Home Al Groh, ‘Skins, Denny Hamlin, the Duke Dog
Football

Al Groh, ‘Skins, Denny Hamlin, the Duke Dog

Chris Graham

Winners and Losers column by Chris Graham
[email protected]

WINNER: Al Groh and 3-0
What the heck … three weeks ago, UVa. fans were calling for Al Groh’s head. Now the Cavs are 3-0 in the ACC, and more importantly 3-0 in the Coastal Division.
And … it’s early to be saying this, yes, but the 2007 ‘Hoos are looking an awful lot like the 2006 Wake Forest team that won the ACC. Just like those Deacs, this Virginia team isn’t knocking anybody’s socks off, but they’re winning games.

  

LOSER: The ‘Skins blow a 17-3 halftime lead
The bandwagon lost a few revelers on Sunday – after Washington blew a 17-3 halftime lead en route to a disappointing 24-17 loss to the New York Giants.
Where to place blame … well, for starters, the Giants couldn’t seem to be stopped on third down in the second half, while the Redskins couldn’t seem to get a first down until their last drive.
One stop, one third-down conversion, either one, and things might turn out differently.

  

LOSER: Denny Hamlin falls to 12th in Chase
The Chesterfield native crashed and bashed his way to a miserable 38th in Dover over the weekend – knocking him back to 12th in the Chase for the Cup and effectively ending his hopes for winning the Nextel championship in 2007.

  

WINNER: Tim Hightower rushes for 295 as UR rolls
Richmond punted the ball one time and averaged nine yards a play in its 45-14 win over Bucknell on Saturday.
And Hightower did most of the damage – getting his 295 yards in 24 efficient carries.
Hightower is putting up some mighty good-looking numbers this year. He ran for 246 yards against Northeastern two weeks ago.

  

PUSH: Virginia Tech blows out W&M
Beating a good William & Mary team is one thing. Beating this year’s Tribe 44-3 without breaking a sweat is another.

  

LOSER: The Duke Dog
JMU got its revenge from 2005 on Coastal Carolina in a big way – pasting the Chanticleers by a 45-10 count on Saturday.
But in the process of doing so, the person playing the JMU mascot got into a scuffle with the person playing the Chanticleer – and was taken away from Bridgeforth Stadium in handcuffs.

  

Chris Graham is the executive editor of The SportsDominion.

 
 

 




Featured Video

 

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected]. Support AFP by signing up for our newsletter and/or powering our work with a one-time or monthly contribution.

Latest News

newspaper online news AFP mobile phone newsfeed
Local

Thought exercise: How Waynesboro is different, if Augusta Free Press never existed

tony elliott
Football, Go 'Hoos

UVA Football: Tony Elliott filibusters his way through a 14-minute answer to a question

If there is a god in heaven above us, we soon won’t have a few reporters in a room with Tony Elliott each Tuesday throwing the UVA Football head coach questions that he doesn’t want to have to answer.

uva basketball nolan adekunle
Basketball, Go 'Hoos

UVA Basketball Notebook: Adekunle adjusts to U.S. game, tempo on overdrive

It’s hard to think of Nolan Adekunle, a 24-year-old who played in German pro leagues for three seasons before joining the UVA Basketball program, as a freshman.

police court law
Local

Mennonite kidnapping trial: Valerie Hayes, co-defendant, will have separate trials

community calendar
Local

Community Calendar: First look at upcoming events for our holiday season

Brad Gilmore
Pro Wrestling

‘Hall of Fame’ co-host Brad Gilmore on his new book, ‘Making the Towns’

uva basketball bench
Basketball, Go 'Hoos

UVA Basketball: Odom able to get minutes for bench guys in win over Bucknell