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The Rams aren't interested in history, however, they're just glad to face someone with a different colored jersey on.
"We?re anxious to play someone else," said head coach Sonny Lubick. "I?m sure Virginia is too."
On Friday night, Lubick put his team through a ?mock? game at Hughes Stadium to focus on special teams and game situations. The team had Saturday off for its first rest in more than two weeks, and then returned to the practice field Sunday for a two-hour workout. The team will also have two-hour workouts today and Tuesday (4:30 p.m.) before traveling to Charlottesville, Va. Wednesday.
Lubick wasn't pleased with the showing Sunday following the day off.
"We gave them the day off, and at the start they were sluggish. It took them an hour to get going again," Lubick said as the team prepred for Virginia's offensive and defensive schemes.
The Rams will have two more practice days to pick up the intensity before facing its first Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponent ever.
"The ACC is as good football conference," Lubick said. "We can play with them, but we have to be keyed up and ready to go. They have good teams in that conference, but we'd like to think that we have good teams in the Mountain West Conference, too."
The Rams are 7-2 in season openers and have proven in the past that they can beat BCS teams on the road in openers. In 1998 the Rams stunned Michigan State in East Lansing 23-16. Virginia is predicted to finish in the bottom half of the ACC this year, after a 5-7 season last year.
Under second-year head coach Al Groh, the Cavaliers pulled in what some experts predicted to be a top-five recruiting class. Several of those players are expected to play this year. In fact, of the Cavaliers' 72 players on scholarship, 22 are true freshmen, of which Groh said "probably 10" would play against the Rams. Half of those are listed on the two-deep roster.
"We have a very, very talented young class coming in," Groh told the Charlottesville Daily Press. "A lot of very good players. They're talented and they're hungry, and we need the interjection of their ability onto our roster. As hyped as this group was, I think the talent level is every bit as good as it was supposed to be.
"I understand the reality of who we're dealing with and I think it's all on a relative scale. When a first- or second-round draft choice would come onto (an NFL) team, when a guy's picked that early, it's because he's supposed to bring something that wasn't already there. So you want to get him in the game, and you want to let him know you have confidence to play him. By the same token, you have to bring him along so he's ready to go."
Groh has faced Colorado State twice in his career--and lost both of them. As defensive coordinator at Air Force in 1978-79, he saw the Rams win 31-13 and 20-6 in those two seasons.
Groh seems to have Virginia headed in the right direction. Despite posting a 5-7 record a year ago, closed the season by defeating Penn State 20-14 in the 2001 season finale. With the recruiting class hype, fans in Virginia are excited about the season.
To help Virginia prepare for their grueling conference slate, which begins with Florida State in two weeks, Groh wanted to add an early game to the schedule. Colorado State was the type of team he was looking for.
"It's good for us to be playing this team at this particular time," he said. "We thought the challenge of playing a team that is picked to win their conference would be invigorating for our players."
Virginia's main weapons are wide receivers Billy McMullen and Michael McGrew, and running backs Alvin Pearman and Marquis Weeks. Under Groh, the Cavaliers have proven they will throw the ball a lot--perhaps even more than they run the ball. Junior quarterback Matt Schaub (pictured) passed for 1,524 yards and 10 touchdowns last year while splitting time with Byrson Spinner. He set school records for passes (54) and completions (33) in a game. He averaged 37 attempts per game last season.
McMullen is a prototypical NFL-type receiver with 6-foot-4 size and great speed. He led the Atlantic Coast Conference with 83 catches and already is Virginia's career leader with 141 receptions. Not only are the Rams inexperienced in the secondary, but they will also be outsized, as neither cornerbacks Dexter Wynn (5-9) or Rhett Nelson (6-0) stand taller than six feet.
On defense, Virginia has an inexperienced line with only sophomore nose tackle Andrew Hoffman with any game experience under his belt. The Cavs' defense will be aided by its linebacking corps, which features all-ACC selection Angelo Crowell, senior Merrill Robertson, sophomore Dennis Haley, and junior Raymond Mann. The team believes it might have its best best group of safeties and cornerbacks since 1994 when Ronde Barber and Percy Ellsworth roamed the secondary. The top player might be cornerback Art Thomas.
