N.C. State Overpowers Virginia 35-21 In First True Road Test

(Photo Courtesy Matt Riley/UVa Media Relations) Olamide Zaccheaus catches a 35-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Perkins to give UVa an early lead Virginia came up short in its first true test on the road, falling 35-21 at N.C. State Saturday. The Wolfpack scored 24 unanswered points and set a season high in the rushing category, all while getting another stellar performance from star quarterback Ryan Finley. The Cavaliers (3-2, 1-1 ACC) surrendered 10 points in the final two minutes of the first half and never could get back within striking distance the rest of the afternoon. Finley was 22 for […]

Hootie: No Mystique About How Cavaliers Lost Game And Fell To 3-2

(Photo Courtesy Matt Riley/UVa Media Relations) Bryce Perkins threw for 258 yards, but inability to mount much of a running game was a problem for UVa Saturday RALEIGH, NC – After Virginia couldn’t stop Indiana’s ground game in the second week of the season, Bronco Mendenhall went back to the drawing board. He thought he had the problem fixed. Turns out, that was only a band-aid. The Cavaliers, minus several starters missing on defense, had no answer for N.C. State’s running game at sold out Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday, and paid the price, dropping a 35-21 decision to the Wolfpack. […]

UVA Men’s Golf Coach Couldn’t Be Any Happier With Fantastic Start

Virginia’s new golf facility should give the Cavaliers a competitive edge To note that Virginia men’s golf season is off to a good start would be an understatement. The Cavaliers finished tied for second in last week’s Inverness Intercollegiate tournament in Ohio, with senior Thomas Walsh claiming the individual championship with a tournament record, 8-under 205 (54 holes). That event followed UVa’s season-opening, seventh-place finish at the Capital Carpet Collegiate in Georgia, beating a couple of top 10 teams. If that wasn’t enough to get veteran Wahoos coach Bowen Sargent excited, the soon-to-be opening of Virginia’s new golf facility (for […]

Tale Of The Tape: Virginia Will Be Facing ACC’s No. 1 Passing Offense

Well, it’s another Friday, game day is tomorrow, so it’s time to look at the tale of the tape between Virginia and N.C. State. Weather should be close to perfect again (partly cloudy and 79 degrees at game time) and the key stat seems to be the Wolfpack’s explosive passing attack. Defensively, Virginia has better team statistics, but the Wahoos have not faced a quarterback like Ryan Finley, as the Wollfpack passing game is ranked No. 1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. To see the complete chart of “Tale Of The Tape” click on “Continue Reading” below: Saturday, September 29, […]

You Ask, He Answers In Another Edition Of “Hootie’s Mailbag”

The popular Mailbag is back with some of our readers’ questions, answered by yours truly. If you have a question, send it to the following email address: In honor of how my old friend Bill Millsaps used to answer his readers’ when he was sports editor in Richmond, we always start ours off just like he did: The reader writes … Question from Anthony E in Las Vegas: Hey Jerry, when do you think the rest of the country will begin to notice Bryce Perkins? Hootie: Tony, I think that’s starting to pick up. I was listening to Rick Neuheisel […]

Hootie’s Power Poll Has Virginia Ranked Higher Than Virginia Tech

We’re into Week Five of Hootie’s ACC Power Poll, ranking the 14 league teams in order of performance in our humble opinion. If you want a lowdown on all the ACC action, reviewing last week, previewing this weekend, and the scoop on Clemson’s quarterback change, and UVa’s and Tech’s journeys to Tobacco Road, check out our audio section and look for the Ourlads ACC show with yours truly and host Greg DePalma, and some special guests who breakdown all the ACC. Now, for this week’s Power Poll. Some of the mighty have fallen: Rank, School, Overall record/ACC, Previous rank, Comment […]

Another Day, Another Great Meal at Great Harvest Bread Company…

From left, Danny Wilmer, store owner Aileen Magnotto, Jerry Ratcliffe, and Tom Payne at downtown Charlottesville location Over the past week, a couple of pals and myself have discovered “Bread Heaven.” That’s what Great Harvest Bread Company is known as among its customers, not only in Charlottesville, but in its 200 independently franchised stores around the country. We are fortunate to have two of their stores here in Charlottesville, one in the very back of Virginia’s Law School building (not far from JPJ, the “Dish,” and many of the tailgating lots in those areas on football Saturdays. The other is […]

This Week, Chris Long, Jonathan Coleman Join The Pigskin Panel…

Dave and Scott are starting to pull away from Jerry as the college football season enters its fifth week. Dave led everyone last week with an 11-4 record to take a one-game lead over Scott, who went 10-5. Hilldrup CEO and guest picker Charles McDaniel also went 10-5, while his son and fellow guest picker Charlie McDaniel tied Hootie with a 9-6 record. Hootie is now 7 games off the lead, but vows a comeback is in the offing. This week’s guests include Chris Long, former UVA football star and member of the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles; and Jonathan […]

Listen In As Hootie, Greg DePalma Look At This Week’s ACC Action

Listen in for the inside scoop on all of ACC Football action from Ourlads host Greg DePalma, and ACC analyst Jerry Ratcliffe as they welcome in legendary Phil Kornblut from the Sports Talk South Carolina network to talk about the huge quarterback controversy at Clemson, and Bob Sutton, sports editor at the Burlington (NC) Times-News to discuss the huge Virginia Tech at undefeated Duke game this week, plus a look at Virginia at N.C. State. To do so, click below:

