UVa fends off Jackets
Cavs now eligible for bowl
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
November 13, 2005

With its hopes of playing in a bowl game stuck in a third-and-long situation, Virginia went for it all. And they converted.

After letting a 17-point lead slip away, Virginia put together two scoring drives in the final 20 minutes of the game, helping the Cavaliers knock off No. 24 Georgia Tech, 27-17, in front of a Scott Stadium crowd of just more than 60,000.

Georgia Tech (6-3, 4-3 ACC) remains winless in Charlottesville since 1990.

The emotional win for UVa came just two days after four players, including two defensive starters, were suspended. It also gives the Cavaliers their necessary six-win total, a requirement for playing in the postseason.

That was of little importance in the first quarter.

Virginia's starting safety Nate Lyles was placed on a spineboard and carted off the field after losing all feeling in his extremities, at least temporarily, after he delivered a head-first hit on Yellow Jacket tailback P.J. Daniels. Lyles, a sophomore, was taken to the University of Virginia Medical Center for further examination, but on his way he gave the Scott Stadium crowd a much needed lift with a thumbs-up to the crowd.

"The important thing is that Nate Lyles will be fine," Virginia coach Al Groh said to open his press conference. "I'm really very admiring of the guts and the effort and the determination that these guys showed. Our numbers were down a little bit, and they went down a little bit more in a hurry [when Lyles was injured], but they didn't blink, they didn't flinch, and as a result they have something that they can be very proud of."

That victory was of grave importance for postseason implications, given UVa's upcoming schedule - they host No. 8 Virginia Tech on Saturday and travel to No. 3 Miami on Nov. 26.

"Football is a game of instincts and we played kind of like an animal with our backs against the wall," UVa defensive end Chris Long said. "Our backs were truly against the wall tonight. I feel like when you are competitive and you play with your instincts, you just have to go and that is what we did tonight."

After a late third quarter field goal by Connor Hughes gave the Cavaliers a 20-17 lead, the team was in need of one more big drive.

Georgia Tech did its best to help - kicker Travis Bell missed a 44-yard field goal with 12:51 remaining in the game - giving UVa the ball at its 27.

When Groh saw the field goal sail right of the uprights, he sprinted toward his offensive unit.

The message?

"I told them, 'Here's the opportunity for you now, fellas. You've got to be like a shark smelling blood,'" Groh recounted. "And they did. They took the ball and they finished it out."

In fact, Virginia marched 73 yards in just eight plays, scoring on 3rd-and-9 on a 21-yard touchdown pass over the middle from Marques Hagans to wide receiver Deyon Williams with 9:03 left in the game.

"I knew there was going to be a spot in the middle where I could catch the ball," said Williams, who finished with career-high 10 receptions and for a career-best 107 yards. "Marques made a great read and a great throw."

It marked the first touchdown pass for the Cavaliers since the second quarter of the team's upset win over Florida State on Oct. 15.

After forcing Georgia Tech to punt on its next possession, Virginia finished out the game and the 6:31 that remained on the clock, with a 46-yard, 12-play drive that moved the ball to the Georgia Tech 12, before Hagans took a final knee.

Virginia converted 8 of 16 opportunities on third down for the game, including two successful attempts in the fourth quarter, helping the Cavaliers dominate the time of possession (33:30 to 26:30).

"They made a lot of critical third downs," said Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey, whose defense entered the game the fourth-best team in the league on stopping third down conversions. "We've been such a great third-down defense, but they made a lot of third downs in the game."

It started with Virginia's ability to run the ball against Georgia Tech's 14th-ranked rush defense and with its ability to protect Hagans, who was sacked only three times.

Virginia senior Wali Lundy ran the ball 23 times for 83 yards (91 gained, eight lost) and junior Jason Snelling added 48 yards on eight second-half carries.

Hagans scrambled 10 times for 25 yards and completed 21 of 29 passes for 205 yards and one touchdown.

"They ran the ball effectively and protected well," Gailey said. "We couldn't get to the passer. They had a good game plan and executed better than we did tonight."

Virginia raced out to a 17-0 lead, scoring on its first three possessions of the game.

Lundy capped the first two drives with TD runs from 15 and 18 yards out. Hughes also added a 48-yard field goal with 13:17 left in the second quarter.

"We knew that we had to make a statement early," Lundy said. "As an offense, we decided to come out and strike first, before they could strike us. We knew that we had to come out and hit them first and not catch them because they are such a good team.

"If they got ahead of us it was going to be hard to get back into the game."

Georgia Tech never led, but they rallied with 10 points in the second quarter, including a 1-yard TD run by Tashard Choice. The other score came with three seconds left in the first half on a career-best 48-yard field goal from Bell.

The Yellow Jackets final first-half score was set up by Hagans' only interception of the game. With the ball on the Jackets' 42 and facing a 3rd-and-11, Hagans threw a pass in the direction of Williams, who broke right. The pass went left, directly into the hands of GT free safety Dewan Landry.

"That was just a misread on my part," Hagans said. "[Williams] saw one thing and I saw another. That happens sometimes like that."

Hagans said the situation was nipped in the bud very quickly.

"We corrected it as soon as we came to the sidelines and we just moved on," said Hagans, who completed 13 of 18 passes in the opening half for 121 yards. "Nobody pointed fingers at anybody. It was just miscommunication.

"I am just glad that [Landry] didn't catch it and run with it."

Georgia Tech finished with 344 yards of total offense, just 17 fewer than UVa, but the Yellow Jackets were stopped seven times on third down and were forced to punt five times.

Reggie Ball, Georgia Tech's junior quarterback, finished 20 of 38 for 207 yards and added a team-high 68 yards rushing.

Virginia now shifts its attention to in-state rival Virginia Tech (8-1, 5-1), who had a bye week to rest and prepare for the Cavaliers.

"I think we'll be playing against one of the best teams to ever come to Scott Stadium," Groh said. "It is certainly going to be necessary [to run the ball], even though we play against one of the best defenses in the country this week. You certainly can't throw the ball 65 times. We are going to have to grind some things out and so when we call those runs they ought to have a little bit more confidence than what they had in the past."

For Virginia's seniors, the Virginia Tech game will mark their final home game.

"It is going to be exciting," Lundy said. "I think it is going to be a real good game to watch."

 

Cavaliers show their toughness
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
November 13, 2005

Back against the wall, one step from disaster, undermanned and underdogs, Virginia’s football team showed what it was made of Saturday night.

Talk about a mettle-tester, the Cavaliers went into their game with 24th-ranked Georgia Tech without two of its regular starters and two backups who drew suspensions earlier in the week for team rules violations. The key loss was starting senior safety Tony Franklin, who was replaced by an unrecruited walk-on (Byron Glaspy) and a one-time soccer player (Ryan Best).

Star Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson, one of the best in America, must have salivated a pool in anticipation of a day in the park against Virginia’s secondary.

And if Virginia didn’t have enough problems, its other starting safety and one of its most ferocious hitters, Nate Lyles, left the stadium on a stretcher in the first quarter.

