Cavs suffocate Terps
Virginia rushes for 295 yards, holds Maryland scoreless in win
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
November 7, 2004

The Virginia football team took the advice of Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen’s to heart.

The Cavaliers protected their house.

With 63,072 fans watching - the largest crowd in Scott Stadium history - Virginia rushed for 295 yards and two touchdowns and a stingy Cavalier defense allowed just seven first downs and forced three turnovers. With the balanced effort, Virginia remained perfect at home and deadlocked in a tie for the top spot in the ACC with a 16-0 win over ACC-rival Maryland.

“As we have said on other occasions, players make the difference and it was the players that made the difference tonight, particularly when you play the game in that fashion,” Virginia coach Al Groh said. “It’s something that they can feel, I think, very proud of themselves for what they did.”

After a scoreless opening quarter, Virginia (7-1, 4-1) took the lead for good on a 4-yard touchdown run by tailback Wali Lundy with 12:02 left in the opening half.

The end result was a bit misleading.

It was senior Alvin Pearman that keyed Virginia’s 13-play,

86-yard drive and not Lundy. Pearman, who started for the second straight game at tailback, rushed the ball nine times for 49 yards and caught a pass for another 17 during the possession, but gave way for Lundy once the team reached the Maryland 4.

On what proved to be Lundy’s first carry of the game, the junior tailback ran to his right and reached the end zone by following a block from tight end Heath Miller. Connor Hughes tacked on the extra point, giving UVa a 7-0 lead.

Like it did so many times, the Virginia defense promptly gave the offense the ball back by forcing the Terps to punt four downs later.

Maryland’s Steve Podlesh, who punted five times in the game, ripped a booming 54-yard punt, but Pearman took the return and danced right and back left and then up-field for 27 yards.

The Virginia offensive line took over from there.

With ample running room, Lundy carried the ball 47 yards on seven carries, the last of which was a 15-yard touchdown.

Facing a 2nd-and-12, Lundy took a handoff and sprinted to his left, but after realizing that there was no room to run he changed directions and raced to the right and smashed into the end zone.

“I looked back to right and all I saw was green, so I just ran over there,” said Lundy, who finished with 107 yards on 24 carries and scored his 13th and 14th touchdowns of the season.

Hughes, who had a day to forget, promptly booted the extra-point attempt off the left upright, leaving Virginia with only a 13-0 lead.

With 5:25 left in the opening half when Maryland got the ball back, the Terps tried to go to the air. Sophomore quarterback Joel Statham delivered a pass to midfield in the direction of slot receiver Rich Parson, but Virginia linebacker Ahmad Brooks jumped up to make his second interception of the game.

In the third quarter, Virginia padded its lead with a 27-yard field goal by Hughes with 10:17 remaining.

The 75-yard scoring drive included a steady dose of Pearman (7 carries, 37 yards on the drive) and a 27-yard pass from quarterback Marques Hagans to tight end Patrick Estes.

The 16-0 lead proved more than enough for Virginia’s defense as it forced a pair of punts and regained possession on another drive by causing the third Maryland turnover the game, a fumble by wideout JoJo Walker.

For the game, Maryland managed only 51 yards on the ground and 163 yards passing, 43 of which came on a late pass from backup quarterback Jordan Steffy to tight end Vernon Davis.

It was quite a reversal of roles from the Maryland team that upset Florida State 20-17 last week.

“We were flat. We just didn’t have anything in the tank,” said Friedgen, who team fell to 4-5 overall and 2-4 in the ACC. “It was like the walk of the zombies. No one was home. We were talking to them, trying to motivate them. Nothing was registering.”

Virginia’s defense played a major role in forcing the Terps into a sleep walk. The Terps went 2 for 12 on third-down conversions and 1 for 4 on fourth down attempts.

With the balanced attack, Virginia accomplished one of Groh’s goals - to be in the hunt for and ACC title when Miami comes to Scott Stadium on Saturday. The Cavaliers are tied with Virginia Tech for first place in the ACC after the Hurricanes’ overtime loss to Clemson.

“We’ve been trying to work to be this type of team for the better part of three-plus years now.” Groh said. “I have said on earlier occasions, we’re closer to the model than we’ve ever been, and maybe we closed in a little more on the model tonight. But we still got some things to do.”

UVa exacts revenge with ground game
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
November 7, 2004

The stage is now set for The Beatdown in C’town.
Miami, college football’s perennial worldbeaters, will bring its swagger to Charlottesville for the first time on Saturday when the Hurricanes blow into town. Virginia supplied evidence last night that it is ready for the challenge, having gained a measure of revenge against trash-talking Maryland with a 16-0 shutout.

Shelling the Terrapins
It was an important step the Cavaliers took by dominating the team that stunned Florida State the week before. Coming off an impressive win over the Seminoles, Maryland appeared to get its act together. Coach Ralph Friedgen was even talking bowl games as his Terps rolled into Scott Stadium.
What Friedgen didn’t count on was getting pummeled by Virginia’s physical running attack. Maryland’s defense had held its last three opponents to less than 100 yards rushing. FSU managed only 50 on the ground, Clemson 36.
But from the opening moment, UVa tailbacks Wali Lundy and Alvin Pearman, both of whom would go over the 100-yards rushing mark before the night was over, sensed that the running game would click against the Terps.
“I could see from the first handoff that the holes were going to be there and that it was going to be a long day for Maryland,” said Lundy, who pounded out 107 yards on
24 carries (4.5 average) and two touchdowns.
No one has run the ball on the Terps like Virginia. The Cavaliers bulldozed their way to 295 yards on the ground (actually 310 before sack yardage took some of that away) on 61 rushes. UVa had 19 rushing first downs. Maryland had only seven total first downs for the game.

Running the clock
Normally, time of possession is a meaningless statistic. Not this time. Virginia owned the football for 38 minutes, 41 seconds, but more impressive was the second half, when the Cavs had control for 22:46 compared to only 7:14 for Friedgen’s Terps.
“[Virginia] did a good job,” Friedgen said afterward. “Hard for me to dispute that. They executed very well. They didn’t show us anything we hadn’t seen in practice. They lined up and ran the ball down our throat.”
That must have been particularly frustrating to the Terps because they knew exactly what was coming at them. They just couldn’t stop it.
“We knew they were going to run the ball at us,” said Maryland defensive end Shawne Merriman. “They came at us pretty good. They have a pretty strong offensive line.”
It was the second game in a row that Virginia had bowled over an opponent with a superior running game. The Cavs ravaged Duke’s defense so badly that Blue Devils’ coach Ted Roof said Virginia’s offensive line was by far the most physical he had seen this season.
“We have the advantage of having the best offensive line in
the country,” said tailback Alvin
Pearman, who enjoyed his second straight 30-plus carries game as he grinded out
170 yards on the ground, giving him 393 in the last two contests.
It’s not like the Cavs are using a lot of smoke and mirrors. It’s just good, old-fashioned football. The kind that made Vince Lombardi’s heart race. Physical, punishing football. Virginia has only a handful of running plays. The only variance is that there is different personnel groupings, same plays in different formations. It’s the same plan. It may look the same, just with different details.
The Cavs essentially line up and dare you to stop them, which is Miami’s challenge this coming weekend.
Virginia coach Al Groh, whose burning desire is to make the running game the firebrand of his program, was confident the Cavs could run against the Terps but not to this degree of success.
“When you run the ball, it has to be a more cohesive effort,” Groh explained. “All 11 players have to be in sync. On those scheme runs everyone has to work together.”
In that case, UVa’s offensive line must have resembled a machine working at its top efficiency. Sixty-one rushes, an average of 4.8 yards every time they called the run plays and NO penalties.
Amazingly, Virginia’s entire team played without a penalty, the first time that has happened since 1941. No, that’s not a typo.
“Two hundred ninety-five yards tonight and 348 last game,” Groh said. “That says everything that needs to be said about the offensive line.”
Nothing fancy mind you.
“We came out against Duke and it was an inside running drill all day,” said UVa left offensive guard Brian Barthelmes. “Same thing again against Maryland. Inside runs and pulls, that’s it.”
It was a sweet victory for Virginia. There is no love lost between the border rivals. Maryland has been the most vocal of the two and it’s no secret there is friction between the two coaching staffs.
“Maryland’s been trying to make this more of a rivalry than it really is,” Barthelmes spewed. “Even at the end of the game they were still talking junk. There’s nothing like lining up, looking into the eyes of the guy in front of you and kicking his ass all night.”
That seemed to be the pervading theme as the Cavaliers won for the 16th time in their last 17 games at Great Scott, where a record crowd of 63,072 took in the feeling of being 7-1.
“Maryland had been successful against the rush and had one of the most highly-touted defenses in the country, but I think we wore them down,” Barthelmes said . “We got to their egos. Coach has drilled into us to beat the will out of them and that’s exactly what we did.”
The Cavs were inspired by a pre-game talk from former Wahoo defensive end Patrick Kerney, now a standout for the Atlanta Falcons.
“It was full of fire,” said UVa offensive right guard Elton Brown. “You can’t print what he told us in a newspaper.”
Now it’s Virginia vs. Miami. Ever since the Cavs stunk up Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee a few weeks back, they’ve been looking for a chance for redemption. Well, here it is.
“It’s the biggest game I’ve ever played in my life,” said Pearman about Miami coming to town. “It is the culmination of a lot of our guys’ dreams ... the biggest opportunity of our lives. We can’t wait. We’re looking for a fight.”
Miami will pack more speed than any team UVa has faced other than the Seminoles.
“The biggest thing is that we realize they’re a beatable team,” said Pearman before knowing of the Hurricanes’ 24-17 loss to Clemson. “Any time a power loses a game, the invincibility is gone.”
While the Miami showdown is the moment many Cavaliers have been dreaming of since they set foot in Charlottesville, it won’t be Groh’s.
“No, that will be in January,” Groh said.
He didn’t explain himself. He didn’t have to.

