TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State chopped up Virginia for the first three quarters on Saturday before quarterback Matt Schaub replaced starter Marques Hagans, and was able to direct the Cavaliers toward three aerial touchdowns in the game's final stanza.

The Seminoles (2-0, 1-0 ACC) continued their dominance over both Virginia and the ACC on Saturday, defeating the Cavaliers (0-2, 0-1) 40-19 in front of 79,406 fans at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla. It was the Seminoles' 10th victory in 11 all-time meetings.

Florida State's offense was surprisingly driven by an explosion of its ground game, which proved especially confounding to a Cavalier defense that prepared predominantly for the Seminole passing game.

"If [the Cavaliers] study history, that's exactly what they'll expect," Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden said.

"When you get to be 72, you get more patience. Our plan was to come out throwing, but it was pretty obvious they were trying to stop that."

Indeed, Virginia succeeded in holding Florida State quarterback Chris Rix to 10-of-18 passing for only 117 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. The Seminole running game, however, amassed a staggering 397 rushing yards on 60 carries -- an impressive 6.6 yards per run.

Junior Greg Jones led the way, mixing in a few shifty side steps along with his traditional hard rushes up the gut. He recorded a career high 173 yards on 21 attempts, chalking up two touchdowns. Two other running backs, senior Nick Maddox and freshman Willie Reid, contributed 61 and 51 yards, respectively.

Part of what opened up the ground game so well for Florida State was Rix's own scrambling abilities. He scampered his way to 58 rushing yards and a touchdown.

"Rix is a good player," Virginia freshman defensive end Kwakou Robinson said. "It's a tough deal to get off a guard or tackle and find Rix."

Furthering Virginia's difficulties was a simple lack of experience on the front line. Florida State had four seniors starting on its offensive line, while Virginia had only one man on its entire defensive line depth chart who had even seen game action prior to this season.

"We knew the matchup would be overwhelming," Groh said. "That's one of their most experienced positions. I've stood on the sidelines on a lot of Sundays and haven't seen anything that looked like that, in terms of size."

The other recurring problem for Virginia was turnovers. The Cavaliers fumbled five times, losing three of them. Four times it was either a true or redshirt freshman who lost his handle of the football, suggesting Virginia's newest players need to adjust to the size and strength of football at the top collegiate level.

"I think they found out that they were going to get a hit a little bit harder in this league than where they came from," Groh said.

Still, though, Virginia had plenty to be encouraged about from Saturday's second half, after Schaub relieved an ineffective Hagans.

Hagans, in only his second collegiate game, was given the tough chore of scoring against a tough Florida State defense. He completed only one of seven passes and ran for 16 yards before Schaub entered.

"His play in the first game warranted the opportunity," Groh said. "Last week Hagans was everyone's darling. He's a second-game quarterback going up against a very tough team."

Schaub showed no ill effects of not starting and perhaps even benefited from the extra preparation -- much like he seemed to do last year when replacing Bryson Spinner in games. Schaub proceeded to complete 19-of-25 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns.

"I was going to be ready the same way," Schaub said of substituting as opposed to starting. "The beginning of the game gives you a chance to see how the defense is playing."

Senior co-captain Billy McMullen was Schaub's favorite target, connecting five times for 101 yards -- including a 59-yard strike down the left sideline when Virginia had the ball on its own 1-yard line.

Schaub's passing was a blessing for Virginia, which struggled to gain much territory on the ground. Wali Lundy again led Virginia rushers, this time with 20 yards. Michael Johnson and Marquis Weeks each had 19.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.

By now it should be easy for most students to imagine the first day of college classes -- the confusion, the nervousness, the uncertainty.

But for a moment, imagine that on your first day of your first year, still wet behind the ears, you find that all of your classmates are Lawn residents, aspiring Rhodes scholars and future millionaires. Intimidated?

Now you know what it's like to be one of the 12 true freshmen who have played in Virginia's first two football games of the season.

Many of these players, like freshmen tailbacks Wali Lundy and Michael Johnson, were part of the Virginia recruiting class that was widely considered one of the best in the nation.

Lundy, Johnson and their classmates were not only expected to develop into strong players -- they were expected to do it in a matter of weeks, and Virginia Coach Al Groh admitted as early as the spring that he would be looking for significant contributions from the incoming freshman class.

Virginia's last-minute fall to Colorado State and Saturday's 40-19 loss to Florida State might indicate that these freshmen couldn't cut it.

Exactly the opposite -- the new Cavaliers have showed exactly the kind of toughness and potential that, when coupled with a little experience, can put Virginia football in serious contention with even the conference-dominating Seminoles.

Consider a few of the bright spots in Saturday's loss, provided by Virginia's freshmen.

Lundy and Johnson shot right out of the gate, Lundy with an 11-yard run on the Cavaliers' first possession and Johnson right on his heels to keep Virginia on the advance.

Lundy finished the game as the team's lead rusher, with 34 yards on 13 carries. Johnson added 25 rushing yards, the team's second best against a stiff Florida State defense.

Against Colorado State, Lundy was the team's rushing leader with 94 yards, and Johnson put up 37 yards on only five carries.

In a group of tailbacks in which sophomores Alvin Pearman and Marquis Weeks are the most experienced veterans, Lundy and Johnson have helped the backfield make an impression.

"We don't just have ball-carriers in the backfield," Groh said. "We have playmakers."

The Cavaliers' defensive line has only one lineman who can boast any game experience, sophomore nose tackle Andrew Hoffman. So, true freshmen Kwakou Robinson, Braden Campbell and D.J. Bell have stepped up to make contributions in the past two games.

Freshman Darryl Blackstock, who made more than 50 sacks in the two years before coming to Virginia, finished the Colorado State game with seven tackles and started against Florida State, finishing with six tackles and one sack.

The numbers may not be overwhelming, but they are solid, and they are significant in light of Virginia's competition.

We "put four or five of those freshmen linemen out there against five fifth-year seniors," Groh said. "That's what I like about [our] team. Those kids, they didn't back down. They had to deal with it out there. They had to take those guys on, and they kept going out for more, so that's why I feel positive."

The determination of the freshman class is certainly something for Virginia to feel positive about. Faced with a 33-0 deficit at the end of the third quarter against Florida State and with Cavalier veterans falling to injury left and right, the team, even the freshmen, didn't give themselves up for lost.

The Cavaliers' three late touchdowns came from veterans, but Johnson and Lundy both had significant first-down receptions. Freshman cornerback Marcus Hamilton and freshman safety Willie Davis teamed up to slow a late Florida State drive and hold the Seminoles.

"We had heart and we fought back," Davis said of his team. About his freshman classmates, he added, "We did good, but we can do better. Always, always look for improvement."

No doubt Virginia should expect improvement from its freshmen (and veterans as well), especially with two of the toughest matches on the Cavalier schedule behind them. Groh joked with reporters after Saturday's game that he should add a "patience coordinator" to his staff in order to make sure that week-to-week expectations for his new players are realistic. But even now it is not unrealistic to believe that these freshmen are what Virginia needs to rise to the head of the class.