Tag: Sports

It never had a chance.

Sam Ficken’s fourth missed field goal sailed wide left and gave Virginia an improbable 17-16 win over Penn State on Saturday at Scott Stadium.

“I understand there’s a lot of pressure on kickers,” UVA coach Mike London said. “But I also understand the pressure that can be applied on the other side when you can push on the guards and get your hands up like the one we blocked. When you start doing that, you kind of create that thing where the kicker knows you’re back there – you’re close. Maybe we got in his head. Maybe he just missed them.”

Quarterback Michael Rocco found Jake McGee for a 6-yard touchdown that gave Virginia its one-point lead with 1:28 remaining. Rocco was 4-4 on third downs on the 12-play, 86-yard drive, including a 44-yard prayer to McGee on 3rd-and-16 from Virginia’s 22-yard line. The sophomore tight end split two Penn State defenders to make the catch, one of whom was called for pass interference.

“I was fired up and trying to get some more points on the board,” said McGee, who finished with a career-high 99 yards receiving. “Rocco scrambled out of the pocket, he put it up, and I somehow came down with it. I don’t know how I came down with it, but it stuck.”

Penn State turned four UVA turnovers into just three points – Ficken’s lone make of the day, a 32-yarder that gave PSU a 16-10 lead with 11 minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Virginia’s miscues –three fumbles and an interception – all took place inside its own 30-yard line. On the four ensuing possessions, however, UVA’s defense held Penn State to minus-14 yards.

Said linebacker Steve Greer, who finished with a career-high 15 tackles: “That’s what Coach Reid emphasizes every day, that when you are put in a tough spot, that’s where defenses show up. We really wanted to execute and create an identity for ourselves.” The last time UVA won after being minus-four in turnover margin was a 9-6 win over Clemson in 1994.

NCAA sanctions in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal allowed Penn State players to transfer without restriction. All-Big Ten kicker Anthony Fera left Happy Valley for the University of Texas, which gave Ficken the starting job. The sophomore missed from 40, 32, 20, and 42 yards Saturday, and had one of his two extra points blocked by UVA linebacker Henry Coley.

“It’s never always about the kicker,” Penn State coach Bill O’Brien said. “The kicker is always the one to get blamed, but it’s the whole operation: the snap, the hold, the kick. We have to take a look at that. There is no substitute for hard work. We’ll have to go back as a staff and talk about it, but Sam is our kicker. We need to see what things we can do to help Sam get better.” Virginia kicker Drew Jarrett converted his only field goal attempt of the day, a career-long 46-yarder in the second quarter.

Now 2-0 for the second consecutive year, UVA will open conference play Saturday at Georgia Tech. Mike London’s team topped the then-no. 12 Yellow Jackets last season, 24-21, in Charlottesville.

A UVA fan captures the winning touchdown below…

UVA dispatched Richmond last weekend in most ordinary fashion.

This Saturday’s contest against Penn State will be anything but ordinary, no matter the outcome.

The NCAA imposed unprecedented sanctions on PSU in the wake of Jerry Sandusky’s conviction on 45 counts of child sex abuse and a subsequent report that accused school officials of concealing allegations against the former assistant coach.

“Our goal is not to be just punitive, but to make sure the university establishes an athletic culture and daily mindset in which football will never again be place ahead of educating, nurturing, and protecting young people,” said NCAA president Mark Emmert, who added that no action could remove the victims’ pain and anguish.

The penalties included a $60 million fine, a four-year postseason ban, and a significant reduction in the allotment of scholarships. The NCAA also vacated Penn State’s 112 wins from 1998-2011, dropping Joe Paterno from first to 12^th on the list of winningest coaches in college football history.

Paterno was fired in November amid the scandal and died in January at the age of 85. He had coached at Penn State since 1950.

Bill O’Brien was hired just days before his predecessor’s death. Most recently offensive coordinator of the NFL’s New England Patriots, O’Brien has made coaching stops at Georgia Tech, Maryland, and Duke. He inherited a nine-win team from a season ago, but one that lost nine players to transfer following the NCAA sanctions.

Just as Virginia prepared to take the field against Richmond last Saturday, Ohio University was wrapping up its first win of the season – a 24-14 victory over Penn State in front 97,186 fans in State College, Pa.

