ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, October 27, 1996 TAG: 9610280142
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: TALLAHASSEE, FLA.
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
Trying to solve one of the nation's best football teams was only a short-term worry for Virginia.
Behind center, the Cavaliers remain behind the 8-ball, where they've been all season.
While it seems silly to say a nationally ranked 5-2 team has reached a critical stage of its year, that's where coach George Welsh's club finds itself after Saturday's 31-24 loss to third-ranked Florida State.
The unbeaten Seminoles got a career day from quarterback Thad Busby, who completed 25 of 36 passes for 316 yards, all personal highs. From its quarterbacks, UVa got very little - again.
Surely, some of the inability of Tim Sherman and backup Aaron Brooks to make enough plays to provide Virginia with some offensive impetus could be traced to Florida State's Niagara Falls of a pass rush.
However, what happened after the UVa quarterbacks took the snaps was more of a recurring theme. If the ball doesn't get into the hands of running back Tiki Barber, the Cavaliers aren't likely to go much of anywhere.
"We've gone back to the basics,'' UVa offensive coordinator Tom O'Brien said, when asked postgame how UVa has tried to nurse its quarterback performance. "It's something we talk about every week. I'm sure we'll talk about it again this week.''
Perhaps, those coaches' meetings are where some of the problem has occurred. Even without the suggestion of nepotism, how easy is it for Welsh and his offensive staff to pass judgment and speak without hurting feelings if Tom Sherman, the QB's dad and receivers coach, is in the room?
Fifth-year senior Sherman, say perennial UVa watchers, is the school's least-productive starting quarterback since the George Allen administration - in 1972, when the future governor was UVa's QB.
However, if Sherman won the job, he hasn't had to do much to keep it. Even when given the opportunity, albeit in bits of relief, Brooks, a sophomore, hasn't proven he's capable of leading a team that otherwise is very good.
Now, the Cavaliers have waited too long to make a change that - had it not made much of a difference now - would have benefited the program in future years.
In losses to Georgia Tech and FSU, Sherman and Brooks were a combined 22-for-62 for only 285 yards, with six interceptions, one touchdown and eight sacks.
What has to make the situation more frustrating for the Cavaliers is that in both defeats, Virginia could have won with even just respectable and more consistent play at quarterback.
Sherman started 0-for-8 against the Seminoles and Brooks was 0-for-2 in relief. The Cavaliers didn't complete a pass in the first 28 minutes of the game, but still led 17-14 at halftime.
Granted, neither had much game experience when the season began. However, they still throw into multiple coverage. They rarely look off defenders. It's November this week.
Is is too late to change starters?
"It's never too late,'' O'Brien said. "But I'm not going to judge our passing game on the performance today. We played a great team. You can get spooked against a team that's this good. It's natural to not hang in there.''
Welsh conceded he's never had a team with such inconsistent quarterback play this deep into the season. He wonders if trying to play Brooks at least several series a game has only made the situation more uneasy.
"We didn't throw it well and we didn't catch it well,'' Welsh said, including a receiving corps that has had its own struggles. "We're up and down like yo-yos with the passing game. That's definitely a part of our offense that needs improvement.''
Virginia's struggle to sustain drives with more than Barber's phenomenal rushing only puts more pressure on the defense, too. Before the second-largest crowd in Doak Campbell Stadium history, UVa's defense spent more than 35 minutes on the field.
After Saturday's visit to winless Duke, Virginia faces Clemson and North Carolina at home before traveling to Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers are no lock for a bowl yet, and may not be even if they go 8-3.
If Clemson finishes 7-4, even with a loss to Virginia, it would give the ACC five bowl-qualifying teams for four slots. Would the Carquest Bowl take Clemson, because of its perennial traveling support, over UVa?
Where the Hokies land in the Big East's postseason picture figures in Virginia's future, too, because no bowl is going to replay the UVa-Tech game.
It's too early for the Cavaliers to get those answers. It also may be too late for Virginia to find the answer at quarterback.
The Cavaliers left the home of the ACC's football dynasty with an expected loss. They also left with the unsettling knowledge that at 21 positions, they were good enough to win.
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Virginia quarterback Tim Sherman (7) is helped fromby CNBthe field after being sacked in the fourth quarter.