Stanford’s Reich makes return to Scott Stadium

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Frank Reich hasn’t been back to Scott Stadium since he quarterbacked Maryland to the ACC Championship in 1984, but will make a return to Charlottesville this weekend when his Stanford football team takes on Virginia in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

UVA (2-1) opened as a 14.5-point favorite over Stanford (1-2), with that spread opening up to anywhere between 15.5 and 16.5.

Reich knows it won’t be quite as easy for The Cardinal as it was for him and his Terps more than 40 years ago. Reich’s 18th-ranked Maryland team defeated George Welsh’s Cavaliers, 45-34, to finish first in the ACC with a 9-3 (5-0 ACC) record. Virginia finished 8-2-2 (3-1-2 ACC) and was runnerup in the conference. It was UVA’s first loss since a 55-0 defeat to No. 3 Clemson in the season opener.

In his first season as a college coach, Reich has watched his team improve each week. After losses at Hawaii and at BYU, the Cardinal upset Boston College last Saturday night.

A former NFL head coach, Reich was in retirement last spring when new Stanford general manager Andrew Luck, who played quarterback for Reich in Indianapolis, called and asked him to take over the program for a year. Reich agreed, and said he’s having a blast.

Reich realizes the cross-country trip to Charlottesville won’t be a walk in the park.

“Impressive, well-coached team,” Reich said of Virginia, which put up a school-record 700 yards of total offense in a lopsided win over William & Mary last weekend. “In their first three games this year, they’ve been putting up a lot of points on offense, particularly running it well, obviously a talented quarterback as well and a few talented receivers.”

Reich, who calls Stanford’s offense, said he hadn’t spent as much time scouting Virginia’s offense, but rather John Rudzinski’s defense to prepare for the game.

“They’re a really good defense,” Reich said of the Cavaliers. “I have spent a little bit more time there. A bunch of new starters, not many returners, so as far as teams we played this year, they have probably fewer returning starters than most.

“They’re really stout against the run. Up front, No. 90 (nose tackle Jahmeer Carter) is probably their best D-lineman. They’re solid, but No. 90 is a really good player.”

Reich said he was impressed on film by UVA linebackers James Jackson and Landon Danley.

“[Jackson] is really physical and [Danley] is really athletic,” the Stanford coach said. “He can run, he can move. [Jackson] is really good against the run.”

Reich said Virginia’s secondary mixes coverages and the safeties are aggressive.

“I think it’s schematically going to be a different challenge for us. We always expect some little new wrinkle that you can’t always prepare for, but excited for our guys and the week of preparation. We’re just going to really have to dial in on our one-on-one matchups.”

Reich’s team was an underdog at home to Boston College, a throw-first offense, but the Cardinal took advantage of three BC turnovers and made an impressive goal-line stand that inspired the upset, shutting out the Eagles the entire second half.

“I felt an increased confidence and that never wavered during the game,” Reich said of his team. “We started pretty strong in all three phases, but weren’t able to convert in the red zone. We had to kick field goals.

“But two early scoring drives, playing good on defense and then in the second quarter, we had an epic second quarter with a lot of yards and a lot of points and it felt like it was an opportunity for the game to get away from us. Our guys didn’t waver and we fought back. Offensively, we stayed pretty consistent through all four quarters.”

BC put up all 20 of its points in the second quarter, but Stanford answered with 14 for a 20-20 tie at the half. Running back Micah Ford rushed for 157 yards and a touchdown to earn ACC Back of the Week honors.

Quarterback Ben Gulbranson passed for 186 yards (13 for 22) and a touchdown.

“I could feel a confidence we can build on, that Ben can build on,” Reich said of his QB. “Ben can put the ball everywhere on the field.”