The Professor - The Coaching Career of James Xavier

[Captain Canada]

Week 2 Preview: at Houston


Record: 0-0, 0-0 Big 12
Head Coach: Willie Fritz
Offensive Scheme: Pro Style
Defensive Scheme: 4-2-5

Injuries
HB Bennett Galloway, Sr - Torn Pectoral (Out)
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DE Zion Taylor, Jr - Complete ACL Tear (Out for Season)

Houston Projected Starters
QB #12 Caleb McMickle, Rs Jr | 6'2", 205 lbs | 80 overall
HB #23 Parker Jenkins, Rs Jr | 5'11", 200 lbs | 87 overall
FB #45 Emilio Silva, Fr | 5'10", 221 lbs | 69 overall
WR #16 Jayshon Ridgle, Rs So | 6'0", 197 lbs | 80 overall
WR #18 Koby Young, Rs So | 6'0", 175 lbs | 79 overall
TE #35 Kaleb Thomas, Rs So | 6'4", 250 lbs | 76 overall
LT #57 Dayven Mullins, Rs So | 6'6", 309 lbs | 82 overall
LG #54 John Cone, So | 6'3", 299 lbs | 80 overall
C #59 Demetrius Hunter, Rs Sr | 6'2", 310 lbs | 84 overall
RG #67 Tyrell Bower, Rs Fr | 6'0", 297 lbs | 80 overall
RT #78 Devontae Bee, Rs Fr | 6'7", 288 lbs | 70 overall
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DE #49 Darius Washington, Jr | 6'5", 235 lbs | 79 overall
DE #97 Andres Babcock, Rs Fr | 6'4", 264 lbs | 68 overall
DT #18 Anthony Holmes Jr., Rs Sr | 6'2", 295 lbs | 87 overall
EDGE #16 Christian Brathwaite, Jr | 6'2", 220 lbs | 87 overall
MLB #10 Latreveon McCutchin, Sr | 6'2", 210 lbs | 84 overall
OLB #9 Corey Platt Jr., Rs Sr | 6'2", 215 lbs | 86 overall
CB #23 J.D. Rhym, Rs Sr | 6'2", 180 lbs | 86 overall
CB #19 Justice Ugo, Rs Sr | 6'2", 190 lbs | 83 overall
Slot #26 Jamaal Shaw, Rs Jr | 6'1", 200 lbs | 79 overall
FS #13 Adrian Wilson, Rs Jr | 6'1", 206 lbs | 82 overall
SS #0 Lonnie Peppers, So | 6'1", 214 lbs | 72 overall
K #38 Allen Clark, Rs So | 6'2", 195 lbs | 72 overall
P #91 Liam Dougherty, Jr | 6'2", 205 lbs | 77 overall
KR #39 Delon Singleton, Rs Jr | 5'10", 175 lbs | 94 overall

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Coach James Xavier's Gameplan

"Our defense is feeling it after their debut against Colorado, and we're expecting a similar production to today. We need to do a bit better tackling at the second level so we're relying on our linebackers and our secondary to rally to the ball a bit better. This is a much younger offense than Colorado, so we're hoping to out-experience them on all levels. Offensively, we want to clean things up, exploit mistakes, and maximize on opportunities. This is Coach Nagle's former team, and we're not going to build it up too much, but to say it's not personal would be a full-blown lie."

[Captain Canada]

‣ CFB 2026 Regular Season, Week 2 - TCEDU Stadium, Houston, Texas
(1-0, 0-0 ACC) Virginia Cavaliers at Houston Cougars (0-0, 0-0 B12)

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UVA | 0 | 19 | 0 | 6 | 25
HOU | 7 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 20

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Defense the name of the game, Cavaliers outlast Cougars thanks to huge second quarter

The word of the day: resiliency.

An offense that can't stop turning the ball over in crucial moments. A Houston Cougars squad that just won't stop advancing the ball. A crowd as ferocious as you can believe.

And yet, the Virginia Cavaliers somehow managed to eek out a 25-20 victory on the road to advance to 2-0 thanks to a ferocious effort from the defense, causing yet another turnover and three short-yardage touchdowns from running back Donte Hawthorne.

"It wasn't pretty, that much was evident," commented head coach James Xavier, shaking his head with a faint smile in disbelief at the team's post-game press conference. "But, a win's a win. Now, we have a week to go back to the drawing board and figure out what happened out there and why."

