Virginia cruises to 5-0
Surging Cavaliers trample Clemson
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
October 8, 2004

It was the tale of two halves.

Or better yet, it was the tale of the final three quarters.

Thanks to a pair of second-half rushing touchdowns by tailback Alvin Pearman, the 10th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers disposed of Clemson 30-10 in front of 61,833 fans at Scott Stadium.

For the first 15 minutes the game remained in doubt.

Clemson scored on its first drive and added a field goal, taking a 10-3 lead at the end of the opening quarter.

It was all Virginia from that point on.

After gaining 99 yards on their first 16 plays, the Tigers were shut down.

Not only were the Tigers kept out of the end zone but they were also held to just 112 yards over the final three quarters.

“The defense obviously did a real good job. We have been trying to build to be able to play this way here for quite some time and tonight they were up to the task,” Virginia coach Al Groh said. “We got burned a little bit early but the thing I liked about it best was that nobody was shook by it, staff wise or player wise. They took a pretty good punch. That’s what a good boxer has got to do – take a punch and shake it off and get back in the middle of the ring.”

With the win, Virginia improves to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the ACC.

Clemson wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard.

For the first time all season, the Tigers scored a touchdown on their opening drive.

Clemson quarterback Charlie Whitehurst capped a six-play, 80-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to tailback Duane Coleman.

Virginia answered with a

21-yard field goal from Connor Hughes with 7:16 left in the first quarter to make it 7-3.

After both teams exchanged punts, Clemson pushed the lead back to seven when placekicker Jad Dean connected on the first field goal of his career, a 43-yarder.

Virginia cut into the lead in the second quarter, making it 10-6, with a 43-yard field goal by Hughes with 11:03 left in the half.

Virginia’s defense promptly forced Clemson to punt and the Cavaliers took the lead for good.

Virginia quarterback Marques Hagans converted a pair of third down situations with passes to Deyon Williams (13 yards) and Heath Miller (32) to move the ball to Clemson’s 11-yard line.

Two plays after Wali Lundy danced forward for an 8-yard gain; Hagans rolled out to his right and hit Miller at the 3-yard line. Miller did the rest as he lunged forward stretching the ball to the pylon for a Cavalier touchdown.

Virginia appeared poised to stretch the lead on its first possession of the second half, but after marching 69 yards on 14 plays Lundy fumbled the ball when Clemson linebacker Anthony Waters reached in from behind and popped the ball loose.

Clemson free safety Travis Pugh landed on the fumble and gave Clemson the momentum.

Virginia’s defense stole it right back by forcing yet another punt.

Hughes gave Virginia a six-point advantage with a 50-yard field goal, his longest of the season, with 3:30 left in the third quarter.

While Virginia’s defense continued to stymie Clemson’s offense, Pearman put the game out of reach with back-to-back touchdown runs, both from two yards out.

For the game, Pearman finished with 104 yards on 18 carries. The senior tailback also added 48 yards receiving on three catches.

Hagans finished 14 of 24 passing for 225 yards and one touchdown. Although Hagans was sacked once in the contest, he did not throw an interception.

Whitehurst was 16 of 28 passing and was not sacked, but he was limited to 166 yards to go along with an interception that was picked off by UVa’s sophomore cornerback Tony Franklin.

“Coming into the season, I felt like [Clemson] was going to be one of the most talented teams in the conference. I still feel that way,” Groh said. “We did a very good job on their dynamic playmakers today. The players knew what the challenges were, and they responded to those challenges.”

Like it has for the past two games, Virginia’s schedule continues to get more difficult.

Next up for the Cavaliers is a tough road test on Oct. 16th at Florida State, the ACC’s defending champion.

“We remain in the hunt. That’s our way of thinking, nothing less, nothing more,” Groh said. “I’m sure Florida State is not particularly impressed.

“We could be less ready. But I don’t know if we’re ready enough. We’ll see what it brings. We’re going to put our head down, set our jaw and try to plow forward.”

Cavs' ground game grinds up Tigers
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
October 8, 2004

There’s a special bookcase in Al Groh’s office completely full of game plans from his days in the NFL.

Green ones are from the Jets. Red ones from the Patriots. And, the blue. They’re from the glory days of the New York Football Giants. Groh often refers to situations in that vast laboratory of knowledge.

But for Virginia’s game against the Clemson Tigers in Thursday night’s national ESPN extravaganza, Groh’s plan was as simple as cornbread. Nothing fancy. Bought right off the rack.

Wali Lundy left. Alvin Pearman right. Michael Johnson up the middle. Marques Hagans everywhere.

See Wali run. See Alvin run. Watch the chain markers move.

Virginia ran railroad stakes down Clemson’s throats en route to a 30-10 rout, handing the Tigers their fourth loss in a row. While the Cavaliers, ranked 9th and 10th in the national polls, bolted to 5-0 on the season and set the stage for their huge ACC showdown at Florida State (Oct. 16), Clemson is now mired in its worst losing streak since 1971.

Get out of the Way

Sporting a shirt emblazoned with the warning “Get out of the Way,” UVa’s massive offensive guard Elton Brown said the Cavaliers knew coming in that if they could wear the Tigers down with a physical running game that was half the battle.

Early in the second half, the Tigers were visibly tired, bending over, putting their hands on their knees.

Virginia knew they had ‘em.

“We sensed they were tired and that’s when we went with a faster paced offense,” Brown said. “We started calling the plays and getting out of the huddle faster.”

Heck, the Tigers were probably tired from just chasing the elusive Hagans all over the field. The Virginia quarterback, who turned in another near flawless performance, not only passed for 225 yards but also rushed nine times for 26 yards.

Those 26 must have seemed more like 126 to the Tigers, who rarely put their mitts on him. And when they did, it wasn’t easy.

Hagans a factor

Hagans drove Clemson crazy with his scrambling. Drifting one direction, finding no one open, reversing his field and dashing for yardage or finding an open receiver downfield and drilling the pass for a first down.

Even when no receivers were open, the Tigers couldn’t bottle him up. On a third-and-four at his own 31, Hagans went left, but couldn’t find a receiver. He bolted to his right, lowered his shoulder and ran over Jamaal Fudge, one of the toughest safeties in the ACC.

Hagans gained five yards for the first down.

But it was just the constant pounding that brought the Tigers to their knees. In last season’s loss in Death Valley, Virginia couldn’t buy a

first down in short yardage situations. The Cavs failed three times on third-and-one and once on third-and-two in crucial moments. They rushed for a mere 55 yards.

Last night, Virginia rushed

54 times. That’s five more rushes than Clemson ran total plays

(21 runs, 28 passes).

The Cavs rushed for 257 yards. And, third downs? How does 14 of 20 row your boat?

“We couldn’t get them off the field,” said Clemson coach Tommy Bowden. “A lot of third down conversions to sustain drives. At some point in time, it is the defense’s job to get off the field.”

Pearman finished with 104, Lundy 85, Johnson 20 and Hagans 26 as the Cavs methodically took the Tigers apart.

Two of UVa’s longest drives of the season occurred in the second half, the longest, a 7:35 march that ended with Lundy’s fumble on the first possession.

The other was a 6:52 drive in the fourth quarter that sucked the life out of any Clemson hope as Pearman found paydirt from two yards out for a 30-10 lead.

Virginia’s defense did its part as well. Groh’s greatest fears coming into the game were that Clemson quarterback Charlie Whitehurst would have a breakout night. Plagued by 10 interceptions in his first four games, Whitehurst has been haunted by mistakes as Clemson’s fortunes plummeted.

“We knew he was good enough to take over a game and that concerned us,” Groh said.

Didn’t happen.

Virginia held the Tigers’ quarterback in check and added to his turnover misery with a drive-stopping interception in Cavalier territory with the Wahoos leading 23-10 in the fourth quarter.

Clemson mustered only 211 yards for the game, 80 of that coming on the Tigers’ opening drive that gave them a 7-0 lead.

If nothing else, Groh learned that his coaching staff and his players could keep their poise under trying circumstances. When Clemson drew first blood, the Cavs didn’t blink. No one reached for the panic button.

All was well in Hooville.

Virginia passed the test. Even Groh said he wasn’t sure how good his team might be. He guessed somewhere between No. 12 and 36 in the nation.

He believed playing a dangerous team was like stepping up in competition from the minor leagues to the majors.

Now, Groh said, “We’re playing World Series competition.”

