Rout by 'Noles humbles Cavaliers
Jermaine Hardy says some UVa players were "big-headed" going into the ACC showdown.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Unless its mood changes considerably between now and this Saturday, it will be a humble Virginia football team that travels to Duke this coming weekend.

"Real humble," said UVa defensive back Jermaine "Jay" Hardy after seventh-ranked Florida State handed No.6 Virginia its first loss of the season, 36-3 on Saturday night. A 43-7 Virginia loss to the Seminoles in 2001 was the only other setback in the four-year Al Groh coaching era that was more lopsided.

"We underestimated them and overestimated our own abilities," UVa running back Alvin Pearman said. "When we watch the film, I think we'll see that we made a lot of mistakes, an incredible number of mistakes."

To hear some of the players, it was possible that Virginia (5-1, 2-1 ACC) did not pay enough respect to a Seminoles' program that has gone 50-1 in conference home games since joining the ACC in 1992.

Oddsmakers weren't much more respectful, making Florida State (5-1, 3-1) a 2 1/2 -point favorite over a UVa team that has not beaten a team with a winning record.

"I think some of our guys were big-headed," said Hardy, who has handled captain's responsibilities since an injury to Chris Canty three weeks ago. "This was a reality check for us. We need to go back to square one."

Virginia had only one turnover, that coming on a Florida State interception of a tipped Marques Hagans pass, but Pearman was right about the mistakes. He was involved in the first one as the personal protector for Sean Johnson, whose punt on the Cavaliers' second possession was blocked out of the end zone for a safety.

"It was miscommunication with the whole setup," Pearman said. "They just schemed us."

Florida State also had blocked UVa's first punt in the teams' previous meeting in Tallahassee in 2002.

"The top line of how we tried to construct the game was that field position was essential," Groh said. "Field position is achieved through a lot of factors, but special teams is a big factor. Certainly, that hurt us considerably. That's a sentence against a team like that."

Until the safety, play had been relatively even. Virginia held Florida State on the game's first series, at which point Chris Hall boomed a 59-yard punt, but the Cavaliers struck back quickly with a 40-yard pass from Hagans to Pearman.

"We didn't get off to a good start doing anything, OK?" Groh said in his first response to the UVa network after the game.

Groh has been testy with the media after similar performances, but mostly he seemed irritated with his team Saturday night. He wasn't much unhappier with his players than they were with themselves.

"The heart was there," defensive end Brennan Schmidt said, "but we played terrible."

Notes

Groh would not elaborate on an ESPN sideline report to the effect that he told UVa's defensive unit that it would be subject to tryouts Monday. "The sideline reporter doesn't belong there," he said in a Sunday teleconference. "From now on, we will make sure the sideline reporter is not there. That's not the sideline reporter's job." ... Groh said that Hagans, whose sore hip sidelined him for the fourth quarter, was feeling more comfortable Sunday.

Crushing loss shows how far Cavaliers have to go
By TOM ROBINSON, The Virginian-Pilot
© October 17, 2004
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.

There are signifying moments in a college football team’s life. The nights its members never forget. The games its players regularly re-create among family and friends, but most often to themselves in quiet reveries.

for more information, click here! Inevitably, they are the moments — a few tingling hours, really — that confirm, define and delineate players and teams.

It is where truths are stripped bare. Where game plans and ploys and coach-speak yield to the pure realities of challenges to be faced and challenges to be conquered.

Undefeated Virginia strode bravely into that stark light Saturday night. Its moment was at hand.

It was a moment to remember only for how bad it became — 36-3 Florida State to be precise.

The Cavaliers entered Florida State’s daunting Doak Campbell Stadium on the wings of rising fortunes and fantastic possibilities, seeking truth and validation.

This journey to where the Seminoles rarely fail — they are 80-4-1 at home since 1990 — was set up as the truest measure yet of Virginia coach Al Groh’s four-year drive to make his alma mater matter beyond the Commonwealth.

That was true from all angles, the sharpest of which was the national profile of the teams. The Cavaliers came in sixth-ranked, the Seminoles seventh, making U.Va. the first ACC rival to play at Doak Campbell more highly regarded than the home team.

