Cavaliers ease past error-prone Tar Heels
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© October 20, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE — There were yards to be had against one of the nation’s worst defenses Thursday night. A grateful Virginia team gobbled them in chunks.

Continuing to show offensive improvement, and shutting down a punch less North Carolina offense, the Cavaliers had little trouble with the Tar Heels in a 23-0 walkover at drizzly Scott Stadium.

It wasn’t particularly pretty, but then again, it wasn’t expected to be. The Cavaliers and Tar Heels came into the nationally-televised game with a combined record of 3-10, 1-5 in the ACC.

For the most part, the game lived down to its billing. Virginia (3-5, 2-2 ACC) put together some long drives, but had trouble finishing them. North Carolina (1-6, 0-4) hurt its cause with turnovers, two of them leading to Virginia touchdowns.

No surprise there. The Tar Heels entered the game ranked 116th of 119 Division I-A teams in turnover margin. Their scoring defense ranked 115th, their run defense 113th.

Virginia’s offense ranked 109th.

Not exactly the makings of a stellar matchup .

Virginia grabbed control from the start. The Cavaliers blew big holes in the Tar Heel defensive front, providing ample room for 232-pound tailback Jason Snelling, who rushed for a career-high 131 yards. Virginia rushed for a season-high 194 yards and produced 370 total, its second-best output of the season.

Cornerback Chris Cook forced a fumble and intercepted a pass against the error-prone Tar Heels. Virginia threw enough short passes to keep North Carolina from overplaying the run, didn’t commit a turnover and kept the Tar Heel offense off-balance all night.

It was an efficient formula for a much-needed win that came just five days after the Cavaliers blew a 20-point halftime lead and fell to Maryland 28-26.

The Tar Heels demonstrated why their only win this season is over Division I-AA Furman, struggling on both sides of the ball.

The Tar Heels’ first drive of the second half was a microcosm of their evening. North Carolina was on the move when a lateral from quarterback Joe Dailey to receiver Brooks Foster was tipped by Virginia’s Jermaine Dias and hit the turf. Nate Lyles pounced on the ball and Virginia took over at its own 45. An 18-yard touchdown run by Jameel Sewell finished a drive that was helped by a pass interference penalty against North Carolina.

Dailey had come on in relief of starter Cam Sexton, who was 3 of 8 for 22 yards in the first half.

Virginia led 9-0 after churning out 192 yards in the first half and settling for three Chris Gould field goals.

North Carolina’s deepest first-half penetration ended with a Ronnie McGill fumble at the Virginia 21.

Virginia’s running game had been showing steady improvement over the p ast three weeks, and the trend continued against the Tar Heels. Virginia had rushed for 147 yards a game over the previous three contests after averaging just 51 yards per game in the first four.

Sewell, a redshirt freshman who turned 19 Thursday, also continued to make strides, connecting with favorite target Kevin Ogletree for five first-half completions, most of the short variety.

North Carolina has not beaten Virginia in Charlottesville since 1981.

 

Cavs take advantage
Virginia dominates North Carolina as the Cavaliers capitalize on the Tar Heels' mistakes.
BY DARRYL SLATER
dslater@dailypress.com | 247-4641
October 20, 2006, 12:44 AM EDT

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- -- North Carolina's offense teetered on the brink of imploding for long enough, showing signs that something was about to go terribly wrong, regardless of any new twist the coaches might add.

The implosion began with 11:46 left in the third quarter Thursday night, and it left the Tar Heels looking like a crumbled mess, a hapless and hopeless football team that, if only for an evening, brightened the mood of a Virginia squad that needs all the brightening it can get.

The Cavaliers won 23-0 at Scott Stadium, and while the victory doesn't seem monumental -- what with it improving their record to 3-5, 2-2 ACC -- it was a game they absolutely needed after last Saturday's crushing loss to Maryland.

That 28-26 defeat, and 20-point blown halftime lead, was far from the Cavaliers' thoughts on North Carolina's first second-half drive. Virginia led 9-0, and UNC had just crossed midfield for only the second time all night.

On first down and 10 at Virginia's 38-yard line, quarterback Joe Dailey -- who replaced ineffective starter Cam Sexton -- threw a backwards pass (a microcosm of UNC's night) that outside linebacker Jermaine Dias tipped. Safety Nate Lyles recovered it at Virginia's 45 with 11:46 left.

The Cavaliers converted the turnover into their first touchdown of the game when redshirt freshman quarterback Jameel Sewell ran an option 18 yards for a touchdown, making it 16-0 with 9:21 left.

"That one looked a little bit more like Cavalier football is supposed to look like," Virginia coach Al Groh said afterward.

North Carolina looked like no football team is supposed to look like, and Tar Heels coach John Bunting appears to be inching closer and closer to unemployment.

Virginia's defense forced three turnovers and held the Tar Heels to 182 yards. The Cavaliers' offense looked crisp, with Sewell completing 17 of 25 passes for 166 yards and tailback Jason Snelling gaining a career high 131. He never lost yardage.

Things got worse for UNC (1-6, 0-4) with 13:43 left in the game, when Virginia cornerback Chris Cook picked off Dailey at UNC's 19. Two plays later, Snelling's 5-yard touchdown run increased Virginia's advantage to 23-0 with 12:03 remaining.

"I think tonight for the first time, we played a complete team game," Cavaliers defensive end Chris Long said.

Early returns showed Sewell's progress further ahead than that of Sexton, also a redshirt freshman. Sexton was pulled in favor of Dailey, a junior, to start the second half. Dailey completed six of 12 passes for 62 yards.

In the first half, Sewell was 11-of-18 passing for 92 yards, though drops by his receivers robbed him of gaudier stats. "The sky's the limit for our offense if he keeps playing the way he is," wide receiver Kevin Ogletree said.

Meanwhile, Sexton was 3-of-8 passing for 22 yards. The Tar Heels gained just 70 yards in the first half. Sexton's troubles shouldn't come as a surprise, since he entered the game completing just 41 percent of his passes for four touchdowns and eight interceptions.

On five first-half drives, UNC went three plays and out three times and crossed midfield just once. Even then, fate failed the Tar Heels, as tailback Ronnie McGill fumbled the ball away at Virginia's 21-yard line.

The first half was only slightly more compelling than last year's snooze-fest at North Carolina, where the Tar Heels beat Virginia 7-5. Virginia settled for a 9-0 halftime lead, though the Cavaliers could have – and probably should have – produced more against the Tar Heels' porous defense, which entered the game ranked 100th in the country.

On Virginia's first drive, Sewell, who turned 19 Thursday, led the Cavaliers 50 yards on seven plays – to North Carolina's 21, where they had first and 10. They gained just 7 yards on their next three plays and had to settle for a 31-yard Chris Gould field goal.

The Cavaliers faced a similar situation on their first drive of the second quarter, as they advanced 62 yards on six plays and had first and 10 at UNC's 23. Then defensive end Brian Rackley sacked Sewell for a loss of 8. After a 2-yard run by Snelling and a 3-yard scramble by Sewell, Virginia walked away with a 43-yarder by Gould that made it 6-0 with 10:24 left in the first half.

Virginia's final first-half drive went 43 yards in its first nine plays and gave the Cavaliers first and 10 at UNC's 30. Then left tackle Eugene Monroe drew a 10-yard holding penalty, putting Virginia in a first-and-20 hole it couldn't overcome in the next three plays. Another Gould 43-yarder with eight seconds left made it 9-0.

The way North Carolina's offense played in the first half – and the way it imploded in the second – surely made Virginia forget about last week's collapse against Maryland. But Groh said the Cavaliers had already expunged those awful memories before Thursday.

"We were over last week's game," Groh said, "in a hurry."

Tar Heels aren't what they used to be
David Teel
October 20 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Time was when Virginia's football program aspired to be like North Carolina's. During the 1970s and early '80s, the Tar Heels won four ACC championships, played in nine bowls and whipped the Cavaliers 12 times in 13 years.

A generation later, North Carolina serves as a cautionary tale, a tale that merits telling after Virginia's 23-0 victory over the Tar Heels on Thursday at Scott Stadium.

Amid the arms race that is major college football, North Carolina raised more than $50 million to upgrade Kenan Stadium during the late 1990s. The dividends have been, to be kind, minimal.

The Tar Heels haven't posted a winning record since 2001 or finished among the ACC's top two since 1997. And that's not going to change this season.

Indeed, the most probable change in Chapel Hill is the head coach.

Hired to replace Mack Brown when Brown bailed for Texas - talk about wise career moves - in 1997, Carl Torbush lasted three seasons. His successor, North Carolina alum John Bunting, will be lucky to return for a seventh season next year.

Rest assured Cavaliers faithful, including influential donors, have noticed the Tar Heels' decline. Virginia raised more than $80 million to expand Scott Stadium, and while coach Al Groh's program is miles ahead of Bunting's, recent results have been less than encouraging.

Thursday's victory improved Virginia to 3-5, 2-2 in the ACC and impressed only the truest of the faithful. Yes, the Cavaliers posted their second conference shutout of 2006. But the first was Duke and this was Carolina, as impotent as football gets.

"This is the way we like our team to look," said Groh, who coached the linebackers for Bill Dooley on North Carolina's 1977 ACC title squad. "In all the phases, other than a few regrettable penalties."

Indeed, coaches savor games in which they outrush the opponent by 100 yards (227-127) and win the turnover battle by three (3-0). But don't kid yourself. This was not attractive.

Look at it this way: Virginia's first-half MVP on offense was holder John Phillips.

Had Phillips not handled three high snaps from Tyrus Gardner, Chris Gould would not have made any of the field goals that gave the Cavaliers a 9-0 intermission lead.

