Cavs make statement with big win
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
December 28, 2003

CHARLOTTE, N.C.
Virginia came to the Queen City determined to make a statement about its football program for the second year in a row. When the day was done, the Cavaliers had captured Tire Bowl II with an impressive 23-16 win over Pittsburgh.
The way this thing has gone in its first two years of existence, Charlotte might as well call this thing the Al Groh Invitational. Twice Groh’s Cavaliers have taken on a strong Big East opponent and tamed the beast.

High aspirations
While the NFL’s Ericsson Stadium took on the flavor of Virginia’s own Scott Stadium on Saturday, with the Cavaliers’ “Sea of Orange” numbering at least 26,000, Groh isn’t ready to settle in for a third visit next season. He has his eyes fixed on a bigger prize.
“We’re glad to be here, but we’re aiming for the Sugar Bowl, wherever that game is next year,” Groh said, referring to the 2004 national championship game. “To be an important team, you have to win in the postseason.”
To use Groh’s words about this postseason contest with Pitt, this was “a very, very, very [is that enough verys?], very, very important game. Everything we put into the season had to show up today.”

All-around effort
Fueled by one of its strongest defensive performances of the season, the leadership of quarterback Matt Schaub, a strong fourth-quarter rushing attack and spectacular special teams play, Virginia took up where it left off upon its last visit to Charlotte.
That was last December when the underdog Cavaliers mopped the turf with West Virginia. The win caught the eye of the college football world and set up UVa as a preseason Top 20 pick, while raising expectations of the Wahoo Nation.
Groh believed all that attention was a bit premature because of certain holes on both sides of the football, particularly on a defense that would be led by a collection of perhaps the nation’s best young linebackers. But he needed more.
It was those linebackers - true freshman Ahmad Brooks, redshirt freshman Kai Parham and sophomore Darryl Blackstock - that helped pave the way Saturday. They bent, didn’t break, put pressure on Pitt’s passing game, sparked a goal line stand and shut down the nation’s most dangerous receiver in Larry Fitzgerald, runner-up for the Heisman.
Heisman, Schmeisman. Virginia’s defense was determined to make a statement not only for the day but for the future as only three seniors started for the Cavaliers on that side of the ball: linebacker Ray Mann and corners Muffin Curry and Jamaine Winborne.
Not only did UVa’s defense stop Fitzgerald’s NCAA-record 18-game streak with a TD reception, they held him to five catches. Stepping up the pass rush, the Cavs blitzed Brooks, even from the nickel formation to pressure the cool Rod Rutherford, sacking him five times.
If you visit the inner sanctum of Groh’s office in Charlottesville, you will find a library of color-coded defensive game plans from his 14 years as a defensive whiz in the NFL. They’re from his days with the New York Giants, New England Patriots and New York Jets ... blue, red and green books containing secrets from the brain box of those franchises during some of their best runs.
Pitt coach Walt Harris said that Virginia broke from its mold with more pressure and blitzing than he had watched in scouting Cavalier film, then noted, “We must have done something to show them they could bring more heat.”
Groh admitted he came up with some ideas on how to pressure Pitt with a more aggressive style of defense and decided to turn up that heat midway through the second quarter instead of waiting to halftime to make adjustments.
“We pulled out some of those old books and found some things that might work,” Groh said.
He wasn’t about to let Rutherford sit back there with sofa chair protection and turn UVa’s secondary into his personal shooting gallery.
Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub, playing his final game as a Wahoo, was most impressed with the defense.
“Our defense stepped up and played huge all day,” said Schaub, who broke the lone remaining career UVa passing record by tossing his 56th career TD pass. “To hold an offense like Pitt’s to 16 points was amazing.”
But Virginia’s defense finally understood that’s what it’s going to take in order to get where Groh speaks about. If this eight-win season is a different stratosphere, then double-digit wins will require even more commitment.
It all starts with defense, particularly next year when the Cavaliers return almost an entire team excluding one major piece of the puzzle - its quarterback.
“One of our mottos is that defense wins championships,” said junior defensive end Chris Canty. “We have two Continental Tire Bowl trophies to prove it.”
In both of those wins over Big East reps, Virginia’s defense stepped up big, a lesson that defense can’t afford a lapse at any portion of a season and contend for the title. The Tire Bowl trophy is nice, but it’s not going to get you a $13 million pay day or let you run with the big dogs.
“Beating Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Pitt says a lot about where we want this program to be in the future,” said Curry.
It was the second straight year the Cavaliers have finished in a flurry. Next time out, they can’t wait until November to turn it on.
“The Virginia program is going through a process of trying to springboard toward national prominence,” Canty said. “Sometimes you’ll see flashes of brilliance.”
Too often for Groh’s taste, he saw opposing offenses making big plays that were the difference in this 8-5 season and 10-3 or 11-2.
Groh’s big emphasis in the off-season will be two-fold; finding a quarterback who can lead them and converting the defense into a monster.
“We’ve been working very hard to become a significant defensive team,” Groh said. “But there’s a process you have to go through.”
This bowl performance, coming on the heels of shutting down the ACC’s leading rusher, P.J. Daniels and Heisman candidate Kevin Jones, may have turned that corner for the Cavaliers.
 

