Scattershooting around the ACC, while noting that Bronco Mendenhall thought he had all scenarios covered in his policy manual until this week … Mendenhall told media at his weekly presser on Monday that he had a manual that addressed just about every game scenario, weather delays, and the like. Little did he know that Monday night would cause him to add a chapter. With Hurricane Florence influencing Virginia to move its home game with Ohio on Saturday to neutral site Nashville, Tenn., Mendenhall had some new research. “[New chapter] is to be added,” the UVa coach said. “There was not […]

Ohio University football coach Frank Solich welcomed an early-season bye week after his Bobcats struggled against FCS opponent Howard in Week One on Sept. 1. Ohio (1-0) trailed former Virginia coach Mike London’s Bison by as many as 13 — at home — in the first half and gave up an eye-opening 645 total yards (484 through the air), but outscored Howard 21-10 in the second half and escaped with a 38-32 win. Now in his 14th year at the helm in Athens, Solich, who many may remember best from his brief but successful tenure at Nebraska in the late […]

No change in the top four this week as Clemson clearly remains the conference bell cow. There was movement for teams 5 through 13 though for a variety of reasons. North Carolina cemented its place in the basement by getting worked at East Carolina. While Duke beat Northwestern, the Blue Devils dropped from No. 7 to 11 in the poll after losing quarterback Daniel Jones for the season. Duke will have to prove it can beat a good opponent without the golden-armed Jones. Florida State, meanwhile, continued its freefall from 10 to 12 despite rallying to beat Samford in Tallahassee. […]

Because of the forecasts for severe weather caused by the path of Hurricane Florence, Virginia will be moving it’s 3 PM home game at Scott Stadium against Ohio University Saturday to Nashville, where the game will be played at Vanderbilt University. The hurricane’s path would at a minimum have dumped heavy rain on the Scott Stadium turf and presented a safety issue to fans around the state traveling to Central Virginia. By moving the game to Nashville, the contest could be played at a neutral site and out of the predicted path of the hurricane. Kickoff for the game will […]

While Virginia athletic director Carla Williams may be taking heat in some circles for moving the Cavaliers’ home game with Ohio to Nashville on Saturday in order to avoid a conflict with Hurricane Florence, we believe she made a solid decision. First of all, you have to understand where Williams is coming from on this decision. Her job, particularly at this point and time, is to do everything within her power to help Virginia’s football program win games and return to the postseason. She has thrown her entire support behind her football coach and realizes that UVa desperately needs to […]

Two announcements by the ACC today: The September 22 game with Louisville will kick off at 12:30 p.m. The game will be televised by your area’s regional sports network. In the Mid-Atlantic region, the game will be televised by NBC Sports Washington. The game is also Military Appreciation Day at Scott Stadium Juan Thornhill has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Back of the Week for games played through Sept. 9. This is the second career weekly accolade for Thornhill, as he also earned the honor after the Duke game in 2016. Thornhill had several key plays in UVA’s […]

Juan Thornhill blocked an extra point and returned it 98 yards for two points Week two for Virginia football is in the books. Here are the five things we learned from Saturday night’s waterlogged 20-16 loss to Indiana: Special teams this year really are special. The only reason UVA was in a position to try to score the winning touchdown in the final seconds was because of two stellar special teams plays earlier in the game. After Indiana scored its second touchdown and was assuming the Hoosiers would lead 14-7, Juan Thornhill blocked the extra-point attempt and returned it 98 […]

After reviewing game tape of Indiana romping through his defense Saturday night, Bronco Mendenhall told media at his weekly presser Monday that he was disappointed and frustrated that Virginia didn’t win the football game. Richard Burney is rapidly becoming a bright spot on D Part of that frustration derived from his offensive and defensive lines’ inability to control the line of scrimmage for most of the rain-plagued game. Indiana running back Stevie Scott pounded out 204 of the Hoosiers’ 237 yards rushing on the night, a 5.4 yards per carry average. Meanwhile, Virginia managed 188 on the ground, only 63 […]

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – In a weather-plagued game that was literally up for grabs until the final play, Virginia’s inability to stop Indiana’s unexpectedly effective running game proved to be the difference. Bronco Mendenhall revealed that he didn’t think the Hoosiers would be able to run the ball effectively. Now, he’ll have to go back to the drawing board to figure out why the Cavaliers couldn’t stop Indiana true freshman running back Stevie Scott. With IU missing its top two returning rushers from a year ago – one due to an indefinite suspension in training camp, the other out for the […]

Conditions were an absolute mess the entire game in Indiana Bronco Mendenhall had a strong message for his football team on Saturday night before the Cavaliers departed rain-soaked Bloomington, in a 20-16 loss to Indiana. “My message to them was that I really liked how they finished the game in terms of the mindset of the second half,” the Virginia football coach said. “That in and of itself gave us a great chance right to the end.” UVa, now 1-1 with Ohio University (1-0) coming to town, trailed Indiana 20-9 at halftime in a driving rainstorm. The Cavaliers showed a […]