Virginia thus became the first team since - I swear I'm not making this up - Virginia last year to go without a touchdown in a half against North Carolina.

The collective first-half ineptness was most evident on Virginia's final possession. Content to run out the clock after a first-down sack, the Cavaliers ran Cedric Peerman off left tackle on third-and-15 from their own 22. But North Carolina failed to defend the concession as Peerman gained 19 yards to sustain a drive that ended with a 43-yarder by Gould eight seconds before halftime.

After Virginia finally managed a touchdown, on quarterback Jameel Sewell's 18-yard option run early in the third quarter, the game was over at 16-0. With what must be among Division I-A's least capable quarterback tandems in Cam Sexton and Joe Dailey, North Carolina (1-6, 0-4) lost to the Cavaliers for the seventh time in nine years and endured its first shutout in this series since 1926.

On the off chance you were watching ESPN's national telecast at that point, you must have then ventured elsewhere. To bed? To the Mets and Cardinals? Anywhere.

But unlike the Tar Heels, the Cavaliers have legitimate hope. They started only three seniors Thursday, six fewer than the Tar Heels, and players such as Sewell, Jeffrey Fitzgerald, Kevin Ogletree, Chris Long, Chris Cook and Jon Copper appear to be progressing.

Cook recorded a team-high nine tackles and intercepted a pass. Fitzgerald, a redshirt freshman, and Long, a junior, have a chance to become the best defensive-end pairing in program history. They combined for 14 tackles and two sacks Thursday, and Fitzgerald recovered a critical first-quarter fumble.

Why, Virginia even has an outside chance of extending its streak of consecutive bowl appearances to five.

Moreover, with quality academics and state-of-the-art facilities to sell, Groh and his staff should be able to recruit well. Then again, we thought the same thing about North Carolina.
 

Tar Heels find offense pointless at Virginia
Cavaliers take UNC turnovers to end zone
KEN TYSIAC
ktysiac@charlotteobserver.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - A somber John Bunting scanned the postgame statistics for the passing numbers he called "anemic."

He read them aloud, 9-for-20, not nearly good enough to win or even score Thursday night as North Carolina lost 23-0 to Virginia at Scott Stadium.

"You could see, we missed some throws," Bunting said. "You could see, we threw some into the ground. We had a deflected pass, we thought. Obviously it was ruled otherwise. A backwards pass."

The lateral on the opening drive of the third quarter deflated the Tar Heels after three Chris Gould field goals gave Virginia a 9-0 halftime lead.

Starting quarterback Cameron Sexton came out of the locker room for the third quarter and put on a headset instead of a helmet, folded his arms and frowned. Joe Dailey took over for Sexton, but turned it over on the opening drive of the second half when linebacker Jermaine Dias deflected the lateral pass intended for Brooks Foster.

Virginia safety Nate Lyles fell on the ball before it bounced out of bounds, and a replay review upheld the ruling on the field that the pass was a lateral and therefore a fumble. Jameel Sewell then drove the Cavaliers 55 yards on four plays, running 18 yards on an option play for the game's first touchdown.

"It's frustrating, you know?" said North Carolina tight end Jon Hamlett. "We think we've got a lot of talent on this team. ... Just sometimes we don't have the answers. ... It's frustrating, that's all I can say."

It didn't matter who North Carolina used at quarterback. Sexton was 3-for-8 for 22 yards in the first half. Dailey turned it over on two of the first three possessions of the second half.

The Tar Heels had hoped to end a 25-year streak of futility at Virginia, but didn't even score. Jason Snelling rushed for a career-high 131 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries as the Cavaliers extended their home winning streak in the series to 13 games.

With Bunting's future as coach seemingly in jeopardy, the Tar Heels (1-6, 0-4 ACC) were blown out by an opponent that lost to Western Michigan and East Carolina this season.

Virginia (3-5, 2-2) has lost four of its past six games but outscored Research Triangle foes North Carolina and Duke 60-0 during that time. Unlike the Cavaliers' 37-0 victory at Duke, this one was nationally televised on a night when many players from other teams -- and recruits -- often watch ESPN's Thursday offering.

Afterward, Sexton said, the locker room was somber.

"We've been in that locker room too many times and heard the same old speech," he said.

 

Virginia's best effort too much for Heels
By NOLAN HAYES : The Herald-Sun
nhayes@heraldsun.com
Oct 20, 2006 : 12:28 am ET

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Know how to turn a dirty dozen into a baker's dozen?

Add a bagel.

That's what Virginia's football team did on Thursday night, feeding North Carolina a 23-0 defeat at Scott Stadium en route to its 13th consecutive home victory over the Tar Heels.

"There's really not a whole lot to be said," UNC coach John Bunting said. "I think a lot of it is obvious. We had an opportunity to do something unique up here in light of this very frustrating season, and we're just not good enough. We weren't good enough."

The Tar Heels arrived in town thinking about ending the big streak, but it rolled on in front of a crowd 56,632 spectators. Unfortunately for UNC, so did a number of smaller streaks.

The defeat was the Tar Heels' seventh consecutive loss in games against Division I-A opponents, their sixth consecutive loss on the road and their fifth loss in a row against ACC foes. UNC (1-6, 0-4 ACC) also clinched its fifth consecutive nonwinning season since Bunting guided the Tar Heels to an 8-5 record in his first year on the job in 2001.

"It's just frustrating," UNC senior tight end Jon Hamlett said. "That's all I can say."

The Cavaliers (3-5, 2-2) doubled UNC's offensive output, gaining 370 yards and limiting the Tar Heels to 182 yards. UNC failed to complete 50 percent of its passes for the fourth consecutive game, finishing 9-of-20 through the air for 84 yards and an interception.

"We're just not making any plays," said starting quarterback Cam Sexton, who completed 3 of 8 passes for 22 yards before giving way to backup Joe Daily in the second half. "We made too many mistakes and never got into a rhythm."

UNC's defense, much-maligned and playing without injured linebacker Larry Edwards, kept the team close for a half.

Early in the game, UNC's defense bent much as it had in its previous games. The difference in the first half Thursday was that the unit didn't break. UNC allowed 192 yards of total offense -- 100 yards rushing and 92 yards passing -- but gave up just nine points.

The Tar Heels limited Virginia to three first-half field goals and might have done even better if not for a particularly bad play late in the half. The Cavaliers faced third and 15 with 1 minute, 14 seconds left and were trying to run out the clock when UNC called timeout to try to save time for its offense. But Virginia tailback Cedric Peerman busted a 19-yard run on a simple counter play to give his team a first down.

Virginia then went into hurry-up mode, closing the first half with a 43-yard field goal by Chris Gould. Gould connected from 31 yards to cap Virginia's opening drive of the game, and he made another kick from 43 yards early in the second quarter to account for all of the first half's scoring.

"I was really disappointed that we gave up three at the end of the half," Bunting said. "I would have loved to have gone in down six."

UNC's offense gained a total of 70 yards on 26 plays in the first half and put together only one scoring threat. Trailing 3-0 midway through the first quarter, the Tar Heels took over possession on their own 40-yard line. Senior tailback Ronnie McGill carried on five consecutive plays to start the drive, totaling 26 yards, and junior Barrington Edwards picked up 14 yards rushing on the next three plays.

With UNC facing third and 6 from the Virginia 20, Sexton completed a swing pass to McGill out of the right side of the backfield. McGill broke two tackles and got close to the first down when he was met by three Virginia defenders. The ball popped loose, and defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald recovered for the Cavaliers to stop UNC's drive.

Bunting hoped to spark his team in the second half by inserting Dailey at quarterback, and the Tar Heels responded with two first downs on their initial drive of the half.

But on first and 10 from the Virginia 38, Dailey fired a quick pass to his left to wide receiver Brooks Foster, who was in the slot. Linebacker Jermaine Dias tipped the pass, which was ruled a lateral, and safety Nate Lyles recovered the ball before it rolled out of bounds.

"Huge momentum shift," Bunting said. "We were moving and smacked right in the nose."

UNC's defense couldn't hold its ground after the sudden change of possession. Virginia tight end Tom Santi caught a short pass and took it 40 yards to move the ball to the UNC 21 before the Cavaliers started self-destructing. Virginia faced first and 25 after a holding penalty and a false start, but the Cavaliers converted the first down when Jacoby Watkins was called for pass interference on second and 22 from the 33.

On the next play, quarterback Jameel Sewell raced 18 yards on an option keeper for a touchdown that put Virginia ahead 16-0. The Cavaliers put the game out of reach two drives later, with tailback Jason Snelling reaching the end zone on a 5-yard touchdown run.

Snelling enjoyed a career-high 131 yards rushing on 19 carries, but the Tar Heels sank another level.

"I really do hope we can turn it around," Dailey said. "I believe we can."

NOTES -- Sophomore linebacker Garrett White, whom Bunting said on Sunday would compete for the starting linebacker spot vacated by injured senior Larry Edwards, didn't even dress for the game. White reportedly made an inappropriate gesture to the crowd during pregame warmups, and a television replay showed Bunting voicing his displeasure with White. "He did something that is unbecoming of any young person, certainly of this football program and this great university," said Bunting, who made White get out of his uniform. "We did what we felt was the right thing to do." * UNC backup tight end Rock Wells left the game with a broken right wrist.

 

For Cavs, QB Sewell, a birthday bashing for UNC
Cavs stomp North Carolina as Sewell turns 19
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
October 20, 2006

There were balloons and fireworks. There was singing and celebration.

None of it was directly related to the 19th birthday of Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell, but that did little to dampen the redshirt freshman's special day.