Winning odds were slim

Surely, the odds were stacked against a Cavalier team that needed one more win against a Murderer’s Row to become bowl eligible. Heck, lose to Georgia Tech and the naysayers were voting for a losing season against the likes of looming opponents Virginia Tech and Miami.

Instead, Virginia played the game like it owned the month of November, when games count most. The Cavaliers did just about everything they had to do in beating Georgia Tech for the seventh straight time in Charlottesville, 27-17.

The losing streak had been a source of motivation for the Jackets, who had disappointingly left Jefferson’s town in its rear view mirror every other year since 1990.

Gailey was impressed

Credit Virginia’s think-tank of coaches for devising a game plan that impressed Tech coach Chan Gailey in beating perhaps the most sound opponent from top to bottom that the Cavs had faced this season. Also credit the fortitude of the players who gutted it out, even after jumping on Tech early, then taking the Jackets’ best shot, only to come back and finish the job.

With the game on the line and holding a shaky 20-17 lead going into the fourth quarter, the Cavs showed killer instinct when it counted, driving the final dagger into the Yellow Jackets’ heart with a back-breaking drive that covered 73 yards on a mere eight plays.

There was a steady dose of power back Jason Snelling to get the death blow kick-started. In the end, it was a 21-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Marques Hagans to wide receiver Deyon Williams, who had been overshadowed by Tech’s Johnson in the pre-game hype.

The message

Groh sought out his offense before the drive and delivered an inspiring message: “I told them, ‘Here’s the opportunity for you now, fellas. You’ve got to be like a shark smelling blood.’ They took the ball and finished it off.”

The rest was up to a defense that had dominated perhaps the most potent three-pronged attack in the ACC: quarterback Reggie Ball, running back P.J. Daniels and Johnson.

Ball is one of the top 25 producers of total offense in ACC history. Daniels is one of the league’s all-time top 25 rushers and Johnson is lethal anytime he touches the football, averaging 18 yards a catch over the last two seasons.

The mobile Ball did minimal damage with his feet in rushing for 68 yards, which was a lot better than Daniels, who had rushed for 100 yards or more in 15 of his previous 27 games. He was held to 41 on this November night.

And, Johnson? Forget about it. Virginia’s patchwork secondary frustrated him as he caught four passes also for 41 yards.

“I don’t know if it was the gutsiest performance we’ve had here,” said senior defensive end Brennan Schmidt, who set a UVa defensive lineman record for making his 48th consecutive career start, “but it definitely was gutsy. It says a lot about the character of this team.”

Virginia’s defense wasn’t the only one to make a statement. The offense presented a strong running/passing balance in perhaps its best display of rushing the ball this season. Snelling returned to the form that made his such a weapon as a freshman, bulling for yardage on the run and wounding the Jackets as a receiver on the screen pass.

And, have we all grossly underestimated just how much tailback Wali Lundy has meant to this team? Injured most of the season, the versatile Lundy has reminded us the past two weeks of his potency with six rushing touchdowns (two against Tech) and a key rushing yardage.

The Cavs put up 161 yards rushing on the 14th-best rushing defense in the nation, and piled up 365 yards against the fourth-best total defense in the ACC.

Hagans was quietly effective with a 21 for 29 night for 205 yards and a TD.

“We’ve been such a great third-down defense, but Virginia made a lot of third downs in the game (8 of 16),” said Tech coach Chan Gailey, former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. “We couldn’t get to their passer. Virginia had a good game plan and executed better than we did.”

Meanwhile, Virginia’s defense has shown a penchant for a bend-don’t-break style of play in recent weeks having given up only 37 points over its last 14 quarters of football.

What all this means is that Virginia is bowl eligible for the fourth straight year, which wasn’t really on the Cavaliers’ minds. Well, maybe in the very back of their collective minds.

“Maybe that’s a small monkey off our back,” Schmidt said. “Now it allows us to just worry about one thing.”

That one thing is Virginia Tech, which comes to town next week and it didn’t take the Wahoos long to notice. Groh made sure he pointed out that the Hokies are the best team to come to Scott Stadium in a long, long time.

But Scott has become one of the most underrated places to play in the country. The Cavaliers have almost been unbeatable here over the past four seasons, having won 21 of their last 23 games here (the only two losses were against Miami and Florida State).

“With a crowd like Virginia’s, they can stay in ballgames,” said Jackets wide receiver Damarius Bilbo, who has played at Scott a couple of times. “It’s a crazy environment. Virginia’s stadium can be like Virginia Tech’s where the crowd is a 12th man.”

On a night that required a lot of heart, Virginia opened its up and closed the deal. That’s what good football teams do, especially in November.

 

Ball disappointed after Jacket defeat
By Jerry Miller / Daily Progress staff writer
November 13, 2005

Georgia Tech quarterback Reggie Ball was understandably crabby following the Yellow Jackets seventh straight loss at Scott Stadium - this one of the 27-17 variety.

“Did we win or lose? Those are my thoughts on the game,” said Ball, who closed 20-of-38 passing for 207 yards with one touchdown and one interception. “We didn’t make adjustments and we didn’t execute.”

Ball and standout wide receiver, Calvin Johnson, failed to find harmony on the evening and could not exploit Virginia’s missing links - Tony Franklin, who was suspended for the game, and Nate Lyles, who was injured in the first quarter - in its secondary.

“The suspensions didn’t enter our gameplan at all,” said Ball, who also posted 68 rushing yards off eight carries. “We just didn’t capitalize on opportunities. Virginia did a good job of that. After we missed a [44-yard] field goal [in the fourth quarter], Virginia marched down and scored a touchdown. They capitalized.”

Ball heaped praise on Cav quarterback Marques Hagans, and said Hagans made plays when he had to make them.

“[Hagans] did what a quarterback is supposed to do and that’s put points on the board,” Ball said.

Ball also indicated the Yellow Jackets, who are bowl eligible with a 6-3 record, must now rebound heading into a tough road showdown on Saturday against No. 3 Miami.

“The 24-hour rule is in effect. Come Sunday, we will break down some film and get to work,” he said. “We are going to rebound the same way we have in the past. We will come out and have a great week of practice then head down to Miami for the game.”

 

Lundy breaks Mayer's school record
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
November 13, 2005

When Virginia running back Wali Lundy was asked whether he’s ever thought about the numbers he could have put up if he hadn’t missed a good portion of this season with a foot injury, he paused and looked up at the ceiling inside the press room at the Carl Smith Center.

“I wouldn’t be human if I said I never thought about it,” said Lundy, following UVa’s 27-17 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday. “I just try and put the past in the past.”

Besides, Lundy’s numbers are pretty impressive anyway.

Against the Yellow Jackets, Lundy broke Gene Mayer’s school record for most touchdowns in a career when he scored on a 15-yard scamper in the first quarter to put the Cavaliers up 7-0. It was the 47th of his career.

Five minutes later, Lundy showed what makes him such a special back. After taking a handoff from quarterback Marques Hagans, there wasn’t much daylight in front of him. A less experienced player may have barreled ahead aimlessly. The savvy Lundy waited a split second for his blockers to get in front of him. It paid off in a big way.