Cavaliers defense dominant
By Kris Wright / Daily Progress staff writer
November 7, 2004

A season-long struggle continued for the Maryland football team on Saturday as Virginia added to the Terrapins’ offensive woes with a dominant defensive performance.

In fact, the Cavalier defense was up to every challenge in Saturday’s 16-0 victory. In the end, UVa snapped Maryland’s 34-game scoring streak and handed the visitors their first shutout since Aug. 1, 2002 when Notre Dame defeated the Terps, 22-0. This was only the second shutout ever for UM under coach Ralph Friedgen.

“We tried to get them focused and get them going, but football’s not a game where you can just flip a switch and go play. You have to build and prepare for it … but sometimes it’s just not your night,” Friedgen said. “We’re probably lucky we didn’t get beat by a worse score than we did.”

In total, UVa held Maryland to just 214 yards of total offense – 51 rushing and 163 passing. That total was more than 100 yards below the Terps’ season average of 321.5 yards per game (87th in NCAA Division I).

The Terps averaged just 1.9 yard per carry on 27 attempts and just 13.6 yards per catch on 12 completions.

Really, the only place the visitors found much room to operate was on special teams; they had 127 return yards. It was all part of a disturbing trend for Maryland, which has gained less than 220 yards on offense in four of its last five games. The only exception was in last week’s upset of Florida State.

“I was impressed. They were physical. They tried to be relentless throughout. The contact level was very good,” Virginia coach Al Groh said in describing the defense.

The Cavaliers handled Maryland running back Josh Allen, holding him to 41 yards on 10 carries and minus-3 yards on one catch. Allen, as Virginia fans have probably tried to forget, had an incredible game against the Cavs a year ago. In a Thursday night victory in College Park, Allen rushed for 257 yards, the third-best rushing total in school history. Virginia coach Al Groh said that he did not have an added focus on Allen for this meeting, but on stopping the run in general.

“We never mentioned that player in particular, but we did talk about what we had to do to do a better job against the running game in general,” Groh said.

The Cavaliers also shut down the offense late in possessions, forcing the Terrapins to go just 2 of 12 on third down conversion tries and 1 of 4 on fourth down conversion tries.

“We own every team on third down. That’s what we live for, third and long, third and short, third and whatever,” Blackstock said. “It’s ‘Let’s go.’ That’s what we play defense for.”

Of course, two of the biggest stops for the defense came early in the contest. Both came after Cavalier turnovers that gave Maryland good field position and an opportunity to take control early. On both occasions, Virginia responded.

The first time, UM went three and out on offense. The second time, the Terps drove inside the UVa 20-yard line, but could not pick up another first down despite having less than a foot to gain on third and fourth down.

After the second stop, Virginia responded with its first scoring drive of the game. Blackstock said that response was definitely positive for everyone on the team. In the loss to Florida State, the Cavaliers had come up with some early stops, but they could never climb into the game.

“We got a lot of big stops against Florida State too, but they just kept coming and coming. They didn’t crack like some teams,” Blackstock said. “[Scoring right after the stop tonight] helped. It kept the defense fresh and it let us finish the job in the fourth quarter. That really set the tone for the game.”

Brooks nabs two crucial interceptions
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
November 7, 2004

Sophomore linebacker Ahmad Brooks had done just about everything else in his season and a half for the Cavaliers. He has led the team in tackles on multiple occasions. He has had sacks and caused fumbles. He even has returned kickoffs.

He had not, however, received his ultimate desire. His resume was devoid of an interception.

Check that one off because he got two of them on Saturday. Now he will have to work on returning one for a touchdown.

The freakishly talented Brooks picked off the two passes - both fairly acrobatically - and contributed six tackles in Saturday’s 16-0 shutout of Maryland.

Brooks became the first Cavalier to have two interceptions in a game since Jerton Evans accomplished the feat in 1999 against BYU. Brooks is the first Virginia linebacker to have two interceptions in a game since Randy Neal in 1992 against Virginia Tech.

To his dismay, Brooks only returned both for a combined six yards.

“I’ve been working hard in practice on my drop back coverage. I’ve been working hard for the last year and a half to get an interception and I got two today,” Brooks said. “I didn’t get a lot of yards after those catches though.”

The interceptions each succeeded in halting Maryland drives but it was two other plays turned in by Brooks that were the game’s biggest momentum changers.

The Terps drove to the UVa 14-yard line late in the first quarter and then had consecutive third-and-inches and fourth-and-inches plays. Brooks made the key stop on both as he forced Maryland quarterback Joel Statham backwards on quarterback sneaks.

“We just needed a stop. We knew their linemen would go down low and then it is the inside linebacker’s job to go over the top and hit the quarterback,” Brooks said.

Brooks’ total effort gained the continued praise of Virginia coach Al Groh.

“He really stepped up tonight. He has tremendous skills, including great range to the ball. There is not a lot of pass coverage in high school football, so in that aspect he has come a long way,” Groh said.

Brooks felt that Saturday’s shutout might have re-established Virginia’s morale after its loss to Florida State three weeks ago.

“I think our confidence is back. I’m not sure if everyone was confident going to Florida State,” Brooks said. “Tonight we wanted to go and set a tone defensively and play physical. We wanted to go play hard, especially with the crowd behind us and we wanted to get our confidence up for Miami.”

Brown fares well in first start
By Kris Wright / Daily Progress staff writer
November 7, 2004

Freshman defensive back Philip Brown had been waiting for this day. Since August, since last year, since he committed to play at Virginia.

Brown, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound Phoebus High product, made his first career start Saturday in the Cavaliers’ 16-0 victory against Maryland. He had a solid debut, recording four total tackles (3 solo, 1 assist) and one tackle for loss. Brown credited preparation for his and the team’s success on defense, but he also knows that he can still get better.

“The coaches want us to watch a lot of film and all week as a defensive back unit, we came in and watched a lot of film and that helped us to see some passes they like to run and some situational things they like to do,” said Brown, who indicated any pre-game jitters disappeared after he hit someone on the opening kickoff. “I have got a lot to do still and I can get a lot better, but I think I did pretty good for my first start.”

Brown also helped force a fumble late in the game, though he did not get official credit for it - fellow DB Tony Franklin picked up the statistic.

“They tried to run that little jailbreak screen to [Jo Jo Walker], the same one I had made a play against earlier, and the tight end came out and tried to block me,” Brown said. “But I got off of him and I guess he didn’t see me coming. I think he saw the other guy, Tony Franklin, at his knees, but he didn’t see me and I hit him in his earhole and ball popped out.”

Brown drew praise from UVa coach Al Groh, who described Brown as a physical cover corner.

“Philip made his first career start, which certainly he has earned with his play up to this point,” Groh said. “He continued to improve his game. He made some physical plays and put forth a good effort tonight.”

Brown agreed with the ‘tough’ assessment, saying that he prided himself on being able to make hits and tackles. He said he likes coming up and hitting receivers or players out the backfield.

“I definitely like to come up and make the hit and tackle,” Brown said. “You have to be able to come up and hit, you can’t just be a cover corner. I mean look at Deion Sanders, he’s one of the best cover corners in the world, but everyone knows he doesn’t hit anybody. I take pride in being an all-around corner and being able to come up and hit.”

