When Virginia's football team hit the practice field Sunday, less than 24 hours after a 45-10 whipping at Connecticut, it was joined by one-time starting quarterback Peter Lalich.

Lalich did not make the trip to Connecticut, not that he would have changed the outcome, but his future availability is certain to be a topic of conversation as the Cavaliers observe an open date prior to a Sept. 27 visit to Duke.

The UVa-Duke game comes one day after Lalich is scheduled to be in Charlottesville General District to answer charges that he violated the probation he received for underage possession of alcohol.

Lalich wasn't suspended from the team -- at least, that's not a term coach Al Groh has used -- but his off-field foolishness kept him off the Connecticut dress list.

Sophomore Marc Verica took Lalich's place against the Huskies and completed 22 of 30 passes for 158 yards, but Groh indicated Sunday that Lalich's hearing would not necessarily preclude him from playing at Duke.

Groh said the court date would be a consideration in preparing the quarterbacks but noted that the open date will provide twice the normal number of practice opportunities.

"It allows us to give all of them quite a few turns and prepare for any contingency," he said.

Groh also used fifth-year senior Scott Deke in the fourth quarter and it was Deke's 12-yard run that set up UVa's lone touchdown on a 1-yard run by Cedric Peerman.

Verica and Deke were intercepted once each, but Groh noted that Verica's numbers "came out fairly decent." He threw mostly short, safe, passes that contributed to a 73.3 completion percentage, "but that's not an unexpected circumstance for a guy in his first game," Groh continued.

Ten of Verica's completions went for 5 yards or fewer. However, when the Cavaliers fell behind 28-0 at the half, it was necessary to pick up the pace.

"You feel like you've got to make a big play and you force something," Verica said. "That might lead to a turnover and that's what happened [on the interception] in the third quarter."

The Cavaliers' defense took the brunt of the criticism Saturday night, but, with its 219-yard performance, UVa dropped to 118th out of 119 Division I-A teams in total offense. The Cavaliers have not been inside the top 100 in Mike Groh's three seasons as offensive coordinator.

"The challenge is just getting to the next game and, obviously, fixing some things from this one," said junior wide receiver Kevin Ogletree, who had seven receptions for 58 yards and has 19 catches for the season. "Once we get to the ACC, these games just can't happen."

Virginia ran the ball only 14 times against Connecticut (for 31 yards) and for the season has 73 carries for 154 yards. The Cavaliers' per-carry average has dropped from 3.6 yards in 2007 to 2.1 this year, even though Peerman and Mikell Simpson seemingly formed a potent 1-2 punch.

UVa lost three of its five starting offensive linemen and a fourth, two-year starter Will Barker, has struggled at right tackle. Barker was called for two holding penalties Sept. 6 against Richmond and yielded sacks against Southern Cal and UConn.

"All those runners run the same when there's no holes," said Groh, repeating a line he has used sporadically in his UVa coaching career.

Notes

UVa freshman Jimmy Howell averaged 39.8 yards on five punts and had such good hang time that none was returned. ... Three different UVa players-- Ogletree, Peerman and freshman cornerback Chase Minnifield -- had kickoff returns of 34 yards or more. ... Outside linebacker Cameron Johnson became the third true freshman to play for Virginia this season.