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News Nuggets, 09.27.06
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Struggling Cavaliers face winless Duke

Virginia looks to get back in the win column as the Cavaliers play the second of three consecutive road games Saturday against Duke in Durham. The game is scheduled to kickoff at noon and is being televised on the ACC network, according to a release on the Virginia athletics website.

Neither team is off to a very good start this season. The Cavaliers are 1-3 overall and have lost their last two, while Duke is 0-3 overall.

The Cavaliers play East Carolina in Greenville on Oct. 7. The Pirates have an open date this Saturday.

The last time Virginia came into the Duke game with a sub-.500 record was in 1991 when the Cavaliers were 1-2. They defeated the Blue Devils 34-3 at home to start an eight-game undefeated streak to finish with an 8-3-1 overall record.

This is the first time since 1981 that both teams have come into this game with losing records. In that game 25 years ago, they both came in with 0-2 records. Duke won that September afternoon 29-24 in Charlottesville and went on to a 6-5 record, while Virginia finished 1-10 in Dick Bestwick's last year on the sidelines.

With the offense struggling a bit, coach Al Groh turned to redshirt freshman quarterback Jameel Sewell to provide a spark last week at Georgia Tech. Sewell went the whole way and completed 15 of 31 passes for 115 yards and one touchdown. He also led the team with 30 yards rushing.

WR Kevin Ogletree is tied for the ACC lead in receiving with an average of 5.25 receptions per game, but Virginia ranks next-to-last in NCAA Division I-AA in total offense (116th).

UVa has gotten good play from the defense through the early part of the season. The Cavaliers are 46th nationally in total defense, allowing a little more than 300 yards per game, which is on track to be the fewest yards allowed by UVa in a decade; the 1996 Cavaliers gave up an average of 295.5 yards.

Big plays have hurt however. Nearly a third of the yards allowed by Virginia this season (390 of 1217) have come on just seven plays.

Defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald has been a standout so far. He leads all freshmen in the country in tackles for loss (1.75/game) and is fifth among rookies in sacks (0.63/game).

Upon further review: Review unwarranted

Conference USA has completed its review of the instant replay ruling late in the first half of Saturday's Houston-Oklahoma State football game and determined that the ruling by the officials on the field was correct and the review by instant replay should not have occurred, according to an announcement by the league.

In the closing minutes of the second quarter, Houston's Kevin Kolb completed an eight-yard pass to Jeron Harvey to the Oklahoma State 24-yard line. The officials on the field correctly ruled that Harvey fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Oklahoma State. Houston head coach Art Briles challenged the call.

By rule, the play was not reviewable. A runner's forward progress may only be reviewed to determine whether or not the forward progress results in a first down. The ruling on the field was reviewed by the technical adviser in the instant replay booth and incorrectly reversed.

"When we implemented instant replay, our goal was to get more calls right, which we have," said Commissioner Britton Banowsky. "In this case, by rule, the call on the field should not have been reviewed, for which the instant replay official will be suspended."

The specific details of officiating suspensions are not made public, consistent with C-USA's policy relating to officiating matters.

Houston improved to 4-0 with a 34-25 win over the Cowboys.

ECU netters get singles wins in Port City

Sophomore Varinia Soler and freshman Brooke Walter each captured a pair of singles wins for East Carolina at the season-opening UNC-Wilmington Landfall Invitational, according to an ECU athletic media relations release.

Soler, competing in her first tournament since joining the Lady Pirate program, opened Teal Flight play with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Mount Olive's Carol Aro before outlasting UNC-W's Kasey Kasey Ellis (4-6, 6-3, 10-3) in the second round. In the finals, UNC-Greensboro's Erica Zabkar ended Soler's quest for an individual title with a 6-2, 6-3 decision.

Walter, who also made her collegiate debut, began Gold Flight action with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over North Carolina's Hanes Harris. After suffering a 6-3, 6-4 setback to Lindsey Perriera (Virginia), Walter closed out tourney play with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Charleston Southern's Patricia Jaeger.

The Lady Pirates will be back in action Friday through Sunday, competing at the N.C. State Tournament in Raleigh.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from electronic services and other sources. Copyright 2006 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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