Depending on how tonight’s game goes, we all might owe Virginia offensive coordinator Robert Anae a big apology. Cavalier fans were all over Anae last season, and this columnist took his fair amount of jabs at Anae as well over an offense that struggled to score and had no running game. Sometimes it was simply predictable and unimaginative. Well, that wasn’t the case last week when Virginia pummeled FCS Richmond and amassed 500 yards of offense while dominating with a strong running game. Anae said earlier this week that new quarterback Bryce Perkins was pennies from heaven. “That’s what Bronco […]

It all came down to one controversial play at the end, but Bryce Perkins’ long pass with no time left on the clock was knocked down at the very back of the Indiana end zone, allowing the Hoosiers to hold on and beat Virginia 20-16. Virginia had gotten one last chance to score the go-ahead touchdown when they received an Indiana punt at their own 9 with 3:23 to go. They drove to the Indiana 31 with only 16 seconds left and faced a 4th and 5. Then things got a little wild. Perkins rolled to his right and attempted […]

Hootie’s ACC Power Poll, Week 2. Rank, school, overall record/ACC record, previous rank, comment: 1. Clemson, 1-0/0-0 (1): Tigers are one of the nation’s elite programs and intend to stay that way with a reunion in College Station, Texas, with an old friend, former Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher, who now coaches the Aggies. Look for Clemson to dominate in the trenches. 2. Virginia Tech, 1-0/1-0 (6): Huge jump in the rankings for the Hokies after they embarrassed Florida State and ruined Willie Taggert’s debut in Tallahassee. Bud Foster never ceases to amaze me. This week, they’ll ruin Jimmye Laycock’s […]

Our Jerry Ratcliffe has personally known every Virginia athletic director dating back to Gene Corrigan, followed by Dick Schultz, Jim Copeland, Terry Holland, and Craig Littlepage. Jerry’s first one-on-one sit down with new UVa AD Carla Williams, took place this week. In Part 1, which you can read by clicking here, football was the main topic of conversation. Today’s Part 2 of the Q&A session hits a variety of topics: Jerry: Carla, you’ve inherited a Top 25 athletic program. How do you enhance that position? Carla: I think we need to sustain it. A strain on the budget impacts everyone. […]

Welcome to our second week of Tale Of The Tape, comparing the individual and team statistics for Virginia and Indiana in preparation for Saturday night’s game. Of all the statistics on this chart, the one that may be the most interesting is in the upper right corner which gives the expected weather conditions. It’s supposed to rain in Bloomington, and not just a sprinkle. A heavy rain could negate Indiana’s passing attack, and since the Hoosiers have already lost their top two running backs coming into the game, that could be an advantage for the Wahoos. To see the complete […]

Malcolm Cook has been a model of hard work as he’s fought through injuries to get back on the field for the Wahoos Malcolm Cook loves a good challenge. To say he has immensely persevered throughout his momentous six years with the University of Virginia football program would be putting it mildly. The 6-foot-1, 240-pound senior linebacker from Richmond — by way of Fork Union Military Academy — only appeared in a total of six games from 2013 heading into last season, and then missed four more contests in 2017. Cook, however, remained focused and positive, and has endured countless […]

Jordan Ellis broke all of his previous career highs for rushing yards and average Saturday night against Richmond In Bronco Mendenhall’s view, Jordan Ellis is Virginia football. “He embodies what a Virginia football player should be,” Mendenhall said this week. Fans saw a little of what Mendenhall was talking about in the Cavaliers’ lopsided win over Richmond in Saturday night’s season opener. Ellis rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns, which garnered him ACC Running Back of the Week honors on Tuesday. Ellis was the workhorse for the Cavaliers in the win, toting the ball on 20 of UVa’s 48 […]

When Indiana hosts Virginia this Saturday night in Bloomington, the Hoosiers will be without its two leading rushers from a year ago. Cole Gest, a redshirt sophomore, who was IU’s starter in its 38-28 win over Florida International over the weekend, torn an ACL during the game and will miss the rest of the season. Indiana coach Tom Allen reported the news at his weekly press conference on Monday and did not provide an update on the “indefinite suspension” of running back Morgan Ellison, who led the Hoosiers in rushing in 2017 with 704 yards and six touchdowns. Ellison was […]

Malcolm Cook (left) and Jordan Mack Most Virginia football fans probably best remember linebacker Jordan Mack as a young pup delivering a tractor-trailer-sized smash to Duke quarterback Daniel Jones in the end zone in October of 2016, resulting in a key Cavalier touchdown. That helped the ‘Hoos win their first ACC road game in a long time. Mack added to his legacy a year ago, finishing his sophomore campaign with the fifth-most tackles (114) in the conference. Now with Micah Kiser playing in the NFL, Mack has taken the reigns as one of the leaders of the UVa linebacking corps, […]