was disclosed as a “knee sprain,” had a message for his friend and fellow linebacker.

“His words were, ‘Go get it now,’” Burrell recounted.

Clark does boast a redshirt year and could return. That decision will not be made at this point, however.

“He and I talked about that [Monday] and we said, ‘Let’s see what the doctors say and what their advisement is,’” Groh said. “But it is certainly something that we would be interested in.”

True freshman Cam Johnson made his debut on the team’s depth chart behind Burrell and is expected to play this season following Clark’s injury, Groh said.

“He’s a promising young player,” Groh said. “He has all the skills. He has size. He has athletic ability and he seems to grasp things quickly, but he’s only been here four weeks and he hasn’t been in too much action.”

Another true freshman, Steve Greer, also appeared on the team-issued depth chart for the first time. Greer, who replaced John-Kevin Dolce, is listed behind senior Jon Copper.

Groh said the coaching staff would not be opposed to playing the rookie.

Sounding off

“We didn’t single anybody out [against USC]. Well, we did, but not in that respect. Nothing. Nobody is the Player of the Week. There is no Coach of the Week. There is the bum of the week and I am leading the club.” — Groh after failing to nominate an offensive, defensive or special teams player for the ACC’s weekly awards.

Straight on

Had placekicker Yannick Reyering converted a first-half field goal on Saturday, Virginia would have scored in double figures for the 13th straight game.

While the former UVa soccer standout missed the 46-yard attempt, the kick itself drew positive praise from Groh and holder Scott Deke.

“In speaking with Scott Deke — actually Scott offered it — he said [Reyering] hit the ball real well,” Groh said. “It went straight as a string and was just off on its aiming point. That’s probably going to come with it a little bit. He has to learn his aiming points, but as I said with him before, he kicks a straight ball.

“He struck the ball well. He struck the extra point well.”

Extra points

Virginia cornerback Ras-I Dowling (leg) was not listed on the depth chart. With Dowling likely sidelined until the Connecticut game on Sept. 13, Groh is going to start another new face at the spot alongside junior Vic Hall. Sophomore Mike Parker, who made two tackles as a reserve last week, has passed redshirt freshman Chase Minnifield. “We are going to give [Parker] the first opportunity there this week,” Groh said. … After taking several series to get on track against USC, senior inside linebacker Jon Copper finished with a fury and leads the Cavaliers with 11 tackles. “He can sort it out pretty clearly, but that’s not necessarily been John’s pattern to start slowly and pick it up, but for whatever reason, he wasn’t going at the clip that he normally does, particularly with all the preparation that we had put into the game,” Groh said. “He certainly got going as time went on.” … Redshirt freshman Jared Green, who is tied for the team lead with three receptions for 40 yards, replaced senior Cary Koch as the top reserve behind junior wideout Kevin Ogletree. Koch, of course, also had three catches for 40 yards. … Virginia center Jack Shields suffered from hand cramps during the USC game. … Deke was used on placement kicks because of a bruise on the hand of Hall, the normal holder. … Former Virginia quarterback Kevin McCabe was victorious in his debut for California (Penn.) University. McCabe completed 30 of 36 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns before the team’s running game took center stage. Oddly enough, considering the fact that he just arrived at the school, McCabe was named a team captain.