That would be a trip to Tallahassee to take on the ACC’s most dominant team over the past dozen seasons. Florida State awaits.

“I don’t know if we’re ready enough, but we could be less ready,” Groh said. “We could be

2-3 or 3-2. We’ll see what it brings.”

Welsh honored at halftime
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
October 8, 2004

It was fitting that “The House that George Built” saluted Virginia’s winningest football coach Thursday night with a rousing ovation.

George Welsh, who was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame last spring, was introduced to a sellout crowd of more than 61,000 at Scott Stadium as part of the UVa vs. Clemson halftime festivities.

Virginia’s three living College Hall of Fame members - “Bullet” Bill Dudley, Joe Palumbo and Tom Scott - joined UVa Athletics Director Craig Littlepage in presenting Welsh with his Hall of Fame plaque.

Welsh, who guided the Cavaliers to two ACC Championships (1989 and 1995), became the winningest coach in league history prior to his retirement at the end of the 2000 season. When he finished, Welsh ranked 24th in Division I-A history in victories with a record of 189-132-4 (.588).

His Virginia teams compiled a record of 134-86-3 (.608) in 19 seasons. The College Hall of Fame, located in South Bend, Ind., selected Welsh for the rebuilding of two struggling football programs, Virginia, and the U.S. Naval Academy, Welsh’s alma mater.

The coach, who still resides in the Charlottesville area, said he has attended most of Virginia’s home games over the past few seasons and occasionally drops by the football offices to chat with coaches.

“They’re not asking my opinions and I’m not giving any,” Welsh said.

“But I have followed the Virginia program. I have not taken much interest in Navy. I don’t live and die with the Navy team any more,” Welsh said.

He still takes pride in what he accomplished at Virginia, turning the Cavaliers into a model program after the Hoos had recorded only three winning seasons in the three decades prior to his arrival in 1982.

Several of this season’s seniors were initially recruited by Welsh and his coaching staff during the final two years of his regime.

“There’s still quite a few,” Welsh said of those players. “The guys who were left here like [quarterback Marques] Hagans and the ones who were committed when I retired are still around.”

Welsh thought that class had a lot of promise and he was right.

“We thought it was going to be really good ... it looked good on paper. Because we knew what kind of athlete Heath Miller was and we had already talked to him about tight end. There was Alvin Pearman, [Darryl] Blackstock was in prep school. Elton Brown was one of them. [Andrew] Hoffman and [Chris] Canty were already here as was [Marquis] Weeks.”

While Welsh retired after complaining of a form of burnout, he said his health is good and he is refreshed.

“I feel much better now. I needed a sabbatical,” Welsh said. “I’m itching to come back ... Joe Gibbs and those guys coming back ...”

He commented that while he wouldn’t be interested in being a head coach at the major college level again, he wouldn’t mind becoming an assistant at one of a handful of programs that he declined to identify.

“I’d like to get back in the game, even as an assistant. With the right program and the right head coach, I think I could do that.”

Welsh said he enjoys watching the game but still can’t sit still.

“I’m relaxed now,” he said an hour before kickoff. “But once the game starts probably not. I’m still into it.”

Cavalier notebook: Virginia keeps winning
By John Shifflett / Daily Progress staff writer
October 8, 2004

Winning ways. Thursday night’s victory was Virginia’s eighth in a row dating back to last season. It is UVa’s longest winning streak in over half a century. The Cavaliers won 10 games in a row back in 1951-52. Virginia has also won seven straight home games.

Playing in primetime. Thursday night’s game was Virginia’s eighth appearance on ESPN’s Thursday night college football and it’s first at home in seven years. UVa also played in a Thursday night game against Colorado State in 2002 that was televised on Fox Sports Net. The Cavaliers’ next game (at Florida State, Oct. 16) will also be an ESPN primetime contest and will kick off at 7:45 p.m.

No Long. Cavalier freshman defensive lineman and former Saint Anne’s-Belfield standout Chris Long was not dressed for Thursday night’s contest. He was listed second on the Cavaliers’ probable depth chart at defensive end behind Brennan Schmidt. Long saw action in Virginia’s first three games. He was dressed but did not play in the Cavaliers’ win over Syracuse on September 25.

Taking the first. Clemson started the game strong, scoring on its first drive of the game and held a 10-3 lead after the first quarter. In its previous four games, Virginia had outscored its opponents 51-3 in the first quarter.
Friendly confines. Thursday night’s game ended a four-game homestand for Virginia, it’s longest since 1982. The Cavaliers played four straight at home to end the 2001 season, but one of those games was rescheduled due to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. UVa will be on the road for its next two games before returning to Scott Stadium on Nov. 6 against Maryland.

Happy Homecoming. Thursday’s night’s game was a return to Central Virginia for Clemson senior defensive tackle Eric Coleman. Coleman played football at Charlottesville High School and Fork Union Military Academy, were he was a standout tight end and defensive end. He was a two-year starter for Garwin DeBerry at CHS and was teammates with Cavalier quarterback Marques Hagans at Fork Union under coach John Shuman.

Seal of approval. The founder of the University of Virginia made an appearance of sorts in 2004’s fourth installment of “The adventures of Cav Man.” After taking out one Clemson Tiger, Cav Man was confronted by a second Tiger, which was crouched on a statue of Thomas Jefferson. After the Tiger jumped off the statue to confront Cav Man, the eyes on the statue lit up and its left hand gave the thumbs down signal. Cav Man responded and finished off the second Tiger.
Faces in the crowd. A pair of former Cavalier stars were in the crowd for Thursday’s win. ESPN interviewed Shawn Moore and Chris Slade during the fourth quarter.
Moore was Virginia’s starting quarterback from 1988-1990 and he helped the Cavs to a share of their first ever ACC Champion-ship. He guided UVa to 23 wins in his last 28 starts. Moore finished fourth in the 1990 Heisman Trophy balloting.
Slade was a four-year starter at defensive end and also helped the Cavaliers to a share of their first ever ACC Championship. In 1992, he set a UVa single-season record with 15 sacks, breaking his own record of 14 in 1991. Slade’s 40 career sacks still rank No. 1 in Virginia history.

First time for everything. Wali Lundy’s lost fumble in the third quarter was the first lost fumble for the Cavaliers this season and their first in nine games dating back to last season, snapping the longest streak in school history.

Pitch for Hagans. With a national TV audience and over 60,000 in attendance, some Virginia students made their feelings on the Heisman Trophy frontrunner clear. On the first row of the Virginia student section, a group of students painted letters on their bodies to form “Hagans 4 Heisman.”

The series. With the win, Virginia is now 8-35-1 all time against Clemson. The Tigers won the first 29 games of the series, but the Cavaliers are 8-6-1 against Clemson since 1990 and they have won three of the last four games.

On deck. The Cavaliers will have nine days to prepare for their next opponent, Florida State. Virginia travels to Tallahassee on Oct. 16 for a tilt with FSU. The
No. 8 Noles are currently 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the ACC and travel to Syracuse for a game on Saturday at 7 p.m at the Carrier Dome. That game will be televised on ESPN2.

Extra points. Senior wide receiver Michael McGrew carried the symbolic flag out of the tunnel for Virginia. ... Connor Hughes’
50-yard field goal in the third quarter was his longest of the 2004 season. ... Clemson sophomore kicker Jad Dean hit his first career field goal late in the first quarter. The kick was from 43 yards out and gave the Tigers at 10-3 lead. ... Michael Johnson replaced Ahmad Brooks as a returner on kickoffs to start the game. ... Clemson quarterback Charlie Whitehurst became the school’s career passing leader in yardage on a pass with less than four minutes remaining in the second quarter. Whitehurst was already the school’s all-time leader in completions and completion percentage. ... Thursday night’s attendance at Scott Stadium was 61, 833. It was the second time in five games that the Cavaliers have surpassed 60,000 in attendance. The other was against North Carolina on Sept. 11 when 62,790 saw Virginia top North Carolina 56-24.



 

Pearman punishes Clemson late in game
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
October 8, 2004

One postgame observer labeled Virginia senior tailback Alvin Pearman “Mr. Versatility” after the No. 10 Cavaliers’ 30-10 victory over Clemson on Thursday night.

Another nickname may be catchier but probably not any more

appropriate.

Pearman, who returned punts and appeared to line up as a

fullback and wide receiver on occasions Thursday, at the end did his most punishing work at his natural position.