Sewell completed 17 of 25 passes for 166 yards and helped guide Virginia to an impressive 23-0 win over North Carolina.

UVa (3-5, 2-2 ACC) snapped a two-game losing streak and kept UNC (1-6, 0-4 ACC) from winning in Charlottesville for the first time since 1981.

Sewell, who was making his fourth start and second on ESPN's Thursday night package, enjoyed the game but it was the aftermath that meant more.

"Coach Groh had a big smile on his face and I haven't seen that in a while," said Sewell, who helped UVa outgain UNC, 370-182, in total yardage. "We are going to try to continue to make sure he is smiling."

The feelings from the opposing coach, North Carolina's John Bunting, covered the opposite end of the spectrum. The embattled coach must win out to finish .500.

"A lot of it is obvious," Bunting said. "We had an opportunity to do something unique up here in light of this very frustrating season. We're not good enough."

For the third time this season, Virginia was.

After a slow start - UVa led 9-0 at halftime - the Cavaliers put UNC away with key plays on both sides of the ball.

Sewell scampered into the end zone for a rushing touchdown in the third quarter and tailback Jason Snelling, who rushed for a career-high 131 yards on 19 carries, put the icing on the cake with a 5-yard scoring run with 12:03 left.

The Cavaliers defense forced UNC into three turnovers, including an interception by cornerback Chris Cook early in the fourth quarter.

That helped preserve Virginia's second shutout of the season - the Cavaliers also blanked Duke 37-0 - and helped ease the pain of a second-half meltdown five days prior against Maryland when a 20-point halftime lead evaporated.

"That one looked a little bit more like what Cavalier football is supposed to look like," Groh said. "I thought the coaches did an excellent job getting the players prepared during a short week.

"We're starting to look like what we always felt this team, as it developed, would have a chance to look like."

Virginia wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard.

The Cavaliers went up 3-0 on their opening drive when placekicker Chris Gould connected on a 31-yard field goal to cap an 11-play, 65-yard drive.

Gould, who entered the game 8 for 13 on field-goal tries, was at it again on the Cavaliers' first drive in the second quarter. The junior booted a 43-yard field goal to give the Cavs a six-point advantage.

Both UNC and UVa struggled to get on track offensively throughout the rest of the second quarter until the Cavaliers moved the ball on their final possession.

With field position and the clock as enemies, it almost never came to fruition.

Facing third-and-15 at the UVa 22, tailback Cedric Peerman churned out a 19-yard gain on the ground to keep the drive alive.

Despite a 10-yard holding penalty on backup left tackle Eugene Monroe later in the possession, the Cavaliers managed a total of 47 yards on 11 plays, in total, which set up another attempt for Gould from 43 yards out.

"It was 6-0 and I was thinking, 'I need to make this field goal to make it a two-touchdown game.' A touchdown could have won it if I had missed," Gould said. "I didn't want to take that chance."

Gould calmly nailed the attempt, giving Virginia the nine-point lead.

Like they had done to open the game, the Cavaliers scored again on their first drive of the second half thanks in part to good field position.

On first down from the UVa 38, UNC quarterback Joe Dailey, who was inserted in the second half in favor of starter Cam Sexton, fired a swing pass to his left that was ruled on the field to be a lateral. Virginia safety Nate Lyles slid on top of the loose ball near the Cavaliers' sidelines for a fumble recovery.

The play was reviewed but upheld.

"I was right there," said Groh, offering approval for the call.

Sewell scampered into the end zone four plays later on a designed run from 18 yards out.

"We worked on that all week in practice," Sewell said. "It was man-coverage and the linebacker just turned his back and disregarded me and he went back, so I went behind him and got what I could get."

What Sewell got was a 16-0 lead for Virginia and all the momentum the squad needed.

It also got him a birthday to remember.

"It is by far the best birthday ever," Sewell said. "We got the 'W' and that's all that matters."

Virginia returns to action on Oct. 28, at home against North Carolina State. The game is slated to start at noon.

 

Ground game proves pivotal once again
By Sean McLernon / Daily Progress staff writer
October 20, 2006

Since 1940, the winner of the UVa-UNC contest has outrushed the loser, and 2006 stayed consistent with the historic trend.
The Tar Heels came into the game ranked 113th out of 119 Division I-A teams in rushing defense, and the Cavaliers capitalized on the opportunity, setting a new season high of 194 yards on 38 carries.
Starting tailback Jason Snelling led the way with a career-high 131 yards.
North Carolina finished with 98 rushing yards on 33 attempts.
Thursday’s game marked the fourth consecutive contest the Cavaliers improved their rushing total. After earning only 51 yards of real estate against Georgia Tech on Sept. 21, Virginia amassed 106, 153 and 181 yards on the ground the next three weeks against Duke, East Carolina and Maryland, respectively.
Fittingly, the Cavaliers’ two touchdowns came on the ground. With 9:21 left in the third quarter, quarterback Jameel Sewell scampered 18 yards into the end zone to put the Cavaliers up 16-0.
Snelling found the end zone on a 5-yard run early in the fourth quarter to put the Cavaliers up 23-0.

Weigand gets his kicks
Ryan Weigand started at punter in place of Chris Gould, who had been doing double duty for the Cavaliers as placekicker and punter since the second quarter of the season opener against Pittsburgh.
Weigand’s first punt of the game came near the five-minute mark of the first quarter on a fourth-and-1 from the Cavs’ own 42. He knocked the ball only 33 yards, drawing groans form the home crowd.
Weigand improved his distance on his three other punts, kicking the ball 40, 40, 52 and 51 yards for a 43.2-yard average. Gould came in to punt in a shorter distance situation in the third quarter, pinning the Tar Heels only two yards from their own end zone on a punt from the 35-yard line.
Against Pittsburgh, Weigand had Virginia’s first punt of the season, which went for 37 yards and landed inside the 20. Gould had booted the rest of Virginia’s punts before Thursday - 44 of them for an average of 39.8 yards.

Peerman comes through
Running back Cedric Peerman did not touch the ball against Maryland, and his number wasn’t called until late in the second quarter against North Carolina, but Peerman made the most of his only opportunity of the first half.
On third-and-15 from the Virginia 22-yard line, Peerman barreled up the middle with the ball, eluding the North Carolina defense and gaining 19 yards to give Virginia a first down with 1:14 left in the half.
The Cavaliers capitalized on Peerman’s run, the longest of his career. The offense advanced the ball to the 26-yard line, allowing Chris Gould to kick a 43-yard field goal and put Virginia up 9-0 at the break.

Closing the gap
With the victory over UNC, Virginia moved closer to evening the 111-game all-time series against the Tar Heels.
North Carolina holds a 56-51-4 advantage over the Cavaliers in a rivalry that dates back to 1892, but has lost three of the last four games. Virginia has won the last 13 games in Charlottesville, with UNC’s last victory at Scott Stadium coming in 1981.
Last season, the Tar Heels beat the Cavaliers 7-5 in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Extra points …
… Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman made the trip down from Washington and attended the game with former Virginia teammate Chris Gale. Zimmerman, sporting a white T-shirt, smiled for the Hoo Vision camera late in the second quarter. … Cornerback Marcus Hamilton promised a new hairdo weeks ago for the nationally televised Thursday night contest. The senior kept his word, trading in his Mohawk for a shaved head. … UVa sophomore linebacker Antonio Appleby picked up his first career sack, bringing down North Carolina quarterback Cam Sexton in the second quarter for a 13-yard loss. … Wide receiver Fontel Mines extended his consecutive streak of catching a pass to 19 games. The streak is the longest of any current Virginia player.

 

Sewell continues rise
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
October 20, 2006

Last month, in front of an ESPN audience, Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell made the first start of his college career on the road at Georgia Tech. The sophomore completed less than 50 percent of his passes and threw two interceptions in the loss.

It wasn’t exactly what Sewell or the Virginia coaching staff was hoping for.

Thursday night, nearly a month later, Sewell had a shot at redemption - and he took full advantage.

Playing once again under the bright lights of a national television audience, Sewell showed just how much he has progressed since his poor debut.

The Richmond native, who was celebrating his 19th birthday, was 17 of 25 for 166 yards through the air. On the ground, he rushed for 55 yards on nine carries, including an 18-yard touchdown scamper in the third quarter that put the game out of reach for a hapless North Carolina offense.

“There were some rocky times out there - a few issues with the getting the [play] called in the huddle the way we want it called,” said Virginia coach Al Groh, “[but] as he has done in all circumstances, as challenging as they might be, this kid has a very good capacity for staying positive and keeping his poise.”

The kid also has a knack for making would-be tacklers look silly. On a number of occasions, Sewell used his athletic ability to turn broken plays into positive yardage.

“Every week I’m getting more comfortable,” Sewell said. “The coaches are preparing me well.”

Sewell said the touchdown, which came off an option keeper, was something the team had worked on all week.

“The backer turned his back,” Sewell said. “I tried to get what I could and just happened to score.”

Sewell’s teammates were pretty impressed.

“It was spectacular,” said wideout Kevin Ogletree, referring to the touchdown. “He just let his athleticism take over. It was great to see. I think every week he’s doing stuff a little better.”

Virginia tight end Tom Santi said Sewell’s progress since the Georgia Tech game has been most impressive.

“He makes leaps and bounds every day,” Santi said. “He’s a true competitor. He’s a gamer. It’s a lot of fun having him back there because you can’t give up on any play. He’s liable to make something happen at any time.”

Sewell, who was sporting a giant grin throughout postgame interviews, said getting the win was the most important thing.