The Rams aren't interested in history, however, they're just glad to face someone with a different colored jersey on.
"We?re anxious to play someone else," said head coach Sonny Lubick. "I?m sure Virginia is too."
On Friday night, Lubick put his team through a ?mock? game at Hughes Stadium to focus on special teams and game situations. The team had Saturday off for its first rest in more than two weeks, and then returned to the practice field Sunday for a two-hour workout. The team will also have two-hour workouts today and Tuesday (4:30 p.m.) before traveling to Charlottesville, Va. Wednesday.
Lubick wasn't pleased with the showing Sunday following the day off.
"We gave them the day off, and at the start they were sluggish. It took them an hour to get going again," Lubick said as the team prepred for Virginia's offensive and defensive schemes.
The Rams will have two more practice days to pick up the intensity before facing its first Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponent ever.
"The ACC is as good football conference," Lubick said. "We can play with them, but we have to be keyed up and ready to go. They have good teams in that conference, but we'd like to think that we have good teams in the Mountain West Conference, too."
The Rams are 7-2 in season openers and have proven in the past that they can beat BCS teams on the road in openers. In 1998 the Rams stunned Michigan State in East Lansing 23-16. Virginia is predicted to finish in the bottom half of the ACC this year, after a 5-7 season last year.
Under second-year head coach Al Groh, the Cavaliers pulled in what some experts predicted to be a top-five recruiting class. Several of those players are expected to play this year. In fact, of the Cavaliers' 72 players on scholarship, 22 are true freshmen, of which Groh said "probably 10" would play against the Rams. Half of those are listed on the two-deep roster.
"We have a very, very talented young class coming in," Groh told the Charlottesville Daily Press. "A lot of very good players. They're talented and they're hungry, and we need the interjection of their ability onto our roster. As hyped as this group was, I think the talent level is every bit as good as it was supposed to be.
"I understand the reality of who we're dealing with and I think it's all on a relative scale. When a first- or second-round draft choice would come onto (an NFL) team, when a guy's picked that early, it's because he's supposed to bring something that wasn't already there. So you want to get him in the game, and you want to let him know you have confidence to play him. By the same token, you have to bring him along so he's ready to go."
Groh has faced Colorado State twice in his career--and lost both of them. As defensive coordinator at Air Force in 1978-79, he saw the Rams win 31-13 and 20-6 in those two seasons.
Groh seems to have Virginia headed in the right direction. Despite posting a 5-7 record a year ago, closed the season by defeating Penn State 20-14 in the 2001 season finale. With the recruiting class hype, fans in Virginia are excited about the season.
To help Virginia prepare for their grueling conference slate, which begins with Florida State in two weeks, Groh wanted to add an early game to the schedule. Colorado State was the type of team he was looking for.
"It's good for us to be playing this team at this particular time," he said. "We thought the challenge of playing a team that is picked to win their conference would be invigorating for our players."
Virginia's main weapons are wide receivers Billy McMullen and Michael McGrew, and running backs Alvin Pearman and Marquis Weeks. Under Groh, the Cavaliers have proven they will throw the ball a lot--perhaps even more than they run the ball. Junior quarterback Matt Schaub (pictured) passed for 1,524 yards and 10 touchdowns last year while splitting time with Byrson Spinner. He set school records for passes (54) and completions (33) in a game. He averaged 37 attempts per game last season.
McMullen is a prototypical NFL-type receiver with 6-foot-4 size and great speed. He led the Atlantic Coast Conference with 83 catches and already is Virginia's career leader with 141 receptions. Not only are the Rams inexperienced in the secondary, but they will also be outsized, as neither cornerbacks Dexter Wynn (5-9) or Rhett Nelson (6-0) stand taller than six feet.
On defense, Virginia has an inexperienced line with only sophomore nose tackle Andrew Hoffman with any game experience under his belt. The Cavs' defense will be aided by its linebacking corps, which features all-ACC selection Angelo Crowell, senior Merrill Robertson, sophomore Dennis Haley, and junior Raymond Mann. The team believes it might have its best best group of safeties and cornerbacks since 1994 when Ronde Barber and Percy Ellsworth roamed the secondary. The top player might be cornerback Art Thomas.