History will note this, though Virginia lugged in another kind of history — an 0-22 mark against top-10 teams played on the road. Their three victories over top-10s have come at home, including the famous 33-28 win in 1995 over second-ranked Florida State.

Then, as now, Florida State remains the bar.

Florida State is why Cavalier Fever had to be reasonably restrained so far. Why it had to be tempered by the knowledge that it was the Temples, Akrons and Syracuses beneath the Cavaliers’ flying feet.

Yes, we said, Virginia looks great, but . . .

Yes, Groh’s rebuilding job has been impressive, but . . . Yes, the Cavaliers could be off on a charmed ride, but . . .

Florida State was the “but,” as in “but let’s hold off until Florida State.”

Well, Virginia has gone to Florida State, and could not leave fast enough.

Virginia went to Tallahassee and found there the second-largest crowd ever at Doak Campbell — 84,155 chanting, tomahawk-chopping fans save a miniscule U.Va. contingent.

It went to Florida State and met a stronger, quicker, faster, calmer, far superior opponent.

Virginia went to Florida State and had a first-quarter punt blocked out of the end zone. Missed an early field goal. Could not run the ball, despite a ground game averaging 275 yards per game, and could not get the Seminoles’ offense off the field.

Virginia went to Florida State. And in their big moment, the Cavaliers’ defense was powerless against a sophomore quarterback making just his third start.

Wyatt Sexton, safe in the cocoon provided by his massive offensive line, picked apart Virginia’s pass defense in the flat, across the middle, to the sideline and deep into the end zone.

It is true that future professionals were all over the field, and many of them wore Virginia’s blue and orange. Nothing speaks to Groh’s dogged effort to lift the Cavaliers more than that talent on parade.

But when that talent had its finest chance yet to prove it was more than potential, the specter of Florida State loomed too large on another very long night in Tallahassee.

Poor timing for the Cavs
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
October 18, 2004

Wrong time. Wrong opponent. Wrong quarterback. Wrong result.
With Florida State playing on the heels of a sub-par showing at Syracuse, the team felt like they needed to make a statement to its fans.
They did just that.
It just so happened that it came at Virginia’s expense.
With the second largest crowd ever watching at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla., the Seminoles came out on a mission. The final score proved it.
Florida State amassed 470 yards of total offense and its defense limited Virginia’s ground attack to just 20 yards en route to a 36-3 victory.
Seminole quarterback Wyatt Sexton was near perfect.
The signal caller, who knew senior Chris Rix was waiting in the wings to regain his starting spot, made a statement by completing 20-of-26 passes for 275 yards. His numbers could have been better, but he watched teammates drop four passes.
It was a different team and a different quarterback that squeaked past Syracuse 17-13 the week before, but their performance did not shock Virginia coach Al Groh.
“I thought it would be a very difficult test. I thought this was far and away the most talented team, maybe the best Florida State team that we had encountered,” Groh said after his team dropped to 5-1 on the season. “I thought they played that way. They didn’t do anything to make it easy on the opponent.”
Florida State’s disruption started on special teams. With the game locked in a scoreless tie midway through the first quarter, Ernie Sims jolted around the corner of Virginia’s punt block scheme and deflected Sean Johnson’s punt out of the back of the Cavalier end zone.
The play gave the Seminoles a 2-0 lead.
They never looked back.
Virginia never seemed to be the same as it continued to self-destruct.
On a pair of third-down situations, Virginia’s defense was called for a pair of costly facemask penalties. The miscues not only kept drives alive, but they led to a touchdown.
“I thought that was an important time in the game,” Groh said. “It wasn’t a 5-yard call, it was a 4-point call.”
Virginia marched down the field and kicked a field goal at the end of the opening half but it did not score again.
Florida State did and by doing so it kept its ACC title hopes alive.
In order for Virginia to say the same, it will need to run the table.
After taking a road trip to Duke on Saturday at 1 p.m., Groh’s team hosts Maryland and then the ACC’s first-place team, Miami. They close out the season with road games at Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.