Pearman ran 18 times for 104 yards - all but two of which came after intermission - and scampered for two touchdowns to pace the Cavaliers’ strong second-half surge.

Pearman’s performance marked the first time since 1998 that a Virginia rusher eclipsed the 100-yard mark against Clemson.

“Alvin gave us a real good spark. … [The effort] certainly distinguished him tonight. It’s hard to see a football player that has more heart than Alvin Pearman,” Virginia coach Al Groh said.

Pearman rushed just once for two yards in the first half, as Wali Lundy was the primary ball carrier. After Lundy fumbled on the Clemson 5-yard line early in the third quarter, Pearman got the bulk of the remaining carries the rest of the game.

“You never think about how many yards you had and stuff like that. Not at all,” Pearman said. “You just know that you have to be ready when Coach calls your number. I pride myself on stepping up when Coach asks you and so does this whole team.”

Groh implements a three-pronged attack at tailback with Lundy, Pearman and Michael Johnson. While one might suggest that Lundy’s fumble led to Pearman getting more carries, Groh said later that in fact it was Pearman’s turn in the set rotation.

Pearman certainly made the most of it as his fresh legs combined with the offensive line’s obvious wearing down of the Clemson defense.

“That’s part of running the ball and it’s a cumulative thing. It keeps adding up to a little bit more each time and that worked well for us tonight,” Groh said.

In his first three carries of the second half, Pearman snapped off runs of 4, 18 and 20 yards.

Pearman opened the fourth quarter with a two-yard plunge for a touchdown that made the score 23-10.

The next Virginia drive was nearly all Pearman as he rushed for 46 of the 61 yards and capped it with another two-yard touchdown run that punctuated the UVa victory.

“I think it really speaks to how strong and hard our offensive line is,” Pearman said. “Any us could have run behind them there in the second half. I was just the lucky one to get in there.”

Williams comes up big in victory
By John Shifflett / Daily Progress staff writer
October 8, 2004

Deyon Williams is back.

After missing the Cavaliers’ victory over Syracuse due to an injury sustained in practice, the sophomore wideout made a strong statement in his return to the field with more than 60,000 fans and an ESPN audience watching. Williams caught a career-high five passes for 83 yards, including several drive-saving catches in the Cavaliers’ 30-10 victory over Clemson.

Williams showed the Virginia coaching staff and Cavalier nation several things in the game. He showed he could be a go-to receiver as he caught several big passes. In doing so, he also showed he could be a big-play receiver - all five of his catches went for more than 10 yards.

Most importantly, he showed he could be a clutch receiver. Of Williams five catches, four of them went for first downs. Three of those first downs came with the Cavaliers facing third down situations.

“He had more explosive plays tonight,” Virginia coach Al Groh said. “He has had one or two a game, but he put together a couple more of them tonight. It looks like he has his legs back now.”

On the Cavaliers’ first scoring drive, Williams had two big catches that both resulted in first downs. He brought in a crucial 25-yard reception on third-and-10 to keep the drive alive. Two plays later, Williams caught an 11-yard pass and went out of bounds at the Cavalier 6-yard line. The drive led to a field goal from Connor Hughes.

On the Cavaliers’ next scoring drive in the second quarter, Williams came up big again. On third-and-seven from the Virginia 45-yard line, Williams snagged a

13-yard reception on a Marques Hagans’ pass for a first down. That drive resulted in a touchdown that gave Virginia the lead for good.

In the third quarter, Williams brought in two more big catches, bringing in a

22-yard reception for a first down and a 12-yard catch on first-and-20.

Williams’ emergence in the game was a factor in Hagans’ big night. Hagans passed for 225 yards and over one third of those yards were to Williams, who says the chemistry between him and Hagans is very good.

“We are clicking just fine,” Williams said. “We talk about it in practice. We work on it in practice. ... If we have to stay after practice, we work on it. Our timing is great right now.”

In a big game with all of America watching, Williams showed what he is capable of.

STRONG FINISH
No. 10 Virginia outgains Clemson 247 yards to 71 in the second half
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

CHARLOTTESVILLE - People may have wondered what would happen the first time Virginia's 10th-ranked football team faced some adversity.

On Thursday night, before a national television audience, the Cavaliers answered that question in convincing fashion, simply punishing longtime nemesis Clemson in the second half of a 30-10 victory at Scott Stadium. Virginia held the Tigers scoreless during the last three quarters and scored 27 unanswered points in running its record to 5-0 and extending its two-year winning streak to eight games, the Cavaliers' longest since 1951-52.

Clemson (1-4, 1-3 ACC), which has now lost four in a row, gave Virginia (5-0, 2-0) an early scare. The Cavaliers had not allowed a touchdown in the first quarter all season, a streak that ended with just over three minutes elapsed when Clemson quarterback Charlie Whitehurst connected with Duane Coleman on a 5-yard scoring pass.

The Tigers needed only six plays to drive 80 yards, sparked by a 56-yard wake-up call from Whitehurst to tight end Ben Hall.

"We took a pretty good punch," UVa coach Al Groh said, "but nobody was shook by it, staff-wise or player-wise."

UVa responded with a 21-yard Connor Hughes field goal, but the Cavaliers, who had outscored their first four opponents 51-3 in the first quarter, found themselves trailing 10-3 after 15 minutes.

"It was a little bit shaky there and, for a while, it looked like it had a chance to go to 14-3," Groh said. "While it may not look that way here at 11 o'clock, the game had a chance to walk away from us early."

Hughes added a season-long 43-yarder in the second quarter, but Virginia didn't take the lead until tight end Heath Miller caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Marques Hagans to make it 13-10 with 5:39 to go before halftime.

It was a vintage play by Miller, a preseason All-American, who was hit by Clemson rover Jamaal Fudge at the 2-yard line before switching the ball from his right hand to his left and gently nudging the end-zone pylon as he headed out of bounds.

"I didn't see the replay," Groh said, "but I had a pretty good look at it from field level. If it looked any better on the replay, then it really must have been something."

Clemson was the beneficiary of the night's first turnover - a big one - when UVa tailback Wali Lundy fumbled after picking up an apparent first-and-goal at the Clemson 5-yard line to start the second half.

Virginia held Clemson without a first down, forcing a punt before Hughes came on to boot a 50-yard field goal, the school-record fourth 50-yarder of his three-year career.

"Real good night for Connor Hughes," Groh said. "At 30-10, maybe it doesn't look like those [three] field goals were that decisive, but they were very significant at the time they occurred."

After Lundy's fumble, the Cavaliers turned to senior Alvin Pearman, who had a 20-yard run and an 18-yard reception on third-and-nine on the touchdown drive that put the Cavaliers ahead 23-10 on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Pearman, who had one carry for 2 yards in the first half, finished with 18 carries for 104 yards and two touchdowns. As a team, UVa rushed for 161 yards in the second half and 239 for the game.

The Cavaliers ran 80 plays, compared to 49 for the Tigers, and had the ball for more than 36 minutes. In the third quarter, the differential in plays was 24-7.

"They had to be sucking wind," UVa linebacker Ahmad Brooks said.

Clemson hopes for a comeback were thwarted with 12:06 left, when Whitehurst was picked off by sophomore Tony Franklin - Franklin's first interception of the season and only the second for UVa's starting secondary. It was the 11th interception yielded by Whitehurst this season.

"They weren't going to give us the big play," said Whitehurst, who was not sacked but had only one completion for more than 18 yards. "We knew that going in. We knew it was going to take long, sustained drives, but we couldn't do that."

Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said, "There were long stretches where we didn't have the ball. We couldn't get them off the field."

Virginia, previously third in the ACC in third-down conversions with a 46.7 percentage, was 14-of-20 against the Tigers. Clemson was 5-of-14 and got little out of its running game, although the Tigers wouldn't stop trying.

"I guess they thought they could get physical with us," UVa cornerback Marcus Hamilton, "but you don't become a physical football team in 10 days."

Cavaliers' QB bags tiger pelt
Commentary by Aaron McFarling
The Roanoke Times

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Virginia quarterback Marques Hagans had more grass stains on his pants than anybody Thursday night, more than every limping lineman, more than every battered back. White paint from the field marked his thick right forearm, a football player's official tough-game tattoo.

Judge a quarterback by his pelts, UVa coach Al Groh likes to say. Doesn't matter if you're pretty. Doesn't matter if you misfire now and then. Just find a way to drop your prey. Well, that's five straight pelts for Hagans. And counting.