Lundy used his lineman perfectly, making two beautiful cutbacks en route to a 18-yard touchdown run that put the Cavs up 14-0.

“Our guys got on their guys,” Lundy said. “I just had to make a couple cuts and I was in the end zone.”

Lundy feels the team’s performance on the ground bodes well for the rest of the season.

“The running game’s back, man,” he said. “We’re getting a lot out of our O-Line, our receivers are blocking downfield and our pass-run balance is pretty equal. We just need to keep doing it.”

Lundy’s 83 rushing yards put him over 3,000 for his career. He became only the fifth player in school history to surpass the milestone.

The performance came on the heels of 113-yard, four touchdown game against Temple last weekend. In that game, Lundy broke Thomas Jones’ record for most career rushing touchdowns.

Lundy tried to downplay his achievements.

“They’re good records to have,” he said. “To leave a legacy here is a nice feeling, but it’s not all me. There’s 10 other guys on the field.”

Virginia running back Jason Snelling, who did a great job of spelling Lundy and helping grind out the clock, said he’s constantly inspired by his teammate.

“He’s not only a great player, but a great guy,” Snelling said. “He’s like a brother. He motivates me. I motivate him. It’s great.”

Said Hagans of Lundy’s accomplishments during his Wahoo career: “He’s a very deserving guy. He always puts the team ahead of himself. He’s had to battle with injuries, but to break the [touchdown] record … I’m pretty happy for him.”

 

For Cavaliers, unheralded players emerge
By Jerry Miller / Daily Progress staff writer
November 13, 2005

A small collection of tailgaters two-stepped outside Scott Stadium on Saturday night as “I Will Survive” boomed from one of their vehicles following a stalwart 27-17 Virginia victory over visiting Georgia Tech.

With bottles raised in the air, the Cavalier fans reveled in a win and a week that showcased true Virginia moxie and true Virginia guts.

Gloria Naylor crooned she would survive, and on a crisp autumn evening, so did the Cavaliers.

UVa took the field Saturday against No. 24 Georgia Tech minus safety Tony Franklin, a captain, nose tackle Kwakou Robinson, a senior, wide out Ottowa Anderson, a fifth-year senior, and sophomore defensive end Vince Redd, who were each suspended on Thursday “due to a violation of team policy.”

With Franklin, a stabilizing force in a young secondary, suspended, many college football pundits expected the Yellow Jackets’ Calvin Johnson, one of the top wideouts in the nation, to torch the Cavalier secondary.

An injury to the Cavs other starting safety, Nate Lyles, in the first quarter appeared to spell doom for Virginia’s inexperienced defensive backs.

Well, in the end, it didn’t.

“I think today showed that we have depth on this team, and that we all came ready to play,” said Byron Glaspy, a walk-on who started his first game Saturday against the Jackets’ vaunted passing attack. “Personally, I used that fact [that he had yet to start a game] as motivation. I didn’t want to make a mistake and let my team down.”

Glaspy, Mike Brown, Ryan Best, Jamaal Jackson and Marcus Hamilton each stepped up against Tech quarterback Reggie Ball, limiting the junior gunslinger to 207 yards and one touchdown off 20-of-38 passing. Ball also threw one interception.

Johnson, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound stud wide out, was almost a non-factor with four catches for just 41 yards, including just one catch for nine yards in the second half.

“I was looking forward to going against [Calvin Johnson],” said Hamilton, who spent the game in lockdown mode on Johnson. “I was up for the challenge, and by the grace of God, I was able to do well.”

Hamilton snared the Ball INT one play following Lyles’ injury (he was carted off the field on a stretcher), thanks to relentless pressure from Jackson, a sophomore who forced Ball into a poor decision on the pick.

“We went in knowing the front seven, including Jamaal [Jackson], had to put pressure on Ball because he gets erratic when he has pressure on him,” Hamilton said. “I knew he was going to throw the football to me. I knew it.

And another thing, I wasn’t surprised at all that the young guys stepped up. I see it every day in practice.”

 

Williams hauls it in: 10 catches, 107 yards
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
November 13, 2005

All season long, Virginia wide receiver Deyon Williams has been ranked among the top 10 in the ACC, but for the most part seemed largely overlooked when it came time to discuss the league’s best pass catchers.

Not after Saturday night.

The junior from Upper Marlboro, Md., hauled in 10 passes for 107 yards (both career highs) and a key fourth-quarter touchdown that helped the Cavaliers put away pesky Georgia Tech. It was the first time a Virginia wide out had that kind of a game since 2002 when Billy McMullen caught 10 passes for 122 yards in a losing effort at Penn State.

“He played with one of those ‘I want the ball’ attitudes tonight,” UVa coach Al Groh said of Williams’ performance.

The big receiver (6-foot-3, 185 pounds) was a good target, catching nearly half of quarterback Marques Hagans’ 21 completed passes against the Yellow Jackets. In fact, Hagans threw at Williams 13 times in the game (only three fell incomplete), five were for first downs and another accounted for a 21-yard score.

“I’m not worried about [being overlooked],” said Williams, who is developing into what Virginia coaches envisioned when they recruited him. “I’ll let my play talk for me. If I’m overlooked, I’m overlooked.”

After Williams caught five passes in the first quarter and had two more in the second, Georgia Tech changed its strategy in defending him, crowding his side of the field, attempting to take away the out patterns. But that only opened up Virginia’s running game.

“When a receiver gets off to a fast start like that, it puts some fear into [the opponents’] hearts,” Williams said. “And it gets the whole team pumped up.”

The UVa receiver also enjoyed some of the single coverage Georgia Tech gave him when the Jackets assigned 6-2 junior corner Kenny Scott, the hero in Tech’s win over Clemson two weeks ago. Williams beat Scott over and over again.

“I’m confident with everybody I go up against,” Williams said. “I wish everybody I played against would go man-to-man on me.”

 

Virginia Cavaliers Notebook
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
November 13, 2005

SCHMIDT CARRIES THE FLAG: Virginia senior defensive end Brennan Schmidt gave up his duties as a team captain at midfield prior to the game. With safety and captain Tony Franklin suspended, that left kickoff specialist Kurt Smith, an honorary captain, and senior Wali Lundy on the field for the coin toss.
Why would Schmidt decide to do so? Well, he was allowed to carry the "team flag" out of the team's tunnel.
Schmidt, who finished with four tackles (three solo), also made school history, starting his 48th straight game for the Cavaliers. That ties him with former Cavalier safety Tyrone Lewis, who played from 1988-1991.
If Schmidt, a McLean native, starts against Virginia Tech on Saturday, as expected, he would pass Lewis and move to within one game of becoming the first player in school history to start 50 games. Former Virginia punter Will Brice started in 49 straight.