Injury update. A pair of starters left the contest against Florida State with injuries. UVa quarterback Marques Hagans was slowed by a sore hip and offensive lineman Elton Brown was injured when a Seminole defender fell on his knee. Both players did not play in the fourth quarter.
Groh told reporters after the game that Hagans “got a blow on his hip and he was in a lot of discomfort. It was apparent that he wasn’t going to be able to perform. We were going to be putting him out there in jeopardy, so we took him out.”
On Sunday, Groh said Hagans “was a lot more comfortable than we might have anticipated.”
Groh did not have an update on Brown’s condition, but only because he had not seen the All-conference lineman yet.
It is too early to tell if either player will miss the Duke game.
“I think probably when players are that uncomfortable at the end of a game, it will be a few days in determination,” Groh added.

Extra points. As expected, Virginia dropped in both national polls. The Cavaliers dropped nine spots in the coaches’ poll to 15th and eight spots in the AP poll to 14th. … Virginia placekicker Connor Hughes missed a field goal against FSU in the first quarter. When asked about the kick, Groh said Hughes “didn’t kick it very well.” … Groh told reporters on Sunday that his decision to play Christian Olsen at quarterback after Hagans left the game was a result of Olsen’s performance in practice. “[Olsen] seems to have been moving forward all the time, so we decided some time ago if the circumstance came up in a game, that we would reverse the order that they went in,” Groh said. Olsen completed six passes for
48 yards.

For a night, a return to 'Noles of old
By Steve Ellis
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

The call came at 6a.m. on Saturday.

And like most messages delivered so early in the morning, it came with a sense of urgency. What former Florida State defensive end Roland Seymour had to say was something that was on the minds of Seminoles everywhere.

It was time to return to the old Florida State - the one rarely seen since the 2000 season. Defensive lineman Travis Johnson played the message for his teammates, including cornerbacks Bryant McFadden and Leroy Smith.

"I was like, 'Man, what's wrong with Roland - it's six in the morning,'" Johnson said of the message left on his answering machine. "He was like, 'You got to go out there and take pride - all these people now think they are going to come to your house and whup you all.'

"He reminded us that they are still Virginia and we're still Florida State. ... We took that to heart."

And on Saturday night against then-No.6 Virginia, FSU football had an old, familiar feel to it. The defense dominated in limiting a team that had been eating up yardage with big gulps to just 20 yards rushing - just seven percent of its per-game average. After the game, FSU coach Bobby Bowden pointed to a lack of NFL first-round-caliber players in recent seasons. On Saturday, likely future NFL defensive stars were flying all over the field just as one sideline observer, Derrick Brooks, did during his FSU heyday.

The offense found success in the air and on the ground. Tempo was quicker behind the laid-back Wyatt Sexton, and the redshirt sophomore's accuracy was near perfect.

Sexton hushed his critics, including ESPN's Trev Albert, and forced Bobby Bowden to break a long-standing tradition. Now fully healthy from his sprained ankle, Chris Rix will not return to his position at starting quarterback, which he held 37 times. It was not an easy decision for Bowden to make. But it easily was the right one.

"He's doing a good job," tailback Leon Washington said of Sexton. "Why would you take him out the way he's playing? He's playing well."

The players also like each other - something no longer taken for granted after recent seasons. A five-game winning streak since losing to Miami has brought unity.

"Our team camaraderie is something else. It hasn't been like this since I've been here," Washington said. "Like back in the old days, everybody is having fun together and doing things together. We're more of a team.

"Our team camaraderie showed (against Virginia)."

And something else worked for FSU that many fans must concede, even if begrudgingly. Offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden had an excellent game plan. He took the running game that Virginia gave the Seminoles early to set up what he ultimately wanted - deep, quick strikes.

"We were killing them with the run. So they had to creep (the safeties) up, and that's how we hit Craphonso (Thorpe) deep, Willie Reid deep like twice, and I went on them deep twice," split end Chauncey Stovall said. "They bring down the safeties to stop the run and we hit them with passes."