Coming into this season, the Cavaliers knew they didn't need Hagans to be Matt Schaub. They didn't need or expect a converted receiver to lead the nation in passing accuracy, which Hagans did through UVa's first four games.

What they needed from Hagans is what they got in Thursday's 30-10 victory over Clemson, and what they hope to get in their showdown with No.8 Florida State next weekend - a steady performance under trying conditions.

From the opening kickoff, it was clear this Clemson team wasn't the same one that stumbled all over the field the first month of the season. And with speed at every position and proven-but-struggling quarterback Charlie Whitehurst looking more like his old self, the Tigers certainly weren't Syracuse or Akron or any of the teams UVa faced during its fluffy opening slate.

Big doubts for UVa? Not really. We knew UVa's running game would still be there, and it was. We knew tight end Heath Miller would keep making plays, and he did. We knew the Cavaliers defense wouldn't yield much, and it didn't.

But Hagans, the 5-foot-10 overachiever who was on pace to break the NCAA record for completion percentage? How much of a hit would his performance take when the game got faster, the pressure got more intense and the national spotlight shined directly in his eyes?

Answer: Not much.

Hagans completed 14 of 26 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown, but it's the things he didn't do that really impressed. He didn't throw into double coverage. He didn't commit a turnover. With the exception of one play, he didn't let Clemson's blitzers corral him.

And most importantly, he didn't let drives die.

The Cavaliers were 14-for-20 on third-down conversions Thursday. Eleven of those successful conversions were directly attributable to Hagans, either by pass or by scramble. His signature moment came on a third-and-four in the third quarter when he rolled to his left, found nothing, reversed his field, sprinted toward the right sideline and bowled over Clemson rover Jamaal Fudge to get the first down.

All those extended drives eventually left the Clemson defense staggered and weary, allowing UVa's big line to open holes for running backs Wali Lundy and Alvin Pearman. The Cavaliers piled up 239 rushing yards, outscored the Tigers 14-0 in the fourth quarter and finished with a deceptive 20-point victory.

Not surprisingly, Hagans wasn't the center of attention when the final whistle blew. The public-address announcer proclaimed Pearman, who rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns, the player of the game. The crowd seemed to agree with that, cheering loudly one final time, then heading to the exits to dream about a win against Florida State.

Meanwhile, a grass-stained Hagans ran to the tunnel, helmet in hand, index finger to the sky, well-deserved pelt in the bag.

For once, a U.Va. sparring partner that punches back
The Virginian-Pilot
© October 8, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Dragging into town with but a single victory to show for its season, Clemson was supposed to represent just another sparring partner for Virginia as the Cavaliers trained for their featured bout at Florida State two Saturdays from now.

Turned out, the palooka from South Carolina packed more of a wallop Thursday night, at least for a time, than people thought. Good for the Tigers, who didn’t give in to a discouraging 1-3 start. Better for U.Va., which needed a workout like this.

Click here to design your furniture online at Bassett Va Beach! After four do-as-you-please victories, the Cavaliers have now stood inside the ropes against an opponent that can take a punch.

Florida State’s chin is much firmer, of course, and the Seminoles can deliver more blows from more positions than Clemson. But at least now, this Al Groh team knows what it’s like to mix it up.

At halftime of the ACC game, entertainment was provided by what today passes for the old soul group, the Temptations. With U.Va. undefeated after five games, there is a temptation to rave over the 10th-ranked and climbing Cavaliers. But if the Wahoo juggernaut-in-training wants to win in Tallahassee, the offense will have to show better than it did in the first half against Clemson.

Prior to Thursday, U.Va. had outscored opponents 51-3 in the first quarter. After one period, Clemson led 10-3.

Not that U.Va. didn’t sufficiently recover in time to hand Clemson a convincing 30-10 beating. The Cavaliers did it by converting one long third-down play after another, not the approved method of moving the ball, but good training for a tougher road ahead.

After a 5-0 start, what we think we understand so far about U.Va. is that the defense is tougher than a two-dollar steak. Then again, Ahmad Brooks and teammates have not exactly been pitted against well-oiled offenses. Let’s see how they do against the Seminoles.

Opposing defenses, though, will not rest easily preparing for Marques Hagans, who has emerged as the leader and star of the offense. Like tight end Heath Miller, Hagans has been best in the crunch. And tailback Wali Lundy usually finds a way to wiggle and bull his way for important yardage. And when he tires, Alvin Pearman, who scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns and ran for 104 yards, is available to do the heavy lifting.

All contributed mightily on an evening when Clemson at least made U.Va. dial up most of its options, including a flea-flicker pass that just missed in the end zone.

Had Lundy not fumbled away the ball on the Clemson 6-yard line during a third quarter in which U.Va. dominated, yet scored only three points, Virginia might have coasted sooner.

Instead, in the final period, the Cavaliers dug deeper. They are probably better for it.

Virginia has now scored 30 or more points in each of its victories. Until Lundy’s turnover, the Cavaliers had not lost a fumble in eight games, going back to last season. What we are seeing so far is no great revelation. It’s simply a continuation of what Groh has been building.

But next comes the Florida State game, to be played at a place where almost nobody wins, where U.Va. has never won. If the Clemson game added some needed definition to U.Va.’s season, the trip to Tallahassee will let us know how special this Cavaliers team has a chance to be.

At halftime Thursday night, the Temptations offered up a medley of their golden oldies.

“Get ready,” they sang, “'cause here I come.” Florida State is expected to be ready for undefeated U.Va.

Once just a dream, 5-0 is now reality
By David Teel
Published October 8, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Virginia faithful committed the date to memory the moment they saw the schedule. Third Saturday in October, the 16th to be precise.

Virginia at Florida State. Unbeaten Virginia at Florida State.

That's how the schedule fell. Five games the Cavaliers should win, followed by one they yearned to win.

And so it is.

First Temple and North Carolina, then Akron and Syracuse. None close.

And Thursday, Clemson. With a punishing second half, Virginia cruised to a 30-10 victory at Scott Stadium.

Next stop, Tallahassee. Or, as Cavaliers linebacker Ahmad Brooks put it, "The fight is on."

Clemson, a 17-point underdog, showed some early fight, strolling 80 yards on the game's opening possession to grab a 7-0 lead. How would Virginia respond to a challenge? How would defensive end Kwakou Robinson, subbing for the injured Chris Canty, match up against Clemson left tackle Barry Richardson, all 6-foot-7, 350 pounds of him? And, perhaps most important, how would the Temptations (Al Groh's favorite Motown act?) sound during their halftime gig?

The Cavs were better than the Temps (lost a step and perhaps an octave).

Quarterback Marques Hagans converted third downs with a variety of plays from the chalkboard and the schoolyard; tight end Heath Miller showed why he'll make a mint in the NFL; Connor Hughes kicked three field goals; reserve tailback Alvin Pearman owned the second half with 102 of his 104 yards; and the defense, Robinson included, was stingy when it mattered.

Say what you will about Hagans' crazy-good passer rating. It's all true.

But here's the play that defined him against Clemson: On third-and-4 from his own 31 early in the third quarter, Hagans scrambled from the pocket near the Tigers' sideline. Sensing the sticks were near, Hagans lowered his shoulder and bulldozed through safety Jamaal Fudge for 6 yards and a first down.

"When guys step up and lead their team, that's what they do," said Groh, Virginia's fourth-year coach.

OK, so the drive ended when tailback Wali Lundy lost a fumble. Doesn't matter. Hagans made his point, and his teammates responded, scoring 10 points on their next two possessions to finalize their itinerary to Tallahassee.

Two weeks ago, Clemson lost by 19 at Florida State. So if any team could handicap the Cavaliers and Seminoles ...

"It's hard to compare," Clemson quarterback Charlie Whitehurst said. "But (Virginia's) definitely pretty good."

Funny how these things work. The Cavaliers began this season ranked 16th by the Associated Press. The only Virginia team rated higher in preseason was the 1990 bunch at No. 15, and the mission that year was to survive the opener at Kansas and prepare for Armageddon in Week 2, at home against Clemson, a team the Cavaliers had never defeated. Twenty-nine games, 29 losses.

Sure enough, Virginia rolled Kansas, returned home and whipped Clemson for the first time. Later that season, the Cavaliers rose to No. 1 in the polls, only to be done in by a thumb injury to quarterback Shawn Moore and a suspect defense.