“The locker room hasn’t felt like this in a long time,” Sewell said. “We need that feeling. It should be coming back to this program more often.”
 

Cavs riding high on Snelling
By Sean McLernon / Daily Progress staff writer
October 20, 2006

The carries just keep increasing for Jason Snelling and that’s just the way he likes it.

After getting 14 or fewer touches in Virginia’s first four games, Snelling had more than 15 touches for the fourth straight contest, finishing with a career-high 131 yards on 19 carries.

“It feels great,” Snelling said after Virginia’s 23-0 win over North Carolina. “I’m the type of person where, if they are going to give me the ball, I’m going to embrace it. They did tonight and I loved it. I hope they continue to do it.”

Snelling gained 116 of his yards in the first three quarters and likely would have gotten even more touches had the game been closer in the fourth quarter. He did enough to earn praise from coach Al Groh, who said Snelling made some “real warrior runs” against the Tar Heels.

“Teams that can really run the ball and tough-minded teams need somebody that does more than just carry the ball,” Groh said. “Those teams have a back that, as we phrase it, can carry the flag for the team. Jason certainly carried the flag tonight. He set a tone, set an attitude and set a style.”

Snelling, whose previous career high came in 2004 when he rushed for 126 yards against Temple, had his longest run of the night on the first play of the second quarter. With Virginia starting a drive from its own 15-yard line, Snelling broke off a 25-yard run to give the Cavalier offense some breathing room.

The drive ended with a Chris Gould field goal to put Virginia up 6-0.

Snelling also had rushes of 15, 17 and 20 yards in the third quarter and scored the game’s final touchdown on a 5-yard jaunt with 12:03 remaining in the fourth quarter, icing a much-needed victory for the Cavaliers in front of a national audience on ESPN.

“The most important thing was we got the win,” Snelling said. “The feeling we got coming into the locker room - it’s something we’re not used to. We were able to feel that tonight.”

 

Cavs take another step forward
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
October 20, 2006

Now that Virginia is exactly where it was predicted to be in the ACC's Coastal Division standings, the real challenge begins.

Projected in the preseason as the fourth-best team in their division, just above North Carolina and Duke, the slow-starting Cavaliers settled that argument on ESPN's Thursday night's primetime slot with a 23-0 win over the visiting Tar Heels.

Virginia is clearly better than their neighbors from across the southern border, having shutout both UNC and Duke. Big deal. The Tar Heels (1-6, 0-4 ACC) are yet to beat a Division I-A opponent this season, and Duke ... well, Duke is Duke.

Carolina must have known it was cursed as soon as it crossed the state line. None of the Tar Heel players were even born the last time UNC won a game in Charlottesville. That was 1981, 13 straight losses in Hooville for anyone counting.

This one pretty much followed the blueprint of many of the others carved out by George Welsh's teams, followed by Al Groh's squads. The Cavs kept things simple.

No designer labels on this one. Thursday night's game plan was right off the rack.

The Cavaliers (3-5, 2-2) outrushed the Tar Heels 194 yards to 98, no big surprise considering that Carolina was ranked No. 113 out of 119 Division I-A teams in rush defense.

"This looked a little more like what Cavalier football is supposed to look like," said Groh.

Thursday night was all about dominance, establishing the run for the Cavaliers and stopping the Carolina running game. That's exactly what Virginia accomplished even though it took a while for it to show on the scoreboard.

Three first-half drives stalled, resulting in three Chris Gould field goals for a 9-0 lead at the break. There was a feeling that all it was going to take was one touchdown to break Carolina's will.

With power back Jason Snelling bulling his way to a career-high 131 yards and quarterback Jameel Sewell using his quicksilver moves to dart past the Tar Heels' second line of defense before they knew what hit 'em, Carolina never had a chance.

Well, any time the Heels did have a chance, they coughed it up.

Virginia was opportunistic enough to take advantage.

For yet another week, it was a noticeable step toward efficiency by Sewell, a rookie quarterback whose strides have increased from baby steps to giant ones over the past two weeks.

In this Thursday night showcase before 56,622 rain-soaked fans and a national TV audience, Sewell completed 17 of 25 passes for 166 yards. He also ran for 40 yards, including an 18-yard scamper on an option play right through the Heels' secondary.

All in all, he looks a little more comfortable every time he breaks the huddle.

He used to be tentative, hesitant when it came to the run when pass plays broke down. Now, he's decisive, assertive. And, man, is he quick.

"Before, it took too long for it to click," said Sewell, offering a critique of his decisions to tuck and run. "I touch the ball on every play and as long as I make the right decisions with the ball, the pressure is going to keep falling off."

The biggest deal about this whole evening was that it resulted in a win. Virginia's got Carolina's number, at least on this side of the border, and the Cavaliers defended their home turf against a desperate team that believed it had a legitimate chance to win.

"The locker room hasn't felt like this in a long time," Sewell said. "We needed that ... it's a lovely feeling, one that should be coming back to this program more often."

If the Cavaliers continue to play like they have the past two weeks, minus mistakes, that feeling could come more often. Last week, the Cavs made two major special teams miscues that cost them a 28-26 loss to Maryland, a game Virginia should have won.

They eliminated those errors against Carolina, playing without surrendering a turnover and taking advantage of three Tar Heel mistakes, which made a huge difference. Virginia has won 12 of 15 games against UNC since 1982 when committing fewer turnovers.

While the offense did its job, so did the defense, scoring its second ACC shutout of the season and put lots of pressure on Carolina's two quarterbacks.

"They generate a good pass rush," said Tar Heel quarterback Joe Dailey, who relieved starter Cam Sexton at the half. "You have to have the right skills in order to pick that up. They've got some strong guys opening up front as well as backers. That's like having six backers at the line of scrimmage all the time and it's hard for a lineman to get out there and pick up a lot of those guys."

So, where does Virginia go from here?

With four more games remaining, including home dates against N.C. State (a week from Saturday), followed by Miami in mid-November, the Cavaliers have a chance to make a statement.

All week long Virginia players talked about how they haven't bought into a theory that they've written off this year and were just playing for the future.

Senior Marcus Hamilton said that the team's main objective coming into the Carolina game was to win, try to finish this season on a roll and build momentum that could carry over to next season when almost the entire team returns (there's only five seniors on the entire two-deep chart).

Next up is N.C. State, a team that Virginia believes it can beat. Cavalier team's bowl chances are slim, but they can sure ruin the seasons of some of their upcoming opponents.

"The locker room was loud tonight," said Sewell with a big smile. "We were celebrating. And Coach Groh had that smile on his face that we haven't seen in a while."

The big challenge now is to give him more reasons to show one.

 

Cavaliers too much for UNC
Sewell shines at QB; Tar Heels shutout in blowout
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Oct 20, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- On his 19th birthday, Jameel Sewell made his second appearance on ESPN's Thursday night broadcast. The viewers who bothered to tune in to this non-title bout undoubtedly came away more impressed this time with both Sewell and his football team.

In his fifth start at quarterback for the University of Virginia, Sewell showed again that he's come a long way since his long night in Atlanta. Before a crowd of 56,632 last night at Scott Stadium, the redshirt freshman from Hermitage High guided U.Va. to a 23-0 victory over hapless North Carolina.

"That one looked a little more like Cavalier football is supposed to look like," sixth-year coach Al Groh said.

Sewell ran nine times for 40 yards and one touchdown. He completed 17 of 25 passes for 166 yards. He wasn't intercepted.

"There was a few issues again with the operation," Groh said, "sometimes getting the right [play] called in the huddle the way that we wanted it called. But as he has done in all the circumstances, as positive as they might be or as challenging as they might be, this kid has a very, very good capacity for staying positive and keeping his poise."

Sewell's first start didn't have such a happy ending. In a 24-7 loss to Georgia Tech on Sept. 21, Sewell looked every bit the nervous freshman, especially in the first half. U.Va. finished with only 166 yards, its lowest total during Groh's tenure.

"Everyone saw the need for a change and did something about it," said sophomore wide receiver Kevin Ogletree, who caught five passes for 43 yards last night. "We didn't just talk about it, we let our efforts change things, and it's looking good now."

In its 28-26 loss to Maryland last week, U.Va. totaled a season-high 424 yards. Last night, Virginia (2-2, 3-5) amassed 370 against the Tar Heels (0-4, 1-6).

For UNC, its misery continues in Charlottesville. The Heels haven't won at Scott Stadium since 1981.

It was the second shutout in four games for the Wahoos, who blanked Duke 37-0 on Sept. 30. Last night, they held Carolina to 182 yards and forced three turnovers.

Sophomore cornerback Chris Cook played a role in two of them. Cook forced a fumble that defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald recovered in the first quarter and then, early in the fourth, intercepted a pass deep in Carolina territory.

"He does this kind of stuff in practice," Groh said. "He has a way of ending up with the ball in his hands."

Cook's pick set up a short drive that ended when senior tailback Jason Snelling ran 5 yards untouched for a touchdown, and Chris Gould's extra point made it 23-0. Snelling, a former L.C. Bird High star, finished with a career-high 131 yards on 19 carries.

"Some of those runs he made were real warrior runs," Groh said.

UNC's other turnover came on the opening drive of the third quarter. Joe Dailey, who had replaced starter Cam Sexton at quarterback, tried a lateral pass to wideout Brooks Foster. Outside linebacker Jermaine Dias deflected the ball, and safety Nate Lyles recovered near the U.Va. sideline.

With the victory, U.Va. improved to 5-5 in Thursday night games on ESPN.

Against the ACC's worst defense, U.Va. amassed 192 yards and 10 first downs in the first half. None of its drives ended in a TD, however, and Virginia had to settle for a 9-0 lead, courtesy of Gould's career-high three field goals.