And as importantly, the two units fed off each other Saturday night. The three FSU offensive scores in the second quarter each followed three-and-out series for Virginia forced by FSU's defense.

"That's old-school. That's how it was when I first got here," Johnson said. "The defense stopped (opponents) and all of sudden (Chris) Weinke hit them with the bomb."

"Back in the day, the offense and defense played together," Stovall added.

And on this day, FSU players can use an old-style win to make a late-season run for a national title.

Bowden happy with Sexton, Seminoles
By Randy Beard
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

The two national polls rewarded Florida State for its 36-3 domination of Virginia in what was a showdown between top-10 teams Saturday night at Doak Campbell Stadium. With the Seminoles now ranked No.5 by both the writers and coaches, more good news is expected today with this season's first release of the Bowl Championship Series standings. But FSU head coach Bobby Bowden said Sunday morning that his players need to remember that their job is only halfway done. The Seminoles have five more games to crunch the BCS numbers in their favor - and they may even need a little help from Virginia (vs. Miami, Nov.13) to get there.

"We were back last night; there's no doubt about it," said Bowden. "Is this going to happen game after game? A lot of it goes back to that mental attitude - that helps. If we can stay healthy and go into games as focused as that, I'd vote for us. I'd bet on us."

The key, according to Bowden, will be for the defense to continue to set the tone for the Seminoles. "If our defense continues to play like that, it'll be hard for us to lose," said Bowden.

Did you see that kind of performance coming from your team? Did you have an indication that your players were more ready to play than at any other time this season? Was there more emotion?

Bowden:

The coaches kept telling me they were focused. The coaches kept telling me during the week, 'Boy, these guys are ready. They are ready. They've got their mind on what they are doing.' I couldn't tell the way they practiced. They practiced the way they always do, to me.

With Wyatt Sexton, was that as close to a flawless performance as you'll see from a quarterback?

Bowden:

Yeah, it really is. He was doing what you hope they'll do. He made some great plays. Boy, he's got instinct. You see him throw the ball, take something off it. You see him throw the ball, and stick it in there. You're seeing the throws you want the guy to make. Sometimes you can't teach that. It's kind of an instinct.

Having running backs like Leon Washington and Lorenzo Booker makes Sexton look a little smarter too, don't they?

Bowden:

(Laughs). I told you what Al Groh told me after the game, didn't I? That's the first thing he told me, 'Bobby, run the ball more. Run the ball more. Run those guys 30 or 40 times a game.'

Wyatt's play has also taken some pressure off your offensive coordinator, hasn't it?

Bowden:

It surely does, whoever he is. (Laughs) ... I never looked to see who it was. Who is our offensive coordinator?

Chris Rix is back to being 100-percent healthy, right? How do you handle the situation now as far as addressing who will start at quarterback?

Bowden:

I'll let it handle itself ... We are on a four-game winning streak with (Sexton). If you had a pitcher with a no-hitter going, would you take him out? I wouldn't.

What I see right now (from Sexton) is a stabilizing factor. (He's) not making critical errors keeping us from winning ballgames ... We do now have the luxury now of two quarterbacks, one a veteran and the other one who has really come on and helped stabilize our offense. It's just nearly a good problem.

Does that mean you will have a shorter leash with Wyatt, knowing you have Chris on the bench?

Bowden:

I don't ever want my quarterback thinking he has a short leash.

But you said last week at Syracuse that if Chris had been healthy then you would have taken Wyatt out in the second quarter. Did you hear Wyatt's reaction to that?

Bowden:

(Laughs) I read it. He didn't tell me that, but I could see where (it could have bothered him) ... It wasn't (meant to be) threatening, but you do have two quarterbacks now.

Your offensive line has been solid in pass protection the past couple of weeks. How much does the quarterback play into that equation? The tackles have faced some very good rushes, but Wyatt has shown the instinct to step up into the pocket or move around when he needs to.

Bowden:

It's vital ... (Wyatt) feels very comfortable in the pocket. He throws well from the pocket. He's been moving out at the right time. Moving up at the right time. He's been doing the things he's supposed to do. He has the right instincts.