My, how times change. This season, Clemson was the nuisance Virginia needed to dismiss before confronting the gorilla in the room: Florida State.

Yes, the Cavaliers have defeated the Seminoles, in a Thursday-nighter in 1995. And no, this is not a vintage Bobby Bowden team. Not in the neighborhood.

But we're talking about Doak Campbell Stadium, where Florida State is 48-1 in ACC games, the one defeat coming in 2001 against North Carolina State. Virginia is 0-6 in Tallahassee, with an average margin of 23.8 points, and only the 1996 game, a 31-24 defeat, was remotely close.

These Cavaliers, ranked 10th, are better. They have the speed and strength necessary to compete, on the road, against the defending conference champions. Two years ago in Tallahassee, players such as Darryl Blackstock, Elton Brown, Hagans and Miller weren't quite ready for prime time, and they lost 40-19 at Doak Campbell in the August heat.

This will be different.

"We could be less ready," Groh understated. "But I don't know if we're ready enough. We'll see what it brings."

Groh has taken to baseball analogies to describe this season, saying Virginia has progressed from AA to AAA to major league competition. Florida State?

"We're playing World Series competition," he said. "We'll have to rise to that because we've never been to the World Series."

U.Va. passes key test
The Cavaliers have to work a little harder this time but improve to 5-0 with a 30-10 win over Clemson.
BY DAVE JOHNSON
247-4649
Published October 8, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- To judge how far Virginia's running game has come in a year, we take you back to Oct. 11, 2003. In an overtime loss at Clemson, the Cavaliers rushed for 53 yards in 22 carries. Three times they failed to convert third-and-1 situations.

But pushed Thursday night at Scott Stadium, Virginia's ground game was the difference. The Cavaliers rushed 239 yards, 161 coming in the second half, and wore Clemson down for a 30-10 victory. Alvin Pearman had all but two of his 104 yards after halftime as 10th-ranked Virginia passed its toughest test of the season.

"You could just see it from play to play," said Pearman, who played exclusively at wide receiver 12 days earlier against Syracuse. "Their guys were bending over, putting their hands on their knees. When you see that as an offense, that gives you an extra boost. You know you're about to break them.

"We struggled a bit early on, but once we started grinding them down, we showed what we could do. We really got the ball rolling. That's the kind of game we're 'priding' ourselves in. Just across the board, from left tackle to right tackle, those guys did some pretty exceptional things today. I can't wait to go to watch film tomorrow and see how much our line really dominated Clemson's front four."

The video will show Virginia (5-0, 2-0 ACC) thoroughly dominated the Tigers (1-4, 1-3) in the game's final 30 minutes on both sides of the ball. Clemson led through most of the first quarter, and it was only a six-point game entering the fourth. But the Cavs ended up with their biggest victory margin in the 44-game series.

True, Clemson made Virginia work harder and longer than it had all season. For the first time this season, the Cavs (a) trailed for more than 31/2 minutes, (b) didn't score a touchdown in the first quarter and (c) went to the locker room at halftime leading by fewer than 18 points.

The Tigers scored on their opening drive. But nearly half (80) of their total yards (166) came on that possession.

Aside from running effectively, Virginia also got another good game from quarterback Marques Hagans (14-of-26, 225 yards), some key catches by tight end Heath Miller (four for 55 yards) and a much-needed solid night from place-kicker Connor Hughes (field goals of 21, 43 and 50 yards).

It wasn't a completely clean game. Wali Lundy's fumble at the Clemson 5-yard line in the third quarter cost the Cavs a first-and-goal. Virginia had five penalties, including a false start on second-and-goal that forced the Cavaliers to settle for a field goal. But here's a number any coach will take: U.Va. was 14-of-20 on third-down conversions. Clemson was 5-of-14.

"A very solid win for us," Virginia coach Al Groh said.

Pearman was a major difference. He carried only once in the first half but was used exclusively after Lundy's fumble with 7:25 remaining in the third quarter. Pearman's two touchdowns in the fourth quarter put the game away.

"It would be hard to see a football player with more heart than Alvin Pearman," Groh said.

Virginia won its eighth consecutive game, dating back to last year, its longest winning streak since the 1951-52 seasons overlapped. The Cavaliers are off to their best start since 1998 and have started the season with five straight wins for only the fifth time in 55 years.

Clemson (1-4, 1-3) lost its fourth straight game, its longest skid since the '98 season. The Tigers are off to their worst start since that same year, which they concluded with a 3-8 record in what became Tommy West's final season as coach.

The preliminaries over, Virginia can concentrate on its next game: at eighth-ranked Florida State on Oct. 16.

Virginia has beaten the Seminoles only once, a 33-28 victory in 1995 that ended FSU's 29-game conference winning streak. The Cavs are 0-6 in Tallahassee and have come within three touchdowns only once.

Pearman propels Cavs in 2nd half
Charlotte prep star scores 2 touchdowns in decisive 4th quarter
DAVID SCOTT
Staff Writer

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Alvin Pearman's role Thursday night against Clemson was pretty simple. He stood on the Scott Stadium sidelines most of the time and the 10th-ranked Cavaliers struggled to put points on the board.

But in the second half -- after a fumble by starter Wali Lundy pushed the patience of Virginia coach Al Groh's past the breaking point -- Pearman got more involved.

Pearman, a Charlotte Country Day grad playing his final season at Virginia, helped the Cavaliers (5-0, 2-0 ACC) finally wear down Clemson (1-4, 1-3), rushing for a season-high 104 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-10 victory.

Pearman rushed once for 2 yards in the first half and Virginia led 13-10. But the Cavaliers couldn't put the Tigers away by the time the third quarter arrived.

Lundy, Virginia's leading rusher, fumbled on the Clemson 11 on the first drive of the second half and Clemson's Travis Pugh recovered.

"That fumble was harmful, not just because it turned the ball over," said Groh. "It also turned points over and we can't afford that."

In came Pearman, who carried 17 times the rest of the game for 102 yards. His 2-yard touchdown on the first play of the final quarter gave the Cavaliers a 23-10 lead and Clemson was finished. He added another 2-yarder later in the quarter.

"We wanted to make them crack, and we did," said Pearman.

Clemson took a first-quarter lead when quarterback Charlie Whitehurst threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Duane Coleman. The Tigers, prone to turnovers this season, lost only one when Tony Franklin intercepted Whitehurst in the fourth quarter.

Pearman's career since he left Country Day has been effective, if not spectacular. He is one of only three players in Cavaliers history to have more than 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving.

This season, Lundy has been the Cavaliers' featured back, but Pearman and Michael Johnson have chipped in.

"I'm going to be ready when coach calls my number," said Pearman. "I take a lot of pride in that."

Virginia gets this weekend off, but then continues a challenging stretch of its schedule with three ranked teams in four weeks. The Cavaliers are at Florida State on Oct. 16, then after a trip to Duke, have home games against Maryland on Nov. 6 and Miami on Nov. 13.

Groh, whose team outgained Clemson 464-211 in total offense, thinks the Cavaliers are ready for the Seminoles.

"But I don't know if we're ready enough," Groh said. "I'm not sure Florida State was particularly impressed with (us)."

How low can they go?
Tigers' skid reaches 4
By JON SOLOMON
Staff Writer

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The offense couldn’t stay on the field; the defense couldn’t get off it. And now Clemson has one mulligan left to remain in the bowl hunt following a 30-10 loss Thursday night at No. 10 Virginia.

The crowd of 61,833 at Scott Stadium constantly sang its fight song to the tune of “Auld Lang Syne” after scoring 27 consecutive points — a fitting melody for Clemson.

The Cavaliers converted 14 of 20 third-down plays, rushed for 239 yards and gained 15 more first downs than Clemson. The Tigers managed one touchdown by the offense for the third consecutive game and watched its once promising season reach another new low.

A fourth consecutive defeat is the Tigers longest losing streak since 1998, the last time they stayed home during bowl season. To become bowl eligible, Clemson (1-4, 1-3 ACC) can lose only once more against a schedule of Utah State, No. 23 Maryland, N.C. State, No. 4 Miami, Duke and No. 25 South Carolina.

Halfway through its ACC schedule, Clemson is stuck in ninth place in the 11-team conference. The Tigers have matched their overall and ACC loss totals of 2003.

Tommy Bowden had been anxious to see how the Tigers played without a bunch of turnovers. After a game in which the turnover margin was even, Bowden said he would re-evaluate the offensive and defensive schemes and every player.

