{mosimage}What's going on everybody, I just decided to drop in and give my thoughts on the 2008 Konica-Minolta Gator Bowl, which I think is going to be a blowout of epic proportions.

Ladies and gentlemen, the most unstoppable receiver in college football and 2007 Biletnikoff Award Winner for the nation's top receiver, Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree.

Michael Crabtree is the most unstoppable receiver in college football, and he's just a redshirt freshman, that is the scary part. The thing that separates Crabtree from most receivers is his ability to gain YAC, yards after the catch. He's extremely dangerous after he gets the rock in his hands and isn't just a possession receiver. He's one of the best receivers to grace the game of football since the likes of Randy Moss. Danny Amendola is another talented receiver for the Red Raiders, and he gained over 1,000 receiving yards this year as well. Granted, it is in the Texas Tech passing attack, but for me, 1,000 receiving yards is still extremely impressive no matter what way you want to look at it. Add to that the fact that our best cover corner, Chris Cook, is out for academics, and you see why I feel like the Cavaliers have no chance in this one. Running back Mikell Simpson will not be playing in Jacksonville either, both losses are equally as devastating in my opinion. Cook was our only chance to slow the Red Raider aerial assault, but I feel like Ras-I Dowling is going to be the best cover corner in Virginia football history after it is all said and done.

Freshman cornerback Ras-I Dowling will need to have the best performance of his short career in Charlottesville.

He had an excellent game against N.C. State despite getting beat a couple times by Donald Bowens late in that one, I felt like those were balls that any cover corner in the country wouldn't have been able to stop. Evans and Bowens were in the zone in that game. I felt like we needed Mikell Simpson alot in this one, because he would've helped the Cavaliers control the clock, run the rock and keep the Texas Tech offense off-the-field. I don't think there is anyway UVA would've been able to stop the Texas Tech offense, but we needed our best running back to have a chance to keep Graham Harrell and company off the field.

Quarterback Graham Harrell should've been invited to the 2007 Heisman ceremony, in my opinion. He's one of the most gifted quarterbacks college football has to offer.

Speaking of which, Graham Harrell is a quarterback that I felt should've been invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony this year instead of Colt Brennan, because he put up much better numbers. Harrell threw for over 5,200 yards, tossed in 45 touchdowns and just 14 interceptions. Those are eye-gouging numbers, I don't care if Texas Tech does pass the rock nearly every play every game. He also completed over 72% of his passes. With stats like that, it's safe to say that Mike Leach, who I think is a passing genius by the way, has his best signal caller he has ever had there and he has had some really good ones. (Please see Kliff Kingsbury, B.J. Symmons, etc.).

Unanimous All-American defensive end Chris Long will need to have a stellar performance if the Cavaliers want to have a chance in the 2008 Gator Bowl.

{mosimage} The only chance UVA has in this one is that they HAVE to get pressure on Harrell with the likes of Long, Fitzgerald, and Clint Sintim. Those are the Cavaliers best three pass rushers, and they are going to need career best performances if the Cavs want any chance of rattling Harrell. Unfortunately, I don't think that is likely, because all those Texas Tech lineman do is pass block and they probably pass block better than anybody in the country. They are absolute behemoths as well, averaging well over 300 pounds tackle-to-tackle. That said, I think UVA has a good offensive line and I think we should be able to run the ball on Texas Tech effectively. It will be time for Andrew Pearman and Keith Payne to shine in this one. Pearman really faded late in the season and you might see him have a big performance. The Cavaliers certainly need one, because they are going to have to run the rock on the Red Raiders if they want to win.Quarterback Jameel Sewell will need to play like a "man possessed", but I can't see that happening either, since Texas Tech's strong point on defense has been their secondary for most of the season.

The Cavaliers will be hoping running back Andrew Pearman has a sensational performance against Texas Tech.

So, to sum it all up, this is what I think is going to happen in this game.The Texas Tech aerial assault will shred a weakened Virginia Cavalier secondary and shred it with ease all game long. This one will be a blowout. Virginia will be able to put up some points, because Texas Tech's run defense has been pretty weak all season, but it won't be nearly enough to keep up with the Texas Tech offense and their ability to light up the scoreboard. The state of Florida has never been kind to the Cavaliers, because they have only one 1 game in the state in school history. This game will be no different. Virginia's coaches should have taken Vic Hall out of the secondary and put him at wide receiver long, long ago, but for some reason they are unbelievably stubborn in putting a player with Hall's offensive skill set on the defensive side of the ball. At the end of the day, football is a very basic sport. If you can't cover and you can't tackle, you shouldn't be a Division 1 cornerback. Vic Hall can do neither, but it's not really his fault, because he is out of position. I have been pleading in my articles all season for Virginia's coaches to put him on the offensive side of the ball, but Al Groh is one of the most stubborn men on planet earth and I am not suprised to see him stick by his guns. Hall was giving Virginia Tech's receivers 10-15 yards of cushion nearly every play and I'm sorry no matter what type of zone you are playing, you can't play that soft because it will be an automatic pitch and catch every play.

I'm still happy with the Virginia football season and I still think the 2007 football season for the Cavaliers was a magical one and should rank right up ther beside the 2002 season. I know finishing a season with two losses isn't exactly how you dream up of season's that other fans would call magical, but hey the Virginia Cavaliers won 5 games by 2 points or less--an NCAA record. If you're a Virginia Cavalier football fan, there was simply no reason for you to complain. The Gator Bowl was an absolute gift of a bowl game and the best bowl game the Cavaliers have gotten in years. Unfortunately the Cavalier fan base did not respond as strongly as I thought it would have since their team had such a good season. Nine wins is still a very special season and Cavalier fans should be very happy with the way their team persevered after their crushing defeat at Wyoming to begin the season. The "Cardiac Cavaliers" of 2007-2008 will always have a special place in my heart, that is for sure. I will be in Jacksonville on New Year's Day, cheering valiantly in defeat.

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Lloyds Apple said:

	Mikell Simpson has been cleared to play and is in Jacksonville now.
	report abuse vote down vote up

December 29, 2007
Votes: +0

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