Dropped passes, which plagued the Cavaliers in their Oct. 7 loss at East Carolina, hurt them again in the first half last night. On five of Sewell's passes before the break, receivers got their hands on the ball but couldn't hold on.

Virginia's passing attack fell into a better rhythm in the second half. A short pass from Sewell to tight end Tom Santi gained 30 yards on U.Va.'s first possession of the second half. That drive ended with Sewell's 18-yard TD run on an option keeper, and from that point U.Va. fans tried to stay engaged by cheering for a shutout.

It was 6-0 when Virginia took over on its 27 with 2:28 left in the second quarter. Sewell was sacked on first down, and his second-down run gained only 2 yards, bringing up third and 15 from the 22. Offensive coordinator Mike Groh opted for a safe call, and UNC appeared likely to get the ball back.

Instead, reserve tailback Cedric Peerman turned a routine running play into a 19-yard gain, the longest of his career, and the Cavs' drive continued. It ended with Gould's 43-yard field goal with 8 seconds left in the half.

"That was really at a critical time," Groh said of Peerman's run.

Likewise, the victory came at a critical time for the Cavaliers, who ended a two-game losing streak.

"It was the best we've played," Groh said, "but there's still quite a few things out there that we can see that need to get fixed, and we can do a lot better."

 

Tar Heels are the cure for whatever ails Wahoos
BOB LIPPER
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST Oct 20, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE Not to get too carried away here -- this was North Carolina, after all -- but you get a shutout from your defense and another step forward from your rookie quarterback, you've had a pretty good 60 minutes.

Even if it didn't make for great theater or TV.

That's how it was for Virginia's Cavaliers last night. They needed a pick-me-up from the hangover of back-to-back losses, neither of them close to attractive. They got it via a 23-0 cruise past UNC and another upbeat performance from Jameel Sewell, the redshirt freshman out of Hermitage High who's looking ever more comfortable at the joystick.

Granted, this was North Carolina (did I say that already?). But Sewell threw for 166 yards (and had four passes dropped in the first quarter alone) and ran for 40 more as the Cavs doubled the Tar Heels in real estate accumulated. He and his buddies weren't exactly facing stout resistance. But in this struggle of a season, you take what you can get.

It's been 25 years since North Carolina last won at Scott Stadium and 10 since a sixth-in-the-country UNC entry came to town, accompanied by Fiesta Bowl scouts and much hoopla. Those Tar Heels blew a sizeable fourth-quarter lead, fell 20-17 and had to settle for a Gator Bowl bid. The Cavs, meanwhile, wound up in that postseason jewel formerly known as the Carquest Bowl.

No such stakes or anticipation surrounded this matchup. UNC arrived at 1-5, its most recent win over a I-A opponent (sort of) coming last November against Duke. U.Va. entered at 2-5, its most recent outing a messy loss to Mary- land when it blew a sizeable fourth-quarter lead of its own.

There would be no collapse this time -- not against a sad-sack Tar Heels squad that's last in the ACC in total defense, last in rushing defense, last in scoring defense, last in turnover margin -- say, didn't Julius Peppers once play for this bunch? -- and pretty much lost in John Bunting's sixth (and maybe final) year at the helm.

Bunting's 42nd defeat -- vs. 25 wins -- became a foregone conclusion 5½ minutes into the second half. That's when Sewell zipped 18 yards on an option keeper for a touchdown and a 16-0 Virginia cushion that might as well have been 1,600-0.

The Tar Heels, you see, have managed more than 16 points only twice this season -- against I-AA Furman and against South Florida -- and they weren't about to scale this barrier. Weren't even about to dent the end zone against a U.Va. defense that had yielded 59 points in its past two starts.

The way this how-did-ESPN-get-stuck-with-these-guys? production got off the ground, you would've thought U.Va. was going to blow the doors off UNC's jalopy. Sewell passed to Jason Snelling for 10 yards on the game's third snap and to Kevin Ogletree for 12 two plays later. He found Ogletree for 17 more yards with a deft fade-pattern toss and then sprinted for 11 and a first down at UNC's 21.

And the Cavs eventually settled for a field goal.

Pattern established. By the end of the half, U.Va. had nine gains of 10 or more yards and a 9-zip lead that should've been wider and could've been narrower if Chris Cook hadn't stripped the ball from UNC tailback Ronnie McGill on a pass play that would've given the Tar Heels a first down inside Virginia's 15.

Against some teams, unrealized opportunities and a nine-point edge might be inviting trouble. Against UNC, it was to yawn. The Tar Heels switched quarterbacks. Didn't matter. They kept running McGill into the middle of the pile. Didn't do much to move the chains. They committed turnovers and penalties. They took their lumps and trudged off the field.

They'll be back in two years.

The Cavaliers can't wait.

 

UVA NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Oct 20, 2006

JUST FOR KICKS: Junior Ryan Weigand replaced Chris Gould as Virginia's punter last night against North Carolina. Weigand, who didn't play last season after transferring from a California junior college, averaged 37.7 yards on three first-half punts.

Gould, as usual, took care of the place-kicking, and the junior from Lock Haven, Pa., supplied all the Cavaliers' scoring in the first half. He'd never made more than two field goals in a game before last night, but Gould connected from 31, 43 and 43 to send U.Va. into the break with a 9-0 lead.

NEW LOOK: Kevin Crawford got his first start last night. Crawford, a 6-3, 284-pound redshirt freshman from Woodbridge, started at end in U.Va.'s 3-4 defense. Another redshirt freshman, Jeffrey Fitzgerald, was at the other end, and junior Chris Long, whose customary position is end, appeared to line up at nose tackle. All three of Virginia's nose tackles - Allen Billyk, Keenan Carter and Nate Collins - played later in the first half.

GIVING BACK: Chicago Bears tailback Thomas Jones, U.Va.'s all-time leading rusher, will be in Charlottesville tomorrow for a ceremony recognizing his parents, Betty and Thomas. The Joneses have sent six of their seven children to college - three to U.Va. - and their seventh is a high school senior.

At tomorrow's ceremony, a gift from the younger Thomas Jones to his alma mater will be announced. Former Virginia stars Tiki and Ronde Barber recently pledged $1 million to U.Va.'s capital campaign.

Jones, a graduate of Powell Valley High School, rushed for 3,998 yards during his Virginia career (1996-99). His brother, Julius Jones, played at Notre Dame and is now a tailback with the Dallas Cowboys.

SPECIAL GUEST: Two of the football recruits who have committed to U.Va. for 2007 - defensive back Ras-I Dowling and offensive tackle Billy Cuffee - are graduates of Chesapeake's Deep Creek High and are now in the postgraduate program at Hargrave Military Academy. Their classmates at Hargrave include another Deep Creek product, Mike Scott, a recruiting target for U.Va. basketball coach Dave Leitao.

Scott, a 6-8, 215-pound forward, was scheduled to attend last night's football game at Scott Stadium as part of his official visit to U.Va. Scott signed with Temple last fall but was released from his letter of intent after John Chaney retired as the Owls' coach.

Virginia no longer is recruiting 6-6 forward Eric Wallace, who plays with Scott at Hargrave. Wallace recently withdrew the commitment he'd made to U.Va., and Leitao decided to look at other options.

REUNION: On opposing sidelines last night were U.Va. offensive tackle Davon Robb and North Carolina safety Kareen Taylor. Both played for coach Marshall Parker at Hopewell High School. Robb came to U.Va. as a walk-on. He later earned a scholarship but never has cracked the offensive-line rotation. Taylor, who prepped at Fork Union Military Academy, is a three-year starter for the Tar Heels. In UNC's 7-5 win over U.Va. at Kenan Stadium last season, Taylor made one of the game's biggest plays when he sacked quarterback Marques Hagans in the fourth quarter.

FACES IN THE CROWD: Among those spotted in the Scott Stadium press box before last night's game were Norwood Teague and Danny Wilmer.

Teague, Virginia Commonwealth University's athletic director, is a UNC graduate. He worked in the athletic departments at U.Va. and UNC before moving to VCU this year.

Wilmer spent 17 seasons as an assistant at U.Va. under George Welsh, Groh's predecessor, and was responsible for recruiting numerous standouts. Last night's game was the first Wilmer had attended at U.Va. since Welsh retired after the 2000 season.

HONORED: For his performance in U.Va.'s 37-0 rout of Duke on Sept. 30, defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald was named Lincoln Financial Group's player of the game.

Fitzgerald, a redshirt freshman from Hermitage High, returned a fumble 23 yards for a touchdown against Duke, and he also intercepted a pass. In Fitzgerald's name, Lincoln Financial will donate $1,000 to the ACC's general scholarship fund.

BUZZARD'S LUCK: A bad season got worse for North Carolina last weekend when its leading tackler, senior linebacker Larry Edwards, broke his collarbone during pre-game warm-ups. Edwards, whose injury was diagnosed after the game, played through his pain and made nine tackles in UNC's loss to South Florida.

"Anything can happen in football," Tar Heels coach John Bunting said. "You've just got to move on . . . The disappointing thing about this for him and us is that he was really starting to play his best football."

STAYING HOME: U.Va.'s next game will be its third straight at Scott Stadium. Virginia's opponent Oct. 28 will be ACC rival N.C. State (2-1, 3-3). Lincoln Financial Sports/Raycom will televise the noon game.

The Wolfpack leads the series 32-20-1, but the Cavaliers have won four of the past six meetings. The teams haven't played each other since Nov. 1, 2003, when State won a 51-37 shootout in Raleigh, N.C. - Jeff White
 

No repeat for Cavs
UVa makes lead stick this time
Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- For the second week in a row, Virginia held an opponent scoreless for the first half Thursday night.