Goal-line stand provides spark
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
December 28, 2003

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Virginia defensive end Chris Canty said that if you study Pittsburgh’s offense over the past two years, it becomes evident that the Panthers believe they’re a physical football team.

Thus it was no surprise to the Cavaliers that after Pitt had methodically driven 69 yards to the Virginia 1-yard line for a first down that the Panthers were determined to hammer the ball into the end zone.

Pittsburgh stubbornly took four cracks at the goal line and came up empty as the Wahoo defense made a statement early in its Continental Tire Bowl win Saturday. It was a rare goal line stand by a Virginia defense that has come together toward season’s end.

“We knew we had to keep them out,” said Canty. “We didn’t trust our two-gap defense early in the drive, but when we went back to it, the two-gap slowed Pittsburgh down, then stopped them cold.”

On first-and-goal at the UVa 1, Pitt fullback Lousaka Polite was stuffed at the line of scrimmage by Cavalier defensive end Kwakou Robinson and linebacker Bryan White for no gain. On second down, Robinson stopped quarterback Rod Rutherford, again for no gain.

While Pitt had access to the nation’s most dangerous receiver in wideout Larry Fitzgerald and reliable tight end Kris Wilson (nine TDs), Coach Walt Harris chose to stick with the ground game.

On third down, UVa redshirt freshman inside linebacker Kai Parham burst through a crease in Pitt’s offensive line and mauled Polite for a loss. Parham teamed with freshman linebacker Ahmad Brooks on fourth-and-goal to hammer the Panthers’ leading rusher on the season, Brandon Miree for yet another loss back to the 3-yard line.

“That was definitely a tone-setter,” said Virginia senior cornerback Muffin Curry. “Any time you can stop somebody with four stops like that, it’s awesome. It showed Pitt right from the start that we were going to stick our faces in the fan and we weren’t going to give up no matter what.”

Rutherford said that not scoring on that first possession from so close in was a letdown for the Pitt offense.

“We were put in the right situation and we made the right calls,” Rutherford said. “Virginia just made great plays.”

Brooks, who led the UVa with 12 tackles, two for losses, one sack and one pass breakup, believed the stand made a statement.

“That boosted the confidence of our whole defense, even our offense and Coach Groh,” Brooks said. “It was a big stop. I thought they would throw it to Fitzgerald down there, but we were ready for anything.”

Canty said the Cavalier defense had experienced a couple of similar stands in practice during the course of the season and carrying that over to the first opponent’s drive of the bowl game was a huge accomplishment.

“It exemplified what this defense is all about,” said Canty, who played high school ball about 10 minutes from Ericsson Stadium in his hometown. “I think the stand set the tempo for the game. It let Pitt know they weren’t going to roll over us.”

UVa quarterback Matt Schaub couldn’t put enough emphasis on how the stop helped the Cavaliers’ confidence.

Virginia responded immediately as Schaub passed from his own end zone for a 14-yard gain on a stunning, four-play, 97-yard scoring drive capped by a 52-yard touchdown pass to tight end Heath Miller for a 7-0 lead.
 

Cavaliers' Curry shows he is up to challenge
Almondo Curry leads a UVa defense that keeps Pitt's Larry Fitzgerald from extending his record scoring streak.
By Aaron McFarling

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - He's 23 years old, but he looks like he could still be in high school. He's baby-faced, stands only 5-foot-8 and has a nickname that sensitive guys use when talking to their wives.