A SPECIAL HONOR: Thanks to Virginia's athletic department and the Office of Telemedicine at the UVa Health System, a number of military personnel overseas in Iraq were connected live with the events at Scott Stadium.
In addition to watching the game, live cut-ins from bases at Camp Cooke, Camp Fallujah and Al-Asad were shown on Virginias' Hoovision.
Also, a special tribute for Veteran's Day was performed by the Cavalier Marching Band at halftime.

BIG DAY FOR DEYON: Having made 10 receptions for 107 yards, Deyon Williams set new career-best marks as a Cavalier.
Entering Saturday's contest, Williams' previous best was a seven-catch performance against Syracuse in the second game of the season.
Williams, a junior, said after the game that he was aware of some feeling around Virginia's fanbase that he dropped too many passes.
While those opinions don't matter to Williams, he hopes he made up for it.
"All that [talk] is just motivation to me," Williams said. "I don't care what people think because they are not out here doing what I am doing. It's not as easy as it looks. I don't care about that stuff.
"I have been focusing and just playing like I know how to play. I had a couple of bad games and I just put that behind me."
Williams entered the game with 34 catches for 410 yards and three TDs and became the first Cavalier to make 10 catches in a game since Billy McMullen (now with the Philadelphia Eagles) did so in 2002 against Penn State.

BEATING THE RANKED ONES: Virginia now has two wins on its resume against ranked opponents. Georgia Tech was ranked No. 24.
Virginia's previous win over a ranked opponent this year came against Florida State, when they won the home game, 26-21, on Oct. 15.
The last time UVa beat at least two ranked opponents in a season? It was in 2002 when they topped No. 22 South Carolina, No. 20 N.C. State, No. 18 Maryland and No. 15 West Virginia.

WALI'S WORLD: With two rushing touchdowns, both in the first quarter, Virginia tailback Wali Lundy increased his career total to 48. That moved him to fifth all-time in Atlantic Coast Conference history and into first in school history.
Lundy passed former legend Gene Mayer (1912-1915), who scored 46 career TDs.

EXTRA POINTS: With the win, the Cavaliers are eligible for a bowl game for the fourth consecutive season. ? Virginia has now won seven straight games against the Yellow Jackets and have a three-game winning streak in the series for the first time since 1995. ? Virginia has also won 21 of its past 23 home games. The only setbacks during that span came against Miami ('04) and Florida State ('03). ? The Cavaliers scored on their opening drive - Lundy rumbled into the end zone - marking the third straight time that happened in games at Scott Stadium. ? With nine points against Georgia Tech ? two field goals and three PATs ? UVa placekicker Connor Hughes' scoring total climbed to 315 career points. That moves him into sixth place all-time in ACC history. ? Virginia cornerback Marcus Hamilton had an interception in the first quarter. It is the third of Hamilton's career against Georgia Tech. ? On Virginia's final drive, with the team faced with a fourth down, coach Al Groh sent out the field goal unit. After seeing the defensive alignment, holder and backup quarterback John Phillips elected to carry the ball to his right for a 10-yard run. He got a first down on the fake field goal, which allowed UVa to run out the clock. It was the first rushing attempt of his career. ? Sophomore Keenan Carter twisted his ankle in the first quarter, but returned to the action. He had replaced senior Kwakou Robinson in the starting lineup, after Robinson was suspended for the contest for violating team rules. ... UVa is now 2-0 this year in games played with suspended players. Offensive lineman Brad Butler, a senior, was suspended for the team's contest against Florida State, after he delivered an illegal block in a road game at Boston College.
 

CALVIN WHO?
UVa's Williams outshines Georgia Tech star receiver
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Even before Virginia lost one defensive back to suspension and another to injury, many analysts wondered how the Cavaliers were going to stop Georgia Tech's all-conference wide receiver, 6-foot-4 Calvin Johnson.

Perhaps, somebody should have asked how the Yellow Jackets were going to contain Deyon Williams.

Williams, whose reputation had been tarnished by recent inconsistency, had the game of his career Saturday as Virginia knocked off 24th-ranked Georgia Tech 27-17 before a Scott Stadium crowd of 60,061.

The victory was the Cavaliers' 21st in their past 23 home games. They haven't lost to Georgia Tech at Scott Stadium since the Yellow Jackets stunned then-No. 1 UVa 41-38 in 1990.

The Yellow Jackets roared back from a big deficit that day and it looked like more of the same Saturday. After falling behind 17-0, Georgia Tech (6-3, 4-3 ACC) chipped away and forced a 17-17 tie with 5:23 remaining in the third quarter.

Connor Hughes' 47-yard field goal gave Virginia a 20-17 lead with 1:56 left in the third quarter; then the Cavaliers (6-3, 3-3) did something they don't always do in big games. They won the fourth quarter.

Virginia controlled the ball for more than 10 minutes in the final period, gaining some much-needed cushion when Williams caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Marques Hagans with 9:03 left.

Williams, a 6-foot-3 junior from Upper Marlboro, Md., finished with a career-high 10 receptions for 107 yards -- the first 100-yard receiving day of his college career.

"Hey, he came to play," said Hagans, who completed 21 of 29 passes for 205 yards. "That's the Deyon we know."

Williams did not have a single reception one week earlier against Temple, when he landed on his shoulder as a ball fell incomplete in the second quarter. He did not return to action against the Owls and coach Al Groh didn't receive any questions about his status.

Of course, some other matters had a higher priority. On Thursday, Virginia announced that four players had violated team rules and would not play against the Yellow Jackets.

Included in that group were a pair of starters, safety Tony Franklin and nose tackle Kwakou Robinson.

On top of that, the Cavaliers' other regular safety and the player who had replaced Franklin as signal-caller, sophomore Nate Lyles, was injured on Georgia Tech's 11th offensive play.

Lyles did not get up after a collision with Georgia Tech running back P.J. Daniels and was strapped to a board before being taken off the field in a cart. The only sign of movement was a raised right thumb.

"The important thing, one, is that Nate Lyles is fine," Groh said. "That's the best news of the evening. He'll spend the night [at the UVa Medical Center] for observation."

Fortunately for the Cavaliers, they already had scored touchdowns on their first two possessions to go ahead 14-0, and, on the play after Lyles was hurt, Ball rushed a throw to Johnson that was intercepted by Marcus Hamilton.

Hamilton and Johnson had become acquainted last year, when Hamilton, an off-and-on contributor until that point, came off the bench to intercept two passes in the Cavaliers' 30-10 victory over Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

Johnson had been nearly unstoppable this season, with an ACC-high 40 receptions and three 100-yard receiving games. With all the other problems UVa had in the secondary, the Cavaliers assigned Hamilton to Johnson and could offer him no help.

"I've been looking forward to it for a long time," Hamilton said. "I did a lot of film study this week and I felt I was up to the challenge. It was fun. By the grace of God, I think we played pretty good against him today."

The numbers certainly would support that assessment. Johnson finished with four receptions for a season-low 41 yards. In addition to the interception, Hamilton had a pass break-up in the end zone and a team-high seven tackles.

He might not have gotten much help, but the rest of the defense did what it could. The most critical possession came at the start of the fourth quarter, when the Yellow Jackets picked up a first down at the UVa 22.