The freshman gives Virginia a different dynamic in the secondary with his talent. While most of the Cavalier secondary has speed, Brown brings the ability to play tight man-to-man coverage. In fact, he prefers to line up close to the receiver and play physical, one-on-one defense. That sort of mentality - and the ability to back it up - is something that could give the UVa defense the top-notch DB it has missed since the days of Ronde Barber.

“If I’m back playing zone, then they can find a sweet spot somewhere and get open, but if I’m playing man it’s a lot harder for them to find a good sweet spot to get open,” Brown said. “I definitely prefer to play man-to-man, press defense. I feel more comfortable doing that.”

Friedgen not happy with Terps' outing
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
November 7, 2004

Walking zombies.

That was how Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen described the look of his players before, during and after Saturday’s 16-0 loss to No. 12 Virginia at Scott Stadium.

Friedgen claimed his team was “flat” before the game, but that notion was only extended as the Cavaliers and the UVa offensive line in particular proceeded to flatten the Terps for much of the afternoon.

“I don’t know what I can say. Virginia played very, very well. They did a good job of coaching and their players executed very well on both sides of the ball. They should be commended on that,” Friedgen said.

The Terps entered the game having upset Florida State last week but Saturday’s team simply was not the same.

“We were flat and didn’t have anything in the tank. I don’t know if that was because of last week or what but I evaluate how I’m doing things. If these kids can’t get up to play in this game, I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me,” Friedgen said.

The Maryland offense was never able to generate much of a sustained drive against Virginia but in its best opportunity of the afternoon, it was stymied on consecutive third-and-inches and fourth-and-inches plays in the first quarter. Those stops seemed to set the tone for the entire game.

With four minutes remaining in the opening quarter, the Terps drove to the Virginia 14 but after not converting on third down and with a short field goal attempt in the offing, Friedgen chose to go for it.

After Maryland quarterback Joel Statham was stuffed by Virginia linebackers Kai Parham and Ahmad Brooks, the Terps really never had a legitimate scoring chance the rest of the game.

“We had a chance but we didn’t do it. … If you can’t make inches then you can’t win football games,” said Friedgen, who inferred ever so slightly that he was skeptical of the official’s spot. “We weren’t going to kick. If you can’t make inches you don’t deserve to win. You have to make that.”

Virginia conversely had little trouble running the ball. The Cavaliers racked up 295 yards on the ground as their offensive line continually pushed the Terps around.

“They blocked us well. They’re big and athletic and their backs run hard,” Friedgen said.

Maryland now falls to 4-5 overall and 2-4 in the ACC. The win over Florida State growingly became a distant memory Saturday and a contest at Virginia Tech on Nov. 18 becomes a looming worry in terms of gaining a winning season.

“I’m supposed to have the answers but I really don’t on this one. … I was going to give them a schedule but maybe we will have to revise that schedule next week,” Friedgen said. “Maybe they want to get away from football for a while but I can tell you that they’ll want me to get away from football after watching that.”

Cavaliers avoid Terps' trap
Virginia keeps its share of first place in the ACC by shutting out Maryland in front of a record crowd at Scott Stadium.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

CHARLOTTESVILLE - From all indications, nobody from Virginia's football was listening to the ESPN GameDay show Saturday when analyst Kirk Herbstreit picked Maryland to upset the Cavaliers, reasoning that UVa wouldn't be able to run the ball against the Terps.

"All I can say is, I hope he was tuning in tonight," Virginia offensive guard Elton Brown said. The Cavaliers gave the ball to tailbacks Alvin Pearman and Wali Lundy for a combined 55 carries and 12th-ranked Virginia rushed for 295 yards in a 16-0 victory, becoming the first team in 35 games to shut out the Terps.

A Scott Stadium-record crowd of 63,072 watched the Cavaliers (7-1, 5-1 ACC) win for the 16th time in 17 games and set up a showdown next Saturday with 11th-ranked Miami, which dropped out of a first-place tie in the ACC with UVa and Virginia Tech by losing in overtime to Clemson.

"I don't think it will be like the last one," said UVa defensive end Darryl Blackstock, referring to a much-hyped showdown with Florida State, won by the Seminoles 36-3 in Tallahassee, Fla.

Only last week, Maryland (4-5, 2-4) had beaten Florida State 20-17 in College Park, Md., raising Terrapin hopes of a return to the form that had enabled them to win 31 games in coach Ralph Friedgen's first three seasons.

"We were flat; we just didn't have anything in the tank," Friedgen said Saturday. "I don't know if it was because of last week or what it was. I have to evaluate myself. If they can't get up for this game, I don't know what the hell is wrong with me.

"It was like the walk of the zombies. Nobody was home."

Four of Maryland's previous five opponents had failed to rush for 100 yards - as a team - but Pearman finished with 170 yards and Lundy added 107. Since returning from Tallahassee, where UVa had 20 yards in rushing offense, it has rushed for 340 and 295 yards in back-to-back games.

"That's us," Pearman said. "That's what we do. We run the football."

In the last two games, Pearman's first two starts at tailback this season, he has rushed for a total of 393 yards without a single carry of more than 18 yards. A 15-yard Lundy touchdown run Saturday was the Cavaliers' longest of the game.

Pearman's workload increased following a Lundy fumble against Clemson, so, when Pearman fumbled on UVa's first series Saturday, he didn't know what to think.

"I definitely waited to hear my name called before I ran out there for the next series," Pearman said.

Virginia had turnovers on two of its first three series, including a pass that went off the hands of wide receiver Deyon Williams and was picked off by Terps' safety Chris Kelley.

That gave Maryland possession at the Cavaliers' 31-yard line and the Terps drove to the 14, where they were unable to gain less than a yard on either third or fourth down.

"If you can't make inches, you're going to have trouble winning football games," Friedgen said.

From that point, Virginia drove 86 yards, with Pearman rushing for 49 yards and catching a 13-yard pass before giving way to Lundy. Lundy's first carry resulted in a 4-yard touchdown run that gave the Cavaliers a 7-0 lead with 12:02 remaining in the second quarter.

Sophomore linebacker Ahmad Brooks was credited with a shared tackle on both the third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 plays and also contributed two highlight-reel interceptions, the first interceptions of his career.

For the last three quarters, however, Virginia's best defense was a ball-control offense as the Cavaliers had possession for more than 32 of a possible 45 minutes. For the game, they had the ball for 78 offensive snaps, compared to Maryland's 50.

"I'm exhausted," said Brown, clutching one of the game balls, as he slumped in a chair. "Can't you tell?"

Friedgen, almost irate when his 18th-ranked Terrapins lost 48-13 here two years ago, was gracious and matter-of-fact in his analysis.

"They executed very well and didn't show us anything we hadn't practiced against," said Friedgen, who frequently had eight defenders committed to the run. "They just ran the ball down our throats.

"We should probably feel lucky that we didn't get beat by more."

On a day when kicker Connor Hughes missed an extra point and two field goals, one of which was blocked, Virginia didn't play a perfect game, but Herbstreit probably wasn't the only pundit who felt the Cavaliers were upset bait.

"I don't know when he said what he did," Groh said, "but it makes you think our offensive linemen were watching."

Physical Cavs gain on Groh's ideal
Commentary by Aaron McFarling
The Roanoke Times

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Tailbones rise toward the sky, hands drop to the turf. Breath collides with breath, eye meets eye.

The center palms the football. The quarterback barks out cadence. Teeth clench. Pupils dart. Muscles twitch. Everyone - the coaches, the players, the fans, the waterboys, the cheerleaders - knows exactly what's coming. OK, freeze it. Right there.

"We live for moments like that," Virginia linebacker Dennis Haley said.

Short-yardage downs. The few times during a game when offensive bells and defensive whistles get tossed aside, when two teams settle it head on and determine who's more violent.

There were a lot of those little moments at Scott Stadium on Saturday. And a record crowd saw Virginia win almost every one of them.

UVa's 16-0 victory over Maryland wasn't just a tune-up for Miami, it was a lesson in legal savagery. It started when Maryland tailback Sammy Maldonado crashed into Andrew Hoffman and Kai Parham for no gain on third-and-1 early in the first quarter of a scoreless game.

It continued two drives later, when Terps quarterback Joel Statham had two downs to get an inch and couldn't do it. UVa linebacker Ahmad Brooks wouldn't let him.

It metastasized when the Terps lost a yard on third-and-3 and, later, when they lost three yards on fourth-and-2 in the second quarter.

Suddenly, it wasn't just on short yardage. UVa's defense was swarming on every down.

