Cavs, Terps matchup heating up
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
November 2, 2004

When Alvin Pearman and the rest of his senior teammates arrived in Charlottesville for the 2001 football season, there wasn’t much fire in the old border war between Virginia and Maryland.

The Cavaliers had reeled off nine straight wins against their northern neighbors and not many of those had been close. But things changed when Ralph Friedgen and Al Groh took over the programs at their alma maters.

Groh had taken over a sagging UVa program and hoped to restore the winning tradition that George Welsh built. Friedgen, who also played at his alma mater, wanted to bring winning football back to College Park.

A new border battle

Somewhere along the way there was trouble brewing between the two programs.

Bad blood. That’s how outside observers would typify the renewed rivalry between the Terps and the Cavaliers. But that is how rivalries traditionally evolve.

The fact that Maryland has won two of the last three meetings has added some spice to the series as well.

To say there’s friction between the two programs, the two coaching staffs and the players would be an understatement. Last season there was some sort of confrontation between Groh and Maryland assistant coach and recruiting coordinator James Franklin on the field at Byrd Stadium during warm-ups.

That led to a near brouhaha between the two teams prior to kickoff. It was very Miami vs. Florida State-like as the bad blood spilled over.

“The coaches were out there disagreeing and we (the players) had to back up our coach,” said UVa senior safety Jay Hardy.

When asked Monday at his weekly press conference if the two programs simply just didn’t like each other, Groh did his best to not answer the question.

“I don’t know,” Groh said with a sheepish grin. “I hear some rumors out there.”

Some pinpoint the feud’s beginning to Maryland stealing Virginia commitment Robert Armstrong, a 6-foot-4, 298-pound sophomore nose tackle from Arlington. UVa coaches admittedly run into Maryland’s staff more than any other conference school on the recruiting trail.

“It is definitely a full blown rivalry now,” said Pearman on Monday. “It’s not an ugly rivalry ... yet, but it’s a heated rivalry.”

Don’t overlook the Terps

After several years of taking the Terps for granted, all of a sudden the Cavaliers have had to pay closer attention. Since Friedgen’s arrival, the Terps have won both their home games against Virginia and the Cavs have won their one home game in the series.

All of those games have been physical and featured an overflow of trash talking. Last year was the closest things have come to getting out of control, as they used to when Duke and Virginia just couldn’t seem to get along.

In some ways, this has been a good thing for the ACC. It adds another rivalry game and that’s something the Terps needed. When the revival of Maryland’s program began, UVa was the only conference school located near College Park, a place that basketball coach Gary Williams used to sarcastically refer to as the Alaska of the league.

“I think it’s a combination of a lot of things,” Pearman said. “The proximity, we’re relatively equal teams. I don’t know if Coach Groh and Coach Friedgen had an understanding back in the day, but that would make sense if they had.”

If the two did, they’ve kept it quiet. The popular theory is that some friction has developed between the two since they each breathed life back into their respective programs.

“I don’t know where it came from, but it’s here,” Virginia quarterback Marques Hagans said of the rivalry. “There is bad blood. It’s obvious when these two teams play. It makes the game more intense.”

Hagans said he believed that even if Maryland had not stunned Florida State last weekend, that this week’s game would still feature the same intensity.

“[Maryland] would be just as hyped up this week. That’s just how the rivalry is, but I don’t know why,” said Hagans, who indicated he well remembers last season’s incident before the game.

“It’s something our players haven’t forgotten and our coaching staff hasn’t forgotten,” Hagans said.

If he was involved in last year’s pre-game excitement, the UVa junior wasn’t about to admit it.

“I might get in trouble if I tell you I was involved in that,” Hagans said with a cat-chomping, canary-eating grin. “Let’s just say I saw it take place.”

Embroiled in a race for the ACC championship, Virginia could feed off the intensity of this game and win back some national respect if it beats the team that beat Florida State.

Maryland on the other hand, would like nothing better than to knock Virginia out of the race.

“The way I figure it, we win the next three, I’m 7-4,” Friedgen said.

Not if Groh has anything to do with it.