Sophomore defensive end Chris Long shoved Rashard Choice out of bounds for a 5-yard loss on first down, then Ball threw incomplete twice before Travis Bell missed a 44-yard field-goal attempt.

An animated Groh joined a huddle of UVa offensive players as they prepared to take the field.

"I told them, 'Here's the opportunity for you now, fellas; you've got to be like a shark smelling blood,' " Groh said. "And, they did. They took the ball and they finished it off."

Senior running back Wali Lundy finished with 23 carries for a game-high 83 yards and two touchdowns, but the Cavaliers went to junior Jason Snelling, who picked up two rushing first downs and rambled 19 yards to the Tech 36.

Hagans followed that with a 14-yard pass to Emmanuel Byers before spotting Williams over the middle for a touchdown on third-and-nine.

Because Georgia Tech was ranked, it was explained to Williams, the catch was likely to show up on ESPN's SportsCenter.

"It feels good to be noticed," Williams said.

It's even better to be recognized for something positive.

"I'm not worried about that," said Williams of the criticism he has received for dropped balls.

"If I'm overlooked, I'm overlooked. ... My brothers beside me, they're counting on me."

Their faith was rewarded Saturday.

 

Groh mum on 4 suspended players
Tony Franklin, Kwakou Robinson, Vince Redd and Ottowa Anderson did not play Saturday.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- After surviving 24th-ranked Georgia Tech with a makeshift secondary, Virginia football coach Al Groh was in no hurry to provide an update on four players who did not play Saturday against the Yellow Jackets.

Although many media outlets reported that UVa had suspended four players, no variation of the word "suspension" was mentioned in a news release that distributed to the media shortly before noon Thursday.

UVa merely said that four players would not play Saturday because of a violation of team rules.

They were safety Tony Franklin, nose tackle Kwakou Robinson, defensive end Vince Redd and wide receiver Ottowa Anderson.

The status of Franklin, a co-captain, was of particular interest after his fellow starting safety, Nate Lyles, was carted off the field Saturday with an apparent head or neck injury.

"We haven't made any decisions," said Groh, whose Cavaliers (6-3, 3-3 ACC) entertain No. 8 Virginia Tech (8-1, 5-1) at noon Saturday.

In the absence of Franklin and Lyles, junior cornerback Marcus Hamilton was the leader of a secondary that included walk-on Byron Glaspy, ex-UVa soccer player Ryan Best, and true freshman Mike Brown.

Hamilton said he expected to talk to Franklin soon.

"I'll talk to him," Hamilton said. "We'll be fine. He'll be fine and everything will be fine."

Another of the UVa co-captains, running back Wali Lundy, rooms with Franklin.

"Tough week," Lundy said, "but sometimes you've got to deal with things. I definitely think it's important to be a leader at this time. Losing a player, even like Nate today on the field, you've got to step up and show, as a captain, that you've just got to fill the void."

Milestones

With his 83-yard afternoon, Lundy went over the 3,000-yard rushing mark for his career. He ranks fifth on UVa's all-time rushing list -- 235 yards behind John Papit. ... Lundy's two touchdowns -- his fifth and sixth in the last two games -- gave him 48 career touchdowns and moved him out of a tie with Gene Mayer (1912-1915) for the most in UVa history.

Personnel

Tight end Tom Santi, who occasionally lines up at fullback, was in uniform but did not play after suffering a hip bruise against Temple. ... Nose tackle Keenan Carter, who got his first start, left the field in apparent pain after the Yellow Jackets' fourth play but returned. UVa had been alternating three nose tackles before Robinson was suspended and Ron Darden left the team for health reasons.

Bowl-eligible

With its sixth victory of the season, the Cavaliers became eligible to go to a bowl for the fourth straight season. The Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., and the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla., had representatives at Saturday's game.

Virginia became the sixth ACC team to get to six victories, a group that also includes Georgia Tech. Maryland got its fifth victory Saturday with a 33-30 overtime triumph at North Carolina.

By the numbers

Only Duke had rushed for more yards against Georgia Tech this season (181) than the Cavaliers did Saturday (161). It was UVa's highest rushing total against an ACC opponent this year and came against the 14th-ranked rushing defense in Division I-A.

Next week

"I think we'll be playing against one of the best teams ever to come into Scott Stadium," Groh said of the Hokies. "We're going to have all we can do to get ready for them.

"They've had a week off to self-scout and to scout Virginia and to rest up. That's a big advantage. I know it's a big advantage when we've had a week off, and I think it's a real big advantage for them.

"But, we're not going to blink. We're not going to flinch."

 

Home rules for Cavs: 27-17
U.Va. continues success at Scott Stadium in 27-17 win, becomes bowl-eligible
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Nov 13, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE - At home, they're a different football team. The Virginia Cavaliers proved that again yesterday against 24th-ranked Georgia Tech at Scott Stadium.
Already short-handed because of the suspensions last week of four players, including starting safety Tony Franklin and starting nose tackle Kwakou Robinson, U.Va. took another blow late in the first quarter. Standout safety Nate Lyles sustained a frightening injury to his head that appeared to leave him motionless near midfield and silenced the near-capacity crowd of 60,061 for nearly 10 minutes.

The loss of Lyles left Virginia with a makeshift secondary that at various times included two walk-ons - one of them, Ryan Best, a former scholarship soccer player - two sophomores, a true freshman and one veteran, junior cornerback Marcus Hamilton.

The Cavaliers fought on. Their reward was a 27-17 ACC victory that made the Wahoos bowl-eligible for the fourth straight season.

"This is as sweet as a win can get, and they all feel great," sophomore defensive end Chris Long said.

For the Jackets (4-3, 6-3), such outcomes have become depressingly familiar. Georgia Tech hasn't won in Charlottesville since 1990. It's not the only team to struggle there. Virginia has won 21 of its past 23 games at Scott Stadium, the losses during that span coming against Miami (Fla.) and Florida State.

"We just have a great mentality at home," senior defensive end Brennan Schmidt said.

The victory wouldn't have been as sweet for U.Va. (3-3, 6-3) had the news on Lyles, who was placed on a spine board and driven off the field, not been positive.

"He'll spend the night overnight [in the hospital] for observation, but we expect that he'll be fine," fifth-year coach Al Groh said. "That's the best news of the evening.

"In terms of the overall game, I'm really very admiring of the guts and the effort and the determination that these kids showed here tonight. Our numbers were down a little bit, and then they went down a little further in a hurry. They didn't blink, they didn't flinch, and as a result, they have something they can be very proud of."

Senior quarterback Marques Hagans dazzled again for Virginia, completing 21 of 29 passes for 205 yards and one touchdown. His favorite target was the oft-criticized Deyon Williams, who's dropped more than a few catchable passes this season.

Not yesterday. The junior wideout had 10 catches for 107 yards - both career highs - and one touchdown, a 21-yard reception that energized the Cavaliers and their fans.

"He played with one of those I-want-the-ball attitudes tonight," Groh said of Williams.