It got downright cruel when Terps receiver JoJo Walker got clocked on a clean, fumble-causing hit by UVa's Phillip Brown, downright toxic when Brooks crushed backup Maryland quarterback Jordan Steffy right in front of the Terps' bench.

Before it was over, at least two UVa players were placing side wagers with each other on who would be the next to deliver the big one. Brooks says he bet fellow linebacker Darryl Blackstock on which one of them would get the final sack of the game.

"I owe him $5," Brooks said, after Blackstock thwarted Maryland's final scoring chance by dumping Steffy near midfield on fourth down.

Brooks was smiling when he said that. All the Cavaliers were smiling after this one. There's something about a game like this - where there are no tricks, no flukes and no second guesses, just mounds of physical victories - that takes a team to ambrosia.

Even coach Al Groh, a measured man not known for exaggeration, took time to praise his team's physicality.

"We've been trying to work to become this kind of team for the better part of three-plus years now," he said. "I've said on earlier occasions that maybe we're closer to the model than we've ever been. And maybe we closed in a little bit more on the model tonight."

What's the model? Hit 'em till it hurts. Run it at 'em till they quit.

And most of all, bring your all when it matters most, when it's breath on breath, eye to eye.

"It's fun," Hoffman, the nose guard who had six tackles, said of the short-yardage downs. "Bottom line, you know that the guy in front of you is coming off and is trying to hit you in the mouth. And you know your job is just to take it to him, lift him up and make the play.

"There's nothing better than having a guy stood up, right where you want him, and you see that ball carrier coming down, and he has no idea that you're going to rip off and get him.

"I mean, that's a great feeling."

Know what else would be a great feeling for the Cavaliers? Beating Miami next week to keep pace atop the ACC.

They look like they're ready for it. Right now, they're living for moments like this.

Cavaliers zero in on Terps
A relentless running game and a dominant performance on defense lift Virginia.
BY DAVE JOHNSON
247-4649
Published November 7, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- ESPN college football guru Kirk Herbstreit might want to stick to his night job. Not only did he pick Maryland to beat Virginia Saturday afternoon, he supported that prediction by claiming the Cavaliers could not run on the Terrapins' defense.

"Well," U.Va. right guard Elton Brown said, "I hope he tuned in."

Herbstreit undoubtedly did, because that's his job. And what he saw was an offensive line opening up truck-sized holes for running backs who continuously found them. Virginia not only ran on Maryland, it ran for 295 yards in grinding out a 16-0 victory before a Scott Stadium-record crowd of 63,072.

Alvin Pearman finished with 170 yards, bringing his two-week total to 403, on 31 attempts. Wali Lundy added 107 on 24. And they couldn't have done it without Brown and his gang up front.

"When you run the ball, it has to be a very cohesive effort," U.Va. coach Al Groh said. "When you pass the ball, sometimes some individual guys can make it work. But when you run the ball, pretty much 11 guys have to be in sync. And they certainly were tonight. A lot of those runs, those scheme runs, you need cohesion and coordination on them. And they worked well tonight. They've got a lot to be proud of."

But that was only half the story for 12th-ranked Virginia (7-1, 4-1), which maintained its share of first place in the ACC standings. The other half was the Cavs' defense, which pitched its second shutout of the season. Although the final margin was relatively close, the numbers on the stat sheet were not. Maryland had seven first downs, 214 total yards and was 3-of-16 on third- and fourth-down chances.

Maryland (4-5, 2-4) had 51 yards on the ground, 227 fewer than it had in last season's 27-17 victory over U.Va. in College Park. And the Cavs forced three turnovers, two coming on interceptions by linebacker Ahmad Brooks.

"We didn't do anything fancy," said linebacker Darryl Blackstock, who broke a statistical slump with two sacks. "We know what time it is with games like this. We outcoached them. We outplayed them. We outhit them. That's what we do."

It wasn't perfect. The Cavaliers left at least 14 points on the field, the product of mistakes like missed field goals (Connor Hughes was 1-of-3) and missed open receivers. Quarterback Marques Hagans wasn't as sharp as usual, completing 10-of-17 throws for 114 yards with an interception.

But against a defense that had given up 181 rushing yards in its last three games - 50 a week earlier to Florida State - the Cavaliers were content to ground it out. So confident was the coaching staff that the Cavaliers converted three third-and-4 situations and one third-and-6 with runing plays.

"We have the No. 1 rushing offense, and they have the No. 1 rushing defense (in ACC games)," Lundy said. "So something had to give. Our offense had our way with them."

And Virginia did it cleanly. For the first time since a 1941 victory over Virginia Tech, the Cavaliers didn't have a single penalty.

"That's one thing we're most pleased about," Groh said.

Maryland couldn't have asked for more early opportunities. The Terps started their opening possession at their 42-yard line and went three-and-out. Next, they took over at their 48. Another three-and-out.

Maryland then took over at the U.Va. 47-yard line, but Brooks' first pick killed that threat. Then, after Hagans' interception gave Maryland possession at the Cavalier 36, Virginia stopped back-to-back quarterback sneaks on third- and fourth-and-inches.

"We had a chance and we didn't do it," Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said. "If you can't make inches, you're going to have trouble winning football games."

That turned out to be the key sequence of the game. At the time, the game was scoreless early in the second quarter. Virginia answered with a 13-play, 86-yard drive and took a 7-0 lead on Lundy's first of two touchdowns.

"That was big," Brooks said. "It changed the momentum from defense to offense, and our offense shoved it down their throats."

U.Va. tunes up for game with Miami
Published November 7 2004
David Teel
David Teel

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- You couldn't miss Alvin Pearman. Bursting, prancing, sprinting, he tormented Maryland's defense.

You couldn't detect Andrew Hoffman. Plowing, diving, grabbing, he suffocated Maryland's offense.

One star, one supporting actor, one dominant performance.

Virginia 16, Maryland 0.

Bring on Miami.

So it transpired Saturday at Scott Stadium as the 12th-ranked Cavaliers retained a share of first place in the ACC and set up this week's collision with the 11th-ranked Hurricanes.

Maryland, you may recall, was fresh off an upset of Florida State. But that, my friends, was a mirage, more a product of Seminole stupor than Terp talent.

Virginia (7-1, 4-1) wasted little time exposing Maryland (4-5, 2-4). More precisely, Pearman and Hoffman wasted little time.

Pearman, the most versatile among the Cavaliers' stable of tailbacks, had 10 touches - nine carries and a reception - on Virginia's first scoring drive, a 13-play, 86-yard march. Said drive began after Hoffman, a three-year starter at noseguard, led a charge that stuffed quarterback sneaks on third-and-1, and fourth-and-1.

For a more exact measurement, we turn to Virginia offensive lineman Elton Brown.

"It was like fourth-and-the-tip-of-a-shoe," he said.

Virginia coach Al Groh, rarely effusive with praise, was eager to talk up an interior defensive lineman whose contributions go unnoticed by the casual eye and "SportsCenter" editors.

"There are a lot of players on our team having a very fine season," Groh said. "But no one is having a finer season than Andrew."

Maryland managed a meager 51 yards rushing against Hoffman and Co. Eight times the Terps lined up with 2 yards or less separating them from a first down. Seven times they failed.

Nothing to it, according to Hoffman. Just dive low, get under the offensive linemen's pads and "let the linebackers clean up the mess."

Indeed, on Joel Statham's two aborted sneaks, Hoffman clogged the middle while Kai Parham and Ahmad Brooks launched themselves over the top.

"We really set the tone for the game right there," said Hoffman, whose team-high six tackles included a sack.

If the defense set the tone, Pearman sustained it. He rushed for 170 yards on 31 carries, using speed, power and dance steps to elude defenders. Oh, and as usual, he got plenty of help from Brown and the offensive line.

In its three previous games, Maryland had yielded 181 yards rushing combined to North Carolina State, Clemson and Florida State. Virginia ran for 295.

Maryland opponents were averaging 2.8 yards per carry. Virginia averaged 4.8.

Wali Lundy started the season's first six games at tailback, and he rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns Saturday. But Pearman is better. Better hands, better instincts, plenty durable.

Pearman carried on seven of the Cavaliers' first eight snaps of the third quarter, gaining 37 yards. Early in the fourth quarter, Maryland pinned Virginia at its own 9. Three Pearman carries later, the Cavaliers were at their own 26.

"Once a drive gets going, fatigue and pain and all that go out the window," Pearman said. "You feed off your teammates."

Virginia's complete superiority left Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen fuming.