Cavaliers still in the hunt
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
November 2, 2004

From the first day of the season, Virginia coach Al Groh repeatedly spoke of one goal. Groh’s mission was to be in the race for the ACC title on Nov. 1.
Thanks to some help this past weekend from some unlikely schools – North Carolina and Maryland – Groh’s goal has come to fruition.
UNC topped Miami, who was in first place, and Maryland outlasted Florida State, giving the Seminoles a second loss in the league.
“The whole weekend was crazy,” Groh said.
Thanks to the results, Virginia moved into a three-way tie for the top spot in the ACC at 3-1 with Miami and Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers can now claim that they control their own destiny.
Win its final four games of the season and Virginia will not only win the ACC title but also earn the automatic bid to the Bowl Championship Series.
Easier said than done. But the Cavaliers will approach the mission the way they approached the season.
“We have to take it one game at a time,” said safety Jermaine Hardy.
Virginia tailback Alvin Pearman agreed.
“It’s going to take a lot of focus this last month,” Pearman said.
The focus starts with Maryland.
Virginia just happens to get the Terps a week after they played arguably its best game of the season.
Maryland (4-4, 2-3) gained 387 yards on offense against the Seminoles highly touted defense. That was more yardage than the Terps gained in their previous three games combined.
Many of the Terrapins players called it the biggest win of their careers. More importantly, it keeps the team’s hopes alive of going to a bowl game.
“This has to be the biggest game that we’ve ever won in our history. After losing three straight games, who would ever believed that we would beat No. 5 Florida State? Biggest game in history,” senior receiver Rich Parson said. “It salvages the season. No doubt in my mind. It’s a turning point.”
Quarterback Joel Statham led the Maryland attack by completing 21 of 40 passes for 333 yards with one TD through the air and another on the ground.
“They certainly demonstrated the value of having patience with a talented young player at any position, but in the case of their quarterback position,” Groh said. “He’s obviously a talented player, a young player. From what I could hear or see, there were lots of people who were trying to do Coach Friedgen’s job for him by picking his quarterback for a number of weeks. He had the patience and confidence in the player and obviously made a good decision how he handled the situation and now he’s got a very good quarterback.”
Friedgen also has a good defense.
Over the last four games, Maryland has allowed only 60 points.
“That’s really championship level points allowed,” Groh said. “If you can do that during the course of the season, the odds are that you’re going to be a championship contender. Now they had some circumstances that will prevent them from doing that this year, but that’s what every team is striving for on defense – to be that way. That is a pretty darn good level of consistency in terms of the most important number that there is.”

Changes in the depth chart. There were a handful of changes on Virginia’s two-deep roster for the Maryland game.
The biggest change involves true freshman Philip Brown. After being listed as Tony Franklin’s backup for the first seven games, Brown is now listed as the starter at the other cornerback spot, which had been manned by Marcus Hamilton.
“Philip has done a nice job,” Groh said. “He has come on real well, right from the start. He’s been tuned in. I thought he played well two weeks ago and as it is every week it is based on who is performing the best at the present time. What a player has done in the past or what he might do in the future has no bearing on who plays each particular Saturday. It’s who’s going to give us the best chance every week.”
Chris Gorham, another true freshman, made his debut on the two-deep, and is listed as the backup for Franklin.
It also appears that another true freshman – Tom Santi – will join Brown in the starting lineup. Santi is listed as the starting fullback, in front of Brandon Isaiah and Kevin Bradley. Santi is also listed as one of the backups at tight end, his usual position.
Apparently Rich Bedesem, a senior linebacker, will get his second straight start. Bedesem is listed ahead of sophomore Kai Parham at the inside linebacker.
For the first time all season, Sean Johnson is the lone punter listed on the depth chart. Kurt Korte, who has punted just once this year, was listed as Johnson’s backup during the first seven contests.
Two names missing from the list are Jason Snelling and Emmanuel Byers. Snelling is continuing to nurse an injury to his ankle. Byers, who was listed as a backup at wideout and punt returner, did not travel to the Duke game on Oct. 23.