Barely 16 minutes into the game, U.Va. led 17-0, thanks to senior tailback Wali Lundy's two touchdown runs and senior kicker Connor Hughes' 48-yard field goal. But the Jackets, who came in on a three-game winning streak, rallied. Tailback Tashard Choice's 1-yard run, followed by Travis Bell's PAT, made it 17-7 with 5:06 left in the second half.

Then, with U.Va. seemingly in control in the first half's final minute, Hagans threw an interception at the Georgia Tech 32 - "one of the few not-great plays Marques made," Groh later noted.

The Jackets capitalized on that lapse. On first down, a 28-yard completion from quarterback Reggie Ball to wideout Damarious Bilbo moved them to the Virginia 40. The drive ended with Bell's career-long 48-yard field goal, which made it 17-10 at the break.

Georgia Tech sophomore Calvin Johnson, the ACC's top receiver, had a quiet game, catching four passes for 41 yards. Bilbo, however, burned U.Va. several times. Ball's 24-yard TD pass to Bilbo pulled the Jackets even with 5:23 left in the third quarter, and Virginia seemed on the brink of collapse. But Hughes' 47-yard field goal made it 20-17 with 1:56 remaining in the third, and then the Cavs got a break when Bell's 44-yard attempt sailed wide right with 12:51 to play.

After Bell's miss, Groh ran down the sideline and exhorted his offense. His message?

"Here's the opportunity for you now, fellas," Groh said. "You've got to be like a shark smelling blood. And they did. They took the ball, and they finished it off."

The Cavaliers' final touchdown drive was as impressive as any they've had this season. It started at the U.Va. 27. On first down, junior running back Jason Snelling ran for 5 yards. On second down, the former L.C. Bird High star rumbled for 10. Snelling rushed for 3 more on the next play and then broke off a 19-yard run to the Jackets' 36.

From there, Hagans took over, passing to sophomore wideout Emmanuel Byers for a 14-yard gain and to Lundy for a 2-yard pickup. On third down, Williams ran a post pattern, and Hagans hit him around the 5. Williams raced into the end zone, and Hughes' extra point made it a 10-point game with 9:03 left.

"Our defense all year long has been coming through for us in that situation," Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey said. "This is the one time that it didn't happen."

And so the Cavaliers went off into night to celebrate an improbable victory.

"It shows what type of character we have," Lundy said.

 

Character study: U.Va. shows grit in turning back Ga. Tech
Richmond Times-Dispatch Nov 13, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE There have been bigger wins in Virginia's football history, and maybe there'll be bigger ones to come. There have been glossier U.Va. entries than this 2005 edition, and there may be glossier entries to come. There have been days and nights of magic that out-neoned what shook out on this alternately solemn and soaring occasion at Scott Stadium, and presumably there will be more high-voltage material to come.

But still.

This was gritty and impressive stuff -- this 27-17 decision U.Va. earned against Georgia Tech yesterday. History, stats and videotape will suggest the Cavs overcame the Jackets by wriggling from a 17-all snarl on the strength of Marques Hagans' arm, Jason Snelling's legs and shutdown defense from a unit that defined the term patchwork.

In truth, they won because they refused to accept the alternative.

"What really good teams do is they're able to deal with whatever comes up and get on to the next situation or the next game," said U.Va. coach Al Groh, who knows this grateful-for-bowl-eligibility crew doesn't fit the superior category. "The really good teams do that. Tonight, they were a really good team."

Overcoming adversity? The Cavs overcame adversity squared. They were missing four suspended players, for openers. Eleven minutes after kickoff, they lost a fifth. Name: Nate Lyles. Position: safety. Circumstances: exceedingly scary.

Taking on Jackets tailback P.J. Daniels on a sweep, Lyles absorbed a violent hit and went down. He didn't get up. He barely moved. Medics hovered around him. Teammates knelt in clusters and prayed. U.Va.'s 14-zip breakaway and in-command posture to that point? Forgotten. All that mattered was one 20-year-old sophomore's condition. In that moment, it seemed fragile.

A cart was driven onto the field, a spine board fetched, Lyles strapped to it, loaded onto the cart and wheeled away to U.Va.'s medical center. Later -- much later -- U.Va.'s players would be told their buddy was recovering and would be fine. But with 4:07 to go in the quarter, no one knew very much.

"It's one of those things that make you stop and think how quick things can be taken away from you," said wideout Fontel Mines. "After you see somebody laying on the field you're so close with, your mind is in a different spot."

How much did Lyles' sobering departure crimp U.Va.'s efforts? Hard to say. But it's maybe no coincidence the Cavs sagged some in the play's aftermath. They weren't as crisp on offense. They weren't as robust on defense. They weren't as precise. They weren't as -- to use coachspeak -- focused.

Frankly, you couldn't blame them.

The first snap after Lyles went down, Tech's Reggie Ball threw a typical Reggie Ball interception -- 2 feet over 6-4 wideout Calvin Johnson and into Marcus Hamilton's grasp. U.Va. turned that possession into a Connor Hughes field goal -- but squiggled along the way. Tailback Wali Lundy lost his oomph. Hagans tossed a near-pick. Jonathan Stupar's holding penalty defused a third-and-3 opening from Tech's 29.

Those wobbles foreshadowed two wasted series -- the second ending with a Hagans interception the Jackets converted into a field goal just before the break. By then, Tech had produced a pass-flavored touchdown drive. And when it rang up another TD on Ball's strike to an open Damarius Bilbo for 17-all in the third quarter, the field seemed to be tilting away from the guys in orange and blue.

"Seeing that happen to one of your teammates knocks the wind out a little bit," said Snelling. "That did have a little bit of a momentum change for us."

Some teams might've faded away at that juncture. U.Va. regrouped. It got a second long field goal from Hughes toward the close of the third quarter. It spawned a lovely 73-yard surge early in the fourth that ended with Hagans' deep ball to Deyon Williams for the killing TD. Nine minutes later, there was relief and celebration to spare.

"This is a great win," said defensive end Brennan Schmidt.

No argument here.

 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Nov 13, 2005

SCARY SEQUENCE: Virginia coach Al Groh knew before virtually everyone else in Scott Stadium yesterday that safety Nate Lyles' injury was not as serious as it appeared.

"It was progressive," Groh said. "While we were out on the field, there were a lot of positive signs. But of course in that circumstance, and rightfully so, the medical people are as cautious as you could imagine, every definition of that word. They're going to be as cautious as possible.

"He had movement of all his extremities on the field, but he did have a degree of numbness that was decreasing while we were out there. And then they told me at halftime that things were very positive. They had not finished the tests yet, down at the [U.Va.] hospital . . . . . . but he's got all his movements."

Senior tailback Wali Lundy said he was told at halftime that Lyles would be OK, but most of the other U.Va. players didn't get the welcome news until after the game.

Lyles, whose parents were in the crowd, was hurt attempting to tackle Georgia Tech tailback P.J. Daniels with about 4:10 left in the first quarter. When Daniels leaped to try to avoid the tackle, his knee struck Lyles under the chin. As Daniels continued down the field on his 12-yard run, Lyles lay on the field near the 50-yard line, motionless.