“I wanted to see how we played without turnovers, so I could tell how far we have to go. We have a ways to go,” Bowden said. “I’ve got a lot of work to do as head coach of this team, and it falls down on my shoulders. I’ve got to find schemes that can be productive and find the players that can run the schemes.”

Virginia (5-0, 2-0 ACC), which trailed by a touchdown twice in the first half, made it look easy by holding the football 21 minutes, 4 seconds in the second half. Leading 13-10, Virginia opened with a 14-play, 69-yard drive that ate up 7:35. The drive ended when Clemson forced its third takeaway of the season.

Linebacker Anthony Waters stripped Virginia tailback Wali Lundy from behind, and free safety Travis Pugh pounced on the fumble at the Clemson 6-yard line. The Cavaliers failed to score points, but they set the tone by converting all four third-down attempts, including a 22-yard completion on third-and-14.

Meanwhile, Clemson’s first two possessions after halftime went three-and-out. Both ended on drops by wide receiver Airese Currie that would have moved the chains.

“They weren’t giving us the big play. We knew that coming in,” quarterback Charlie Whitehurst said. “We knew (we) had to drive it consistently, long sustaining drives, and we couldn’t do that. We kind of self-destructed there a couple times.”

The Tigers ran 21 plays in the second half and never stayed on the field longer than 2:49. Virginia ran 44 plays and had two drives of 6:52 or longer.

“We’re really going to have to be more productive offensively, because right now we can’t get them off the field,” Bowden said.

Connor Hughes booted a 50-yard field goal for a 16-10 lead with 3:30 left in the third quarter. Virginia’s Alvin Pearman ran in from 2 yards on the next possession, the first of two touchdowns. It came two plays after his 19-yard completion on third-and-10.

When Whitehurst threw an interception with 12:06 left — his 11th of the season and 10th turnover in the past three games — the game was essentially over. Whitehurst finished 16-of-28 for 166 yards.

Marques Hagans tossed a 3-yard touchdown to tight end Heath Miller for the go-ahead score with 5:39 left in the first half. On a third-and-2 bootleg, Hagans rolled right and flipped the ball to Miller, whose challenge was hardly done as he took a hit from rover Jamaal Fudge.

Fading out of bounds, Miller stretched his left arm with the football and barely touched the pylon to count the score. The Cavaliers were 7 of 11 on third-down conversions in the first half.

“We blitzed quite a bit tonight,” defensive tackle Eric Coleman said. “That’s what (defensive coordinator John) Lovett and the defensive coaches felt we needed to do to stop the running game, to give the extra pressure coming from the outside given they like to run the ball on the outside. Hey, we have to do what the coaching staff tells us to do.”

Two plays earlier, Virginia escaped losing a fumble into the end zone by Lundy because he was ruled down before the ball came loose. It was the type of play the Tigers needed to have but didn’t get.

Clemson’s offensive struggles seemed like a distant memory early when it marched the game’s opening possession 80 yards, resulting in a 5-yard touchdown catch by Duane Coleman.

The Tigers, known for their spread offense and wide-open passing style, threw a curveball to begin the game. Two tight ends, Ben Hall and Cole Downer, flanked the tackles as extra blockers against Virginia’s beefy defense.

With the run set up, Whitehurst then went play-action and found Hall open across the middle for a 56-yard gain. Two plays later, Whitehurst was flushed from the pocket and threw a 5-yard score to Coleman.

After the quick start with 80 yards on its first six plays, Clemson’s offense generated 131 yards on 43 plays the rest of the game (3.0 yards per play). The rushing offense mustered 45 yards on 21 attempts.

“Our offense was kind of warm and then we have to be patient because their offense is out there,” Hall said. “When we’re clicking, we need to be out there instead of trying to find a big play every series.”

Ground control
Pearman gains 102 yards, runs for 2 TDs in second half of rout
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Oct 8, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Virginia pushed aside ACC rival Clemson with an impressive display of power football last night at Scott Stadium. That undoubtedly pleased former Cavaliers coach George Welsh, who was honored at halftime.

A sellout crowd of 61,833 and a national-television audience saw 10th-ranked U.Va. regain its footing after a sluggish first quarter and pull away for a convincing 30-10 victory.

Virginia (2-0, 5-0) scored the game's final 27 points. Clemson (1-3, 1-4), which was picked to finish fourth in the ACC, didn't score in the final 45 minutes, 25 seconds.

The Cavaliers are 5-0 for the first time since 1998, when Welsh was their coach. The Tigers fell to 0-6 in ESPN's Thursday night games.

A season ago in Death Valley, U.Va. ran for only 53 yards and failed on several short-yardage rushing attempts in an overtime loss to Clemson. Last night, led by backup tailback Alvin Pearman, the Cavs amassed 239 yards on the ground and dominated time of possession.

Pearman, a senior, took over for starter Wali Lundy with 5:23 left in the third quarter. Virginia's previous possession had ended at the Tigers' 6 when Lundy lost a fumble, and fourth-year coach Al Groh was none too pleased about the turnover.

To the bench went Lundy. In came Pearman.

At intermission, Pearman had 2 yards rushing. He finished with 104 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. Lundy ran 20 times for 85 yards. Sophomore wideout Deyon Williams led U.Va. with five receptions for 83 yards, both career highs.

Connor Hughes booted three field goals, including a 50-yarder, and Virginia's defense played magnificently for the final three quarters. A season ago, Clemson quarterback Charlie Whitehurst torched U.Va., completing 27 of 44 passes for 265 yards and two TDs, including the game-winner. Last night, Whitehurst was 16 for 28 for 166 yards. He threw one TD pass but also threw an interception.

Virginia trailed only once in its first four games, and then only by a field goal in the first quarter against Syracuse. Clemson changed that. On the game's opening possession, the Tigers needed only six plays to cover 80 yards, the final 5 coming on a pass from Whitehurst to tailback Duane Coleman.

Hughes' 21-yard field goal pulled U.Va. to 7-3 with 7:16 left in the first period, but the Tigers stretched their lead back to seven on the first field goal of Jad Dean's career, a 43-yarder.

The Cavaliers closed the gap again, Hughes' 43-yard field goal making it 10-6 with 11:03 left in the opening half. Virginia finally went ahead on junior quarterback Marques Hagans' 3-yard pass to junior tight end Heath Miller, whose second-effort lunge for the end zone earned him his fourth touchdown of the season.

Hagans wasn't as sharp last night as he'd been in Virginia's first four games - all blowouts - but he delivered when it counted on this drive. Hagans twice completed third-down passes to move the chains, the first for 13 yards to Williams, the second for 32 to Miller, who ran over a defender before finally being dragged down at the Clemson 11.

 

His good half is a whole lot of fun
After starting off slowly, Pearman takes the ball and runs with it
BY MIKE HARRIS
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Oct 8, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE Alvin Pearman had one carry for 2 yards and one catch for 28 yards at halftime last night for the University of Virginia.

Sure sounds like a guy who was on his way to being named player of the game.

"You never think about stuff like that," Pearman said with a laugh. "You just know when Coach calls your number to be ready."

Pearman was ready all right. Shortly before the end of still-unbeaten Virginia's 30-10 victory over Clemson at Scott Stadium, the public address announcer made the declaration that surprised no one in the crowd of 61,833.

Pearman was the player of the game.

It was a special second half. Pearman, a senior from Charlotte, N.C., finished with 18 carries for 104 yards and two touchdowns. He had three catches for 48 yards.

He actually did it in much less than a half. Pearman didn't get his first carry of the third quarter until the 5:23 mark.

Pearman became the first Virginia back to gain at least 100 yards on Clemson since Thomas Jones in 1998.

"That's big," said sophomore receiver Deyon Williams, who had a big night with five catches for 83 yards. "We count on Alvin whenever we are down or need big plays. He showed tonight that he is a great player."

Pearman gave it the aw shucks treatment afterward. He benefited from an offensive line that took plenty out of Clemson before he really started running.

"I think any of our three backs could have done it. I was really just the lucky one to get in there," Pearman said.

"We knew [Clemson] was a tough, physical football team. We knew early on that we really had an edge on them. When you want to run the ball consistently, it takes a little time. We knew we'd wear them down.

"We wanted to make them crack, and they did so in the second half."

Said Clemson coach Tommy Bowden, "I thought we got worn down toward the end of the second half. But again, it is [the defense's] responsibility to get them off the field. We couldn't get them off the field."