"It was like the walk of the zombies," he said of his players. "Nobody was home. We were talking to them, trying to motivate them. Nothing was registering."

Virginia's next game will be different. Virginia's next game is against Miami. Beat the Hurricanes and the Cavaliers can talk title seriously.

"No disrespect to that team," Brown said. "But we're going to approach that game like any other - very business-like."

Prior to Saturday night's encounter with Clemson, Miami had allowed 1,492 yards and 100 points in its three previous games. The Canes' considerable talent notwithstanding, that type of half-baked effort won't be good enough against Virginia. Not in Charlottesville, where the Cavaliers have won 16 of their last 17, and not against the likes of Alvin Pearman and Andrew Hoffman.

Falcons QB Schaub arrested after fight
FROM STAFF, WIRE SERVICE REPORTS
Published November 7, 2004

Atlanta Falcons backup quarterback Matt Schaub, a former Virginia star, was arrested early Saturday morning in Charlottesville and charged with assault and battery.

Charlottesville police Col. T.J. Longo said a 19-year-old man claimed that Schaub and two other men fought with him outside a restaurant around 1 a.m. Longo added that Schaub surrendered "peacefully" and was released on his recognizance.
 

Man claims Schaub, 2 others beat him
By MATT WINKELJOHN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/06/04

Falcons rookie quarterback Matt Schaub was arrested early Saturday morning in Charlottesville, Va., in connection with the attack of a man.

Schaub, 23, was drafted by the Falcons in the third round of last April's NFL draft after attending Virginia. The Falcons are idle this weekend, and he returned to the Virginia campus this weekend.

A statement issued by Col. T.J. Longo of the Charlottesville Police Department said a 19-year-old man alerted a police officer shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday, alleging that he had been beaten by three men near a campus eatery.

The alleged victim described Schaub, who set several school passing records from 2001-03. Police obtained an arrest warrant for the former Virginia star, charging Schaub with assault and battery. Some reports indicate the other two alleged attackers fled.

Falcons president/general manager Rich McKay and coach Jim Mora had no comment Saturday.

"We have been made aware of developments which apparently took place in Charlottesville, Va., early this morning," Falcons spokesman Reggie Roberts said. "We will continue to look into this matter in order to ascertain all the facts."

After a solid preseason in which he led all NFL quarterbacks in many passing categories, Schaub beat out 12-year veteran Ty Detmer for the Falcons' backup position behind starter Michael Vick. He has played in two regular season games, completing two of four passes for 9 yards, and rushing twice and losing 2 yards.

The CPD statement said Schaub's arrest was peaceful, and he was released on personal recognizance bond by local magistrate. Charges against the other two suspects are pending while the matter remains under investigation.

Cavaliers keep share of league lead with hit performance against Terps
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Nov 7, 2004

VIRGINIA 16 MARYLAND 0 CHARLOTTESVILLE - The self-described "blue-collar" football team from College Park, Md., didn't look all that rugged yesterday against the "white-collar" guys from the University of Virginia.

Before 63,072 fans - the largest crowd in Scott Stadium history - the 12th-ranked Cavaliers physically dominated Maryland, hammering out a 16-0 win that kept them tied for first in the ACC with Virginia Tech.

"I think before the game Maryland was talking a lot, and no one on our team liked that," U.Va. tight end Patrick Estes said. "They were saying they were going to come out and punch us in the mouth. I think they kind of disrespected us when they said that."

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit told viewers yesterday morning that U.Va. wouldn't be able to run the ball against the Terrapins, who were coming off a 20-17 upset of then-No. 5 Florida State, and predicted a victory for the visitors. That was the same FSU team, after all, that had crushed Virginia 36-3 on Oct. 16.

Herbstreit has had better days as a prognosticator. In its first game since rushing for 348 yards against hapless Duke, Virginia was nearly as productive against a formidable Maryland defense. Led by senior tailback Alvin Pearman, who rushed 31 times for 170 yards, U.Va. (4-1, 7-1) totaled 295 yards on the ground.

Junior tailback Wali Lundy, in a reserve role, added 107 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries for the Cavaliers, who play host to No. 11 Miami next weekend.

"I was confident we could do a good job [running the ball]," Virginia coach Al Groh said, "but I wouldn't have predicted that."

The Cavaliers' defense was equally impressive, holding Maryland to seven first downs. The Terrapins (2-4, 4-5) converted only 2 of 14 third-down opportunities, and Virginia stopped them three of four times on fourth down. The shutout was U.Va.'s second of the season, but this one meant more to defensive coordinator Al Golden's charges than their effort against Akron.

"We wanted the shutout so bad," junior defensive end Kwakou Robinson said. "They just destroyed us last year. We wanted to come out and show we're a different team."

For Maryland, which whipped Virginia 27-17 in College Park last season, the loss was its seventh straight at Scott Stadium. The Terps must win their final two regular-season games - they play No. 18 Virginia Tech and Wake Forest - to become bowl-eligible.

"We were flat, and we just didn't have anything in the tank," Friedgen said after his team was blanked for only the second time in his four seasons as Maryland's coach. "I don't know if it was because of last [week's win over FSU] or what it was. I have to evaluate myself. If they can't get up for this game, I don't know what the hell is wrong with me."

U.Va. harried sophomore quarterback Joel Statham into another in a series of poor performances, causing Friedgen to turn to true freshman Jordan Steffy in the fourth quarter. Sophomore tight end Vernon Davis led the Terps with five catches for 104 yards, but that wasn't nearly enough against a defense that forced three turnovers.

"It was like the walk of the zombies," Friedgen said. "Nobody was home. We were talking to them, trying to motivate them. Nothing was registering."

Sophomore linebacker Ahmad Brooks intercepted two Statham passes, and senior safety Marquis Weeks recovered a fumble forced by sophomore cornerback Tony Franklin. Junior linebacker Darryl Blackstock recorded two sacks, and senior nose tackle Andrew Hoffman had one.

"They did a real good job," Groh said of his defenders. "I was impressed."

Neither team had scored when, late in the first quarter, Statham tried to sneak for a first down on fourth and inches from the U.Va. 14. Inside linebackers Brooks and Kai Parham smothered him for no gain, and the Cavaliers methodically drove 86 yards for a touchdown on the ensuing possession, Lundy running for the final 4 yards.

Connor Hughes' extra point made it 7-0 with 12:02 left in the second quarter, and that would be all Virginia needed. It wasn't a memorable game for Hughes, who missed an extra point and a field goal attempt and saw another field-goal try blocked. But the Cavs' defense never broke, and junior quarterback Marques Hagans (10 for 17 passing for 114 yards) directed an offense that amassed 409 yards.

"We've been trying to work to be this type of team for the better part of three-plus years now." Groh said. "I've said on earlier occasions, we're closer to the model than we've ever been, and maybe we closed in a little more on the model tonight. But we still got some things to do."

NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Nov 7 2004

TOUR DE FORCE: Virginia linebacker Ahmad Brooks, who struggled last season in College Park, Md., played brilliantly yesterday in his second game against the Terrapins.

The 6-4, 260-pound sophomore from Woodbridge tied nose tackle Andrew Hoffman for the team lead with six tackles and intercepted two passes in U.Va.'s 16-0 victory yesterday. Both interceptions showed off Brooks' extraordinary athleticism.

"I'd be understating it if I said others could do it as fast and as well as he did," Virginia coach Al Groh said.

Brooks became the first Cavalier to intercept two passes in a game since Jerton Evans had two picks against Brigham Young in 1999. He's the first U.Va. linebacker to do so since Randy Neal against Virginia Tech in 1992.

IRON MEN: With Rich Bedesem out, Brooks and Kai Parham went the whole way at the inside-linebacker spots in U.Va.'s 3-4 defense. Bedesem, a senior who'd started alongside Brooks in Virginia's previous game, sprained his knee early in the week, Groh said, and later suffered a death in the family.

"All those things combined, I'd say we just have to see how the circumstances work out," Groh said when asked when he expected Bedesem to play again.

POSTSEASON POSSIBILITIES: Representatives from four bowls watched the game from the Scott Stadium press box: the Sugar, the Gator, the Peach and the Champs Sports (formerly the Tangerine). Virginia (4-1, 7-1) is one of four bowl-eligible teams in the ACC and can clinch a BCS berth by winning its final three regular-season games.

"As I said last week, our goal was to get to Nov. 7 and still be in the hunt," Groh said. "We can say that we are."

ON THE RISE: Junior linebacker Darryl Blackstock's two sacks yesterday give him 22 for his career. Only four ACC linebackers have had more. Blackstock passed former North Carolina great Lawrence Taylor, who had 21 career sacks, yesterday.