About a half-dozen trainers and doctors surrounded Lyles on the field, as Groh and, later, some of his players looked on in concern. After Lyles was carefully placed on a spine board on a work vehicle, he gave a slight wave of his right hand, eliciting cheers from near-capacity crowd and relief among his teammates.

Lyles, a sophomore from Chicago, suffered a stinger in Virginia's game at North Carolina last month and had to be helped off the field. He later returned, though, and finished the game against the Tar Heels.

CLASS OF HIS OWN: Lundy entered yesterday's game tied with Gene Mayer (1912-15) for Virginia's record for career touchdowns, with 46.

Lundy left as the record-holder. He scored first-quarter TDs on runs of 15 and 18 yards, boosting his career total to 48. Lundy finished with 83 yards on 23 carries.

SECONDARY MATTERS: Virginia lost starting cornerback Chris Cook to a broken leg early last month. Starting safety Tony Franklin was one of four players suspended Thursday for yesterday's game. Then came Lyles' injury.

Somehow, U.Va.'s secondary survived. Its members yesterday included walk-ons Ryan Best and Byron Glaspy, second-year sophomores Chris Gorham and Jamaal Jackson, true freshman Mike Brown and the old man of the group, junior Marcus Hamilton.

"They did a terrific job," Groh said.

Best, a junior who began training camp this year as a tailback, came to Virginia on a full soccer scholarship. Glaspy, who started at safety yesterday, had never played in a college game before last weekend. Jackson probably wouldn't have played much had Lyles not left the game.

All three played in U.Va.'s nickel defense, along with Hamilton and Brown.

At halftime, Groh said, the coaches told the defensive backs that "sooner or later we're going to have to win the game on the nickel . . . They obviously heard what was said to them, and we did. We made some plays, we denied some patterns."

Hamilton drew the assignment of covering Yellow Jackets sophomore Calvin Johnson, an All-America candidate who stands 6-4 and weighs 210 pounds.

Johnson finished with four catches for 41 yards. Hamilton intercepted a second-quarter pass intended for Johnson, his third pick in his past two games against the Yellow Jackets.

"It's just something about Georgia Tech," said Hamilton, who also had seven tackles, tying linebacker Kai Parham for the team lead.

COURAGEOUS EFFORT: The suspension of senior Kwakou Robinson left U.Va. with one scholarship nose tackle who'd played this season: sophomore Keenan Carter. Early in the first quarter, Carter injured an ankle, drawing a crowd of trainers and doctors on the U.Va. sideline.

On the Cavaliers' next defensive series, Carter was back on the field. He played the rest of the game.

"There was only one medical opinion we were able to give Keenan when he got hurt there: 'You're not allowed to get hurt today,'" Groh said with a smile.

RIVALRY GAME: Next Saturday will find U.Va. at home for the third straight week. At noon, Virginia (3-3, 6-3) will take on Virginia Tech (5-1, 8-1) in an ACC game that ESPN will televise.

The Hokies lead the series 44-37-5 and have won five of the teams' past six meetings. U.Va.'s win during that stretch came at Scott Stadium in 2003.

- Jeff White

Motionless Lyles makes game seem minor
Published November 13 2005
CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Michael Johnson still sees the collision in slow motion: P.J. Daniels leaping to avoid a defender; Nate Lyles lowering his head for contact; Daniels' knee catching Lyles directly under the chin.

"He hit the ground and stopped moving immediately," Johnson said. "I'm like, 'Get up Nate. Get up Nate.'

"A couple of tears came to my eyes because I couldn't help him. It was a scary sight."

We all felt the same way, Michael. Teammates, coaches, opponents, reporters, spectators, television viewers. All of us observing or competing in Saturday's suddenly hollow football game between Virginia and Georgia Tech.

Lyles, a sophomore safety for the Cavaliers, was motionless on the field. Seven trainers knelt around him. Coach Al Groh paced above him. Johnson and many other Virginia players hovered nearby.

The minutes were excruciating. Virginia's medical staff strapped Lyles, his helmet still on, to a yellow spine board and lifted him onto a cart.

Lyles moved his right hand slightly as Groh patted him on the left leg. Those legs: I watched Lyles' legs through binoculars and never saw them twitch.

With head trainer Ethan Saliba at Lyles' side, a young woman drove the cart ever-so-slowly through the tunnel beyond the south end zone. An ambulance awaited to transport him to the University of Virginia hospital.

Scary, indeed.

Nate Lyles' media-guide biography starts like this: "Hard hitting youngster who is expected to move into one of the starting safety positions this season."

Talk about prescient.

At Maryland earlier this season, Lyles' tackle of receiver Jo Jo Walker sent Walker's helmet and mouthguard flying in opposite directions. The hit made all the highlight shows, but Lyle wasn't pleased. He'd been late on the play, and Walker held onto the ball.

"He's a face-in-the-fire guy," Virginia defensive end Chris Long said of Lyles. "He's one of my favorite players. He's one of the guys I model my game after from an aggression standpoint."

At North Carolina a few weeks back, Lyles crumbled after another brutal tackle. But after a few anxious moments, he walked off the field and, after donning a neck brace, returned to the fray.

Virginia lost those games at North Carolina and Maryland and entered Saturday's contest against No. 24 Georgia Tech one victory shy of bowl eligibility. With dates looming against No. 8 Virginia Tech and No. 3 Miami, this was arguably the Cavaliers' last chance, a depleted chance at that.

Two days before kickoff, Groh suspended four players for violating an unspecified team rule. Among the four was Tony Franklin, the other starting safety, leaving freshman walk-on Byron Glaspy to start opposite Lyles.

Virginia raced to a 14-0 lead, and on Georgia Tech's second possession, Daniels took a pitchout from quarterback Reggie Ball around left end. It was there, after 12 yards, that he met Lyles.

"Pray. That was the first thing I did," kicker Connor Hughes said. "But you kind of have to move on (and keep playing)."

And so the Cavaliers did, even as Groh tried to assure them along the sideline. He told them that the numbness in Lyles' legs was easing, that he was going to be OK. Not that Groh knew for sure.

Nate Lyles hails from Chicago's South Side, where he grew up rooting for baseball's White Sox. The son of teachers, he attained a 3.85 grade-point average at Hubbard High School and fielded scholarship offers from the likes of Notre Dame, Oregon and Virginia.

Last season he and tight end Tom Santi were the only freshmen to play in every game. This season, as the media guide projected, he became a starter. This season, as few could have imagined, he celebrated a White Sox championship. His parents, Rashida Foluke and Ernest Lyles, were in the stands Saturday.

Lyles entered the game as Virginia's fifth-leading tackler. He intercepted passes against Western Michigan and Maryland and logged a career-high seven unassisted tackles against Boston College.

But never did he inspire his teammates like this.

"I thought about Nate throughout the game," Long said. "But it didn't distract me. It made me play harder."

