Pass rush

Two defensive ends accounted for nearly half of the Cavaliers' 43 sacks last season: Chris Long (14) and Jeffrey Fitzgerald (seven). Both are gone, and if Virginia's defense is to excel again, some, if not all, of Long's and Fitzgerald's production must be replaced. Outside linebacker Clint Sintim is back, and he was second on the team with nine sacks last season.

Special teams

Out of 119 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, U.Va. ranked 56th in punt returns and 89th in kickoff returns last season. The Cavaliers had a clutch kicker in Chris Gould and a second-team all-ACC punter in Ryan Weigand, but both were seniors. The new punter is likely to be true freshman Jimmy Howell, and none of the candidates to replace Gould has kicked in a college game, either. For a team that's not likely to have a large margin for error in most games, special teams may be the difference between victory and defeat.

Quarterback play

In tailbacks Cedric Peerman and Mikell Simpson, tight end John Phillips and wide receivers Maurice Covington and Kevin Ogletree, U.Va. has proven playmakers. Now all it needs is a quarterback who can lead the offense. Jameel Sewell, the starter at QB for the Cavaliers' past 22 games, is serving an academic suspension. His successor is likely to be Peter Lalich, who as a true freshman last year backed up Sewell, but Virginia coach Al Groh is also considering graduate student Scott Deke and sophomore Marc Verica. A deep and talented group of wideouts should help revive U.Va.'s passing attack. Virginia ranked 90th in passing offense last season.