That's where the resemblance ended.

At a point in the game where Virginia had unraveled against Maryland, the Cavaliers caught a break Thursday and capitalized in a 23-0 victory over North Carolina.

A crowd of 56,632 turned out at Scott Stadium, where Carolina hasn't beaten Virginia since 1981 in a streak that has reached 13 games.

The Tar Heels, who trailed 9-0 at the half, got the ball to start the second half and took no time in moving to the Virginia 38 behind substitute quarterback Joe Dailey.

On first down, Dailey took one step back from center and threw the football toward wide receiver Brooks Foster.

The ball fell incomplete in front of the Virginia bench but several UVa players chased it, with Nate Lyles recovering at the Cavaliers' 44.

Officials ruled it was a backwards pass and signalled Virginia first down, but it was obvious the play would be reviewed -- particularly after replays showed the ball being tipped by Virginia linebacker Jermaine Dias.

There was also some question whether Lyles was in bounds, but the original call stood because evidence to the contrary was not indisputable.

"I was standing right there," said Groh, who felt the ball had gone backwards but was not aware of a possible Dias tip.

"We do a silly little drill on Thursdays where we deal with sideline recoveries. Maybe it comes up once a year, maybe not even once a year. He's [Lyles] a very alert player and that's certainly part of it."

Virginia had not scored a touchdown to that point and it looked as if it might have to settle for a fourth Chris Gould field goal before Carolina's Jacoby Watkins was called for pass interference on second-and-22.

On the first play after the penalty, Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell rolled right on the Cavaliers' first option play of the game, ducked inside the pursuit and raced 18 yards for his second rushing touchdown in as many games.

Until that point, UVa and Carolina had played six quarters over two seasons, scoring one touchdown, four field goals and a safety, counting the Tar Heels' 7-5 victory in Chapel Hill, N.C., in 2005.

Virginia has held three of its last four opponents scoreless for a half, but Thursday night's affair was more reminiscent of the Cavaliers' 37-0 victory over another Coastal Division foe, Duke.

In the Maryland game, Virginia led 20-0 at the half but was plagued by turnovers in the second half and lost 28-26. The Cavaliers dominated just as thoroughly in the first half Thursday but could muster only three Gould field goals despite outgaining the Tar Heels 192-70.

The last of those field goals, a 43-yarder with 14 seconds left before the half, gave Virginia (3-5 overall, 2-2 ACC) the consolation of knowing that Carolina would need two scores to take the lead.

Groh said the Cavaliers never evoked the Maryland collapse. But he wasn't with the kickers, who left the locker room early to warm up for the second half.

"The specialists got together and said, 'We can't let last week happen again,'" said Gould, who yielded punting duties to Ryan Weigand and ended a streak of six straight misses from beyond 40 yards.

"We said, 'If we get a 50-yard field goal, we have to make it. If we get backed up, we have to make a big punt.' We let our team down last week and we weren't going to happen again this week."

Carolina (1-6, 0-4) never got inside Virginia's 35-yard line and finished with 182 yards, its second-lowest total of the season. Cameron Sexton, a redshirt freshman who was making his third start, was 3-for-8 before giving way to Dailey.

Sexton wasn't injured, but he might have qualified for an examination when he said: "We can get to a bowl game. I really believe that. Why not? We've got five games left."

The Tar Heels, whose lone victory came in a 45-42 shootout with Furman, had been limited to one touchdown in three of its first six games but had not previously been shut out.

"We're starting to look like we always felt we had a chance to look," Groh said.
 

Gould shines with lightened load
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The biggest surprise out of Virginia on Thursday night wasn't really a surprise.

Cavaliers coach Al Groh had been talking about dividing his team's kicking duties since the preseason and he finally made the move.

Ryan Weigand took over as punter as Chris Gould concentrated on kickoffs and field goals against North Carolina.

While Weigand didn't immediately distinguish himself, Gould had three field goals by halftime, including a pair of 43-yarders.

Gould had missed his previous six attempts from 40 yards or longer and was 2-for-8 from that distance for the season.

Weigand's first punt went for 33 yards, which gained him an audience with Groh as he left the field, and his next two first-half punts went for 40 yards.

Gould had averaged 39.8 yards on 44 punts in Virginia's first seven games, but it wasn't his average that bothered Groh.

Groh said he didn't like the way Gould's punts looked. Indeed, several of Gould's longer punts came on balls that fell short of opposing return men but had favorable rolls.

The last straw may have come in a 28-26 loss to Maryland, when a 16-yard punt shanked by Gould led to a short field and the Terrapins' second touchdown.

Weigand's short first punt Thursday night was followed by a personal foul and 15-yard penalty against Rashawn Jackson that resulted in North Carolina taking possession only 18 yards from the original line of scrimmage.

Weigand's punts, one of which was returned for 12 yards, lacked hang time. However, if the trade-off was better accuracy from Gould in the first half, that was one area of the UVa kicking game that was improved by the move.

Wilmer sighting

Danny Wilmer, who recruited more than half the 28 ex-Virginia players currently on NFL rosters, paid his first visit to Scott Stadium since his last season as a Cavaliers assistant in 2000.

Wilmer, who was not retained when Groh succeeded George Welsh as head coach, was coaxed into attending Thursday night's game by one-time UVa coaching colleague Ken Mack.

Mack, an assistant coach at UVa from 1982-1995, is serving as an analyst on the North Carolina radio network while Rick Steinbacher is familiarizing himself with his new position as UNC's assistant athletic director for marketing and promotions. That job previously was held by new Virginia Commonwealth athletic director Norwood Teague, who got his start in administration at Virginia. Teague also was in attendance at Thursday night's game.

Mack, a former Carolina running back, is director of major gifts for Carolina's Rams Club. Wilmer recruited current NFL rushing leader Tiki Barber for Virginia and Mack coached him for three years.

Wilmer, from Buena Vista, works in community relations at UVa.

For starters

Redshirt freshman Kevin Crawford got his first start as Virginia made its weekly shift at nose guard. Crawford actually started the game at right defensive end, with Chris Long moving to the nose, but Long was back at end on the next play. By the end of the first quarter, Allen Billyk and Keenan Carter also saw time at nose guard.

Odds and ends

The field was covered in smoke from pregame fireworks when Jameel Sewell's first pass slipped through the fingers of UVa tight end Jon Stupar. Three other Cavaliers receivers dropped passes in the first quarter. ... A second-quarter sack by sophomore Antonio Appleby was his first of the season.

Virginia next week

The Cavaliers will wrap up a three-game homestand with a noon game on Saturday, Oct. 28, against North Carolina State (WFXR). The Wolfpack (3-3 overall, 2-1 ACC) visits Maryland this Saturday before coming to Charlottesville for the first time since 2002.
 

Cavaliers shut down Heels
The Tar Heels extend their winless streak in Charlottesville to 13 games as they show little passion on both sides of the ball in giving up 23 points to a Virginia team that has been struggling this season
Robbi Pickeral, Staff Writer
 

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. - North Carolina began the football season with a goal of securing a winning season for the first time since 2001.
With that hope evaporated after a 23-0 blowout at Virginia on Thursday night, the hapless Tar Heels are left with this:

"Right now, the goal going forward is to win a football game,'' said UNC coach John Bunting, whose team has lost 13 straight games at Virginia, dating to 1981. "That's pretty much been our goal for the last two or weeks: Play well enough to win. Get more points than they get."

How about getting any points?

The shutout was Virginia's first against UNC since 1926 (when the Cavs won 3-0) and the first time the Tar Heels have been blanked overall since 2004.

With five games left in the regular season, the best UNC (1-6, 0-4 ACC) can finish is 6-6 -- if it wins out.

And considering the way they played at Scott Stadium, .500 seems unlikely, especially given that the Tar Heels have yet to beat a Division I-A opponent this fall.

"I can't put into words how disappointed that locker room is,'' Bunting said. "They're a discouraged group of kids right now. I do everything I can to pick them up. Things that happen sometimes out there, we don't have an explanation for."

Thursday night's loss was particularly aggravating because the Cavs (3-5, 2-2) were having such a lousy season, as well.

Still, UNC gave up 194 rushing yards -- including a career-high 131 to Jason Snelling -- to a team that was managing only 92.

UNC also turned the ball over three times, allowed its quarterbacks to be sacked three times, and pieced together only 182 yards of total offense.

This probably wasn't the type of game ESPN was hoping for when the network scheduled it before the season. It marked the first time since 1978 that both teams entered the rivalry with losing records, and it showed.

The Tar Heels' offense had the ball in Virginia territory three times in the first half but came away with nothing.

On the first occasion, running back Ronnie McGill had the ball stripped on the 21-yard-line and Virginia recovered it. The second time, punter David Wooldridge kicked it away after a three-and-out. Finally, a 15-yard sack by Cavs linebacker Antonio Appleby drove quarterback Cam Sexton back in UNC territory and eventually led to a punt.

UNC gained only 70 yards of offense, total, before halftime. In comparison, Virginia was downright explosive, kicking field goals of 31, 43 and 43 yards and racking up 192 total yards.

After a 3-for-8 performance in the first half, Sexton was replaced by junior Joe Dailey, who started the season at quarterback but hadn't played since the fourth quarter of the Miami loss.

He didn't fare much better.

With 11:47 left in the third quarter, on a first-and-10 at the Virginia 38, Dailey's flat pass to Brooks Foster was batted back by linebacker Jermaine Dias and ruled a fumble because officials thought it was a backward pass. Dailey said he thought it was a forward pass, but the play was reviewed and stood.

