U.Va. notes: Verica plays hardball

Verica plays hardball

Jameel Sewell's injury allowed Marc Verica to play the final quarter of Virginia's 20-9 victory yesterday.

Coming in to protect the lead, coach Al Groh called for the "hardball" series of plays, a group of mostly runs that help run down the clock. It's the opposite of the team's "fastball" approach, which is used when the Cavs are trailing late.

"My job was pretty simple," Verica said. "It was just to manage the ball and keep my eye on the clock."

He did that with drives of 2:08 and 3:00 in the fourth quarter, followed by a Rashawn Jackson touchdown run to seal the victory with less than two minutes remaining. Verica said his biggest challenge was simply being able to grip the ball.

"When a quarterback comes in midgame, you say he's going in cold," the junior said. "Well, I was literally going in cold."

Conrath injured on kneel-down

The first half had a bizarre ending when U.Va. defensive lineman Matt Conrath was injured on a Maryland kneel-down play.

While Conrath was tangling with a Terps offensive lineman, he appeared to twist his ankle. He did not return in the second half, and was replaced by Zane Parr, who has been used on the line this year in third-and-long situations.

Replays favor Maryland

Two years ago, a pair of replay reviews helped the Hoos to an upset victory. This year, it was the Terps benefiting from the eyes in the sky.

With the game tied 3-3 late in the second quarter and the ball on Virginia's 40, Maryland's Kerry Boykins caught a pass, was hit by Jared Detrick, and fumbled. U.Va.'s Chris Cook jumped on the fumble. But a video replay overturned the call, with the ruling being that Boykins never had possession of the ball.

Later in the drive, a third-and-8 pass completion was upheld after a diving catch was sent upstairs for review.

Virginia didn't do itself any favors on the drive, as a Cook pass interference call kept the chains moving inside the red zone.

Kickoff woes continue

Ron Prince seems to deal with a new problem each week on special teams, and the spotlight will be on the kickers this week after a series of lackluster kickoffs.

Robert Randolph started the game, failing to kick the ball past the 20 on two attempts, and was replaced by Chris Hinkebein. The sophomore did no better, offering a couple of squibs that were returned to near the 40-yard line, meaning that U.Va. would have been just as effective kicking the ball out of bounds each time.

The short kicks may have been a reaction to Maryland's kick returner, Torrey Smith, who has been hot in recent weeks.

Having fun in the rain

So, is it at all a little bit fun to play in the rain?

"Oh, definitely fun," safety Brandon Woods said. "We decided we weren't going to let the weather affect us."

The only change Woods made was going to a long-sleeve uniform. He left the game with a shoulder injury in the first quarter, returning shortly afterward.

Cook said that the rain's power was all mental.

"Especially when the weather is cold and the rain makes it colder, you've just got to go out there with the mentality that you're going to have fun," he said.

Extra points

Virginia is the only undefeated team in ACC play. . . . It was once again all about turnovers -- Virginia forced four, while Maryland created just one. . . . Sewell ran several plays from under center, as opposed to his usual shotgun formation. . . . Maryland elected to go into the wind in the fourth quarter, which cost the team when Nick Ferrarra missed a 44-yard field goal. . . . The 3 hour, 18 minute game didn't sit well with fans, who booed during TV timeouts in the fourth quarter. There were 44,864 tickets sold, but only a fraction of that number showed -- mostly the Maryland student body. . . . Groh said that if he had it to do over again, he would have knelt on the ball to end the game instead of handing it off to Jackson -- there was confusion as to whether the clock would have run out on three kneel-downs. -- Michael Phillips