Virginia's first drive of the second half consumed 7:27, but ended when Wali Lundy fumbled the ball away deep in Clemson territory. It was a mistake that didn't thrill Virginia coach Al Groh.

"It wasn't just turning the ball over. It was giving up points. That's a three- or a seven-point possession," Groh said.

Pearman went into the lineup on the Cavaliers' next possession. There was no message being sent to Lundy, Groh said.

"We have three backs that we like to use," he said. "The next possession was Alvin's possession anyway. When he got in there, he was pretty hot. It didn't make much logical sense to change."

Pearman, Lundy and Michael Johnson are Virginia's three-headed tailback.

Lundy clearly is No.1. Going into last night, he had more carries than the other two combined.

Pearman says he can live with the situation.

"It's something we learn to work with, we love the competition and we love each other," he said. "I wouldn't trade my experience for anything.

"Whatever role Coach needs me to play, I'll play. If they want to give me the rock more, I'll take that."

 

Clemson was a test; FSU's an exam
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Oct 8, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE Now it gets serious. Now it's for real. Now it comes down to the Seminoles. In two Saturdays. In Tallahassee. In that yawning stadium where winning streaks this side of Miami go to die. Chief Osceola. Renegade. The burning spear spiked at midfield. Those heat-seeking defenders. The see-you-somewhere-soon-on-Sundays running backs. The roadrunner wideouts.

That dadgum old coach who talks like a preacherman and grabs you by the throat like an assassin.

Florida State.

The Showdown.

Moment of truth Part 1 (presuming for a sec there might even be sequels).

Everything for Virginia has been a warm-up till this moment. Like a Broadway show massaging the script in New Haven. Like a candidate on the primary trail. Like those opening romps past Temple, North Carolina, Akron and Syracuse.

Like last night's 30-10 grinder of a win over Clemson.

The Cavs had to sweat some for this one. That's a good thing. Tallahassee is no place for illusions, Doak Campbell no stadium you want your team to enter after five dining experiences at the Creampuff Cafe. You go to FSU, best to have your hide toughened a bit. U.Va. can thank Clemson for a nice 60 minutes of prep work. Now it's on to the main event.

Speed. That's what the Cavs will have to cope with in Tallahassee. That's what they got - more than they had before this season - from Clemson. That they didn't always handle it well - no Temple or Akron had rushed QB Marques Hagans so effectively or hemmed him in as the Tigers did - is cause for concern, but at least the Cavaliers have a frame of reference now.

Except - and they likely know this already - the 'Noles are a considerable step up in class from the Tigers.

That said, Clemson kept it tight till the fourth quarter dawned. Not till Hagans found all-galaxy tight end Heath Miller for 32 yards on a third-and-11 call and then for a 3-yard scoring toss 5:39 before intermission, in fact, did Virginia even assume a 13-10 lead that held till halftime.

At that juncture, Hagans had been banged around and hurried into off-target throws - bye-bye 76-percent completion ratio - and U.Va.'s secondary had been kept off-balance by Clemson chucker Charlie Whitehurst.

Solution? Powerball. Starting with the first play of the second half - an off-tackle carry by Wali Lundy - U.Va. mauled Clemson into submission. That opening drive consumed 14 plays - 12 on the ground - before Lundy fumbled inside Clemson's 10. But the tone had been established. The closing 30 minutes would be played on U.Va.'s terms.

All told, the Cavs ran for 161 yards after the break - 102 of them by second-unit tailback Alvin Pearman. They also controlled the ball and the clock for 21 of 30 minutes. That's domination - the sort of hammerlock from which U.Va. never could wriggle free in the days when Clemson would come to town and take them to the mat.

Once upon a pre-expansion time, the Tigers had that kind of tooth to their growl. That's when they Refrigerator Perry'd and Jeff Davis'd opponents to smithereens. That's when they terrorized the ACC. Now they're a finesse team in a league that grows more muscular by the day. Now they're house-broken.

You want to know when Clemson lost its swagger? Think 1992. That's the year FSU steamrolled into the ACC. During the 12 seasons before the 'Noles hit the ground bulldozing, Clemson went 106-29-5, wound up atop the standings seven times, produced double-digit wins five times and snared a national championship.

In the 12-plus seasons since, the Tigers are 83-65 and tracking toward their seventh ACC finish of fourth or lower.

Florida State can have that sort of effect on you.

Eight nights from now, this U.Va. crew meets the beast heads-on. Could be worth watching.

 

NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Oct 8, 2004

CHOMPING AT THE BIT: The greatest football coach in University of Virginia history was honored at Scott Stadium last night. George Welsh, who'll be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in December at New York City, was recognized at halftime of the U.Va.-Clemson game.

Welsh retired after the 2000 season, in part because of health problems. Speaking to reporters before last night's game, he looked tanned and rested and said, "I feel much better now. I needed a sabbatical."

That older coaches such as Joe Gibbs are still in the game hasn't escaped the notice of Welsh, who recently turned 71.

"I'm ready to come back," he said with a smile.

"I'd like to get back in the game, even as an assistant with the right program and the right head coach. I think I could do that. I don't think I would want to be a head coach on this level again. It would be too hard again. I think I could be an assistant again, though. But there's only three or four spots that I would go, and I don't want to mention any names."

During his 28 years as a head coach, Welsh revived moribund programs at Navy and Virginia. He coached at Navy, his alma mater, from 1973 to 1981. He compiled a 55-46-1 record and led the Midshipmen to three bowl appearances before leaving as the school's all-time winningest coach, a distinction Welsh still holds.

In 1982, Welsh arrived at U.Va., which had posted only two winning seasons in the previous 29 years. Two years later, he guided the Cavaliers to their first bowl, the Peach, in which they edged Purdue.

Under Welsh, U.Va. shared ACC titles in 1989 and'95. In 19 seasons at Virginia, he compiled a 134-86-3 record and led the team to 10 bowl appearances. Welsh left as the winningest coach in ACC history.

Of coaching, he said, "I didn't miss it for a couple years. I miss it now."

PROTECTING THIS HOUSE: Virginia came into its clash with Clemson having won 15 of its previous 17 games at Scott Stadium. A sellout crowd watched last night's game.

"Toward the end of Coach Welsh's career and since Al [Groh] has come in there, their fan support has really intensified," Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said of the Wahoos. "With success, I think, has come a hunger for game-day excitement of college football in the Southeast. If they didn't have it before, they have it now."

TO THE MATS: Virginia nose tackle Melvin Massey was a superb wrestler at Warwick High in Newport News, and he hasn't given up that sport. A fourth-year junior who's listed at 6-1, 267 pounds, Massey plans to join the wrestling team after football season ends, as he did in 2003-04.

Though Massey wasn't in wrestling shape after joining the team late last year, he had good technique, U.Va. coach Lenny Bernstein said in a release. Still, Bernstein said, "it was just too late for him to really challenge for a position last year. He's big, strong and athletic, and he'll hopefully provide some major depth for us at heavyweight this season."

MEDICAL REPORT: They weren't in uniform last night, but wideout Fontel Mines (collarbone), offensive guard Ian-Yates Cunningham (back) and tight end Jonathan Stupar (foot) could be playing for the Cavaliers soon.

Groh said Wednesday that "it's getting closer with all three of them. They're getting re-assessed every Monday, and they're now to the point that they're getting anxious to get assessed Mondays."

Mines started the Sept. 4 opener against Temple, and Cunningham started the final five games of last season. Stupar, a redshirt freshman, broke his foot in August and has yet to appear in a college game.

LATE SCRATCH: True freshman Chris Long, one of Virginia's second-team defensive ends, was in street clothes on the sideline. Of the Cavaliers' top five defensive ends heading into the season, only three were available against Clemson: juniors Brennan Schmidt and Kwakou Robinson and redshirt freshman Chris Johnson. Senior Chris Canty suffered a season-ending knee injury Sept. 25 against Syracuse.

HOMECOMING: Eric Coleman, who starts at defensive tackle for Clemson, is a Charlottesville High graduate and had a large cheering section at the game.

Coleman, a senior, played for Fork Union Military Academy's postgraduate team in 2000. So did Tigers senior Moe Fountain, who starts at defensive end. Their teammates at FUMA included Marques Hagans, then Fountain's roommate and now Virginia's starting quarterback.

