By not turning the ball over, Cavs are playing for keeps

CHARLOTTESVILLE Whether it's a blocking drill, watching film or doing a walk-through on the field, U.Va. football players are focused on the same thing -- turnovers.

Coach Al Groh has worked to instill it as a mentality, and after a rough start, it's paying off: The Wahoos have won the turnover battle handily in their past three games, all victories.

"We've realized in the last couple games how much those numbers matter," linebacker Denzel Burrell said. "Being able to have a plus margin in the turnover battle is a key to winning."

In case the team's running backs forget, there's always a linebacker ready to strip the ball during practice. During some drills, an extra tackler is sent for the sole purpose of punching at the football.

And if a player demonstrates a tendency to fumble, Groh won't hesitate to bench him.

"There are some players here in the past that have displayed a significant running skill but we couldn't afford to play Russian roulette with," he said. "We just couldn't afford to put them out there where they could do something that might cause us to lose."

The emphasis paid off on the scoreboard Saturday when defensive lineman Nate Collins took an interception back for a touchdown.

After falling in the hole with seven giveaways during the William and Mary game, the Cavs are back in the positives, ranking 37th nationally and averaging a half-turnover advantage per game. This week's opponent, Georgia Tech, is slightly ahead of that pace at 24th nationally.

Teaching turnovers involves more than just lip service to being aggressive. Groh peppers all his drills with emphasis on disrupting the game, even coaching his defenders on the proper technique for recovering fumbles.

"We have situations in practice about when you should scoop a fumble," Collins said. "I'm not going to get greedy -- if there's a pile of people, I'll jump on it. But if I'm in an open field, of course I'm going to scoop it up and try to score."

While the defense focuses on that, the offense is concentrating on not giving it away.

Saturday's rainy game provided a particular challenge on that front.

"My focus was really just to get the ball secure," quarterback Marc Verica said. "It was a messy game -- a lot of fumbles."

Groh noted yesterday that just focusing on turnovers won't make a team better overnight, but it allows the Hoos to cut down on potentially damaging plays.

"They don't compensate for not having talent," he said. "But they certainly enable you to maximize whatever talent you have on your team."

The Cavs are doing that right now, and they've used turnovers to help turn around their season.