10/6/03 - Ascension

Virginia crept back into the top 25 of both major college football polls Sunday. Staying there will be the hard part.
The Cavaliers (4-1, 3-0 ACC) are ranked No. 25 by the Associated Press and No. 24 in the ESPN/USA Today’s coaches’ poll. They began the season in the top 20 of both polls but dropped out following a 31-7 loss at South Carolina in the second game. Since then, they have won three straight, including Saturday’s 38-13 rout of North Carolina.
From now on, however, the schedule becomes significantly more challenging. UVa’s first five opponents have a combined record of 11-14; its final seven are currently 26-13, and none has a losing record.
“Just look at the scores and look at the teams - the road’s getting harder,” UVa coach Al Groh said. “Whether the team that we were and are is good enough, we’ll see. I would like to think that it’ll take a better team than what we were [Saturday] and I would like to think that we’ll go to work on becoming a better team by next Saturday.”
The Cavaliers looked impressive at Kenan Stadium, even given the general ineptness of the winless Tar Heels. They rolled up 515 yards of offense, their most since gaining 615 against Buffalo in 1999. Matt Schaub threw just three incompletions in totaling 284 passing yards, while Wali Lundy and Alvin Pearman combined to rush for 223 yards.
Of course, against UNC’s defense, last in Division I-A in yards and points allowed, that came as little surprise. More encouraging, perhaps, was the performance of Virginia’s defense, which kept Carolina’s respectable offense out of the end zone until the final quarter. The Cavaliers recorded five sacks and held the Heels to 58 rushing yards.
“They had scored a lot of points in their last few games, so it felt good to shut them down a little bit,” said freshman linebacker Kai Parham, who made his first start in place of injured Rich Bedesem. “We got in their backfield a lot and made plays when we really needed to.”
Parham was one of several players who had to fill important roles against UNC. Kevin Bailey started in place of injured guard Elton Brown and helped give Schaub outstanding protection while paving the way for Lundy and Pearman.
After receiver Art Thomas was benched for fumbling in the first quarter, true freshman Fontel Mines made his first three collegiate catches, including an 18-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Linebacker Mark Miller, seeing his first extended action since the opener, responded with five tackles and a sack.
“We had some guys down, but other guys stepped up,” Lundy said. “That’s the mark of a good team.”
The Cavaliers play a bunch of good teams the rest of the way, starting Saturday at Clemson (3-2, 1-1 ACC). The Tigers crushed Georgia Tech by 36 points two weeks ago but lost to Maryland, 21-7, last Saturday.
Groh called Clemson “clearly the most athletic team we will have played” and noted how difficult it is to win in Death Valley.
“We know, literally, we’re going into the tigers’ den,” he said.
After that, Virginia plays No. 5 Florida State (5-0) at home, followed by Troy State (3-3), N.C. State (3-3), Maryland (4-2), Georgia Tech (3-3) and No. 4 Virginia Tech (5-0).
“We’re just climbing the ladder,” said linebacker Darryl Blackstock, who had two sacks against UNC. “We’ve got to get better because it gets harder from here.”

Note. Clemson quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, who has thrown for 1,368 yards and 10 touchdowns, injured his foot against Maryland and is questionable for Saturday’s game. Four other Tigers, including defensive end Khaleed Vaughn (knee) and receiver Airese Currie (ankle), also suffered injuries against the Terrapins.