Election update. At the end of his weekly press conference on Monday, Groh was asked about today’s Presidential election.
“I haven’t disclosed my vote yet but I have known for quite some time who I was going to vote for,” Groh said with a smile.
Groh did go on to say that he had an orange hat, something that was given to him in support of the candidate he is voting for.
“It has a letter on it, as a matter of fact,” joked Groh.

News & Notes. Virginia’s game on Nov. 13 against Miami will start at 3:30 p.m. ABC will broadcast the game. … Virginia quarterback Marques Hagans told reporters on Monday that he was close to 100 percent. Hagans injured his hip against Florida State.

Rivalry blazes for Terps, Cavs
UVa football
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Where it all started, nobody knows.

Yet, nobody at Virginia was denying Monday that the Cavaliers and Maryland really don't like each other. "I hear some rumors of it," UVa football coach Al Groh said.

That's not all. After Groh and Maryland assistant James Franklin exchanged words and pointed fingers during pregame warm-ups last year in College Park, Md., the teams had to be separated before the opening kickoff.

UVa quarterback and then-wide receiver Marques Hagans won't say if he was involved in the fracas, "but I saw it take place," he said Monday.

"It's something the players haven't forgotten."

UVa defensive back Jermaine Hardy said it has always been his impression that bad blood between the programs was a spillover from the recruiting trail, but when the players became aware of the Groh-Franklin confrontation, it didn't sit well.

"You've got to back up your coach," Hardy said.

Although Virginia beat Maryland nine straight times between 1992-2000, there were some hard feelings in 1999, when defensive back Rovel Hamilton from Melbourne, Fla., committed to the Terrapins, visited Virginia, committed to the Cavaliers but then signed with Maryland.

In the winter of 2002, Virginia signed defensive lineman Robert Armstrong from Arlington, but Armstrong did not qualify for freshman eligibility and instead played at Fork Union Military Academy. After saying in November that he remained committed to UVa, Armstrong jumped at the chance to enroll at Maryland in January 2003.

"That wasn't the way we wanted it to go," Groh said Monday. "We did everything we could to live up to our part of the bargain."

There may have been some hard feelings because UVa had taken Hargrave Military Academy linebacker Ahmad Brooks at mid-year, but Virginia has seldom strayed from a practice of not taking players at mid-year.

Groh and Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen returned to their respective alma maters in 2001 and the home team has won all three of their games since then. The Terrapins (4-4 overall, 2-3 ACC) visit 12th-ranked Virginia (6-1, 3-1) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in a game that will be televised regionally by ABC.

Virginia beat writers were struck earlier in the season at Friedgen's hesitation when asked on an ACC coaches' teleconference about the Cavaliers All-ACC tight end Heath Miller. Friedgen eventually conceded that Miller was a good "receiver."

"It's definitely a full-blown rivalry now," UVa senior Alvin Pearman said. "You don't know if coach Groh and coach Friedgen had some sort of misunderstanding back in the day, but that would make sense."

Still buddies

Hagans said he was heartened by the support of his teammates, and especially Pearman, when the quarterback got off to a slow start in a 37-16 victory over Duke. Hagans threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Deyon Williams with Pearman standing one yard shy of Johnny Papit's 56-year-old school rushing record of 224 yards in one game.

"I didn't know that he only needed one yard till after we had scored the touchdown," Hagans said. "We were looking for the defense to get one last stop, but unfortunately Duke got a first down and we couldn't get him back on the field. Had I known that, I might have taken the rap from coach [Groh] and audibled a play to get him the record."

Nobody abides by Groh's policy of not discussing injuries more stringently than Hagans, who did admit that he had "taken full advantage" of UVa's open date last Saturday and is close to 100 percent physically as he has been all season. Groh said Hagans had an excellent practice Friday before the team took two days off.

Personnel

Freshman cornerback Phillip Brown, a touted recruit who originally signed with Virginia in 2003 before spending a year at Hargrave, is in position to make his first start after moving ahead of sophomore Marcus Hamilton. Hamilton had his second interception of the season against Duke but was penalized twice for pass interference. ... Pearman, who made a rare start at Duke, is listed behind Lundy on the two-deep but Groh did not say which one will start Saturday.

