By Jay Jenkins
DailyProgress.com football blogger

1. Virginia safety Tony Franklin takes a bow towards the crowd while standing on the bench.
Was it the right thing to do? No way. He knows that but you have to pull for a kid that has been through as much as he has. Should he even be on the team? That’s not for me to say. A number of guys with equal faults, and I will not toss out names, but there are a handful that would love to trade places with him and still call themselves a Cavalier. He was benched, accepted a reserve role and moved on. And for one week at least, Franklin was in the right spot at the right time. I just wish I had seen him play some tailback.

2. Jason Snelling, Virginia’s tailback, shows off (and in a good way).

It is tough being unbiased in the press box when you race over to the stat monitor and see that Snelling has 22 carries for 99 yards. Just one more yard! Come on Coach Groh, run one more time with the stud. Just give the senior another 100-yard day. If for no other reason, give my former roommate and L.C. Bird volleyball star Brad Christianson a reason to boast even more about Snelling. Groh, however, knows wins don’t grow on trees. The coach called the knee-to-the-ground play instead. Smart move, but nothing can be taken away from Snelling. Like Virginia or not, the senior is trying to leave a lasting impression among fans about what might have been … had he been the workhouse for years while Alvin Pearman and Wali Lundy stole all the carries or if he had remained healthy. Many props go out to the youngster. Something tells me he has a great life on the horizon.

3. Steer clear of Branden Albert, Virginia’s mammoth offensive lineman.

After Virginia scored its first touchdown, Albert rumbled off the field gyrating in motions that would leave most people headed for the chiropractor. Note to self: when in doubt, follow Albert. It is hard to fathom how he is just a sophomore. He uses everything he learned from former coach Ron Prince, former teammate D’Brickashaw Ferguson and current O-line coach Dave Borbely to his advantage every single week. By the way, give this Borbely guy some credit. UVa has been stout on the offensive line the past few games.

4. N.C. State’s Darrell Blackman does what again?

Most will disagree but I give the games’ MVP award to Virginia’s Mike Brown. Mike Brown you ask? He returned five punts for 40 yards. That’s OK but not game-changing, right? He also made two tackles on special teams when N.C. State’s potential All-Conference candidate Darrell Blackman hoped to explode for lengthy returns on special teams. Brown was there twice and even talked a little smack.

5. Chris Long is N.C. State’s daddy.

It was just one game and barring a Kai Parham-like decision to go pro early, Long will face the Wolfpack again next year but in this battle the edge goes to the former STAB stud. On the stat sheet it said Long had just three tackles. Ha. To steal a line from the world’s No. 1 boss, Daily Progress sports editor Jerry Ratcliffe, “Bullfeathers.” Long forced a handful of others with his pursuit and caused a couple of false starts with more than bad breath. Daniel Evans, N.C. State’s redshirt sophomore quarterback, will be having nightmares for days. What is really scary? Long gets better every week. 

Virginia got the play it needed on defense to knock UNC of its feet. Sophomore cornerback Chris Cook intercepted a pass from UNC quarterback Joe Dailey with just over 13 minutes left. Cook had a great game. … Virginia turned the turnover into points shortly after. … A crowd begging for something to cheer about has had plenty tonight. … Jason Snelling, a senior, punched in a touchdown run to help put UVa up 23-0. What did he get for it? A huge hug from coach Al Groh. Snelling has set career-high marks in rushing tonight. ... Mikell Simpson and Cedric Peerman have also been used in the backfield tonight. Both looked explosive. With Keith Payne and Raynard Horne, both redshirting this year, the future looks bright at tailback. … UNC has to punt again. Barring a major meltdown (where have we heard that before?), Virginia will cruise to a win in this one. … Mike Brown was clobbered in the second quarter trying to make a catch on a punt. A penalty was called. Since then, Brown has looked steady catching punts. It looks like it is his job for good. … With 8:47 left, the stands are clearing out. Bosses around the Commonwealth will love to hear that. … Virginia returns to action in nine days against N.C. State, and so will The Daily Progress football blogs. Thanks for reading.

OK, I must admit. The short week is starting to get to me. My fingers are getting tired. In professional wrestling I would tag Whitey Reid to come in. I bet his favorite wrestler was Jake “The Snake” Roberts. … The rain returned late in the third quarter. Believe it or not, a number of UVa fans made their way for the door. … I wonder if Washington Nationals’ third baseman Ryan Zimmerman left. I think he has been through his fair share of rain delays. Yes, Zimmerman is in the house tonight. … This game has reminded me why I hate television games. The commercials are really, really long. This just in, long-time sports editor Jerry Ratcliffe said he has never called a “Media Timeout.” … UNC has been hampered by a number of stupid penalties. Bad teams can’t win with penalties. … Virginia is likely one play away from ending this one. Leading 16-0 with a quarter to play, the Cavaliers appear to have the Tar Heels on the ropes. … Speaking of ropes, after asking Mr. Reid, he informed that he also liked Mr. Fuji.

There are probably a few fans that dozed off during that first half. After a 7-5 score last year(UNC won), this one is not much different in terms of scoring. So far, Virginia leads 9-0 thanks to three field goals from Chris Gould. I am sure his brother, Robbie, is jacked about that. If you have been sleeping for the past two years, Robbie Gould is the placekicker for the undefeated Chicago Bears. And no, he is not on my fantasy football team, but I wish he was. … The halftime show was pretty cool. It included another solid effort from Virginia’s marching band. … The men’s and women’s basketball teams were introduced late in the second quarter. Debbie Ryan and Dave Leitao got loud cheers when they were announced. … The second half started with a UNC drive that appeared headed for points. UNC tailback Ronnie McGill looked explosive and Virginia looked like it forgot how to tackle. And then UNC was, well, UNC. Better yet, it looked more like Duke. The Tar Heels coughed the ball up inside Virginia territory. Most onlookers in the press box actually expected the play to be overturned once it went to instant replay. UVa kept the ball and marched down for a touchdown, the first of the game. Jameel Sewell scooted in on a designed running play from a shotgun formation. … Is it just me or is ESPN showing some really strange stuff during their broadcast? Littlejohn’s? I understand that. I love the Nuclear. Some of the other sights and sounds have been sketchy. Oh well. ... The band played a really long note with about six minutes left in the third quarter. The crowd was impressed.

We have played just over five minutes and Whitelaw Reid, the men’s basketball beat writer for The Daily Progress, is barking about UVa WR Fontel Mines. Virginia had to settle for a field goal by PK Chris Gould from 31 yards out because Mines was never a focal point on the opening drive (That’s what Reid thinks). Reid is a huge fan of Mines if you haven’t already noticed. … There were more than a few fans that urged Virginia coach Al Groh to go for it on fourth down on the opening drive. Groh wanted the points. … Virginia’s defense was tough on UNC’s opening drive – it forced a three-and-out – and looked especially stout against the run. … It happened pretty quick but I think Chris Long started at nose tackle. That made way for Kevin Crawford to be in the field. I am going to have to look into that. … Mike Brown, Virginia’s punt returner, made a few shifty moves before being tackled on his first return. UNC appears to have a good unit for punt coverage. … It has just started raining and fans quickly went for their ponchos (It’s 8:05 p.m.). … UVa’s second drive stalled when tight Tom Santi dropped a pass on third down (that was his second drop of the game). That is unlike Santi. … Ryan Weigand, a junior, punted for Virginia. It was only the second punt of the season for the California native. It was not a punt to write home about; it went 32 yards before bouncing out of bounds. He got a few words from COach Groh afterwards. We will have to wait to see if he gets another shot.