Virginia got the ball and eventually scored its first touchdown with 9:21 left in the third quarter on an 18-yard run by quarterback Jameel Sewell.

That gave the Cavs a 16-0 lead, and there was never any sense that the Tar Heels, who had such high expectations just two months ago, could ever catch up.

After the game, Dailey said he thought some of the offensive players lacked passion.

Bunting, whose job could be in jeopardy despite the three years left on his contract, is 0-3 at Scott Stadium. Asked if he had met with athletics director Dick Baddour to discuss his future, Bunting said after his news conference: "I talk with Dickie all the time about a lot of things. All the time."

Baddour, who attended the game, was not available after the game for comment.

Before the kickoff, he told ESPN that he was proud of the way UNC's players and coaches had continued to work hard to try to turn the season around. He said everyone was disappointed with the way the season has gone but that Bunting had done a lot of things to solidify the program -- including recruiting and team discipline. And, obviously, he said, everyone -- including Bunting -- thinks they need better results.

BRIEFLY: Linebacker Garrett White was benched for the game after making what a UNC official termed an "inappropriate gesture" toward the crowd during pregame warm-ups. Bunting was seen yelling at the player in ESPN replays after the incident. White was on the sideline in street clothes during the game.

 

Snelling helps 'set a tone' for Cavs
Jason Snelling rushes for a career-high 131 yards and scores a touchdown.
By Jim Reedy
981-3222

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- It was no great surprise that this was a career night for Virginia running back Jason Snelling.

He was, after all, playing against one of the nation's worst defenses, a swiss-cheese outfit that had been gored by everyone from 12th-ranked Clemson to mighty Furman. North Carolina's average of 207.8 rushing yards allowed per game ranked 113th of 119 Division I-A teams.

Snelling took full advantage of the opportunity, rushing 19 times for a career-high 131 yards and one touchdown in Virginia's 23-0 win.

The fifth-year senior had been coming on of late, helped in no small part by the continuing maturation of his young offensive line and by matchups with Duke, East Carolina and Maryland. Thursday's effort gave him 407 yards -- 5.5 per carry -- in the past four games.

"He helped set an attitude, set a tone, set a style," UVa coach Al Groh said of his 5-foot-11, 232-pound bruiser. "Some of those runs he made were real warrior runs."

Snelling had a solid but unspectacular first half, though he opened the second quarter with a 25-yard run that got the Cavaliers out to their own 40-yard line and sparked a drive toward Chris Gould's second field goal.

When Virginia (3-5, 2-2 ACC) took over at its 13 with 6:32 left in the third quarter, Snelling had 65 yards on 12 carries.

He broke out, running 20 yards around the left side beyond a block from left guard Branden Albert. Moments later, he burst through the middle and cut left for 15 yards. Then 17 yards on the next play.

Midway through the final quarter, Snelling ran 8 yards off left tackle, boosting his rushing total past the 126 yards he put up against Temple last season.

The yardage surely was not easy, but it was plentiful. Near the end, Snelling laughed on the sideline with Albert and wide receiver Fontel Mines as a graphic popped up on ESPN's national telecast, saluting the Chester native as the player of the game.

Groh didn't disagree.

"Teams that can really run the ball, tough-minded teams, need somebody that does more than carry the ball for you," the coach said. "They need somebody to carry the flag."
 

Cavaliers have leader in QB Sewell
Aaron McFarling

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- He stopped in the end zone, a place neither team had seen in the first half, and demonstratively clapped his hands as he stared up into the cheering crowd.

Five days after announcing his arrival, Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell could finally enjoy it -- and he was not shy about doing it.

Virginia has its leader. He is a redshirt freshman who just turned 19. He is tall, he is fast, he has touch.

Best of all, he's one heck of a fast learner.

Sewell's performance could easily be overlooked after the Cavaliers beat North Carolina 23-0 on Thursday night, but it shouldn't be. Much of the talk will center around coach Al Groh getting a much-needed win and the defense posting a shutout and tailback Jason Snelling running for a career-high 131 yards.

All nice stories, no doubt. But if you really want a reason to get excited, a storyline that goes beyond a get-well evening against a reeling team and takes a peek at the future, then hitch your wagon to Sewell.

The last time Sewell played in a Thursday night game, he couldn't have looked less prepared. He skipped passes. He overshot receivers on short routes by yards, not inches. Making his first career start, Sewell spent the entire first half against Georgia Tech looking like a kid plucked out of the stands.

But almost immediately, he got better. He improved in the second half against Georgia Tech, then was solid the following week in a win over Duke.

Then last week against Maryland, Sewell sprouted wings. His 335 yards of total offense showed everyone just how high his ceiling could be, but perhaps even more impressive were his words after the game.

He refused to take any credit. He scoffed at suggestions that he should be proud of his performance. He lambasted himself for his one big mistake, a costly interception that the Terrapins ran back for a touchdown during their comeback.

Those were the marks of a young man who knows his role, who understands that a quarterback is ultimately judged on whether his team wins or loses. A personal celebration means nothing in an otherwise somber locker room, and if Sewell felt any personal pride, he wasn't going to show it.

No worries about this week, and Sewell's a major part of the reason.

Unlike his counterparts for UNC, Sewell made no game-changing mistakes. He threw well when the game was still in doubt, completing three of four passes (and just missing on the fourth) as UVa kicked a field goal on its first drive.

Later, a pass over the middle to normally reliable target Kevin Ogletree was dropped, negating what would have been a huge gain and perhaps a touchdown. But Sewell shook it off with ease, never trying to force things, still throwing passes with confidence.

Sewell's final stats -- 17-for-25 passing for 166 yards, plus nine rushes for 40 yards and a touchdown -- weren't the stuff of legend. But there's something about him now, a feeling that every time he takes a snap something big could happen.

The Cavaliers didn't have that five weeks ago. Nothing even close.

There was a play early in the second quarter that said it all. Sewell dropped back and was pressured by two defenders, but he slipped free toward the right sideline. UNC's E.J. Wilson had the pursuit angle on Sewell, but it didn't matter -- the quarterback beat the defender to the corner and scooted ahead for 15 yards.

After the game, Sewell sought out Wilson and gave him a hug.

Wilson's only a freshman, after all. He'll learn.
 

Post-game news conferences different this year
Is there a Sonny Randle curse?
Doug Doughty

I’m continually struck by the number of people who hear Al Groh’s postgame football news conferences, especially Virginia Tech fans who want to know, “Did you ask [such and such] question?”

Used to be, the first five questions went to Jed Williams, sideline reporter for the Cavalier network, but Williams has been replaced in that position this year by former UVa quarterback Tim Sherman.

My understanding is that Williams might have been a little too opinionated on his WINA call-in show (“Best Seat in the House”) to suit UVa’s athletic brass, and that Williams, himself, might have wanted to be more of a journalist/reporter than that position normally calls for.

In any case, Williams still hosts the pre-game show and calls UVa women’s basketball games, so the parting was amicable. However, the sideline reporter no longer gets the first five questions, partly because Sherman’s father works for the football program and his son would feel uncomfortable in a second-guesser’s role.

That’s a long way of saying, if there is an obvious question to be asked, it’s more likely to come from one of the beat reporters this year. That was the case Saturday, when Groh said the Cavaliers’ game with Maryland, won by the Terps 28-26, had hinged on two plays.

“Those two plays … ” I recall having asked Groh. “You mean the fumbled punt and the interception?”

No, Groh said. He was referring to a fumbled punt by Emmanuel Byers at the UVa 1-yard line and a 16-yard punt by Chris Gould.

My first reaction when I heard that was, “He’s giving [Jameel] Sewell a free pass again.”

Don’t get me wrong. Sewell has gotten progressively better since being handed the job at halftime of a Sept. 16 game at Western Michigan, but, when Western Michigan returned an interception for a touchdown, Kevn McCabe lost his job and was relegated to the third string, not to be seen in four subsequent UVa games.

Even when Sewell was intercepted twice at the end of UVa’s 24-7 loss at Georgia Tech, after a 2-for-9 first half when most of his balls were thrown into the dirt, he remained the starter. At the time, it smacked of a double standard.

Although the win-loss record might not reflect it, there is reason to believe that the decision to go to Sewell – if not the timing -- was the correct one. I still think that McCabe would have given UVa the best chance to beat Western Michigan, but I can see where Sewell has the potential to do more than McCabe or two-game starter Christian Olsen.

And, by the time Groh met with the media Tuesday, he was saying that four plays had cost Virginia the game, including Erin Henderson’s interception return that put the Terps on top 28-20 with 8:00 left.

The fourth play, in my opinion, hasn’t gotten nearly enough attention. That was the 56-yard Keon Lattimore touchdown run that made it 21-20 with 9:11 remaining. It had taken Maryland only 14:32 to come back from a 20-0 halftime deficit and take the lead.

If you remember, that was the same drive where Virginia had Maryland in a second-and-17 situation following a Chris Long sack at the Terps’ 9 and allowed them to wriggle out of it.

Until I looked it up minutes ago, I did not realize that Virginia had given up a 56-yard run earlier in the season. UVa cornerback Chris Cook was able to drag down Western Michigan’s Mark Bonds and make the Broncos settle for a field goal but, as I recall, the plays were eerily similar. Same end of the field, same side, too.

Lattimore’s run was arguably the biggest play of the game, particularly since it was the eventual winning touchdown. In the first three quarters, Maryland had failed to gain as many as 10 yards on 23 of 24 running plays.

So, what happened?

“It’s a famous answer,” Groh said Tuesday. “I hate to use it: Miscommunication.”