After allowing an early touchdown, the Cavaliers manhandled the Cougars in the second quarter, sending multiple blitzes at Cougars quarterback Caleb McMickle. Star defensive end Chase Morrison combined for a sack, but managed to knock out the ball and recover it himself for a second straight game. "Man, if I hadn't tripped over my own feet, I would have ran back another one. I'll fix it for next week."

The passing game remains a point of struggle, as quarterback Anthony Colandrea struggled with turnovers once again, despite his high output of attempts. A crucial turnover late in the fourth quarter that led to the Cougars taking the lead required Virginia to dig deep. "I thought the linebacker was going to drop down and take away the slant so I tried to fire in on the flat route. I'm just lucky I was able to catch him before he ran it back for six [points]" he said.

A well-put together drive from Colandrea, including a beautiful sideline catch from tight end Dom President got the Cavs within a yard - close enough for Hawthorne to power in his third touchdown of the night to ultimately win the game for Virginia.

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Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
Jayshon Ridgle, 13-yard pass from Caleb McMickle (Allen Clark kick) [4:21]

2nd Quarter
Jawan Hocker, 38-yard fiel goal [9:56]
Team Safety [1:53]
Donte Hawthorne, 3-yard run (Jawan Hocker kick) [0:51]
Donte Hawthorne, 1-yard run (Jawan Hocker kick) [0:09]

3rd Quarter
Kaleb Thomas, 8-yard pass from Caleb McMickle (Allen Clark kick) [6:35]

4th Quarter
Quentin Drake, 3-yard pass from Caleb McMickle (2-PT conversion failed) [1:09]
Donte Hawthorne, 1-yard run (2-PT conversion failed) [0:06]

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Player Stats
QB Anthony Colandrea: 32-41, 368 passing yards, 2 interceptions
QB Caleb McMickle: 21-27, 191 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, fumble

HB Donte Hawthorne: 20 carries, 54 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns
HB Noah Vaughn: 10 carries, 43 rushing yards
HB Parker Jenkins: 13 carries, 77 rushing yards, 3 receptions, 21 receiving yards

WR Jaden Gibson: 9 receptions, 79 receiving yards
TE Dom President:8 receptions, 142 receiving yards
WR Suderian Harrison: 8 receptions, 101 receiving yards
WR Quentin Drake: 5 receptions, 35 receiving yards, touchdown
Jayshon Ridgle: 5 receptions, 44 receiving yards, touchdown

CB Kevon Gray: 8 tackles, sack
DE Chase Morrison: 4 tackles, tackle for loss, 0.5 sack, forced fumble, fumble recovery
CB Dre Walker: 5 tackles, tackle for loss
SS Lonnie Peppers: 9 tackles, 2 interceptions
MLB Latreveon McCutchin: 16 tackles
OLB Christian Brathwaite: 6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss

[Agent]

Hawthorne put the team on his back

[Captain Canada]

Hawthorne put the team on his back

Boy is a touchdown machine. Doesn't have the speed of Galloway but it seems like he's not coming back anytime soon, we'll take what we can get.

[Chillcavern]

Game winning rushing TD with 6 seconds left.

Pure ice in the veins.

[YaBoyRobRoy]

The good teams find ways to win no matter what, nice 2-0 start!

[Soapy]

hit the ground running, a third to bowl eligibility already

[Captain Canada]

Game winning rushing TD with 6 seconds left.

Pure ice in the veins.

That boy cold as ice

The good teams find ways to win no matter what, nice 2-0 start!

They haven't been easy, but 2-0 is 2-0.

hit the ground running, a third to bowl eligibility already

They wanted a quick fix, here we are

[Captain Canada]

Week 2 Top Stories
Despite Virginia Tech being the favorite, they couldn't fend off Old Dominion on their own turf, falling 31-28
The Oregon Ducks pull off the upset against Ohio State, 55-26. QB Austin Novosad throws for 7 touchdowns
#14 NC State topples #10 Arizona in a convincing 41-9 win
The Tulane Green Wave are preparing for their top-25 matchup against Kansas State on the road

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Week 2 ACC Results
Stanford 26 | Louisville 23

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Week 3 ACC Matchups
Syracuse (1-0, 0-0) at Virginia (2-0, 0-0)