Odds and ends

Virginia was informed Monday that its Nov. 13 home game with Miami also has been picked up by ABC, with the broadcast to start at 3:30 p.m. ... Ryan Best, starting goalie for the UVa men's soccer team at the beginning of the 2003 season, has joined the football team. Best, described as "probably" the best athlete on the soccer team by coach George Gelnovatch, was a running back in high school in Williamstown, N.J. Best quit the soccer team before this season.

U.Va. football report
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© November 2, 2004
Maryland gives notice it can’t be overlooked by knocking off FSU

CHARLOTTESVILLE — The Maryland Terrapins made Al Groh’s job a little easier this week.

Had the Terps come into Scott Stadium this Saturday with a 3-5 record, riding a four-game losing streak, the Virginia coach might have needed to reach into his motivational bag of tricks to convince his players that Maryland is a quality team worthy of their full attention.

But after Maryland knocked off Florida State last week, “there’s little the coach has to say,” Groh said Monday. “It clearly demonstrated to the players what a good team they’re playing against.”

It’s a team that struggled offensively until stunning the Seminoles 20-17 on Saturday.

Quarterback Joel Statham finally found a groove, and Maryland’s running game clicked as well.

One constant, even in its three-game losing streak, was the Maryland defense, which has allowed 60 points in its past four games. “We know we want to run the ball,” U.Va. tailback Alvin Pearman said. “Their specialty is stopping the run.

“It should be a heavyweight fight.”

Ex-Phoebus CB moves to top spot on depth chart

Philip Brown said before the season that he planned to crack the starting lineup this season.

It appears the freshman cornerback from Hampton may have done just that.

Brown, who played at Phoebus High, is listed ahead of Marcus Hamilton on the depth chart released for the Maryland game. Hamilton has started every game this year, but Brown has been coming on, Groh said.

“Philip has done a nice job,” he said. “He’s come on real well right from the start.”

Brown began the season playing mostly as a nickel back but has worked his way into the rotation at corner, spelling starters Hamilton and Tony Franklin.

UNC’s upset of Miami raises players’ eyebrows

Several Virginia players said they were more surprised that North Carolina beat Miami last Saturday than they were that Maryland upset Florida State.

“Carolina just seemed like they believed from the start,” quarterback Marques Hagans said. Virginia beat North Carolina 56-24 on Sept. 11. Pearman said Saturday’s upsets made for a “crazy weekend.”

“Those games just show that it really comes down to who wants it the most,” he said.

Quick kicks … Time off did Hagans good last week. The quarterback, who was slowed by a hip injury against Duke on Oct.23, pronounced his hip “just fine” on Monday. Groh said Hagans looked sharp in practice Thursday and Friday. ... Virginia moved up a spot in the AP poll, to No.12. The Cavaliers jumped two spots in the Bowl Championship Series Standings, to No.14. ... Kickoff for the Miami game Nov.13 has been set for 3:30 p.m. The game will be televised by ABC.

Phoebus' Brown might start soon
Freshman cornerback Philip Brown earns praise from Cavaliers coach Al Groh.
BY DAVE JOHNSON
247-4649
Published November 2, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- After making one change in his starting defensive lineup against Duke, Virginia coach Al Groh is considering another one. Philip Brown, a true freshman from Phoebus High, is listed first on the depth chart at one of the cornerback spots.

"As it is every week, it's based on who's performing the best at the present time," Groh said Monday. "What a player's done in the past or what he may do in the future has no bearing on who plays on a particular Saturday. It's who's going to give us the best chance to win every week.

"Philip has done a nice job. He's come on real well right from the start."

Groh praised Brown's play against the Blue Devils on Oct. 23, when he made four tackles. Marcus Hamilton, who had started the previous seven games but is now Brown's backup, had a shaky day with two pass interference calls along with a personal foul.

Brown hasn't earned that orange practice jersey, which goes only to the hands-down, clear-cut starters.

"If you play to a certain standard, the orange jersey comes with it," Groh said.

There was one more change on the depth chart: True freshman Tom Santi, a backup tight end, will start at fullback. With Jason Snelling still out with a sprained ankle, Santi has moved ahead of senior Brandon Isaiah. Santi saw about 40 plays from scrimmage at fullback against Duke.

