N.C. State 28, Virginia 14
The Virginia offense sputtered and the Cavaliers lost by two TDs Saturday to N.C. State, failing to carry any momentum from their win one week earlier over No. 12 Georgia Tech. The defense played pretty well even with the offense looking horrible for most of the game. Rodney McLeod and Corey Mosley grabbed interceptions. One TD for the Wolfpack came on an interception return late in the game. True freshman QB David Watford threw three interceptions, not all of which were his fault. The last one, in particular, was thrown a bit hard, but hit Tim Smith in the hands Smith bobbled it right into the hands of a Wolfpack defensive back.
Sophomore QB Michael Rocco started the game and led a scoring drive on UVa's third offensive series. N.C. State then tied it up at 7 and UVa put in Watford under center for Virginia's fourth series, like has been the norm this season. Watford promptly threw an inteception and N.C. State went deep for a TD pass on the very next play. Boom. 14-7 Wolfpack and wind let out of the sails of the Cavaliers.
Now, was Virginia guaranteed a victory if Rocco had played more? Of course not. He's had his issues all year and struggled in the beginning of Saturday's game, too. But after he reentered the game after Watford had been in, Rocco went 0 for 10. Some of those incompletions were drops, but I don't think it's a coincidence that Rocco has been at his worst after he has reentered games. And it not only hurts his rhythm (and possibly his confidence with the young, three-star recruit over his shoulder), it hurts the offense's flow, too. The cadence of the counts of Watford and Rocco under center are different. They are completely different styles of quarterback. The ball comes out of their hands differently. Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor has said it is difficult to call plays for two different personalities. All this can affect the offense. This is an offense that succeeded last year with Marc Verica under center. I don't think it is a coincidence that last week's effort on offense was one of the worst since Lazor has been offensive coordinator.
A CHANGE
This week, it was announced that Rocco will be seeing more time at QB and the number of snaps Watford gets will go down. Mike London says that Watford will be used more situationally. It also seems as if this will be for the rest of the season and not just Thursday night's game in Miami. Virginia still has two winnable games on the schedule -- home against Duke and on the road at Maryland (more of a stretch). The Cavaliers' other games are at Florida State and home against Virginia Tech. If Virginia can find two wins in there somewhere, it can make a bowl and some of this QB controversy stuff will be forgotten. If the Wahoos play well in each game, but win say, just one more game, and Rocco plays well, London will hear the critics say he should've stuck with Rocco earlier and perhaps Virginia could have gotten to six wins quicker by beating Southern Miss and N.C. State. These next few weeks are important in my mind to Virginia getting back on track long-term. If the Cavaliers don't make a bowl, I don't think London will necessarily be unable to succeed in Charlottesville, I just think it will be more difficult and the fans will become more skeptical.
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Cowboys 34, Rams 7
The Cowboys emphatically ended both a two-game losing skid and a streak of 11 games decided by four point or fewer with a blowout win over the Rams on Sunday. The story of the day was rookie running back DeMarco Murray rushing for 253 yards, a Cowboys record. Normal starter Felix Jones was out with an injury and Tashard Choice started but got hurt early on and fumbled. Also, on Murray's first run, the product out of Oklahoma ran for 91 yards and a touchdown so it was pretty easy for head coach Jason Garrett to leave him in the rest of the day. The Dallas offense wasn't dominant, but instead wore down the Rams and turned a 20-7 game in the second half into a 34-7 laugher.
If the Cowboys can continue to get solid games out of Murray, that will help open up space for Dallas' passing game and relieve some of the pressure on quarterback Tony Romo. A true weapon at running back could be a big piece of Dallas making a run at the postseason.
Now, Dallas gets Philadelphia in Philly Sunday night in a big game. After the Eagles, the Cowboys have five definitely winnable games in a row against Seattle, Buffalo, Washington, Miami, and Arizona. If the Cowboys could get a crucial win over the Eagles and get to 4-3, and stay at least no more than one game behind the 4-2 Giants (who play the Dolphins this weekend), I think the Cowboys have a real shot at getting to 9-3 or 8-4 after those five games.