“Other than the fact it was my first football game as a head coach, I didn’t sense anything different about today,” O’Brien said. “I thought it was a great atmosphere in the stands and Beaver Stadium. It starts with me coaching better and making sure that we play better the next time we play at home and against Virginia.”

UVA is a 10-point favorite against PSU. The game will be televised nationally by ABC.

A LOOK BACK

• Virginia welcomes Penn State to Charlottesville for the first time since Dec. 1, 2001 – a game originally scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001, but postponed due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
• Virginia won that game 20-14, denying PSU bowl eligibility in the process. Matt Schaub split time at quarterback with Bryson Spinner, while Antwoine Womack rushed for a game-high 153 yards.
• Midway through the third quarter, UVA defensive back Art Thomas returned a fumble 92 yards for a touchdown. It remains the longest fumble return in school history.
• That season, Joe Paterno passed Paul “Bear” Bryant as the all-time winningest coach in Division I.
• Penn State has won five of the seven games in a series that dates back to 1893. The schools have not played since 2002, when UVA fell 35-14 in State College, Pa.

“I really believe it’s my job to lose, and I’m not going to lose it.”

Consider Michael Rocco 1-for-1 in 2012.

UVA coach Mike London named Rocco starting quarterback Monday, just 24 days after the junior publicly laid claim to the job.

“It became apparent that Michael has the best grasp of the offense right now,” London said. “He’s done nothing to lose his position. He’s improved.”

Rocco will make his 14^th consecutive start Saturday when Virginia welcomes Richmond to Scott Stadium. Alabama transfer Phillip Sims, meanwhile, will become one of college football’s most acclaimed understudies – again.

ESPNU and SuperPrep magazine rated Sims the country’s No. 1 high school quarterback in 2009. He rewrote the Virginia High School League record book en route to 48 prep wins in four seasons. At Alabama, however, Sims logged just 28 pass attempts in a reserve role before transferring to UVA this summer. (Starting quarterback A.J. McCarron led the Crimson Tide to the 2011 BCS national championship).

A product of Chesapeake’s Oscar Smith High School, Sims was granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA but could not unseat Rocco during Virginia’s month-long training camp. London said Monday it would have been unfair to expect him to have learned the entire offense in such a short time. Rocco, conversely, executed the system to the tune of eight wins in 2011. His 2,671 passing yards rank fourth all-time at UVA in a single season.

Virginia is 26-2-2 all-time against Richmond, including a 34-13 win in 2010 — Mike London’s Virginia debut. Richmond, which lost its final eight games a year ago, last topped UVA in 1946.

He answers to “Smoke.”

That alone should speak to the budding legend of Taquan Mizzell, one of just 22 prep prospects in the Class of 2013 to have received five-star distinction from recruiting authority Rivals.com.

Mizzell verbally committed to UVA last Tuesday, spurning offers from a host of college football’s bluebloods — Miami, Notre Dame, and Ohio State, among the list of nearly two dozen teams. He is Virginia’s first recruit to earn five stars since offensive lineman Eugene Monroe signed a letter of intent more than seven years ago (though freshman defensive end Eli Harold received five on some recruiting ranking systems).

Dubbed “Smoke” during his freshman year at Virginia Beach’s Bayside High School because of his elusiveness — you can’t grab smoke, said an assistant coach — Mizzell’s commitment will give Virginia the elite playmaker so often employed by powerhouse programs. Just as importantly, it serves to strengthen Mike London’s presence in the talent-rich Tidewater region. Mizzell will join former Bayside teammates Tra Nicholson, Anthony Cooper, and Henry Coley at UVA — the sort of pipeline missing in recent years.

The various scouting reports read much the same: Mizzell is versatile, dynamic, and explosive. To that end, Rivals.com has rated him the top all-purpose back in the country (and the 20th-best prospect overall). The 5-10, 185-pounder ran for more than 1000 yards during his junior season, despite being hampered by a sprained ankle for much of the year. Next year, Mizzell figures to compete for playing time with  running backs Kevin Parks and Clifton Richardson, though the true freshman could see the field from a variety of positions.

He received his fifth star last Monday and accepted Virginia’s scholarship offer Tuesday, but Mizzell’s finest honor came Thursday when I sat down to lunch with my dad – a sensible man indifferent to the chaotic world of college football recruiting. In an effort to gauge the reach of Tuesday’s announcement, I asked if he had heard about UVA’s latest commitment.

Without pause, Dad smiled: “You mean Smoke?”