"Everything comes at you pretty fast in college football, and there isn't time to sit around with your jaw open," Santi said. "It wasn't exactly in the plan, but it's a great opportunity and I hope to take advantage of it."

RIVALS

When Alvin Pearman enrolled at U.Va. in the fall of 2001, the Virginia-Maryland rivalry was almost non-existent. The Cavaliers had won the last nine games in the series, six by double-digit margins.

But that has changed. The Terrapins have won two of the last three, the latest a 27-17 victory last year in College Park that got heated even before kickoff. "Bad blood" is a term often overused, but Virginia players say it applies here.

Last November, players started jawing during warmups. Eventually, Groh and Maryland assistant James Franklin got in each other's faces. No punches were thrown, but Maryland was assessed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the opening kickoff.

"There's a lot of emotion in this rivalry, and any time you have emotions with a lot of guys (in close proximity), words are going to get tossed," Pearman said. "But we're here to play football, as they are."

Quarterback Marques Hagans can't put his finger on the exact reason for the tension.

"When I first got here, the rivalry was Virginia Tech," he said. "But somewhere down the line, this became a rivalry. But I don't have any bad feelings against them. They may against us."

SHORTS

Virginia's Nov. 13 home game against Miami will begin at 3:30 p.m. and be televised by ABC. ...

Groh's reaction to last Saturday's games, which included Maryland over Florida State and North Carolina over Miami: "Crazy. The whole weekend was crazy." ...

Groh expects reserve defensive end Chris Long, who is out with mononucleosis, to play by the end of the season.

Virginia, Tech see title path
Upsets of Miami and Florida State clarify the ACC race for state teams
BY MIKE HARRIS AND JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS

Nov 2, 2004

In Blacksburg, Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer was doing what any football coach would do on an off Saturday. He was watching football.

In Charlottesville, the University of Virginia's Al Groh was engaged in the same activity.

What the state's Division I-A head coaches saw Saturday were two of the most improbable upsets of this or any other ACC season.

The "whole weekend was crazy," Groh said yesterday.

In College Park, Maryland, which never had beaten Florida State, stunned the then-No. 5 Seminoles 20-17. In Chapel Hill, North Carolina shocked then-No. 4 and previously unbeaten Miami 31-28 on a last-second field goal.

And suddenly, 12th-ranked U.Va. (3-1, 6-1) and 18th-ranked Tech (3-1, 6-2) found themselves tied with No. 11 Miami (3-1, 6-1) for the lead in the ACC.

Even better for Virginia and Tech, each controls its fate in the conference-title race.

If the Cavaliers can close the regular season with four straight victories, they'll be ACC champions and advance to the Bowl Championship Series.

The same reward entices Tech, which also has four regular-season games left. If they win all four, the Hokies will be crowned ACC champions and move on to the BCS.

But Beamer is worried about his team's upcoming dates with Maryland and UNC. "I think it just a tremendous conference that anyone can beat anyone else. I think it is great for the conference, and certainly we have an opportunity."

It won't be easy. Seeing Maryland and UNC play so well "just destroyed a perfect day," Beamer said.

The Hokies visit North Carolina (3-2, 4-4) on Saturday, then entertain Maryland (2-3, 4-4) on Nov. 18. Tech plays host to 12th-ranked Virginia on Nov. 27 before closing Dec. 4 at Miami (3-1, 6-1).

"I think we got our work cut out for us," Beamer said.

The road is also fraught with obstables for Virginia, which plays host to Maryland on Saturday. After the Cavaliers' regular-season home finale, against Miami on Nov. 13, they play at Georgia Tech (3-3, 4-3) on Nov. 20. Then comes the Nov. 27 battle for the Commonwealth Cup at Lane Stadium.

"It's going to take a lot of focus this last month," U.Va. tailback Alvin Pearman said.

The Hurricanes' loss puts them "back in the pack," Virginia quarterback Marques Hagans said. "But it's still one game at a time. You can't look down the road two or three games from now."

Beamer said he's proud of his football team.

