Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 1, 1994 TAG: 9401030056
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MIAMI LENGTH: Medium
Of the five games the Cavaliers lost this season, including a 31-13 defeat by Boston College in the Carquest Bowl, only one was over early.
That was a 40-10 loss to Florida State in a game that was 30-0 in the second quarter.
"Nobody likes to lose, but if you play hard and come up short, it's easier to swallow," wide receiver Larry Holmes said. "All we had to do was play hard for 30 minutes, and we didn't."
It was the fourth loss in the last five games for UVa, which led at halftime in one of the losses and trailed 10-7, 17-10 and 17-13 in the others.
The Cavaliers got one out of a possible eight points out of the kicking game Saturday, or else they might have been ahead of BC at halftime.
Sophomore Kyle Kirkeide missed field-goal attempts of 37 and 29 yards, which, sandwiched around a missed extra point, would have kept him on the bench for the rest of the afternoon.
The Cavaliers didn't even kick off during a scoreless second half in which they gained 60 yards, had four first downs and did not cross midfield in the final 23 minutes.
"We didn't play ball in the second half, and I don't really know what to say as to why we didn't," Holmes said. "You've got to realize at the half it's still a ball game.
"You can't get those kicks back. You've just got to put it behind you. Any time you let those things hold you down, you deserve to lose."
Holmes tied a Carquest Bowl record with eight receptions for 93 yards, but he did most of his damage in the first half, when he turned a flanker screen into a 49-yard play.
It looked as if Holmes might score until he was dragged down by BC defender Terrence Wiggins at the Eagles' 17-yard line. UVa, ahead 7-3 at the time, came up empty when Kirkeide hit the right upright from 37 yards.
"I'm a little disappointed in myself [because] I shouldn't have been that tired, especially not that early," Holmes said.
"It wasn't a matter of him being that fast or me being that slow. I just seemed to hit a brick wall, but you need to take touchdowns when you can get them."
It was thought that sophomore quarterback Symmion Willis would benefit from the availability of his full receiving corps, and his numbers were decent: 19-of-34 for 207 yards, with no interceptions.
"He was all right," said offensive coordinator Tom O'Brien, whose play-calling has received a normal amount of second-guessing for a team that lost five of its last seven games.
"I think he made right decisions for the most part, and there were not many balls that didn't go to the right areas. In some cases, his protection wasn't too good."
The Cavaliers didn't make mistakes, as had been their tendency in the last month. They just didn't make anything happen, and it seemed to have a demoralizing effect on the defense.
"That might be true for some people," linebacker Randy Neal said. "It's tough constantly trying to do your job and being out there in the same position that we started."
It might be said that Virginia was fortunate to be trailing 17-13 after giving up 309 yards in the first half, "but yards don't win ball games," Neal said. "We looked up at the scoreboard and it said we were only down four."
One of BC's first-half touchdowns came on a 78-yard bomb from Glenn Foley to Clarence Cannon - one play after seldom-used defensive tackle Todd White failed to hold an almost-sure interception at the Eagles' 30.
More than half of Foley's 391 passing yards came on five plays, including a 46-yard touchdown pass to Keith Miller when UVa was caught in a blitz and linebacker Tom Burns had to cover a wide receiver.
"We've had a little bit of a problem defensively all year [in] giving up the big plays," Neal admitted.
Virginia did not give up a scoring play of more than 44 yards in its seven victories, but in its five losses, teams had touchdown passes of 86, 78, 73, 63 and 46 yards.
"I think we'd be wrong not to give credit to Boston College," UVa head coach George Welsh said. "That's as good a pass offense and as good a pocket-passing quarterback as we've seen in a while."
The Eagles won nine of their last 10 games and, if not for a late fumble against West Virginia, could have finished 10-2. UVa recorded its seventh straight seven-win season but also lost five games for the first time since 1986.
"I think we've got enough good young players to get to another level," defensive end Mike Frederick, a junior said. "I just hope it doesn't take two or three years. I'd like to be a part of it."
by CNB