Maryland was down 23-21 heading into the fourth quarter. Virginia has come to dread the fourth quarter of late.
“We do have to find a way to put a game away in the fourth quarter,” UVa. coach Mike London said by way of understatement after his Cavaliers let another one slip through their fingers, 42-23 in their home finale Saturday to the Terrapins.
Maryland (7-3, 4-2 ACC) took the lead 35 seconds into the fourth quarter on a two-yard run by D.J. Adams. A two-yard touchdown pass from Danny O’Brien to Da’Rel Scott made it 35-23 with 8:12 to go. UVa. quarterback Marc Verica was intercepted on each of the next two ‘Hoo series, and the Terps converted on the short field the second time with a 12-yard touchdown pass from O’Brien to Torrey Smith with 2:35 left to put the game out of reach.
Virginia (4-6, 1-5 ACC) got one first down and 38 yards of total offense in the fourth quarter after racking up 22 first downs and 344 yards of offense through the first three quarters.
“We pride ourselves on playing well in the fourth quarter. We are going to have to work on that in practice and improve,” linebacker Steve Greer said, also by way of understatement. The UVa. defense has given up 61 points in its last three fourth quarters – 19 in the 24-19 win over Miami on Oct. 30, 21 in the 55-48 loss at Duke last weekend and then another 21 on Saturday against Maryland.
London made it clear that what he has seen from his team of late is unacceptable.
“As I told the players in the locker room, we’ve got two games left. You can take it and go south. All of those that want to do that can come by my office tomorrow, and I’ll excuse them from practice for the rest of the season. Anyone that wants to go forward and move forward can show up and we’ll get this thing going and get it in the direction we want it to go,” London said.
The ‘Hoos finish up with two on the road – at Boston College next weekend and then at in-state rival Virginia Tech on Nov. 27.
“We will play to win,” said wide receiver Kris Burd, who had five receptions for 68 yards and also had a 47-yard kickoff return that set up a first-half UVa. touchdown.
“We can still finish 6-6, which is not the season we wanted, but we can finish on a positive note. It can really help build the foundation for the program,” Burd said
More Maryland-UVa.
Game Notes
Yellow Journalism
Virginia was penalized 16 times for 145 yards. Maryland was flagged eight times for 60 yards. London was clearly not happy with the discrepancy while on the sidelines, but he wisely avoided criticizing the guys in striped shirts afterward, instead turning his attention to his team – and to his coaching staff and ultimately himself as head coach.
“It’s frustrating to have 16 penalties. That’s directed on us coaches—what we teach and how we teach it, getting it across to the players about what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable. You can’t have that many penalties,” London said.
“When you’re in certain positions to carry out plays and to carry out blocks, I’d rather you not carry the block out than carry the block out and block in the back. That’s got to be created in practice. Holding the coaches accountable for the techniques that they teach—making sure that their techniques are sound and that they will allow us a chance to execute whatever we’re trying to get done. I’m in charge of the whole team, so I’m the one that’s got to make sure we reduce the amount of penalties by what’s being taught and by what’s being understood by the guys playing,” London said.
The Offer
A reporter followed up with London on his statement early in the postgame presser that he would excuse any players who wanted the rest of the season off, asking him if he thought anybody would take him up on the offer.
“You know what, you hope not. I don’t think so,” London said, before backtracking a bit, talking about how resilient his team has been in handling adversity.
It sounded like he wanted the original comment back to this set of ears.
Virginia was penalized 16 times for 145 yards. Maryland was flagged eight times for 60 yards. London was clearly not happy with the discrepancy while on the sidelines, but he wisely avoided criticizing the guys in striped shirts afterward, instead turning his attention to his team – and to his coaching staff and ultimately himself as head coach.Story and Game Notes by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at [email protected].
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