"I think we've worked hard to be a good team," he said. "The chemistry is good. The players and coaches have done everything they could to get to this point. Now we have to make sure we finish this right."

 

Title might come with bragging rights
BOB LIPPER
POINT OF VIEW
Nov 2, 2004
Bob Lipper

This isn't about me. Promise. But I'm looking at this column I wrote a couple of months ago for our college football section. The column focused on the first Virginia Tech-vs.-Virginia game since 1935 that'll count in a conference's standings. And how "maybe one day" Hokies and Cavs might "settle a title and, oh, say, a Sugar Bowl berth."

Guess what?

One day could be 25 days from now.

OK, so a few things have to fall in place between now and Nov. 27 in Blacksburg before Tech-U.Va. becomes Armageddon. First, both teams need to beat Maryland at home. That's doable. Next, Tech has to pick up its third ACC road win of the year at North Carolina. Ditto. Then, U.Va. must venture into Atlanta and zap Georgia Tech. Ditto redux. Finally, U.Va. has to handle Miami in Charlottesville. Double ditto.

All that happens, and Tech and Virginia are the only ACC teams with one league loss apiece, mean ing their first league encounter since they were Southern Conference brethren 69 years ago maybe decides the whole shebang.

(Well, sure, there is this minor detail of Tech's trip to Miami the week after it faces U.Va., but why let one teensy fact get in the way of a good showdown?)

A tumultuous ACC weekend made this delicious scenario possible. Tech came from off the radar screen with a 25-point fourth period that overhauled Georgia Tech. That was Thursday. Then, two days later on "Say, Aren't You Just a Basketball League?" Saturday, the Hokies and bye-week Cavaliers watched the ACC's all-time shock-theater doubleheader - No. 5 (that's nationally, not locally) Florida State tumbling at Maryland and No. 4 Miami plopping at UNC.

Those results - combined with N.C. State's six-turnovers, 10-penalties pratfall at Clemson - left the ACC looking three-tiered and rather unlordly.

You've got four six-win entries (U.Va., Tech, Miami, FSU) jockeying for the league's choicest postseason destinations. You've got six four-win wannabes (State, UNC, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Maryland, Wake Forest) still straining for bowl eligibility. And you've got Duke, which can't wait for J.J. Redick's first jump shot.

What you don't have is a team that'll get within a Gloria Estefan high note of the winner-take-all Orange Bowl

Miami could've been that team except its defense decided to take October off. The Hurricanes opened the season by squeezing past FSU and holding their first four opponents to 26 points total. They've since yielded 100 points and 1,492 yards to Louisville, State and UNC. And this is the place that sent Ray Lewis and Warren Sapp to the pros? Bye-bye pedigree, hello parity.

UNC was down to its third-string tailback, Chad Scott, and he busted up the 'Canes for 175 yards. Just as stunning, the Tar Heels motored 55 yards in nine plays as if they were scrimmaging themselves to set up the winning field goal. "The best men won," said UM cornerback Antrel Rolle. The better team fizzled.

Same thing happened in College Park. Maryland's offense had produced 17 points and 366 yards in its previous three outings. It was good for 20 and 387 against FSU and never trailed. Now Bobby Bowden is shuffling quarterbacks and kickers in an attempt to relocate traction. What he can't shuffle is a timeline that suggests his program - though still potent - lost its urgency and edge several years ago.

"It's a hurtful feeling knowing I'm going out of here not going to a BCS game, not winning an ACC championship," 'Noles senior defensive tackle Travis Johnson told Jacksonville's Times-Union.

Instead, Hokies or Cavaliers might find the inside track to those distinctions. Makes you sort of wish Nov. 27 would hurry up and get here, doesn't it?

 

Stirring Upsets Leave Cavs in The ACC Mix
By Mark Schlabach
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 2, 2004; Page D01

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Nov. 1 -- Perhaps the biggest complaint about ACC expansion was that member schools no longer play a round-robin schedule. With the ACC growing from nine teams to 11 (and next year to 12, when Boston College joins), its teams will no longer play the same schedules, as the conference splits into two divisions next season.