But Almondo "Muffin" Curry was definitely a man Saturday.

He beamed with pride as media flocked to his locker following Virginia's 23-16 victory over Pittsburgh in the Continental Tire Bowl. Without hesitation, Curry declared this game - his last as a Cavalier - his finest.

Who would argue otherwise? He and his teammates in the defensive secondary had just done something that no Pitt opponent had done in more than a year.

They kept Larry Fitzgerald out of the end zone.

"It wasn't the coaches' goal, but among the defense, we didn't want him to score," Curry said. "We wanted it to end with us."

"It," of course, is Fitzgerald's NCAA-record streak of 18 games with at least one touchdown catch. It had survived despite triple coverages. It had persevered through endless hype. It had even survived Pittsburgh's most recent game, a blowout loss to Miami in which Fitzgerald managed just three catches.

But now it's over.

Curry, a senior cornerback, had help from safety Jamaine Winborne most of the afternoon, but he was matched up one-on-one with Fitzgerald on several occasions. Fitzgerald finished with five catches for 77 yards, his second-lowest output of the year.

"Virginia did a good job taking away a lot of the things that we like to do," said the sophomore Fitzgerald, who again declined to discuss the possibility of jumping to the NFL next season. "You have to give credit to Coach [Al] Groh's team. They did a great job."

The entire UVa defense produced Saturday. The Cavaliers sacked Pittsburgh quarterback Rod Rutherford five times, made a strong goal-line stand in the first quarter and held the Panthers to three points in the second half.

But covering Fitzgerald was the thread upon which all those pearls hung.

"It was definitely our game plan to get Larry the ball," Rutherford said.

Rutherford connected with Fitzgerald only twice in the second half, and the receiver had to make a circus play on one of those catches. Most of the game, however, Fitzgerald simply didn't seem to be an option.

"He had to know we were going to double him," Winborne said. "And him knowing that, I think they kind of shied away from him a little bit ...

"We still thought they would try to throw the ball to him more, though. I've seen him catch the ball between three defenders, so I would think it would be nothing for them to just throw the ball up with two people on him."

The Cavaliers used a complicated defensive scheme, often showing the offense one thing at the line of scrimmage and quickly shifting to a different coverage once the ball was snapped.

"We threw him all types of coverage," Curry said. "We didn't want him to feel comfortable all game. I think they were kind of confused with what we were doing out there."

Fitzgerald didn't show any signs of frustration, but that's never been his style. Curry said Fitzgerald conducted himself on the field in his usual classy way - even taking time out to compliment UVa's defense several times.

And after the game, he displayed his trademark humility about his streak.

"It was a fun run, and I'm very happy that I was able to set the record," Fitzgerald said. "But I don't play football for records. It's going to get broken anyway."

If the baby-faced man in the UVa locker room has his way, though, the record will stand for a long time.

"We wanted to be the guys," Curry said, "that when you turn on the TV or read the record books, you see that his streak ended against Virginia."

 

Record falls to dependable Hughes
By Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - On an afternoon when Pittsburgh used two different place-kickers and missed a field goal and an extra point, Virginia sophomore Connor Hughes performed his duties with customary dependability.

Hughes made all three of his field-goal attempts Saturday as the Cavaliers defeated Pittsburgh 23-16 in the Continental Tire Bowl.

In the process, Hughes set a school record for field goals in a season. He finished with 23, two more than previous record-holder Rafael Garcia kicked in 1996.

"I didn't know I had [the record], said Hughes, who has converted 28 of 31 field-goal attempts in his 1 1/2 -year career, going 23-of-25 this season. "That's awesome, but it's nothing to be satisfied with."

Hughes converted from 44, 30 and 39 yards Saturday, the most important coming with 2:28 remaining and the Panthers needing only a touchdown to take the lead.

"When you get to a certain point on the field, he becomes automatic," UVa quarterback and holder Matt Schaub said.