And better. Long and the defense, with a cast of characters no one could have envisioned during preseason, held Georgia Tech scoreless for the final 20 minutes as Virginia won 27-17.

In the locker room, the medical staff informed Groh that all tests were positive, that Lyles has movement in his arms and legs. He will be fine. Groh then addressed the team: "Our comrade is OK."

And that, Groh said later, "is the best news of the evening."

David Teel

The drought continues for Jackets
Second-half rally by Tech fizzles as Cavaliers pull away
By MIKE KNOBLER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/12/05

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Thank goodness for Georgia Tech there are no bowl games in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The Yellow Jackets don't want to come back here anytime soon.

Saturday's 27-17 loss at Virginia follows September's 51-7 drubbing at Virginia Tech as the two worst games by this Jackets defense and the only two road losses of the season.

The Cavaliers put together five scoring drives and could have had a sixth if they didn't run out the clock inside the 15 to end the game. They scored early (on their first three possessions) and they scored late (on the two possessions before they ran out the clock).

The No. 24 Yellow Jackets scored only in the middle, just enough to show how quiet 60,061 people in Scott Stadium can get, just enough to fool the Jackets into thinking they were headed to their seventh victory.

"Oh, gosh yeah," Tech coach Chan Gailey said when asked if he felt confident when his team turned a 17-0 deficit into a 17-17 tie.

"I'm thinking we're going to win the game," strong safety Chris Reis said. "We were really stroking at that time, offense and defense. We just couldn't make a play after that."

Tech couldn't stop Marques Hagans, who threw for 205 yards and a touchdown and ran for 25 yards. It couldn't cover Deyon Williams, who caught a career-high 10 catches for a career-high 107 yards, 21 of them on the touchdown catch with 9:03 left that all but clinched the game.

Connor Hughes' 47-yard field goal was the game-winner, but the way Tech had been moving the ball, a three-point lead seemed unlikely to stand. So, before Virginia's first possession of the fourth quarter, coach Al Groh asked his offense for more.

"I told them, 'Here's the opportunity for you now, fellas. You've got to be like a shark smelling blood.' And they did," Groh told reporters. "They took the ball, and they finished it off."

They also finished off Tech's three-game winning streak and made it harder for the Jackets to show they're better this season than they've been in the recent past.

If Tech (6-3, 4-3 ACC) wants to win a fifth ACC game for the first time since 2000, it will have to beat No. 3 Miami to do it.

If Tech wants to win a seventh regular-season game for the first time since 2002, it will have to beat Miami or No. 9 Georgia.

And if Tech wants to win at Virginia for the first time since 1990, it'll have to wait until 2007 to try, try again.

Virginia (6-3, 3-3) became bowl-eligible for the fourth consecutive season.

Cavaliers fans sing "The Good Old Song" every time their team scores, and the way things went early it looked as if the Yellow Jackets would have the words memorized by halftime. The music is straight out of "Auld Lang Syne," and Tech looked like a team with a New Year's Day hangover.

Wali Lundy ran for touchdowns of 15 and 18 yards, and Hughes kicked a 48-yard field goal, and four plays into the second quarter it was 17-0.

Tech came back on Tashard Choice's 1-yard touchdown run, Travis Bell's career-long 48-yard field goal and Reggie Ball's 24-yard touchdown pass to Damarius Bilbo.

The tie, however, was short-lived.

Hughes' go-ahead field goal came on Virginia's ensuing possession, and Williams' touchdown catch came on the one after that. In between, Bell missed a 44-yard attempt that would have made it 20-20. Tech got the ball only one more time and could do nothing with it.

"We've got to finish better," Bilbo said.

Virginia was playing without four suspended players, including starting safety Tony Franklin and starting nose tackle Kwakou Robinson. The Cavaliers lost their other starting safety, Nate Lyles, to a scary first-quarter injury. Lyles, put on a stretcher, gave a thumbs-up to the crowd as he was taken off the field.

Lyles was being held overnight for evaluation at the UVa Medical Center.

"He will be fine," Groh said. "He had movement in all of his extremities on the field, but he did have a degree of numbness that was decreasing while we were out there."
 

Hagans shielded by D'Brickashaw wall
By JACK WILKINSON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/13/05

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Had he left early last spring, D'Brickashaw Ferguson would've surely been a first-round pick in the NFL draft. At 6 feet 5, 289 pounds, the left tackle is nearly as ample as he is athletic. Yet all in all, he's just another D'Brickashaw in d'wall — Virginia's enormous offensive line that makes Marques Hagans even more elusive and effective.

"I went and shook his hand after the game," said Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey, who sought out Hagans on the field where the little quarterback led Virginia to a 27-17 victory Saturday. "He's a really good football player." Gailey paused. "Is he a senior?"

Informed that Hagans is a fifth-year senior, Gailey replied, "Thank goodness."

He's also small. Short. Teeny-tiny. That only adds to Hagans' mobility, which only added to Gailey's misery. "His scramble ability is just outstanding," Gailey said. "You can't find him. Those linemen are so big, and he's such a little bitty guy, it's hard to find him behind them. When he's right, he's a very good quarterback."

At 5-10 — or, as Tech cornerback Kenny Scott said, "5-11 on a good day" — Hagans is almost a curio operating behind a line that stands 6-5, 6-7, 6-6, 6-5 and 6-8. "Those big trees," Scott called D'Brickashaw & Co. The little sapling, though, made Tech quickly bend and uncharacteristically break, and Virginia bowl-eligible.

"We weren't ready to come out and play," Tech strong safety Chris Reis said after the Jackets surrendered touchdowns on Virginia's first two possessions — the only time all season Tech's done so. "Bottom line, our heads were spinning. We were beating ourselves. Dumb penalties. We killed ourselves."

Hagans had a hand in it all, too. He completed 21 of 29 passes for 205 yards and one touchdown — a clinching, decisive, 21-yard scoring pass to Deyon Williams for Virginia's last points.

Yet it was what Hagans conjured early that had Tech reeling throughout the first half, before the Jackets again faltered late after tying it 17-all.

Hagans led the Cavaliers 71 yards to score after the opening kickoff. He hit big completions, scrambled effectively and finally watched Wali Lundy sweep 15 yards to score.

And then Hagans , with help from Lundy and costly penalties on Reis (a late hit) and Scott (holding), took the 'Hoos 74 yards, the last 18 coming on Lundy's burst. Against a Tech defense that had allowed Wake Forest just 260 total yards last week, Virginia amassed 157 yards in the first quarter and 12 first downs.

"We just didn't come out to play," Reis said. "That happens sometimes. We were just going through the motions, and they came out strong. We got back into it, but the damage was done."

Indeed, Tech tied it 17-all, and Scott thought, "It's time to go." Instead, Connor Hughes hit the go-ahead field goal. Travis Bell misfired, and then Hagans, after fullback Jason Snelling bulled four times for 37 yards, completed three straight. The last, the 21-yard score to Williams.

"Hagans is a real shifty guy, real quick and hard to contain," said safety Dawan Landry. "I just think we came out flat, and we didn't get them into third-down [situations]."