But over the next month, the Virginia, Virginia Tech and Miami football teams will play a round-robin tournament of their own, with the winner probably staking claim to the ACC title and the Bowl Championship Series berth that comes with it. The three teams will play each other before the regular season ends, along with two other ACC games each.

The winner-takes-all scenario is a result of two stunning upsets this past weekend -- North Carolina's 31-28 win over then-No. 4 Miami and Maryland's 20-17 victory over then-No. 5 Florida State. As a result, No. 12 Virginia will go into Saturday's game against the Terrapins in Scott Stadium tied for the ACC lead with the No. 11 Hurricanes and No. 18 Hokies. The No. 13 Seminoles are one game back with two conference losses.

"We're here. We've gotten ourselves to this point," Cavaliers running back Alvin Pearman said. "It's really coming down to who wants it the most."

All season long, Virginia Coach Al Groh has talked to his team about one goal -- to remain in the ACC race until Nov. 1. Thanks to the Tar Heels and Terrapins, the Cavaliers (6-1, 3-1) were among three ACC teams in the driver's seat as the calendar changed from October to November.

Whether Virginia stays there will largely be determined in its next two games -- after hosting Maryland, the Cavaliers will play the Hurricanes in Charlottesville on Nov. 13. The Cavs will close the regular season with road games at Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.

"I've said our goal was to get to November the first and still be in the hunt," Groh said yesterday. "It's November the first and we're in the hunt, and now our goal is to get to November the seventh and still be in the hunt. We'll be deeper into it or we'll be further out of it."

In Groh's three seasons as coach of his alma mater, his teams have a 6-6 record in regular season games played in November or later. Last year, the Cavaliers lost at N.C. State and Maryland, 27-17, but won their last two games to finish 7-5 in the regular season and qualify for a bowl game. Two years ago, they won three of their last four games, and two of their final three in 2001.

The past two seasons, Groh said, have prepared his players for this year's pressure cooker.

"It's got some similarities to where we felt we've been each of the last three years," he said. "What we did down the home stretch was going to write the story of the season. . . . We've had good exposure to the seriousness of the games, where coming to the stadium every time, it was win or else."

Maryland, which has lost 10 of its last 12 games against Virginia, is facing a win-or-else situation for the rest of its season. Before beating the Seminoles for the first time in 15 games, the Terrapins (4-4, 2-3) seemed all but out of the postseason. Maryland had lost three games in a row, scoring seven points or fewer in all of them. But their upset of Florida State gives the Terps hopes of salvaging their season and a fourth consecutive bowl berth.

Maryland must win two of its last three games to become bowl eligible -- after playing at Virginia, the Terps play at Virginia Tech on Nov. 18 and host Wake Forest on Nov. 27. If the Terps lose two out of three games, they'll suffer their first losing season under Coach Ralph Friedgen.

"This," Maryland wide receiver Rich Parson said, "is the turning point for our organization."

Notes: Groh said quarterback Marques Hagans, who injured his hip against Florida State on Oct. 16, practiced well last Thursday and Friday before the team's open date. . . .
Freshman cornerback Phillip Brown, from Phoebus High in Hampton, has moved ahead of sophomore Marcus Hamilton on the Cavaliers' depth chart. Groh said that doesn't necessarily mean Brown will start against the Terps. "It depends on who has the best week of practice," Groh said. . . .

Junior Wali Lundy remains ahead of Pearman, who ran for 223 yards in the Cavs' 37-16 win at Duke on Oct. 23. Groh said he hasn't decided which tailback will start against Maryland. . . .

Maryland middle linebacker D'Qwell Jackson was named the ACC defensive lineman of the week for the second week in a row and for the third time this season. The league's leading tackler had 11 tackles against Florida State.

Maryland left tackle Stephon Heyer was named co-offensive lineman of the week. . . .

The Virginia-Miami game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised by ABC. . . .

The Cavaliers have committed only four turnovers, tied for the fewest in Division I-A with Bowling Green and Texas A&M. . . .

Rivals.com, a Web-based football recruiting service, ranked Virginia's class of 24 committed players as the best in the nation in its latest rankings released yesterday.

Maryland, which has oral commitments from 18 players, had a No. 6 ranking. National signing day is Feb. 2.