Hughes was 16-of-16 inside the 40-yard line this year, with his only misses coming from 40 yards against Troy State and 52 yards into the wind against Virginia Tech. Since taking over as UVa's place-kicker midway through the 2002 season, he is 56-of-57 on extra points.

n Pittsburgh punter and Ray Guy Award candidate Andy Lee lived up to his billing, averaging 49.5 yards on his two attempts, but place-kicker David Abdul missed an extra point before giving way to senior J.B. Gibboney, who was good from 28 yards before missing a 36-yarder. It was Gibboney's first appearance of the season.

Walking wounded

Redshirt freshman Lance Evans and true freshman Robbie Catterton saw extensive playing time at safety, with Catterton notching his first career interception, as the Cavaliers dealt with an injury to junior Jermaine Hardy from Roanoke.

"I rode it all season and then I couldn't ride it anymore," said Hardy, already slated for reconstructive surgery on his right knee before being helped from the field with 11:33 remaining in the third quarter, not to return.

Tailbacks Alvin Pearman and Wali Lundy both suffered sprained ankles, with Pearman leaving the field on crutches, and nose tackle Andrew Hoffman had his day cut short prematurely with a suspected concussion. Offensive guard Elton Brown needed assistance before he limped across the field in the fourth quarter, although he returned.

Unwitting victims

UVa safety Willie Davis, injured in the second week of the season, and walk-on running back Carson Ward, who required brain surgery after an alleged assault, both withdrew from school and were prohibited by NCAA rule from receiving tickets to the game.

Davis and Ward also were prohibited from receiving the gifts that the other players were allowed to receive from UVa (portable DVD players) and the bowl (camcorders) because they technically were no longer enrolled, "although we still consider them members of the team," Groh said.

Davis suffered nerve damage in a collision at South Carolina but underwent a graft at the Mayo Clinic that has left him "upbeat," according to Groh and hopeful of a return in 2004. Doctors are likely to have a big say in whether either Davis or Ward, from Giles County, plays again.

Say what?

Reporters were trying to figure out what Groh meant after the game, when he said he had been told the Cavaliers were 8-2 in November and December. Along those lines, UVa is 8-7 in November and December in Groh's three seasons, with a 3-0 mark in December, including a 20-14 win over streaking Penn State in 2001.

"A couple of plays here and there, that was the game ... but hindsight is 50-50," said Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris, who may have meant 20/20.

 

Blitzing defense sacks Rutherford 5 times
By Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - After watching Pittsburgh move up and down the field on its first four possessions Saturday, Virginia football coach Al Groh made a fateful decision.

"You know those famous halftime adjustments that people are always talking about?" Groh said. "Sometimes, that's far too late."

Groh turned up the pressure on record-setting Pittsburgh quarterback Rod Rutherford and the result was a 23-16 UVa victory, its second straight championship in the Continental Tire Bowl.

The Cavaliers finished with five sacks, the most timely by sophomore defensive end Brennan Schmidt, who caused a fumble that UVa linebacker Kai Parham recovered with 2:12 remaining.

"I was thinking sack and then fumble," said Schmidt, clutching the only game ball that Virginia awarded to an underclassmen.

"We've got a lot of guys on this team who are known for their big plays. I just try to be consistent."

Connor Hughes' third field goal of the game gave Virginia a seven-point lead with 2:28 remaining, but a 45-yard kickoff return by William "TuTu" Ferguson gave the Panthers possession at their 48.

Rutherford dropped back, possibly in search of Heisman Trophy runner-up Larry Fitzgerald, bidding to extend his NCAA record of at least one touchdown reception in 18 consecutive games. However, Fitzgerald never touched the football again and neither did the Panthers.

If Schmidt hadn't sacked Rutherford, several of his teammates were ready to do the honors. UVa also got sacks from Ahmad Brooks, Raymond Mann and a couple of defensive backs, Almondo "Muffin" Curry and Jamaine Winborne.

"They did a lot more blitzing and bringing secondary guys, and we didn't do a good job of reacting to it," Pitt coach Walt Harris said. "We must have done something that made them think they had to bring more heat. They hadn't shown much of that."

Virginia (8-5) never trailed but hardly dominated a Pitt team that had scored more than 31 points per game. The Panthers (8-5) had the ball for more than 22 minutes in the first half and 37 minutes in the game.

"It certainly felt like the defense was on the field for a long time in the first half," UVa quarterback Matt Schaub said, "but, when we needed to control the ball in the fourth quarter, we got the job done."