“The linebacker often in that defense makes a call to the defensive end to change his alignment or technique,” Groh said. “In this particular case, he was making a call in the same direction to the outside linebacker.

“The defensive end heard the call come in that direction [and] thought he was making a technique change. In fact, he was talking to another player, so we ended up with two players in the same gap and nobody in the gap through which [Lattimore ran].”

If any one of four plays had turned out differently, Groh said, the outcome would have been different. But, I can’t remember a game with as many plays – far more than four – that were worthy of discussion.

Take the series that ended the first half, with Virginia kicking a field goal after Kevin Ogletree’s 51-yard reception had given the Cavaliers a first down at the Maryland 4. On third down, Sewell was sacked for a 5-yard loss on a play that brought howls from offensive coordinator Mike Groh in the press box.

Turns out, Sewell’s third-down pass was supposed to go to Rashawn Jackson, a redshirt freshman linebacker who has been playing fullback in short-yardage situations. One version of the story is that Jackson was held up in the middle of the defense; another version is that he ran the wrong route. In either case, he wasn’t where he was supposed to be.

Maybe it was that “famous” answer again: Miscommunication.

It’s been a fascinating game to write about.

ALL I’M THINKING about the Virginia-North Carolina game tonight is that, if the Tar Heels win, I’m going to believe there’s a Sonny Randle curse.

Randle said in a recent interview that he continues to be haunted by his two-year tenure as Virginia coach in the mid-1970s and that he won’t go back to Scott Stadium unless on assignment as a broadcast analyst.

Well, he’s had three UVa games this season – home games with Western Michigan and Maryland that he did for ESPN360 – and a Thursday night game at Georgia Tech that he did for ISP on the ACC radio network that is available on XM Radio. The Cavaliers lost all three games.

He’ll be back on radio tonight. If the Cavaliers lose tonight, which would be their third as the favorite with Randle attendance, you could put that Curse in upper case.

“That’s exactly right,” said Randle via cellphone heading across Afton Mountain. “Just put that on me.”

OUR TRAVELING PARTY will include Salem Times-Register sports editor Brian “Hoop” Hoffman, who will be making his first trip to Scott Stadium this weekend, although he recently was at the John Paul Jones Arena to see Eric Clapton in concert.

Having seen James Taylor, I had told Hoffman that the acoustics were great but that the upper-level seating was cramped. He didn’t disagree with me on either count. I thought the seats were too narrow. He said there wasn’t enough leg room.

If you’ve been to a concert or one of the shows so far at the JPJA, I’d welcome your feedback.

 

This time around, Virginia gets 'the kill'
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 20, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Shades of the Maryland game danced in the Cavaliers' heads as they took another shutout into halftime against North Carolina on Thursday night.
Five days removed from the biggest collapse of the Al Groh era, Virginia was determined not to let it happen again.
Chris Gould kicked three field goals, Jason Snelling ran for a career-high 131 yards and the defense notched its second shutout of the season as Virginia (3-5, 2-2 ACC) ended a two-game home losing streak with a 23-0 win over North Carolina at Scott Stadium.
The Tar Heels (1-6, 0-4) haven't won in Charlottesville since 1981.
Virginia was in a similar situation last Saturday, taking a 20-0 lead into halftime against Maryland only to watch the Terps rally for 28 unanswered points in a shocking 28-26 win.
Groh didn't bring up last week's loss when the Cavaliers went into halftime Thursday with a 9-0 lead. He didn't have to.
"Not many people said anything about what happened last week," UVa sophomore cornerback Chris Cook said. "But you knew everybody was thinking about it when we went into halftime."
The Cavaliers didn't relent. Virginia forced three turnovers that led to 14 points and held North Carolina to 182 total yards, the third time it has held an opponent to fewer than 200 yards this season.
"Good teams go in for the kill. Good teams get aggressive," defensive end Chris Long said. "I feel we were successful in shutting the door this week."
The Tar Heels switched quarterbacks at halftime, going with Joe Dailey over the ineffective Cam Sexton, who was 3-for-8 for 22 yards in the first half. It made little difference.
Dailey tried to throw a swing pass to a wide receiver on the Tar Heels' first drive of the second half, but linebacker Jermaine Dias tipped it. The ball went backward and rolled toward the sideline. Safety Nate Lyles wisely went after the ball, recovering it just before it went out of bounds and giving UVa possession near midfield.
"We have a silly little drill sometimes on Thursday that we practice where we deal with sideline recoveries," Groh said. "Maybe it comes up once a year. ? Nate's a very smart, alert player and that was certainly part of it."
"Good defenses don't always create turnovers," Long said. "They take advantage of opportunities where there are turnovers to be made."
After a 30-yard pass to Tom Santi, Sewell ran an option to the right and kept it, slicing threw the UNC defense for an 18-yard touchdown run that made it 16-0 with over nine minutes left in the third quarter.
Virginia's defense didn't let up. Cook, who forced a fumble when UNC was inside the UVa 20 in the first quarter, intercepted a pass intended for Hakeem Nicks early in the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers took over at the UNC 19-yard line and Snelling scored on a 5-yard run two plays later to make it 23-0.
UNC never crossed midfield after that. It was Virginia's first shutout at home since blanking Maryland 16-0 in 2004.
Virginia, which only managed 199 total yards in a 7-5 loss to North Carolina in Chapel Hill last season, finished with 370 yards Thursday. The Cavaliers ran for 194 yards, a season high.
"Some of those runs that (Snelling) made were real warrior runs," Groh said. "He really did, I thought, carry the flag and set the tone."
"(An effective running game) definitely helps everything," Sewell said. "It opens up everything when you can pound the defense like that and basically do what you really want."
Sewell was efficient in his fifth career start, completing 17 of 25 passes for 166 yards and throwing no interceptions.
Even UVa's kicking game was on target. Gould connected on three first-half field goals, making a 31-yarder and two 43-yarders to give Virginia a 9-0 halftime lead. The junior hit his first two field goals this season from 40-plus yards in the season opener at Pittsburgh but had missed his last five opportunities from that range.
"We've started to look like we've always felt that this team as it developed would have a chance to look," Groh said. "It's the best we've played, yet there's still quite a few things out there that we can do a lot better."

 

Virginia crushes error-prone UNC
Gould kicks three field goals in the first half; UNC loses its 13th in a row in Charlottesville
By Bill Cole
JOURNAL REPORTER
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.

Virginia handed North Carolina another miserable time in Scott Stadium last night, using the unerring right foot of kicker Chris Gould and taking advantage of four crucial mistakes in a 23-0 victory.

Given the ball twice on North Carolina turnovers after halftime, Virginia scored two touchdowns to put away the game in front of 56,632. Both turnovers were by quarterback Joe Dailey, who came off the bench at halftime to replace starter Cameron Sexton with his team down 9-0 on Gould's three first-half field goals.

But Dailey couldn't generate a spark either, and North Carolina went down in Charlottesville for the 13th consecutive time and saw its season continue to fall apart.

"It's just frustrating," said tight end Jon Hamlett of North Carolina. "I thought we would come up here and play hard. It's just frustrating. That's all I can say."

The Tar Heels fell to 1-6 overall and can do no better in the regular-season now than finish with a break-even record. They fell to 0-4 in the ACC, suffering their first shutout loss since Sept. 25, 2004, when they were beaten 34-0 at home by Louisville.

The shutout was North Carolina's first in ACC play since Aug. 30, 2003, when Florida State won 37-0 in Chapel Hill. North Carolina suffered its first ACC road shutout since Oct. 26, 2002, when beaten by Wake Forest 31-0.

Also, Virginia posted its first shutout of North Carolina since a 3-0 win in 1926.

The outcome was another blow to Coach John Bunting's program and possibly to his job security after six seasons. On a night when a dormant running game came slightly to life, the quarterbacks struggled, the passing game fizzled, and the Tar Heels committed three turnovers.

"A lot of it is obvious," Bunting said. "We had an opportunity to do something unique up here in light of this very frustrating season. We're not good enough."

The loss was more telling for North Carolina given Virginia's problems this season. Virginia improved to 3-5 overall and 2-2 with 131 yards rushing by tailback Jason Snelling, his season's high. Two of Virginia's victories have come over North Carolina and Duke by a combined 60-0.

Bunting thought the game was still up for grabs at halftime despite trailing, and thought Dailey's experience might bring the Tar Heels back with Sexton struggling to complete a pass. Dailey generated a promising drive on the first possession of the second half but disaster struck on first down at the Virginia 38.

Dailey dropped back to pass and looked to his left to Brooks Foster. He fired a pass to Foster, who was slightly behind him and which made the pass a lateral. Just as Dailey released the ball linebacker Jermaine Dais reached in and hit it with a hand, knocking it further backward.

The ball hit the ground and zipped past Foster. Nate Lyles, a safety, outran Foster to the ball and recovered possession at the Virginia 45. Virginia scored in four plays, helped along by a pass interference call on Jacoby Watkins when he ran into Kevin Ogletree at the UNC 15 on second and 22 from the 33.

Bunting knew then that his team's chances of winning had decreased significantly, with Virginia in front 16-0 after Gould's point-after kick with 9:21 left in the third quarter.

"Now you're behind the 8 ball," Bunting said. "That's tough. That was a huge momentum swing."

Another Dailey pass led to an interception by Chris Cook, who outfought Hakeem Nicks for possession at the UNC 19. Virginia scored the final touchdown with 12:03 left on a 5-yard run by Snelling.

"When you lose it hurts," Bunting said. "It takes a lot out of you. It's hard for the players. It's hard for the coaches."