RUNNING WILD: Junior tailback Wali Lundy's two rushing touchdowns against Maryland pushed his season total to 14. It was Lundy's fifth multi-touchdown game of the season.

Senior tailback Alvin Pearman has totaled 393 yards rushing in his past two games: 223 against Duke and 170 against Maryland. That's the most in consecutive games by a Cavalier since Thomas Jones amassed 434 - 213 versus Georgia Tech and 221 versus Buffalo -in 1999.

ONE FOR THE AGES: For Virginia, the victory over Maryland was memorable for a number of reasons, not the least of which was this:

For the first time since their 34-0 victory over Virginia Tech at Norfolk on Nov. 1, 1941, the Cavaliers committed no penalties in a game.

"That's one of the things probably that we're most pleased of," Groh said. "That was one of our objectives coming into the game: just to try to beat a team that's hard to beat."

MISCELLANY: Senior tight end Patrick Estes' 27-yard reception, which set up the Connor Hughes field goal that made it 16-0 in the third quarter, was the longest of his career. Estes, a graduate of Benedictine High, carries 280 pounds on his 6-7 frame and is known more for his blocking than his receiving these days. . . . Josh Zidenberg, a walk-on from Poquoson, became the ninth true freshman to play for U.Va. this season. Zidenberg took over on the punt-return team after Lance Evans hurt his left ankle in the second quarter. . . . Chris Long, a first-year defensive end from Charlottesville, played for the first time since Sept. 18. He'd been sidelined with mononucleosis.

NEXT WEEK: In its home finale, Virginia (4-1, 7-1) plays host Saturday to ACC newcomer Miami, which played Clemson last night at the Orange Bowl.

ABC will regionally televise the 3:30 p.m. game. The 11th-ranked Hurricanes never have played at Scott Stadium. In the teams' only meeting, Miami whipped Virginia 31-21 at the 1996 Carquest Bowl.

U.Va.'s second-string quarterback, Christian Olsen, and Miami tight end Greg Olsen are brothers. Both began their college careers at Notre Dame. - Jeff White

Maryland falls flat, 16-0
Playing like 'zombies,' Terps shut out by Virginia as bowl hopes plummet; Low vs. No. 12 follows FSU high; Friedgen: 'We just didn't have anything in the tank'; Cavs rush for 295 yards
By Kevin Van Valkenburg
Sun Staff
Originally published November 7, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - He wanted to see passion. He wanted to see anger. He wanted to see his players come barreling out of the tunnel spitting mad, ready to explode.

Instead, when Maryland took the field yesterday against No. 12 Virginia, its closest Atlantic Coast Conference rival, Terps coach Ralph Friedgen looked down his sideline and saw an army of blank faces.

"It was like the walk of the zombies," Friedgen said. "Nobody was home. We were talking to them, trying to motivate them, but nothing was registering."

The Terps didn't just look like zombies. For the most part, they played like them, too, losing 16-0 yesterday in front of 63,072, the largest crowd in Scott Stadium history.

And in many respects, it wasn't even that close. Virginia (7-1, 4-1), which rushed for 295 yards and didn't commit a single penalty, bullied Maryland (4-5, 2-4) with one 6-yard run after another. Cavaliers running backs Alvin Pearman (170) and Wali Lundy (107) each rushed for more than 100 yards, the first time a Maryland opponent has had two runners top the century mark in the same game since Florida State did it in 1994.

"They lined up and just ran it down our throat," Friedgen said.

Maryland will likely spend the next 11 days trying to regroup, knowing that there is no longer any margin for error this season. The Terps must now win their final two games of the season - on the road against Virginia Tech and at home against Wake Forest - if they want to have any shot at appearing in a bowl game for the fourth straight year.

The loss was disheartening, but even more so because of the way the Terps played just seven days ago. Maryland looked inspired against Florida State, beating the Seminoles for the first time in school history. The same team looked lethargic against Virginia, getting shut out for the first time since the 2002 season-opener against Notre Dame.

"We were flat, and we just didn't have anything in the tank," Friedgen said. "I don't know if it was because of last week or what. I have to evaluate myself. If they can't get up for this game, I don't know what the hell is wrong with me."

Decisive as the game was, things could have been different. Virginia turned the ball over twice in the first quarter, giving Maryland two golden opportunities to take control of the game. Josh Wilson forced a Pearman fumble at midfield, and Chris Kelley intercepted a pass that ricocheted off Cavaliers wide receiver Deyon Williams, returning it to Virginia's 36-yard line.

But both times, Maryland failed to come away with points. After Kelley's interception, the Terps drove the ball to the 14-yard line, but turned it over on downs when two quarterback sneaks by Joel Statham failed to gain a yard.

"On the first one, I got a really bad spot," Statham said. "I looked over and I know it beat it by like at least a yard."

Friedgen said he elected to go for it again on fourth down instead of kicking the field goal because, in his opinion, "if we can't get two inches, we don't deserve to win the game." On the second sneak, Friedgen said the officials told him Statham actually lost yardage.

"The official said he never saw him surge forward," Friedgen said, shaking his head.

Virginia made Maryland pay, handing the ball off to Pearman nine times and throwing it to him once on a 14-play drive that chewed up nearly six minutes. Lundy finished off the series with a 4-yard touchdown run.

"They were doing a lot of things we didn't see during the week," said Terps defensive end Shawne Merriman, who finished with 10 tackles. "We knew they were going to run certain plays, but they blocked them a lot different. They schemed us pretty good."

It was Lundy's turn to carry the load on Virginia's next drive. The junior running back carried the ball seven times, and he put Virginia up 13-0 with a nifty 15-yard touchdown run five minutes before halftime. On the play, Lundy started running to his left, saw that it was bottled up, then reversed his field and ran nearly untouched into the end zone.

"I think we knocked the wind out of them early," Lundy said. "I don't think they ever recovered. We dominated every aspect of the game."

Things got worse for Maryland late in the first half when Statham was tackled on a run, trying to get the Terps into field-goal range. The sophomore quarterback got up thinking he might have broken his left collarbone, but X-rays at halftime showed it was just a sprain.

"I reinjured something that I had in high school," Statham said. "I don't really know what the deal is, but it hurt me pretty bad."

Statham played through the pain, and hit tight end Vernon Davis on a 46-yard pass in the second half that Davis might have scored a touchdown on if he hadn't tripped. But Statham finished just 10-for-17 for 115 yards and two interceptions, and was replaced by Jordan Steffy late in the fourth quarter. Maryland finished with just 51 yards rushing.

Virginia added a 27-yard field goal by Conor Hughes to close out the scoring.

"This season has been a roller coaster," said senior center Kyle Schmitt. "It wears on you. Not just physically, but mentally. It's tough. You put everything you have into this for 12 months, five years in a row.

"Were we emotionally ready? I don't know. I hope so. Maybe we were spent [from Florida State], but at the same time, you only have 11 games to get up for. I thought we put Florida State out of our mind, and were ready to go, but apparently that wasn't the case."

 

Virginia line too heavy for UM to handle
Massive holes allow 2 Cavs to run for 100-plus; 2 Terps receivers hurt
By Jeff Zrebiec
Sun Staff
Originally published November 7, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Virginia junior running back Wali Lundy spent the whole first quarter against Maryland yesterday on the sideline, so he had a close-up view of what would become painfully obvious to the Terrapins.

"There were holes opening up everywhere," Lundy said. "It was crazy."

Virginia gouged the Maryland run defense for 295 yards and two touchdowns on 61 carries in the Cavaliers' 16-0 victory, a game the Terps essentially lost because of their inability to stop the run.

"I thought their defense would be more ready for us, but they weren't," said Lundy, who rushed for 107 yards and both touchdowns on 24 carries, and was one of two Cavaliers to eclipse the 100-yard plateau. "We came in with our regular game plan to run it down their throats, and that's what we did."

Behind an offensive line that was 30 pounds bigger on average than the Terps' defensive front, Cavaliers senior Alvin Pearman also took 31 carries for 170 yards, as Virginia averaged just under 5 yards a carry, and controlled the ball for more than 38 of the game's 60 minutes.

And this happened against a Maryland team that was ranked 25th in the nation in stopping the run, surrendering just 111.4 yards on average on the ground. Entering the game, the Terps had allowed just one team - never mind two separate individuals - to reach 100 yards in the past five games.

The Terps haven't allowed two rushers to reach the 100-yard mark in the same game since it happened against Florida State in 1994.

"Sometimes our pursuit didn't get there, and that's very rare for our defense," Terps coach Ralph Friedgen said.