UVa outgained the Panthers 145-35 in the fourth quarter, continuing a trend that enabled the Cavaliers to finish the season with three straight wins over bowl-bound opponents.

The Cavaliers opened their season-ending winning streak with victories over Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech at home, and there was plenty of orange and blue Saturday at Ericsson Stadium.

Bowl sponsors gave Virginia credit for selling 26,000 tickets, a UVa record, for a crowd that was announced at 51,236.

The play of the UVa defense made up for some bad breaks, including an inadvertent whistle that nullified an apparent fumble recovery, and some poor judgment, including three 15-yard penalties for violations after the whistle (two personal fouls and a celebration penalty).

Moreover, all UVa had to show for five second-half trips inside the Pittsburgh 20-yard was a pair of Hughes field goals.

"There were a lot of opportunities when we could have scored seven points and only got three or didn't get any," said Schaub, who was the victim of an end-zone drop and an end-zone interception. "We left a lot of points out there on the field."

Schaub was named most valuable player after completing 20 of 31 passes for 244 yards and one touchdown, a 52-yard pass to Heath Miller that gave the Cavaliers a 7-0 lead with 3:31 left in the first quarter.

"It was definitely something we wanted to look for early," Schaub said. "We thought we could get a match-up with a player [Ferguson] who Heath could get away from."

It was the 56th touchdown pass for Schaub, a fifth-year senior who previously had shared UVa's career record with Shawn Moore, and the 100th career reception for Miller, a sophomore whose longest reception before Saturday had gone for 42 yards.

"We'd been working on that play for two weeks," Miller said.

It capped a four-play, 97-yard drive that required only 43 seconds after the Cavaliers had stopped Pittsburgh on four downs from the 1-yard line, with freshman linebackers Brooks and Parham collaborating to stop Brandon Miree for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-goal.

"A huge momentum builder," Schaub called it.

Big plays were the order of the day for Virginia, which also got a 68-yard kickoff return by Marquis Weeks and a 51-yard run by Alvin Pearman, a Charlotte resident who was injured and did not play in the 2002 Tire Bowl, in which the Cavaliers beat West Virginia 48-22.

Pearman carried seven times for 104 yards and also had six receptions before suffering an ankle injury that had him walking on crutches at game's end. Wali Lundy rushed 23 times for 90 yards, including 70 yards in the fourth quarter, before he, too, limped off the field.

"I don't know if I would have liked the season to go on any longer," said Groh, who earlier had watched three other starters leave the field with injuries.

With the way it ended, who could blame him?

 

Sweet Repeat
Defense leads way in second straight Tire Bowl victory
By John Galinsky / Daily Progress staff writer
December 28, 2003

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - On its first drive Saturday, Pittsburgh’s offense cruised effortlessly downfield. Bruising tailback Brandon Miree rumbled through the UVa defense for chunks of yardage. All-American receiver Larry Fitzgerald caught a pair of passes. But on four straight running plays from the 1-yard line, the Cavaliers held firm.

“That goal-line stand set the tone for the whole day,” said defensive end Brennan Schmidt.

Well, not immediately. The Panthers scored touchdowns on their next two possessions, matching scoring drives by the Cavaliers. But just when the Continental Tire Bowl seemed on the verge of becoming the shootout many expected, Virginia’s defense stole the show.

Keeping Fitzgerald out of his favorite place, the end zone, and limiting Pitt to a lone field goal in the second half, Virginia claimed the Continental Tire’s championship for the second straight year with a 23-16 triumph at Ericsson Stadium.

Just as orange was the dominant color in the crowd of 51,236, the Cavalier defense dominated the action on the field over the final two-plus quarters. With five sacks, an interception and a huge fumble recovery with just over two minutes remaining, Virginia (8-5) overcame a series of offensive miscues and three major penalties to close the season with their third consecutive victory.

“It’s a heartwarming thing,” said UVa coach Al Groh, whose team whipped West Virginia in the inaugural Continental Tire Bowl a year ago. “That speaks volumes about the resiliency and heart of the players on this team.”

In his final college game, Matt Schaub threw for 244 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown to tight end Heath Miller four plays after the initial goal-line stand. Alvin Pearman and Wali Lundy combined for 194 rushing yards, with Lundy’s 1-yard run giving the Cavaliers a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter.