Poppinga’s Secondary Will Be Facing Its Toughest Test Of The Season

Virginia’s secondary’s toughest test of the season will come Saturday in Raleigh when the Cavaliers face N.C. State quarterback Ryan Finley. Finley ranks 20th in NCAA statistics in yards passing with 1,056 in but three games, but those numbers don’t address the quality of this strong-armed, experienced quarterback who will be playing on Sunday’s. “I think he’s the best quarterback we’ve seen since we’ve been here as far as just a passer,” said UVa co-defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga of the staff’s three years in Charlottesville. “[Finley] has seen it all. He knows how to diagnose coverages, knows how to throw […]

Coaches Unfamiliar With Each Other Going Into Saturday’s Game

When longtime ACC rivals Virginia and N.C. State face off for the 58th time Saturday, there will be a greater sense of unfamiliarity than in previous matchups in the series, which dates back to 1904. Ever since the league has been split into two divisions, schools can go several seasons — six in this case — between meetings. Each side admits that there may be a small amount of knowledge when you factor in scouting other like opponents on film, but more attention is being paid to the team you’re preparing for. In his 14 years as a head coach, […]

New Season, New Title For Associate Head Coach Jason Williford

New NCAA rules allowed college basketball teams to begin practicing Wednesday, a couple of weeks earlier than in the past, and there were no surprises at defending ACC champion Virginia. Associate Head Coach Jason Williford The only intrigue was the question of when Alabama transfer Braxton Key will learn if his hardship application will be decided by college basketball’s governing body, and the fact that freshman recruit, 7-foot Francisco Caffaro, from Argentina, has not participated in any practices since he arrived. There is, however, a new associate head coach in the program, 10-year veteran assistant Jason Williford. His promotion came […]

uva football

Cavs Have Chance To Reverse Road Trend With A Win In Raleigh

Life on the road in the Atlantic Coast Conference has not been particularly kind to the Virginia football program in recent memory, but the Cavaliers have a chance to reverse the trend and make a statement, beginning this weekend in Raleigh. Wins have been few and far between away from Scott Stadium in conference play for the Wahoos over the past decade. Since the start of the 2008 season, Virginia has a record of 9-31 (0.225) in ACC road games.

Virginia Offense Will Face Its Toughest Challenge Of The Season Yet

Robert Anae’s offense will face its toughest challenge so far this season on Saturday when they take on N.C. State in Raleigh. Anae, whose offense has been impressive the past two games, realizes touchdowns won’t come as easy against the Wolfpack, ranked ninth in the nation in scoring defense. State has allowed only four touchdowns in three games this season, and is giving up only 13.3 points per game.

No Surprise: Charles Snowden Named ACC Linebacker Of The Week

When the ACC announced its Players of the Week Monday, anyone who saw what Charles Snowden did against Louisville knew his name would be on the list. The 6-foot-7, 225-pound sophomore was named the conference’s Linebacker of the Week after an eye-popping, breakout performance against the Cardinals that helped propel Virginia to a 3-1 record with a dominating afternoon.

UVA Defense Gets Bad News As Two Key Starters Sidelined by Injury

Virginia has lost two defensive starters, one for the rest of the season due to a medical issue, and the other for at least six weeks. The news came from Bronco Mendenhall’s weekly press conference Monday, news that will have a major impact on a Cavaliers’ defense that hit its stride last weekend with a dominating performance against Louisville.

McCarthy Wins Sunday, Punches “Golden Ticket” For PGA Tour

Denny McCarthy fired a 6-under par 65 Sunday to win the Web.com Tour Championship and in the process punched his “Golden Ticket,” to a fully exempt status on next season’s PGA Tour. McCarthy, a former Virginia All-American, was a rookie on the PGA Tour this past season, but was not fully exempt. That meant he played a partial PGA Tour schedule and a partial Web.com Tour slate.

Five Things We Learned After Virginia’s 27-3 Win Over Louisville

Five Things We Learned from Virginia’s dominating, 27-3 win over Louisville: 1. The Cavaliers’ defense is improving. Both Micah Kiser and Quin Blanding said they believed this season’s defense would be even better than last season’s defense when they were the stalwarts. Why? They agreed that this year’s defense would be better because there would be more experienced players, and because there would be more players that could spread out the tackling rather than depending so heavily on two guys. Kiser and Blanding led the ACC in tackling for three consecutive years.

Virginia Ups Record To 3-1 With Impressive Win Over Louisville

Virginia’s Joe Reed gets behind the Cardinals defense for a fourth-quarter score It took a little while for the Virginia offense to kick into gear Saturday in the ACC opener against Louisville, but better late than never. The Cavaliers moved to 3-1 on the season as Bryce Perkins returned from a brief injury he suffered late in the first half, then wowed the crowd by hurdling defenders, throwing a pair of second-half touchdowns and running for another in a convincing 27-3 victory over the Cardinals at Scott Stadium. On the third play of the third quarter, Perkins threw just his […]