When was the last time Florida State had six completions to the tight end in one game?

Bowden:

I don't know, but I'm going to fire those coaches as soon as I see them. (Laughs).

Linebacker Ernie Sims played his best game here. What stood out in your mind about his performance?

Bowden:

He really has some talent. He's got a little Derrick Brooks in him is what he's got ... The great thing is you've got A.J. (Nicholson) and you've got Sims, but the best (linebacker) might be No. 7 (Buster Davis). He's helping that middle, and he can play inside and out.

You continue to say that Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe does the best coaching job in the country. Why is that?

Bowden:

A lot of people think that. A lot of coaches think that. No. 1, he plays to his talent. He doesn't try to do something his kids can't do. He does things his kids can do, and then he adds enough, I guess, theory. It's a very complicated offense. Not many teams that throw the ball like Southern Cal or us would dare fool with the option ... But he has them playing the option and the pro passing attack and does a great job with it.

Chris Hall's punting continues to be impressive. He had one for 59 yards against Virginia. Have you been surprised by his performances?

Bowden:

It's amazing. He's another one that does better in games than he does in practice.

Sounds like practice may be overrated.

Bowden:

I don't think I'll even go tomorrow.

A trap in Tallahassee Polls and praise helped set up Cavaliers for a romp by Seminoles
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Oct 18, 2004

As difficult as it may be for anyone who witnessed the Saturday night massacre to believe today, Florida State's football team appeared vulnerable heading into its nationally televised showdown with Virginia.

The teams had three common opponents through five games - North Carolina, Clemson and Syracuse - and U.Va. defeated those foes more decisively than did FSU.

Analysts from ESPN and other networks gushed about Virginia, and they weren't alone. The Cavaliers were ranked No.6, one spot ahead of defending ACC champion Florida State, in both major polls last week.

"Then they have to come down and play you at your place?" FSU coach Bobby Bowden remarked to reporters yesterday morning in Tallahassee, Fla. "That's just a trap waiting to happen."

Florida State's trap snared the Cavaliers and never let them loose Saturday night. A crowd of 84,155 at Doak Campbell Stadium, along with a national-television audience, watched FSU flog previously unbeaten U.Va. 36-3.

"We overestimated ourselves and underestimated them," Cavaliers tailback Alvin Pearman said.

The fallout was pronounced. In The Associated Press poll released yesterday, U.Va. (2-1, 5-1) dropped eight spots to No.14. The Wahoos plunged nine spots, to No.15, in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll. FSU (3-1, 5-1) moved up to No.5 in both polls.

"I guess the thing that surprised me the most was stopping them," Bowden said of the Cavaliers, who came in averaging 42.4 points. "I didn't know if we had the physical strength to take that ball away from them or make them punt."

Sean Johnson would end up punting eight times, and FSU blocked one of his kicks through the end zone for a first-quarter safety, but the game seemed to start in promising fashion for Virginia.

FSU got the ball first but had to punt it away after a three-and-out series. The Cavaliers' first play from scrimmage - a pass from junior quarterback Marques Hagans to Pearman - gained 40 yards, and another first down soon followed. On third and 2 from the FSU 22, however, Hagans was sacked, and then Connor Hughes missed a 42-yard field goal attempt.

Asked last night what scoring on its first drive might have meant to his team, U.Va. coach Al Groh answered, "I can't say that that would have changed who won the game, but I'd like to think that would have had a positive impact."

The Cavs wanted a touchdown but, after the drive stalled, would have settled for a field goal.

"We had a chance for the points," Groh said. "We missed the points, so everything we set up [for the first possession] went for naught."

From there, things deteriorated for U.Va., which was penalized six times for 40 yards. Two infractions proved especially costly. The first, a facemask call against Isaiah Ekejiuba, who'd foiled a fake punt, helped extend an FSU drive that ended with Xavier Beitia's 26-yard field goal early in the second quarter.

The second was a questionable facemask call against linebacker Kai Parham, who'd tackled Seminoles tailback Leon Washington for a loss on third and 1 from the U.Va. 15. The penalty resulted in a first down for FSU, which scored its first touchdown two plays later to take a 12-0 lead 8:46 before intermission.