Asked for a reason for the Cavaliers' dominance, Pearman gave an answer that was as simple as the Virginia game plan.

"We have the best offensive line in the country, that's it," he said.

After yesterday, the Terps probably wouldn't argue.

On the Cavaliers' first touchdown scoring drive, which covered 86 yards, Virginia coach Al Groh called runs on 10 of 13 plays. On the second one, seven of the Cavaliers' 10 plays were on the ground.

"When you are an offensive lineman, you live for that," said Virginia junior left guard Brian Barthelmes. "It's a sign that the team has faith in your ability."

Added Elton Brown, the Cavaliers' mammoth 6-foot-6, 338-pound right guard who was especially overwhelming to the Terps yesterday: "Our job was to open up holes. [Pearman and Lundy] were the ones that were making plays."

Even Groh acknowledged that his team had way more success on the ground than it expected.

"We've been trying to work to become this kind of team for the better part of three-plus years now," said Groh, whose team was ranked seventh in the nation in rushing entering the game [249 yards per game].

"Maybe we're closer to the model than we've ever been, and maybe we closed in a little bit more on the model tonight."

Short on receivers

By the end of the game yesterday, the Terps were down to just four healthy receivers: Rich Parson, Paschal Abiamiri, Derrick Fenner and Curtis Williams.

Senior Steve Suter didn't play because of a hamstring injury, while both Drew Weatherly and Jo Jo Walker were forced to leave the game with concussions.

Weatherly's came early in the game, while Walker suffered his on a vicious hit by Cavaliers cornerback Philip Brown, leading to a Terps fumble.

Extra points

The attendance for yesterday's game was 63,072, a Scott Stadium record. ... Chris Kelley's first-quarter interception was the first of his career. ... Maryland rushed for 51 yards, its second-lowest total of the season.

Two Sides to Cavs' Story
Offense, Defense Dominate as No. 12 Virginia Shuts Out Terrapins: Virginia 16, Maryland 0
By Mark Schlabach
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 7, 2004; Page E01

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Nov. 6 -- Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen has sat through some maddening defeats during the past two months, but Saturday's 16-0 loss at rival Virginia was perhaps the most painful in a season that has all but slipped away from the Terrapins.

Even when Friedgen's offense failed to gain 100 yards in home losses to Georgia Tech and N.C. State, and then gave away the game in the final seconds a week later at Clemson, the Terrapins' defense at least played with courage and pride. But Saturday, the No. 12 Cavaliers thoroughly dominated Maryland on both sides of the ball, leaving the Terps within one loss of their first losing season in Friedgen's four years as coach at his alma mater.

Virginia's Ahmad Brooks puts the brakes on another Maryland drive with an interception of Joel Statham. The Terrapins gained just 214 yards on 50 plays. (Joel Richardson -- The Washington Post)

The victory was tantalizing for the Cavaliers, whose season seems to grow more promising with each passing week. With three regular season games remaining, Virginia (7-1, 4-1) remained in a tie with Virginia Tech for first place in the ACC, and prepares to play No. 11 Miami in Charlottesville next Saturday. The Hurricanes lost their second ACC game last night in a 24-17 overtime defeat to Clemson.

"If you talk about wanting to be one of the best, you've got to beat the best," Cavaliers quarterback Marques Hagans said. "Miami has been the best for a long, long time."

Virginia was certainly at its best against Maryland, totaling 409 yards of offense, including 295 yards rushing against the ACC's top-ranked run defense. The Cavaliers held the Terrapins to 214 yards of offense, forced three turnovers and did not commit a penalty in a game for the first time since 1941, delighting a sellout crowd of 63,072 fans, the largest ever at Scott Stadium.

"We've been trying to work to become this kind of team for three-plus years now," Virginia Coach Al Groh said. "I've said on earlier occasions, maybe we're closer to the model than we've ever been, and maybe we closed in a little bit more on the model tonight."

Maryland (4-5, 2-4) doesn't look anything like the team model that won 31 games during Friedgen's first three seasons. Just a week after stunning then-No. 5 Florida State, 20-17, the Terrapins gained only seven first downs, failed to gain a half-yard on consecutive plays to squander their best scoring opportunity and were shut out for the first time in 35 games -- since losing to Notre Dame, 22-0, in the 2002 opener.

Maryland must win its last two games -- at No. 18 Virginia Tech on Nov. 18 and against Wake Forest on Nov. 27 -- to qualify for a bowl game.

"It was like the walk of the zombies," Friedgen said. "Nobody was home. We were talking to them, trying to motivate them. Nothing was registering."

Virginia tailback Alvin Pearman ran 31 times for 170 yards, and junior Wali Lundy ran 24 times for 107 yards and two touchdowns. They're the first teammates to run for 100 yards or more against Maryland since Florida State's Zack Crockett and Warrick Dunn did it in a 52-20 win over the Terps in 1994.

It was "not that tough," Pearman said. "We really got the ball rolling early. We dominated up front. When you dominate a team up front, you can do whatever you want."

Said Virginia linebacker Ahmad Brooks, "Coach Groh shoved the ball down their throats."

Brooks made three of the biggest plays in the first half, intercepting Maryland's Joel Statham twice, and stuffing him on a failed quarterback sneak when the Terps seemed to be driving for the game's first touchdown. Midway through the first quarter, Maryland faced third down and one at the Virginia 14-yard line, and Statham was stopped short on his sneak. Statham tried to sneak behind center Kyle Schmitt again on fourth down, but Brooks and linebacker Kai Parham dove over the top, denying him any penetration and a first down.

"If you can't make inches, you're going to have trouble winning football games," Friedgen said.

Virginia took over at its 14 and drove 86 yards on 13 plays, with Lundy scoring on a four-yard run, which gave the Cavaliers a 7-0 lead with 12 minutes 2 seconds left in the second quarter. Pearman was the workhorse during the drive, running nine times for 49 yards and gaining another 14 yards on a screen pass that moved the Cavaliers into Maryland territory.

On Virginia's next possession, Lundy replaced Pearman in the backfield and ran the ball five times on the first six plays, moving the Cavs to the Maryland 25. On third and four, Hagans threw a 12-yard pass to fullback Tom Santi for a first down. Two plays later, Lundy ran left and broke back right, picking up a block from Hagans, for a 15-yard score with 5:25 left in the half. Junior Connor Hughes's extra point attempt hit the left upright and was no good, leaving the Cavaliers with a 13-0 lead.

Hughes kicked a 27-yard field goal on Virginia's first possession of the second half to make it 16-0.

Statham, who injured his left collarbone during the first half, went 10 for 17 for 115 yards and was replaced by freshman Jordan Steffy late in the game. The Terrapins gained 214 yards on 50 plays, and converted only 2 of 12 third downs and 1 of 4 fourth downs.

"We just wanted to go out and prove we had the better defense," Brooks said. "With a shutout, we proved it."
 

Short, by Any Measure
By Mike Wise
Sunday, November 7, 2004; Page E01
CHARLOTTESVILLE

'It was this far," Ralph Friedgen said. The Maryland coach held his index finger maybe two inches from his thumb.

"You got to make that," he lamented. "You got to make that."

When Joel Statham lined up over center for fourth and inches at the 14-yard line with less than four minutes left in the first quarter, the Terrapins were a snap and a tuck away from quieting a mob of more than 63,000 in a noisy little crevice at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The sun was still gleaming over Scott Stadium on a splendid fall day, and not all the orange-clad Cavaliers fans in the world should have detracted from Statham's goal. Forge ahead for one or two inches, move the chains and score first in an ACC game that would define two seasons -- Statham's and Maryland's.

Except the young Terrapins quarterback never made it, just as his team most likely will never make it to a bowl game in December.

Crucial moments in a college football season come and go by the Saturday, but the inability to secure a tiny margin of real estate so early in the game was more defining than most. That one or two inches showed how much the Virginia Cavaliers wanted the ball back and how maddening Friedgen's football team has become.

A week after the ecstasy that was the first victory over Florida State in school history, Maryland went back to its muddling self. The Terps lost hideously to Virginia, 16-0, falling to 4-5 this season. They need to beat Virginia Tech and Wake Forest in their final two games to become bowl eligible, and there is no evidence that is possible after what happened Saturday.

The Terrapins team that moved the ball against the No. 5 team in the nation eight days ago could not gain an inch on two consecutive downs from the 14. Two quarterback sneaks by Statham equaled nothing but a change of possession and a major shift in momentum of a scoreless game.

