He was called up to the Giants last year for one game. He did not play but was still given a World Series ring because he was on their roster for one game. It is nice to see Hoos collect rings.

Manning was a complete idiot for not taking a knee and running 40 seconds off the clock. Can't believe how those party bus trips with the refs by Jones son has turned into such obvious favoritism by zebras unable to see any of Dallas' holding by their defense and instant replay showing FREE with his hands full of shoulder pads play after play holding the guy and moving him around holding up under the shoulder pads. Refs act like they can't see MULTIPLE holds by the cowboys. Sicken how the refs kept stopping the clock and then they give a time out back, but the big back breaker and boneheaded play was the throw on third down to stop the clock. Would have been nice to call the obvious grab and hold by Church and the ref was standing right there.

Can't tell you how I'm sick of the refs turning a blind eye year in and year out with the Cowboys to beat teams by home team refs allowing Dallas to get away with obvious holds, given calls on BS and stopping the clock to give Romo yet another lucky come back aided by the refs, FAILING to call holds on the defense and on the offense every year at their house on come back drives. The obvious line holding to give Romo all day is pathetic to see it on every other instant replay. That last series of stopping the clock unnecessary to give Dallas more time and giving Dallas a time out back after they had called it and got a penalty after the call was BS! Take that Time out away and the Giants run out the clock. Manning really blew it big time. Saw this one coming by a country mile on ever unnecessary stoppage, just to say two or three times to stop and wait to start on my signal, then to do it again to keep the clock frozen, like it was an out of bounds play by Giants when it was downed in the field of play. Really despise the Cowboys' home cooking refs at home games. It really sucks living right down the road from the Stadium as a Diehard Redskin fan. It's laughable every year how the refs find a way to keep Romo in a game and get him in position to get a game winning play. Never mind the Judo take downs by the line so Romo can have all day to throw to a wide open Receiver as a crossing Receiver sets that no call picks and moves them down the field. Anyone with integrity that watched this game and watched the instant replay knows this was just BS blind eye zebra Dallas Stadium home cooking style refing. Gets old watching zebras standing and swallowing their whistles every year on Dallas' last drive. Like clock work. They burned us lots of times at their house. Remember our D guy was grabbed and spun around I believe last year and Romo was throwing out of the end zone and it looking like Dallas' Smith hooked and spun our guy so bad that it look like he was square dancing. Dallas should have gotten a penalty and safety. Two refs were standing in the instant replay just watching less than two yards away and would not blow the whistle. The media waited two or three days later on Yahoo and asked, "Did Dallas get away with holding in the end zone" and even posted a video with the story. Nice they wait to ask. Really would have been nice if the refs do their job. Then again Jerry "BOSS HOG" jones is Jerry and has been shady every since he bought the team. I can tell you stories on his antics and how many Irving Police incidents were called off on his boys for Jerry making a call to their boss. The drunk driving to the church and leaving the police officer in his dust speaks volumes who the man is and why I don't like his organization. Mr. Burns of the NFL!

The injury to the ND QB makes me wonder where our season would go if Johns gets hurt. This is why QB development and letting guys still feel a part of the program when they don't start is key. I actually feel good about our season right now, but Johns getting hurt and no even decent plan B will kill this team. I mean most teams would be hurt by the starter going out, but our options might be worse than most. #JohnsSeverin16

We mentioned in the War Room that FUMA kicker and former Western Albermarle standout Holland Corbett was going to be in town this weekend and following his visit, he's become commit No. 23 in UVa's 2016 class.

Getting ready to go on the teleconference line with senior cornerback Maurice Canady. Check this thread for notes in a few.

My Petersburg High School, Class of 1974, classmate passed away today. Sad day.

I posted OT this time since I got blasted before....

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/09/university-of-virginia-most-horrible-year

Anyone at the Virginia club ice hockey game versus VCU and see our goalie get tossed for chugging a beer on the ice?

The third question UVa's Mike London was asked in his post-game presser following a brutal loss to No. 9 Notre Dame on Saturday was about holding the Irish to 0-for-10 on 3rd down.

His right hand, resting in a half fist on the back of the microphone stand, tapped several times as David Teel of the Daily Press asked the question.

The inner dialogue was clear: Man, what could have been.

"What a tough way to lose a football game," London had just told the assembled media members at Scott Stadium. "I'm proud of this team and the effort that was displayed. That's a gutsy group of guys in there that went toe to toe for a while and a had a chance to win one of the biggest games in a long time. It got away from us."

Instead of talking about the emotions of beating a Top 10 team, the sixth-year head coach was once again talking about a late-game mishap on defense that cost the Cavaliers dearly. But there was also a different tenor to things in the room, largely because of the notable improvements Virginia made from its season opener at UCLA last weekend to the matchup with Notre Dame. Such a mixed bag in a variety of ways.

For example: Virginia allowed the Fighting Irish to run for 253 yards, led by Petersburg native C.J. Prosise's 155 on 17 carries. And yet, it was the first time since London has been the head coach in Charlottesville that the Wahoo defense didn't allow a team to convert on 3rd down.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers posted 416 yards of total offense, including three TDs out of four tries in the red zone, against a very talented Notre Dame defense that features several players that will be in the NFL soon. And yet the Hoos got dinged for nine penalty flags.

