Virginia Cavaliers News

College Football Teams Opening Up

CLEMSON, S.C.-When C.J. Spiller stands beside Howard's Rock for his solo, Senior Day run down Clemson's famed hill on Saturday, he won't think about the friends he's made, the highlight reels he's filled or the nearly four miles he's run since picking the Tigers four seasons ago.

USC won't make the BCS. SMU is good, and Temple is better. The national title game should include two unbeaten teams. A lackluster Big East record shows that Jim Leavitt's teams aren't built to last a full season. All sorts of alleged guarantees in college football have failed to come through in 2009. But a few new rules have developed. Here's a peek at a handful:  Rule 1: USF tanks down the stretch Again, the Bulls took an undefeated into October and looked like a Big East title contender.... Again, they tumbled in conference play, capped by a 31-0 tail-kicking against Rutgers on Thursday. Coach Jim Leavitt's program is 16-17 in conference play since joining the league and only once has finished as close as a game out of first place. Rule 2: Rich Rodriguez vs. the fans He almost took the Alabama job. Then he did bail, to Michigan, sparking lawsuits and nasty he said-he said. Then he coached UM to its worst season in decades. Now, he's sitting on a six-game Big Ten losing streak, with the NCAA investigating his program. "The last half of the year has not gone well," Rodrgiuez said on a teleconference. Rule 3: Oklahoma rules at home Despite a four-loss season, the Sooners remain a sure thing at Owen Field. Saturday's thumping of Texas A&M stretched the program's home winning streak to 29 games, longest in Division I-A. Oklahoma State gets the next crack at snapping it on Nov. 28. Rule 4: Here comes Oregon State The Beavers started 2-2 last season and stormed to within a game of the Rose Bowl. Same drill in 2009 -- OSU has won five of six, losing only at USC. Coach Mike Riley said the season turned during an October win over Stanford. "That was probably where the whole team started looking the a whole team, with all three phases," he said on a teleconference. Rule 5: The other Trojans The much-reported Fall of Troy hasn't affected, well, Troy. One more victory would give the guys from Troy, Ala., a fourth straight Sun Belt Conference championship. It might be time to rename the New Orleans Bowl the Larry Blakeney Invitational. Rule 6: "The list of candidate includes East Carolina Coach Skip Holtz..." Get ready for heavy doses of Skip, Louisville and Virginia fans. With his coaching genes and recent winning at ECU, Holtz seems to pop in connection with every major-conference gig east of the Mississippi. He considered Syracuse a year ago, and might listen again this year if schools that fit the geography come calling. Rule 7: Navy = bowl game Supposed talent deficiencies and recruiting disadvantages haven't kept the Mids from reaching seven straight bowls, counting their trip to next month's Texas Bowl. Wins, especially over Notre Dame, must make Annapolis' academic and military rigors more manageable. Rule 8: Another Badger big boy Related Links What We Learned: Coaches losing pull Hot Seat: Constant grief for guys in charge Bowl projections: Curtis sets them all Ron Dayne and Anthony Davis started the trend, and P.J. Hill carried the Badgers for three seasons. Now it's John Clay, the Badgers' 250-pound tailback who leads the Big Ten in rushing. He has produced six games of 120 or more yards and 12 touchdowns. This story appears in Nov. 18's edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only daily digital sports newspaper, sign up today for free. Dave Curtis is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at dcurtis@sportingnews.com.more>>