Wali Lundy punched in two touchdowns for Virginia in the second quarter, Statham had two interceptions by halftime, and Maryland was chasing its money from there.

For the first time, the offense cannot take all the blame. The Terrapins gave up more rushing yards in two quarters to Virginia (139) than it had in eight quarters against Clemson and Florida State. They didn't lie down, but they were pushed aside by a very good Virginia offensive line. Virginia took the first possession of the first half and just moved Maryland, the line opening holes for Alvin Pearman and Lundy, who were brilliant.

Friedgen and Virginia Coach Al Groh shook hands briskly after it ended, sharing few words. It is unclear if they knew how much that first-quarter stand meant in the scheme of their seasons. But if the Maryland coach was viewed as the great motivator last week, give the same acclaim to Groh this week. His 7-1 team is bound to crack the top 10 again after pushing Maryland around the field for three hours.

Only Miami and Virginia Tech stand in the way of the Cavaliers winning the ACC, which automatically thrusts the Cavaliers into the Bowl Championship Series picture. Groh's offensive line and running backs plowed for 295 yards against a team that had not given up that much in a month.

That little gap between Friedgen's thick fingers won't be especially remembered Sunday. Neither will the controversial pass-interference penalty against Clemson last month nor the overtime loss to West Virginia in Week 3. The Terrapins don't want to hear about how if one play goes the other way in each game and Maryland is headed down here with a 6-2 record, nationally ranked, perhaps a big-time bowl bid in the offing.

No, those moments are usually recalled the night of the team banquet. Or the final game of the season, when players realize what they had and what they lost.

See, that's the worst thing about turning over the ball on fourth and inches. Or giving up a game-winning touchdown in the final 23 seconds to Clemson. Or failing to convert a late-game field goal in the middle of Morgantown, W. Va.

It's not when it happens that hurts the most; it's all the times the memory of the play keeps coming back, long after you left school and moved on.

On his first sneak attempt Saturday, the third down and inches, Statham said he made the yardage but got a bad spot from the officials. He was right. His forward progress gave him the first down anywhere in America but Charlottesville. But that's no excuse for the Terps' failure to make an inch or two on fourth down.

It's no wonder Friedgen said that at halftime, with his team down 13-0, he saw some blank stares from his players.

"It was like the walk of the zombies," the coach said afterward. "Nobody was home."

Not even a team that would now need a small miracle to finish 6-5 and advance to the Smurf Turf Bowl in Boise.

Statham didn't blame Friedgen for talking about how much the Virginia game was "a big stride toward a bowl game" prior to kickoff. But Statham did say how easy it was to come out against Florida State and perform last week because the Terps were "just playing."

You want to tell Statham that he should want the pressure, if not beg for it. The big game against the heated rival with something on the line is why you play Division I college football, no?

But you figure as a redshirt sophomore, he'll eventually learn. And unlike the seniors, Statham has at least two more team banquets to get rid of the regret. After this mediocre Maryland season, there will no doubt be plenty.
 

Defense Is the 'Deciding Factor' for Cavaliers
By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, November 7, 2004; Page E15

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Nov. 6 -- Ahmad Brooks knew it. Dennis Haley knew it. Philip Brown knew it. This week in practice, every Virginia defender heard the same message from Coach Al Groh: We need to make more big plays.

Entering Saturday's 16-0 win against Maryland, the 12th-ranked Cavaliers (7-1, 5-1 ACC) had held opponents to 15.7 points per game, but to remain in contention for the conference championship and a BCS bowl bid, they felt they needed more interceptions, fumble recoveries, key stops and sacks -- anything to keep offenses from wearing them down with long drives.

Virginia safety Marquis Weeks celebrates his third-quarter fumble recovery, one of several big plays the Cavaliers' defense had against Maryland. (Joel Richardson -- The Washington Post)

"It wasn't like we were hoping to," Brown said. "It was like we had to."

Brown and his defensive mates got what they wanted against Maryland's foundering offense. Led by a stellar performance by Brooks, a precocious inside linebacker, the Cavaliers created three turnovers after getting only eight in the first seven games. They were 3 for 3 stopping the Terps on fourth down, including twice in the first half with the game still in the balance.

"We weren't forcing the issue, but we knew that was something that we needed to do to win big games," Haley said. "That was big for us. That was a deciding factor in the game."

Brooks grabbed the first two interceptions of his career and dove over the line of scrimmage to stop Joel Statham short on an early fourth-down quarterback sneak at the Virginia 14-yard line. He tied for the team lead with six tackles and even threw in, for good measure, a crowd-pleasing, welcome-to-ACC-football hit after backup quarterback Jordan Steffy scrambled for yardage in the final minutes.

On his first interception, Brooks pushed tight end Vernon Davis off his route and was standing in perfect position at the Virginia 22 when Statham threw into a pack of defenders.

"I was kind of surprised that he threw it into coverage," Brooks said.

His second interception -- the one Groh called "really a terrific play" -- came in the second quarter when Statham looked for Rich Parson deep over the middle. Back in zone coverage, Brooks leaped and snagged the ball over his head, showing the skills that led the Cavaliers to play him at kick returner in the season opener.

Minutes later, Virginia produced its ninth fourth-down stop in 17 attempts this season when reserves Vince Redd and Keenan Carter dropped Josh Allen for a three-yard loss on a screen pass. In the fourth, Tony Franklin created a fumble that Marquis Weeks recovered. Darryl Blackstock led the pass rush with two sacks.

"There were a number of players who took the initiative to be playmakers," Groh said. "There's no guarantee that that's a constant . . . but that will certainly be necessary here as we go down the last three weeks, so hopefully that's a positive sign."

Cavaliers Notes: Senior inside linebacker Rich Bedesem was not at the game after a death in the family this week. Kai Parham moved back into the starting lineup alongside Brooks, leaving Mark Miller, known more for his special teams play, as the backup at both spots.
 

Uninspired Terps Come Out 'Flat'
By Eric Prisbell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 7, 2004; Page E15

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Nov. 6 -- Maryland had a similar experience here two years ago, when they lost by 35 and Terps Coach Ralph Friedgen blamed himself. He had practiced his players too hard all week.

That was not the case Saturday. The blame for Maryland's 16-0 loss to Virginia rested with players, many of whom, Friedgen said, were "flat" and had "blank stares." The Terps (4-5, 2-4 ACC) have lost games this season because of offensive futility, turnovers or a late-game controversial pass interference call, but never in a passionless fashion, as Friedgen categorized Saturday's game.

"It was like the walk of the zombies," Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen said. "Nobody was home. We were talking to them, trying to motivate them." (Joel Richardson -- The Washington Post)

Interviews with players from both sides and Friedgen painted a picture of some Maryland players who were emotionally stale yet perhaps still bad-mouthing their opponent late into the game. At least one Maryland player suggested that others needed to play with the same intensity he had displayed.

"It was like the walk of the zombies," Friedgen said. "Nobody was home. We were talking to them, trying to motivate them. Nothing was registering."

The question that resonated afterward among players: How can the team be uninspired against its most bitter rival? "I have to evaluate myself," Friedgen said. "If they can't get up for this game, I don't know what the hell is wrong with me."

Added center Kyle Schmitt: "Yeah, it's tough to imagine, but this season has been a roller coaster. There's been a lot to deal with, not just physically but mentally. It wears on you. . . . There are a lot more tougher things going on in the world than getting up for a football game. But it's tough because we put everything we have into this for 12 months a year. Emotionally ready? I hope everyone was ready, but what can you say?"

On Oct. 30, Maryland scored the most important win of the Friedgen era, beating then-No. 5 Florida State, 20-17. Maryland players had carried over the celebration a little longer than the coaching staff would have liked last week, but Friedgen felt they were prepared. He reduced contact in practice to heal players and kept alive the "We Believe" campaign that proved a motivating factor against the Seminoles.

His message fell on deaf ears. "The next level isn't promised to me," senior defensive lineman Henry Scott said. "I'm trying to play every game like it's my last. I think we need to get a couple more guys on that page and we'll be all right."

Players from both teams exchanged barbs in the media throughout the week. Maryland players did not stop Saturday, even as they trailed late in the game, according to Virginia left guard Brian Barthelmes.

"Maryland tries to make this more of a rivalry than it really is," Barthelmes said. "In the fourth quarter, they were still talking junk. . . . As the other person, you've got to try and be mature and not let that get to you."

Terrapins Notes: Ten Maryland players missed the game because of injuries, including senior kick returner-wide receiver Steve Suter. . . . Quarterback Joel Statham underwent X-rays on his left collarbone at halftime, but no fracture was found, Friedgen said.