Virginia did not score a touchdown in the final 41 minutes, however, settling for three field goals by Connor Hughes. The game ended up being decided by special teams and defense, not exactly UVa’s strong suits this season, but the Cavaliers were superior in both areas Saturday.

The Panthers (8-5) were undermined by their kicking game. Rod Rutherford threw touchdown passes on consecutive drives in the second quarter, but David Abdul hit the right upright on the second extra point, leaving Virginia ahead 14-13. Abdul’s replacement, J.B. Gibboney, later missed a 36-yard field goal.

Fitzgerald, meanwhile, couldn’t shake free from Virginia’s coverage, which was stacked in his direction no matter where he lined up. The nation’s leader in receiving yards and TD catches finished with five receptions for 77 yards. He had just two catches after the first quarter and failed to reach the end zone for the first time in 19 games, snapping his NCAA-record streak.

“We put in a defense just for him. We called it the Fitzgerald Zone,” said safety Jamaine Winborne. “We always had someone inside him and someone outside him. We wanted to keep him in a box. ... I was a little surprised they didn’t throw to him more, but I think we did a really good job of containing him.”

“I was definitely in our game plan,” said Fitzgerald, who caught five of the six passes thrown his way. “They just did a terrific job of taking me out of the offense.”

Rutherford seemed content to find other receivers or hand the ball to Miree, who rushed for 110 yards on 22 carries. Often he had little time to throw, especially after the Cavaliers adjusted their defensive strategy late in the second quarter.

“We were struggling a little bit, so we stepped up our focus and got more aggressive in our play-calling,” said defensive end Chris Canty. “We started blitzing more and they couldn’t handle our pressure.”

That aggression paid off quickly when Winborne, coming on a safety blitz, dumped Rutherford for a seven-yard loss on fourth down from the UVa 32. Pearman gained 35 yards on two runs and three receptions, setting up a 44-yard field goal by Hughes on the last play of the first half.

Up 17-13, the Cavaliers played the second half without two defensive starters, safety Jermaine Hardy and nose tackle Andrew Hoffman. But they kept the heat on Rutherford, whose first pass of the third quarter was picked off by Robbie Catterton, Hardy’s replacement. Catterton’s 24-yard return to the Pitt 18 resulted in another field goal by Hughes from 30 yards out.

“They turned it up in the second half,” Pitt coach Walt Harris said of Virginia’s defense. “We didn’t do a good job of responding and reacting to it.”

Fitzgerald’s one highlight-worthy catch, a two-handed snatch of a high pass for a 28-yard gain, led to Gibboney’s 28-yard field goal with 9:28 left in the third quarter. But the Panthers never scored again, thanks in part to sacks by freshman linebacker Ahmad Brooks (game-high 12 tackles) and senior cornerback Almondo Curry.

Rutherford, who completed his first 10 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns, went 8 of 16 for 126 yards, no TDs and an interception the rest of the way.

The final sack was the biggest. After Hughes drilled a 39-yard field goal to make it 23-16 with 2:28 remaining, William Ferguson returned the ensuing kickoff 45 yards to the Pitt 48. On the next play, Schmidt came up the middle and used his helmet to dislodge the ball from Rutherford’s grasp. Kai Parham fell on it at the Pitt 36.

From there, Lundy picked up a pair of first downs and Schaub took a knee on the final play, capping off another successful Continental Tire trip for the Cavaliers.

“It’s a great way to go out,” Curry said. “The seniors get to leave on a good note. I think for everyone else, things are only going to get better from here.”
 

Cavaliers look for ACC road win
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
December 28, 2003

Virginia sophomore Derrick Byars was certainly surprised with the answer. So was Elton Brown and so was Todd Billet.

When told that Virginia has lost eight straight ACC openers, however, Byars response was certainly the best.

“Wow. We haven’t been 1-0 in the ACC in eight years? That’s a long time,” Byars said.

Yes, it is Derrick.

The last time Virginia was victorious in its ACC opener was an 81-75 win over Florida State on Jan. 4, 1995. That season, the Cavaliers actually won its first four ACC contests en route to a 12-4 league mark and a 25-9 overall record.