Clearly there were areas where Virginia showed better than last week's loss in the Rose Bowl and yet, plenty of work remains if the Cavaliers want to have a shot at returning to the postseason.

"We wanted to improve in the red zone," London said. "Scoring touchdowns has been the big issue for us. That was something we were able to accomplish today. It's the type of improvement you want to have week to week, regardless of the opponent you face. It's more about us than about anybody else we play."

That Matt Johns and Canaan Severin played as well as they did gave UVa the chance to win. Johns went 26 for 38 (career highs in completion and completion percentage) for 289 yards passing with a pair of touchdowns and one more on the ground. Meanwhile Severin, his roommate, caught 11 passes for 153 yards, both career highs.

Let's be clear: There is a fine line between "improvement" and "moral victories," and UVa at this point can't live off the latter. But the former? That's what the Cavaliers needed. And in some facets, that's what they showed on the field.

"The goal was to get better going from the first game to the second game and I believe we did that," London said. "We've got a long way to go to continue to get better overall."

The mixed bag for fans coming out of this game extended to the coaches. While Steve Fairchild called one of his best game's as UVa's offensive coordinator (and leaned more on his playmakers, including true freshman running back-turned-receiver Olamide Zaccheaus), giving up 460 yards and 34 points isn't exactly what the Cavaliers have become accustomed to expect under DC Jon Tenuta. With its pass rush largely absent a week ago, the Hoos made adjustments, substituting often in the defensive front against ND in an effort to not only match personnel with the Irish but also generate some pressure with fresh legs. It worked in spots: Virginia finished with a pair of sacks, 1.5 of them by Micah Kiser, though he couldn't get to backup DeShone Kizer on the game-winning touchdown with 12 seconds left on the clock and UVa clinging to a one-point lead.

All in all, maybe it's safest to say that Virginia showed signs of life in a variety of ways, a markedly different reality than the opener. Yet the Cavaliers need more steady improvement, especially on defense and in the little things (penalties, closing out a game, etc.) in order to make the "potential" a reality.

One thing's for sure: The next four games appeared to get a lot more winnable after seeing the effort and overall play the Hoos showed on Saturday. Well, as long as that's the way Virginia wants to play football in 2015.


Quick hits

Senior Mike Moore has played both defensive tackle and defensive end in his career but Saturday he warmed up with the linebackers for the first time. And technically, he got the start at SLB. But Moore ended up doing a lot of different things in this game, finishing with eight tackles and 0.5 sack. Ultimately, he wasn't able to get enough pressure on the game's biggest play and said the outcome is something that the Wahoos just have to be able to move on from.

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Junior running back Taquan Mizzell had another solid game for the Cavaliers, finishing with 73 yards on 18 carries. His biggest moment, though, was a near miss: With about three minutes left and UVa driving, Johns almost connected with Mizzell for what would have been a 30-yard TD to take the lead. He lofted the ball up and allowed the Virginia Beach native to get underneath it, lay out in a dive, and almost bring it in. It's a play that ultimately the Hoos didn't need but Mizzell knows there will be other times he's going to have to come through in that type of moment. Overall, the offensive improvement was big from his point of view.

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And then there's Severin, who gave his all both on the field and in terms of leading his guys on the sidelines, especially early when things looked bleaked. With several receivers out, Severin had to do a yeoman's job on Saturday and physically he paid the price. He got to see his roommate and good friend Johns make some big plays but he also got to see his other roommate, walk-on receiver Ryan Santoro, come through in the clutch. As the Wahoos faced a 3rd and 15 from the 35-yard line with less than two and a half minutes left, Johns found Santoro streaking down the right sideline. He pulled in the pass and took it to the 1-yard line, setting up the then go-ahead score. Moments like that give Severin and his teammates a lot of hope for the rest of the season but the team, he says, has to finish games.

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Getting ready to get started in a few with UVa head coach Mike London. Check this thread for notes shortly.

IPWT said:

Awesome news...welcome DeAndre!!!

Closes out most complete class the program has ever had!

Click to expand...

This is true, isn't it? Any other class come close? Anything we're really missing from this class that we could have gotten without sacrificing something just as needed?

I think Hunter caps off the class with exactly the pieces we needed.

What we want to see is domination. We want the result decided by halftime. We aren't going to pay attention to the recent VMI results, they are a different kind of FCS team. We are going to pay attention to our CAA opponents, WnM and Richmond. In case you haven't noticed, most of these games since London took over have been harder than expected except one, the 40-3 beating of WnM in 2011. That is what we want to see. We don't want to see 13-3 at halftime that turns into a misleading 43-19 by the end of the game. We want this game over at halftime. We want to be up 21-28 points at the half.

I'm Hiding my face over the Redskins.

I'm peaking from underneath the covers at UVa football.

Walking with a strut over the Mets.

Sticking my chest out over UVa basketball.

Please share with us your opinion about his play Saturday.

IMHO I thought he had a good game.