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Heisman Watchlist
QB Dylan Raiola, Jr » 19-32, 267 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, interception (L 55-26 vs Oregon)
WR Jeremiah McClellan, Jr » 8 receptions, 167 receiving yards, 3 touchdowns (W 55-26 at #11 Ohio State)
WR Denzel Boston, Rs Sr » 7 receptions, 134 receiving yards, touchdown (L 40-38 at #20 Nebraska)
WR Jeremiah Smith, Jr » 4 receptions, 87 receiving yards, touchdown, rushing touchdown (L 55-26 vs Oregon)
QB Austin Novosad, Rs Jr » 20-28, 450 passing yards, 7 touchdowns (W 55-26 at #11 Ohio State)

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Players of the Week
WR Jordan Napier (San Diego State): (48-13 W vs FCS West) - 8 receptions, 219 receiving yards, 3 touchdowns
OLB Marcellus Wilkerson (UTSA): (34-14 W at Texas State) - 8 tackles, 6 sacks
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WR Jaxson Lavender (SMU): (49-17 W vs FCS Northwest) - 7 receptions, 162 receiving yards, 2 touchdown, rushing touchdown
CB Kyron Chambers (SMU): (49-17 W vs FCS Northwest) - 3 tackles, 2 interceptions, touchdown

[Captain Canada]

Week 3 Preview: vs Syracuse


Record: 1-0, 0-0 ACC
Head Coach: Jeff Nixon
Offensive Scheme: Pro Style
Defensive Scheme: Base 3-4

Injuries
HB Bennett Galloway, Sr - Torn Pectoral (Out)

Syracuse Projected Starters
QB #10 Braden Davis, Rs Sr | 6'5", 195 lbs | 80 overall
HB #36 Malachi James, Jr | 5'11", 195 lbs | 84 overall
FB #39 J.J. Keenan, Fr | 6'2", 226 lbs | 67 overall
WR #8 Zeed Haynes, Rs Jr | 6'1", 170 lbs | 83 overall
WR #82 Darrell Gill Jr., Rs Jr | 6'3", 173 lbs | 80 overall
TE #81 Aidan DeLuca, So | 6'2", 257 lbs | 76 overall
LT #73 Joshua Miller, Rs Jr | 6'4", 303 lbs | 79 overall
LG #78 Joe Cruz, Rs Sr | 6'5", 308 lbs | 85 overall
C #53 Jarrad Williams, So | 6'4", 295 lbs | 75 overall
RG #76 Travis Brown-Miller, Jr | 6'6", 354 lbs | 78 overall
RT #68 Darian Riggs, Rs Fr | 6'7", 326 lbs | 74 overall
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DE #18 David Omopariola, Jr | 6'3", 244 lbs | 85 overall
DE #93 Denario Bridge, Rs Fr | 6'4", 239 lbs | 78 overall
DT #95 Michael Nwokocha, Rs Sr | 6'5", 312 lbs | 81 overall
OLB #22 Zyian Moultre-Goddard, Rs Jr | 6'0", 234 lbs | 81 overall
MLB #54 Jayden Brown, Rs So | 6'2", 208 lbs | 82 overall
MLB #34 Clyde Coker, Rs Fr | 6'1", 230 lbs | 80 overall
OLB #33 Caden Brown, Jr | 6'4", 204 lbs | 86 overall
CB #32 Greg Delaine, Sr | 6'0", 174 lbs | 87 overall
CB #17 Jalil Martin, Rs Sr | 6'2", 192 lbs | 84 overall
FS #21 Jaeden Gould, Rs Sr | 6'2", 209 lbs | 83 overall
SS #19 Cornell Perry, Rs Sr | 6'1", 187 lbs | 79 overall
K #98 Jadyn Oh, Rs Jr | 6'1", 173 lbs | 72 overall
P #16 Nick Mirer, Fr | 6'4", 227 lbs | 64 overall
KR #3 Nick Golladay, Fr | 5'11", 187 lbs | 96 overall

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Coach James Xavier's Gameplan

"For a team I've never played against, I've been battling with Syracuse since I first got to the college ranks with UMass. Battling for recruits, battling for legitimacy. I don't hold personal grudges against a lot of teams, but I think I might hold one here. They've got talent all throughout their lineup. After firing their head coach last year, going with their offensive coordinator [Jeff Nixon] was a solid move. They have always had a potent offense that can move the ball through the air with relative ease. It'll be on our secondary to be disruptive. Arrive with urgency and deliver with delinquency. That's our goal."