University of Virginia Library

From The Sidelines

Navy, 0-10
UNC, ?

By Hugh Antrim

IT WOULD HARDLY seem reasonable to talk about football,
when the University owes so much to a surprising, successful, and
obviously talented soccer squad. But the surging booters will no
doubt bask in the limelight for some time, while the Wahoo
gridders are dangerously close to spending the next few weeks in
thundershowers and misery. Let it suffice to say that the soccer
team closes out its regular season this afternoon on University
Hall field with Virginia Tech providing the opposition. A win over
VPI would insure a bid to the State tourney.

So to the slump on the football field. A quick look at the
statistics reveals that the Wahoos haven't scored in ten quarters,
and it hardly takes intelligence to grasp the fact that a naught on
the scoreboard will hand you defeat every time.

A QUICK REVIEW of the turn of events thus far - Clemson
lumbered off the field with a 21-14 victory; a victory they didn't
really deserve, but one the Wahoos couldn't quite grab. This game
did reveal promise for the Cavaliers as the defense looked tough
and the sophomore-studded offense scored twice on friendly
Frank Howard.

Duke 0, Virginia 10: No question here that the Wahoos had a
team full of fight. Some 16 Blue Devils were kept out of the
following Monday's practice with injuries. Leo Hart never threw a
pass without munching a little turf on the side. The next
Saturday a potential breather in Williamsburg almost turned into
a nightmare, but Messrs. Helman and Lacey poured through the
line and the defense held well in the second half.

THE TOBACCO BOWL provided Virginia with another week
to think about the forthcoming N.C. State game, but a punchless
second half did not speak well in terms of a tough Wolfpack
defense to come.

As the Wahoos took the field in that fifth game hopes were
bright, there was ignorant but inspired talk of bowl games, and
N.C. State came and blasted it all 31-0. State was pretty good,
but not 31 points better. Something went wrong somewhere; the
players were over-reacting, the coaching staff over- or
under-coached, or maybe the team wasn't "up" for the game. The
blame for defeat was arbitrarily pinned, and consolation lay in
State's football prowess.

Those of us who travelled to Annapolis shouldn't have.
Never has frustration been more tangible; the Wahoos went inside
the Middle 20 four times and never scored. There was no solace
to be found in this one. Navy was winless, and Coach Rick
Forzano had no qualms about poking fun at his team,
"We make
up for our lack of size by being slow." All week long the gridders
were warned about a Navy upset, but few, apparently, could take
such advice seriously.

The fault for this loss has got to lie with the attack. Virginia's
offense, thought to be maturing, has spent the last ten quarters
stymied. Stymied by what?, is the nagging question. The answer
isn't with the opposition's defense; Navy had given up 188 points
before blanking the Cavaliers. The answer shouldn't lie with the
coaching staff either; Mr. Blackburn has as fine an offensive mind
as anyone around, although it's an irresistible charge to assert
that Virginia's attack exhibits a definite lack of imagination.

PERHAPS THE PERSONNEL ITSELF lacks talent, or yet
lacks a proper attitude. Whether or not the players care to play
well is a question only capable of being answered by those players
themselves. Whether or not the Wahoos are talented enough to
muster success is another question.

Some time surrounding the State game, one Washington
newspaper made the simple statement that Virginia, playing
outside of their league against VMI and W & M, would return to
their conference only to be out-classed by State. But if this is
really so, and Virginia just hasn't got the talent, then somebody
did a good job of pretending while clobbering Duke. There are
those, however, who take the point of view that big time football
at this university is pretentious, and that the label "Exciting,
Competitive" only applies to competition against William and
Mary, VMI, and the like.

BUT IT'S ALL TOO EASY to criticize when one is on the
outside looking in. Fortunately the football team will have the
last word - Carolina at Scott Stadium Saturday. The Wahoos
need to make up for a little lost ground.