CHARLOTTESVILLE --In a coaching career that has included two stops at Richmond and two at William and Mary, Wayne Lineburg had to figure that one day he might return to Scott Stadium as an opponent.

Some might be surprised it has taken 18 years.

Lineburg arrived in Virginia as a walk-on quarterback in the fall of 1992 and had two coaching stints at UVa, most recently as coach of the Cavalier wide receivers from 2007-08 and running backs in 2009.

When Virginia dismissed head coach Al Groh and most of his staff following the 2009 season, Lineburg wasn't out of a job for long. Richmond named UVa assistant Latrell Scott as its head coach and Scott tapped Lineburg as his offensive coordinator.

Actually, Lineburg had served previously as the Spiders' offensive coordinator under former head coach Dave Clawson, but Clawson did his own play-calling. Lineburg called plays for the first time when Richmond opened its 2010 season at Virginia.

"Obviously, there's a lot to get used to," said Lineburg, who had a chance to become comfortable with his new role at Richmond's spring game and three preseason scrimmages. "I'm sure there will be growing pains."

Three of Lineburg's major influences have been William and Mary head coach Jimmye Laycock, Clawson and Boston College offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill, who coached at Virginia during Lineburg's college days.

"If I could be anywhere close to those three guys, I'd be in good shape," said Lineburg, 36, in a midweek interview.

Lineburg also picked up a lot from his father, Norman, who won 315 games in a celebrated coaching career. Wayne and his three brothers played for their father at Radford High School.

"Most people think of him as mild-mannered," Wayne said, "but, in terms of offensive philosophy, he was not shy. He liked his trick plays and was ahead of the curve in a lot of ways."

Now retired, Norman Lineburg and wife Joanne were in attendance for Saturday's game, as was two of Wayne's brothers. Robert Lineburg is the athletic director at Radford.

"I'm sure he'll be critiquing me," Wayne said. "I remember him calling me once during a game we were playing at Connecticut [in 2008]. I looked down after the game and saw where he had called me in the second quarter. I don't know whether he expected me to answer or what."

The Lineburgs weren't rooting for Virginia on Saturday, but even Wayne expected to feel a little strange to be going to Scott Stadium as a member of a different organization.

"I still talk with [Anthony] Poindexter," he said, referring to an ex-UVa teammate and coaching teammates. "I still keep up with what they're doing up there and I'm sure I always will."

Injuries

Virginia opened the game without its most recognizable player, senior defensive back and co-captain Ras-I Dowling, who was in uniform but was replaced in the starting lineup by sophomore Devin Wallace.

UVa spokesman Jim Daves said Dowling sustained an injury in practice this past week that left him as a game-time decision. ACC teams are not required to furnish an injury report when playing an out-of-conference opponent.

The Cavaliers also were without junior safety Rodney McLeod, who injured his left knee in a practice that was open to students but not the media. Fifth-year senior Trey Womack took his place in the starting lineup. It was the first career start for Wallace and Womack.

Kicking derby

Fourth-year junior Chris Hinkebein, who had handled kickoffs exclusively before Saturday, was wide left from 51 yards on the first field-goal attempt of his career with 4:33 remaining in the second quarter. UVa coach Mike London sent in regular field-goal kicker Rob Randolph for a career-long 50-yard attempt with eight seconds left in the half, but Randolph was short.

Wait-and-see attitude

UVa season-ticket sales stand at 27,372, approximately a 10-percent drop from the 2009 total of 30,507. UVa's goal this year is 31,751.

Virginia next week

The Cavaliers will travel to Los Angeles for a 10:30 p.m. game with Southern California, a 49-36 winner Thursday night in its opener at Hawaii. It will be the first trip to California and the first appearance on the West Coast in 34 years for the Cavaliers, who fell to the Trojans 52-7 in the 2008 opener at Scott Stadium.