"That kind of started the land- slide," Groh said.

Two of Virginia's marquee players sustained injuries in the second half. Junior quarterback Marques Hagans hurt his hip in a collision with FSU defenders and sat out the fourth quarter as a precaution. Hagans felt better yesterday, Groh said.

Senior offensive guard Elton Brown went down in a freak play late in the third quarter. After a Seminole deflected a Hagans pass, Brown caught the ball in midair and started running. He suffered an undisclosed injury to his left knee while being tackled for a 3-yard loss.

Brown didn't play again, but he walked out of the locker room without crutches after the game. His status for Virginia's game at hapless Duke (0-3, 1-5) on Saturday afternoon may not be determined for a few days, Groh said.

 

After Soaring, Cavs Are Brought Down
First Loss Drops U-Va. 8 Spots to No. 14
By Mark Schlabach
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 18, 2004; Page D06

TALLAHASSEE, Oct. 17 -- A top 10 ranking, an undefeated season and the ACC lead all came crashing down for Virginia's football team in an all-too-familiar place Saturday night. With a chance to grab sole possession of first place in the ACC, the Cavaliers were thoroughly over-matched and outplayed by Florida State in an ugly 36-3 loss at Doak Campbell Stadium.

It was supposed to be a coming-out party for Virginia, which had rolled over its first five opponents in securing a No. 6 ranking, the program's highest in 14 years. Instead, Florida State quarterback Wyatt Sexton came of age, throwing for a career-high 275 yards and one touchdown on 20-for-26 passing in his third start. The Seminoles (5-1, 3-1) beat the Cavaliers (5-1, 2-1) for the 12th time in 13 meetings, and Virginia has lost each of its last four games here by 21 points or more.

"I have always believed that every [game] just counts one, until they put a weighted average on every one of them," Virginia Coach Al Groh said. "Somebody asked, 'Will this be the biggest win in the history of the program?' You don't have big wins in midseason. You have big wins in championship games. . . . It's a disappointing one, but it just counts one."

Certainly, it was a demoralizing and deflating one for the Cavaliers, who fell eight spots to No. 14 in the Associated Press top 25 poll. Virginia's offense looked explosive in its first five games; it was ineffective running (29 attempts for 20 yards) and throwing (quarterback Marques Hagans was sacked five times) against the Seminoles. It was Virginia's fewest points since losing 24-0 to N.C. State on Oct. 27, 2001.

Virginia's defense, which looked fast and stout during the Cavs' 5-0 start, couldn't run with Florida State's speedy running backs and receivers. The Seminoles ran 39 times for 192 yards, with sophomore Lorenzo Booker gaining a career-high 123 yards and scoring two touchdowns. Sexton completed six passes of 20 yards or more, including his 24-yard touchdown to Chauncey Stovall that gave FSU a 19-0 lead late in the second quarter. Virginia's special teams also had too many breakdowns, as the Cavs missed a field goal and had a punt blocked for a safety.

"The players knew what had to be done," Groh said. "They were very anxious for the competition. I think Florida State played very, very well, and it's one of the best Florida State teams I've seen."

Virginia has almost a month to prepare for its next big test, No. 4 Miami in Charlottesville on Nov. 13. The Cavaliers play at Duke (1-5, 0-3) on Saturday, and then face reeling Maryland (3-3, 1-2) on Nov. 6. Virginia will probably have to win its last five games to win the ACC, and then hope the No. 5 Seminoles lose at least one more conference game (they play at N.C. State on Nov. 11).

"We're not going to go hide in the closet," Virginia cornerback Tony Franklin said. "We made an incredible number of mistakes in this game. We'll correct them and move forward. It isn't over yet."

Cavaliers Notes: Groh said he won't know for a few days whether Hagans (hip) and senior guard Elton Brown (left knee) will play against the Blue Devils. Groh said Hagans showed improvement Sunday . . . . The Duke game has a 1 p.m. kickoff and will not be televised.