Sporting News' Dave Curtis analyzes what Sunday's buzz means to college football. Inside BK's brain Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly went unorthodox Friday night, subbing Tony Pike in for quarterback Zach Collaros in some scoring situations against West Virginia. The move, which allowed Pike to throw two touchdown passes in his first game back from injury, ended up a key part of UC's game plan. When his team reached the red zone, Kelly predicted two things about the Mountaineers' defense—its pass... rush would fall off, and its secondary would play bracket coverage. Pike, at 6-6 with a stronger arm, could counteract those adjustments. "Tony can fit it in the tightest spots with bracket coverage," Kelly said Friday night. "And he can see it a little better than Zach. You've got to see all those creases." The move paid off in particular on UC's third-quarter touchdown that broke a 14-14 tie. Pike, the starter back in September, fired a throw between several defenders to D.J. Woods, who had run a quick hook up the seam. Pike also threw a TD to Armon Binns on his first pass in a game since Oct. 15. "You couldn't ask for anything better," Pike said. "You couldn't write a better script, coming in and first play, touchdown." In June they trust SMU entered this fall on a 10-game losing streak and sporting back-to-back 1-11 seasons. Yet thanks to coach June Jones and an improved bunch of players, the Mustangs are rivaling Texas' dominance and TCU's rise as the college football story of the year in the Lone Star State. After Saturday's 35-31 win over UTEP and Houston's loss at UCF, the Mustangs sit alone atop Conference USA's West Division and can reach the league title game by winning at Marshall and then beating Tulane over Thanksgiving weekend. A title would bring SMU even closer to shaking the stigma of the 1987 NCAA death penalty sanctions that shelved the program for two seasons. And it would accentuate a brighter piece of school history—25 years ago, SMU shared the Southwestern Conference title and beat Notre Dame in the Aloha Bowl. The Mustangs still struggle to run the ball, protect the passer and keep opponents of the end zone. But they've stockpiled six victories and are very much in play for the division crown. All's quiet at Virginia The storm around coach Al Groh's future at Virginia has deterred from the efforts of his players. Groh said Sunday night the Cavaliers enjoyed one of their best practices of the year Wednesday that featured players chanting and cheering in encouragement of one another. The effort translated to Saturday, when UVa hung with bowl-bound Boston College before falling, 14-10. And the disappointment, Groh said, carried into Sunday. "Everybody's a little bit quieter the next day," he said on a teleconference. Groh's tenure in Charlottesville seems doomed—counting this season, the program has missed a bowl in three of the last four years. But don't count out an upset win down the stretch for the Cavs, especially in the finale against rival Virginia Tech. Dave Curtis is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at dcurtis@sportingnews.com.more>>

Virginia Athletic Director Craig Littlepage is due up at bat. With the all but certain firing of Al Groh just mere weeks away, the pressure will be on Littlepage to come through in the clutch. Sure, the Cavalier program may have lost a bit of its luster. However, if Notre Dame holds on to Charlie Weis, Virginia could be the most attractive job opening this off-season. Littlepage needs to step up to the plate and make a good swing. Let's explore the possible scenarios ahead of... him.Begin Slideshowmore>>

On Nov. 28, 2009, Al Groh's coaching career will end.

Each week, Sporting News' Matt Hayes ranks the Division I-A conferences—and the teams within each league. Conf. rankings No. 1 SEC No. 2 Pac-10 No. 3 ACC No. 4 Big 12 No. 5 Big Ten No. 6 Big East Nos. 7-11 3. ACC 1. Georgia Tech 2. Clemson ... 3. Virginia Tech 4. Miami 5. Boston College 6. North Carolina 7. Duke 8. Wake Forest 9. Florida State 10. N.C. State 11. Virginia 12. Maryland Rising Clemson: Even the recent history of underachieving can't stop this train. Riding a four-game winning streak, the Tigers need another victory at N.C. State on Saturday, and maybe against Virginia the following week, to clinch the Atlantic Division and play for the league championship. Falling Florida State: If things weren't bad enough in Tallahassee, there's this: With QB Christian Ponder (shoulder) out for the season, the 'Noles won't win again. That's a mighty ugly 4-8 record for iconic coach Bobby Bowden. Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.more>>

Polls in college football are often dissected and analyzed at a ridiculous level.

MIAMI-The last time Virginia coach Al Groh was on the sideline in South Florida, his Cavaliers ended Miami's era at the Orange Bowl with a stunning 48-0 romp over the Hurricanes.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.- Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage says a decision on Al Groh's future as the school's football coach will come at the end of the season.

Each week, Sporting News' Matt Hayes ranks the Division I-A conferences and the teams within each league. Conf. rankings No. 1 SEC No. 2 Pac-10 No. 3 Big Ten No. 4 ACC No. 5 Big 12 No. 6 Big East Nos. 7-11 4. ACC 1. Georgia Tech 2. Miami 3.... Clemson 4. Virginia Tech 5. Boston College 6. Duke 7. Florida State 8. Wake Forest 9. Virginia 10. North Carolina 11. N.C. State 12. Maryland Rising Duke: Yep, Duke. Blue Devils have won three straight ACC games for the first time since some guy named Spurrier did it in the middle of an ACC championship season. Falling N.C. State: Wolfpack have lost four in a row, giving up 176 points (average of 44 points in those games). How in the world did this team beat Pitt? Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.more>>

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.-Virginia is doing a defensive about-face.