I can't believe what I just witnessed! Of all the ways to lose. After playing an amazing team effort to lose like that just stings! I feel bad for the entire team. Coaches called a great game and the players left it all on the field against an excellent team.

Just to show it can happen even at the professional level, check out the result in Dallas tonight. The Cowboys drive 72 yards in approximately 1:30 to score a game winning TD. Final score: 28-27. Sometimes the other team just makes the play(s). Guessing New York is feeling a bit like we did yesterday.

(With no time outs.)

Reid improved yesterday. OZ has it to the point we can put Smoke out as a WR a little more. I really enjoyed seeing us do different things yesterday. With CS and maybe Thorpe down the line we actually have an offense where we have moving parts teams have to pay attention to. Just the fact we can move CS around and Smoke out wide at times will be fun to watch. Pounding it inside with Reid and letting OZ get it on the outside will having others as decoys. The game plan to move CS around getting match ups for him really made Fairchild look like an actual college football coordinator. How about that. Looking forward to us progressing and getting better.

One of Virginia's top 2017 offensive line targets, Highland Springs junior OT Mekhi Becton will be back in Charlottesville this weekend. Good stuff from Hatfield on the 6-foot-7, 304-pound lineman.

Link: Becton returning to UVa this weekend

Man, what a brutal 2nd half.

I actually put most of the credit on UCLA. We definitely hurt ourselves with penalties, we still can't get the ball in the end zone and cash in when we play well, and our playcalling is still atrocious, but I think the Bruins win this one even if we'd scored a TD for every FG. They are just really, really good. They made adjustments at the half and got in a groove and I don't think Duke with their great coach in his 8th year beats UCLA today. Hats off to them.

As far as we stand, it's a little tough to say. The defense looked markedly downgraded from last season. Not sure how much of that is our personnel and how much is just UCLA being a top 15 program with a superstar QB and great OL, but it was a disappointment from what's generally been a strength. Playcalling is bland, bad, predictable, and a huge handicap. I think Fairchild is going to end CML's career here. I think the offense showed some improvement. Johns was strong, other than that series where you could tell he was panicking. We'll see how that translates to easier opponents in conference play.

I still think we can win 5 and maybe even 6 games this season. It's easy to just throw your hands up and give up, but you can't tell but so much from a game like this. It's a top 15 program and they played like it, especially in the second-half. I honestly don't think we can judge where we are by this game. And it doesn't get much easier this month.

Regardless, there's no reason to keep Mike London under contract. Barring an all but impossible scenario where we improve each week and finish with eight or nine wins, there's nothing he can do to make it a net positive to retain him. Even if he gets six wins, which I genuinely believe is possible, or seven, which I don't even consider a remote possibility under the circumstances, we've seen the ceiling here. Best case scenario and we're not going to be better than an eight win team season after season, and we're nowhere near the best case scenario. I think firing Fairchild could get us to six wins with London, but at this point the program is better off letting Mike London go and starting over. We'll be competitive again in three to four years, if we make a solid hire. And we as the University of Virginia need to do it. The level of our athletics department demands it. The prestige of our university demands it. We must be competitive in the number one sport. We must strive for excellence.

I love Mike London. He's an amazing human being. I wish with all my heart he had been successful, but it is time to move on.

But now and always, I love this team. Go Hoos!

Brad, any rumors on when Dowling may get fully cleared? How about Thorpe's recovery? Those two dudes on the sideline looked pretty healthy i.e. Thorpe was dancing and moving his arms and shoulders just fine, hoping hes further along than 8-10 weeks. What happened to Levrone? Man, if the last 3 qtrs werent a 1 hit wonder from fairchild id love to see this offense with thorpe and dowling as a part of it. Still cant believe our dbs continue to get beat deep, and two seniors too that have been good players. Need the next two, get a few of these weapons back and we might be in business. A win today wouldve changed the trajectory of the season, but there is hope at least.

win.

Gruden is almost a mirror of our coach, with playing not to lose mentality when it comes to inside of the twenty yard line or the red zone. Both seem to be really soft spoken nice guys, but their play calling (with the exception of yesterday) is way to conservative in the red zone.

Too conservative and this team has the same bad luck year in and year out our Cavs have with key injuries from day one.

Cousin looking good but several of his receivers don't have their head in the game. Twice Jordon Reed made big mistakes that either cost downs or and INT. Morris' run for big gains to have it moved back to a late hook and pull down to the ground of a DB after Morris had gotten by. The announcers really said it was a very unnecessary and dumb move. Also on the INT, Reed did not come back for the ball and pulled a Roberts move of back pedaling to get more yards to catch the ball down around his knees, but instead he allowed a DB to jump the route and pick Cousins instead of stopping or coming back for the ball.

I'm concerned now that Hall has gone out and with Amerson (was named THE worse DB in the league for being burned) replacing him as the go to guy for the other teams QB. Continues to play too far off, take all day to react and continues to be beaten so bad he is falling down on his knees/back side for easy touchdowns.

He really knows how to play just hard enough to make the cut each year and then play like a 5th or 6th string DB for easy TD; for the other team!