UP NEXT: Having played four games in a row at Scott Stadium, Virginia takes to the road. The 10th-ranked Cavaliers meet ACC rival Florida State (2-1, 3-1) in Tallahassee on Oct. 16. ESPN will televise the 7:45 p.m. game. Eighth-ranked FSU plays at Syracuse (3-2) tomorrow. U.Va. beat the'Cuse 31-10 on Sept. 25. - Jeff White

Cavaliers Show Their Better Half
Hagans, Pearman Help U-Va. Overcome Slow Start; Florida State Is Up Next : Virginia 30, Clemson 10
By Mark Schlabach
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 8, 2004; Page D01

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Oct. 7 -- Virginia's football team found itself in unfamiliar territory during the first half of Thursday night's game against Clemson. The holes weren't as big for tailback Wali Lundy to run through. The Cavaliers' offensive line, which had resembled a bulldozer in the team's first four games, wasn't getting as much of a push. Their young receivers couldn't get open and their rebuilt secondary couldn't cover anyone on critical downs.

Fortunately for No. 10 Virginia, quarterback Marques Hagans was as quick and athletic; tailback Alvin Pearman was still elusive; and kicker Connor Hughes and tight end Heath Miller were as dependable as ever. Hagans completed 14 of 26 passes for 225 yards, including a touchdown to Miller, and Hughes kicked three field goals in a 30-10 victory over the Tigers in front of a sold-out crowd of 61,833 at Scott Stadium.

Virginia Coach Al Groh embraces a job well done by Alvin Pearman, who scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter. (John Mcdonnell -- The Washington Post)

After rolling over two lightweights (Temple and Akron) and two struggling programs (North Carolina and Syracuse) in their first four games, the Cavaliers (5-0, 2-0 ACC) won a laborious ACC contest over Clemson (1-4, 1-3 ACC), which was ranked No. 15 during the preseason but has lost four games in a row. After taking a 10-3 lead, the Tigers watched the Cavaliers score 27 unanswered points.

Virginia remained undefeated to set up an ACC showdown on Oct. 16 against No. 8 Florida State in Tallahassee, where the Cavaliers have never won. In fact, Virginia has beaten the Seminoles only once in 12 meetings, 33-28 in 1995, since FSU joined the ACC in 1992. The Seminoles (3-1, 2-1 ACC) play at Syracuse on Saturday.

"It was a good performance," Virginia Coach Al Groh said. "What we know next week is we're playing World Series competition. We'll have to rise to that because we've never been to the World Series. . . . We'll see what it brings. We'll do the same thing we've done from the start -- put our jaws down and plow ahead."

That's exactly what the Cavaliers did in burying the Tigers in the second half. After trailing Clemson for more than 24 minutes of the first half -- the Cavaliers were behind for less than 3 1/2 minutes combined in their first four victories -- Virginia ran 33 times in the final two quarters for 161 of its 239 rushing yards.

Pearman came into the game after Lundy fumbled at the Clemson 6-yard line midway through the third quarter, spoiling what had been a 14-play drive, and scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Pearman ran 18 times for 104 yards, all but one carry and two yards coming in the second half. The Cavaliers outgained the Tigers, 464 yards to 211, and had nearly a 13-minute advantage in time of possession.

"We kind of saw they were getting tired," Cavaliers guard Elton Brown said. "We wanted to get after it. Coach put the ball in our hands and we responded."

Hagans, making only his seventh start at quarterback, also responded well in front of a national audience on ESPN. With Virginia trailing 10-6 late in the first half, he made two critical throws on third down -- a 14-yarder to sophomore Deyon Williams (Suitland High) and a 32-yarder to Miller, which moved the Cavs to the Clemson 11. Three plays later, Hagans again threw to Miller, who caught the ball near the right sideline and lunged for the end zone, giving Virginia its first lead, 13-10, with 5 minutes 39 seconds left in the half.

"You want your quarterback to step up and make plays," Groh said. "If you're going to be a good team, your quarterback has to make plays, and that's what Marques has done."

Virginia's offense, which scored 23 touchdowns in its first four games, couldn't make the plays when it needed them in the first half. Clemson quickly silenced most of the sold-out crowd by driving 80 yards for a touchdown on the game's opening possession. Virginia got as close as the Tigers 3 on its first possession, but had to settle for Hughes's 21-yard field goal. After Clemson made it 10-3 on Jad Dean's 43-yard field goal, the first of his career, the Cavaliers put together another productive drive. But again, their offense couldn't make clutch plays, and Hughes kicked a 43-yard field goal to cut Clemson's lead to 10-6.

Tigers quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, who had drawn Clemson fans' ire by committing nine turnovers in the previous two games, threw his 11th interception of the season when cornerback Tony Franklin picked off his pass intended for Curtis Baham with about 12 minutes remaining. Whitehurst completed 16 of 28 passes for 166 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Clemson gained only 45 yards on 21 rushes, and the Tigers never advanced past midfield in the second half.

Despite his team's fifth consecutive dominating performance, Groh still isn't sure if the Cavaliers are ready to face the Seminoles, who have won the ACC title in all but one of their 12 seasons in the conference.

"We remain in the hunt," Groh said. "That's our way of thinking, nothing less, nothing more. I'm sure Florida State is not particularly impressed with it."
 

Virginia's Backfield Carries the Load Again
By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Friday, October 8, 2004; Page D06

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Oct. 7 -- Against the fastest defense it has faced this season, Virginia's rushing attack wasn't nearly as dominant as it had been while averaging 284 yards in the first four games. But it was good enough to beat Clemson, which is more than the Cavaliers could say last season.

Virginia's 30-10 win, while certainly dependent on strong performances by quarterback Marques Hagans and the defense, would not have been possible without 239 rushing yards. The Cavs learned the importance of a strong running game a year ago at Clemson, when they had to all but abandon a running game that gained only 53 yards and wound up with a 30-27 overtime loss.

Junior tailback Wali Lundy carried the load in the first half, gaining 62 of his 85 yards. Senior backup Alvin Pearman, again at tailback after a one-game emergency stint at wide receiver, took over after halftime with 102 of his 104 yards and both of his touchdowns.

As important as the yardage was the time it used up. Virginia shared the ball almost equally with the Tigers in establishing a 13-10 halftime lead but kept them in check by holding the ball for about 70 percent of the second half.

"That's part of the principal of running the ball, that it's a cumulative thing. Usually it adds up to a little bit more in the second half than it does in the first half," Cavaliers Coach Al Groh said. "It worked out well for us that way tonight."

Lundy surpassed Marcus Wilson, Antwoine Womack and Howard Petty to move into ninth place on Virginia's career rushing list with 2,239 yards.

Heavy Traffic

U-Va. officials spent longer preparing for this game than did the Cavaliers themselves, formulating plans to minimize traffic and parking snarls in anticipation of their first weeknight home game during classes since 1997.

"There is a tremendous impact on the university," Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said. "Obviously the university is not just an athletic department and not just a football game, but there are operations and activities that take place 365 days a year, literally."

Unwilling to suspend its regular schedule -- and unable to significantly alter operations at its large medical center -- Virginia instead decided to close its parking lots to football fans until 5:30 p.m. That resulted in plenty of rush hour traffic as fans arrived in Charlottesville later than usual, many after a full day of work.

But weeks of planning seemed to make the evening run as smoothly as possible. Most of the sellout crowd was seated by kickoff.

A Recognized Effort

George Welsh, who at both Virginia and Navy won more games than any other coach in program history, was recognized at halftime for his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Welsh, who retired from Virginia in 2000 after 19 seasons, did some NFL scouting the past two seasons but isn't doing much this fall. He said he wouldn't mind returning to the college game as an assistant coach.

"With the right coach and the right program, I think I could do that," Welsh said before Thursday night's game. "I didn't miss it for a couple years. I miss it now." . .

Virginia place kicker Connor Hughes returned to form with field goals from 21, 43 and a season-high 50 yards. Hughes, who entered the season as a postseason honors contender after hitting 23 of 25 field goals last year, missed 3 of 6 attempts in the first four games while adjusting to a new holder and snapper. . . .

Fullback Jason Snelling left the stadium after the game on crutches, with a boot on his injured right ankle. His status for the game against Florida State is uncertain. . . . Wide receiver Fontel Mines (collarbone), guard Ian-Yates Cunningham (back) and tight end Jon Stupar (foot) were again in street clothes, but all three are close to getting back on the field, Groh said Wednesday.