The Virginia offense sputtered and the Cavaliers lost by two TDs Saturday to N.C. State, failing to carry any momentum from their win one week earlier over No. 12 Georgia Tech. The defense played pretty well even with the offense looking horrible for most of the game. Rodney McLeod and Corey Mosley grabbed interceptions. One TD for the Wolfpack came on an interception return late in the game. True freshman QB David Watford threw three interceptions, not all of which were his fault. The last one, in particular, was thrown a bit hard, but hit Tim Smith in the hands Smith bobbled it right into the hands of a Wolfpack defensive back.
Sophomore QB Michael Rocco started the game and led a scoring drive on UVa's third offensive series. N.C. State then tied it up at 7 and UVa put in Watford under center for Virginia's fourth series, like has been the norm this season. Watford promptly threw an inteception and N.C. State went deep for a TD pass on the very next play. Boom. 14-7 Wolfpack and wind let out of the sails of the Cavaliers.
Now, was Virginia guaranteed a victory if Rocco had played more? Of course not. He's had his issues all year and struggled in the beginning of Saturday's game, too. But after he reentered the game after Watford had been in, Rocco went 0 for 10. Some of those incompletions were drops, but I don't think it's a coincidence that Rocco has been at his worst after he has reentered games. And it not only hurts his rhythm (and possibly his confidence with the young, three-star recruit over his shoulder), it hurts the offense's flow, too. The cadence of the counts of Watford and Rocco under center are different. They are completely different styles of quarterback. The ball comes out of their hands differently. Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor has said it is difficult to call plays for two different personalities. All this can affect the offense. This is an offense that succeeded last year with Marc Verica under center. I don't think it is a coincidence that last week's effort on offense was one of the worst since Lazor has been offensive coordinator.
A CHANGE
This week, it was announced that Rocco will be seeing more time at QB and the number of snaps Watford gets will go down. Mike London says that Watford will be used more situationally. It also seems as if this will be for the rest of the season and not just Thursday night's game in Miami. Virginia still has two winnable games on the schedule -- home against Duke and on the road at Maryland (more of a stretch). The Cavaliers' other games are at Florida State and home against Virginia Tech. If Virginia can find two wins in there somewhere, it can make a bowl and some of this QB controversy stuff will be forgotten. If the Wahoos play well in each game, but win say, just one more game, and Rocco plays well, London will hear the critics say he should've stuck with Rocco earlier and perhaps Virginia could have gotten to six wins quicker by beating Southern Miss and N.C. State. These next few weeks are important in my mind to Virginia getting back on track long-term. If the Cavaliers don't make a bowl, I don't think London will necessarily be unable to succeed in Charlottesville, I just think it will be more difficult and the fans will become more skeptical.
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Cowboys 34, Rams 7
The Cowboys emphatically ended both a two-game losing skid and a streak of 11 games decided by four point or fewer with a blowout win over the Rams on Sunday. The story of the day was rookie running back DeMarco Murray rushing for 253 yards, a Cowboys record. Normal starter Felix Jones was out with an injury and Tashard Choice started but got hurt early on and fumbled. Also, on Murray's first run, the product out of Oklahoma ran for 91 yards and a touchdown so it was pretty easy for head coach Jason Garrett to leave him in the rest of the day. The Dallas offense wasn't dominant, but instead wore down the Rams and turned a 20-7 game in the second half into a 34-7 laugher.
If the Cowboys can continue to get solid games out of Murray, that will help open up space for Dallas' passing game and relieve some of the pressure on quarterback Tony Romo. A true weapon at running back could be a big piece of Dallas making a run at the postseason.
Now, Dallas gets Philadelphia in Philly Sunday night in a big game. After the Eagles, the Cowboys have five definitely winnable games in a row against Seattle, Buffalo, Washington, Miami, and Arizona. If the Cowboys could get a crucial win over the Eagles and get to 4-3, and stay at least no more than one game behind the 4-2 Giants (who play the Dolphins this weekend), I think the Cowboys have a real shot at getting to 9-3 or 8-4 after those five games.
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