Virginia’s football practices this week were conducted in sweats, not because the temperature was low in Charlottesville, but rather to try to imitate the heat the Wahoos will face today in Miami.

“It’s hard to simulate, but we’re trying to get as close to it as we can here,” receiver Vic Hall said.

GREENVILLE, N.C. — Though it was pushed to the brink a few times, Virginia Tech’s defense didn’t concede much in the Hokies’ 16-3 win over East Carolina on Thursday night.

Richard Anthony isn’t even on Liberty’s official football roster. Spencer Landis is a fourth-string quarterback who hasn’t played a snap this season.

Yet those two became important players at practice this week, as the Flames prepared for tonight’s game against VMI — Liberty’s home finale — and the Keydets’ triple-option offense.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage says a decision on Al Groh’s future as the school’s football coach will come at the end of the season.

Danny Broggin was a state-championship winning quarterback at William Campbell High School in 2005, but once he took the final snap in the Generals’ 18-0 win over J.I. Burton at James Madison’s Bridgeforth Stadium, he knew his time as a signal caller was done.

No one was recruiting the 6-foot Broggin as a quarterback, and the school who eventually offered him a scholarship — Liberty — had no plans of using him behind center.

When he arrived in the fall of 2006, though, Broggin had no idea what his role would be. It’s a theme that’s carried over throughout his Flames career.

Three weeks ago, Virginia Tech’s football team had so much to play for. It was still in the national title hunt and was the odds on favorite to win its third straight ACC championship.

After two losses and a precipitous fall in the rankings, the Hokies have had to dig deep for inspiration.

There’s still at least one major motivator on the line for the rest of the season.

“It’s definitely pride,” Hokies senior linebacker Cody Grimm said.

BLACKSBURG — Ryan Williams stayed up all night Thursday thinking about the fumble that led to the deciding points in North Carolina’s 20-17 upset win over then-No. 14 Virginia Tech.

His teammates tried to convince him that he wasn’t to blame for the Hokies’ loss, but his fumble at the Tar Heels’ 24-yard line with 2:02 left stayed with him. It haunted him. “It makes me sick to my stomach,” he told reporters Sunday.

When Liberty football coach Danny Rocco first decorated his office at the Williams Football Operations Center when it opened in 2006, he adorned the walls with photos from previous coaching stops.

There was a shot of Virginia’s linebacking corps, which included players like Ahmad Brooks and Darryl Blackstock. There was a shot of Boston College beating Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.

As the years went by, he replaced the art with photos of Liberty’s football accomplishments. There’s a shot of the Flames winning their first Big South crown on Gardner-Webb’s field. There are photos of key members of this season’s senior class, a group that’s near and dear to the head coach’s heart.

CHARLOTTESVILLE — It’s an exaggeration to say that Virginia is the worst team in a BCS conference when it comes to scoring points.

But it’s not too far off.

Despite woeful numbers and the apparent changes coming at the McCue Center, Virginia’s players will attempt to win for Coach Al Groh and each other.

Lynchburg College dodged an early bullet from visiting Randolph College in the first round of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference’s men’s soccer tournament Saturday and went on to roll to an impressive 6-0 victory over the WildCats.

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Each dropped pass in Jameel Sewell’s 8-for-22 outing was an inkblot test for fans.

It was an odd scene Saturday evening. As Liberty finished a 55-19 thrashing of winless Presbyterian, avenging the loss from last season that cost the Flames a berth in the FCS playoffs, the crowd at Williams Stadium looked much like the one that shows up Friday nights for LCA games.