Certainly a 1-0 ACC does not always translate into that kind of success but, then again, Virginia wouldn’t exactly know.

In the past eight seasons, Virginia has never posted anything better than a 9-7 ACC record (twice) and closer analysis reveals a certain correlation. After dropping those eight openers, Virginia has not managed better than a 2-2 mark after its first four ACC games and has been 1-3 on three occasions and 0-4 once.

That’s the “tradition” starring at Byars and his teammates tonight when they face N.C. State at the RBC Center in Raleigh. Of course, Virginia’s record in the Wolfpack’s den is equally bad. Virginia is 0-4 in the five-year old RBC Center and thus, slightly by technicality, it is the only ACC building in which the Cavaliers have never won.

“We haven’t played real well down there. The crowd gets pretty loud. N.C. State plays pretty well at home. … They’re tough to beat anywhere but especially at home,” said UVa coach Pete Gillen.”We have to worry about ourselves and play the best we can.”

Virginia’s road woes of the recent past are well-chronicled which is of course is another obstacle in ending this ACC opener streak.

Yet, the Cavaliers themselves are universally using one phrase as a catch-all for all three obstacles: the past is the past.

“I think this team is different. Our guys have a lot of character and we’re playing harder. We’re playing together and I think we have talent. … I think we are going to do better this season,” Gillen said.

Added Brown: “It’s a huge game. It’s a game in which we could open up a lot of eyes. If we can go down there and get a win, that would be big. I think we are a better team but we have to do down there and show it. … To be honest, I think that this team is more mature to face this kind of situation than the past couple of seasons.”

Note. As of Friday, Gillen was not sure of the status of freshman J.R. Reynolds or junior forward Jason Clark. Reynolds missed the last two games recovering from a virus and rash and the level in which his condition has improved will determine his availability today. Clark’s situation remains murkier. The 6-foot-8 Clark has not played nor practiced this season as he’s been serving an apparent academic-related suspension. It’s unclear what’s holding up Clark’s status since first semester grades at UVa have likely already been submitted. Gillen, who has opted to make few comments on the situation, was asked Friday if the situation was at all frustrating but he stuck to his “no comment” policy on the matter.

“I really don’t want to talk about the whole thing. We just hope to get him back,” Gillen said.

 

Defense puts clamps on Fitzgerald
Published December 28 2003
David Teel

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Almondo Curry panicked. He couldn't find Larry Fitzgerald, and that meant trouble.

Fitzgerald is the University of Pittsburgh's incomparable wide receiver, and Virginia's entire defensive game plan for Saturday's Continental Tire Bowl centered on containing him.

But where in the name of Jerry Rice was he? Here the Panthers were 1 yard from an opening-series touchdown and Curry, the Cavaliers' best cornerback, didn't see The Man.

"He's their target," Curry said, "by far the most dominant offensive player in the country. ... I thought he'd get in there and make that electrifying catch."

Fitzgerald never made that defining catch. Not on the first series, not in the game, and that defensive effort, arguably the finest in Al Groh's three years as head coach, propelled Virginia to a 23-16 victory.

Where was Fitzgerald? Well, on Pitt's four first-quarter snaps from the 1-yard line, he was on the sideline, an inexplicable lapse by the Panthers' coaches that aided Virginia's goal-line stand. For the remainder of the game, he was rendered ineffective by an array of coverages and an ears-pinned-back rush that sacked quarterback Rod Rutherford five times.

Fitzgerald, a sophomore contemplating an early departure to the NFL, caught five passes for 77 yards - only two for 33 after the opening quarter. Most critical, he did not catch a touchdown pass, ending his NCAA-record streak at 18 games.

"We wanted it to end with us," Curry said of the streak. "We wanted people to say that history ended against Virginia."

Of all the teams to blanket an All-America receiver, the Cavaliers were hardly likely candidates. Including the 5-foot-8 "Muffin" Curry, they start four defensive backs shorter than 6 feet. Four opponents lit them up for more than 100 receiving yards this season, and when a knee injury sidelined safety Jermaine Hardy in the third quarter Saturday, freshmen Lance Evans and Robbie Catterton were pressed into service.

Still, Fitzgerald never went off. Oh, he showed the gymnast's body control and shortstop's hands that will make him an NFL star, but he never took over.

Credit Groh, who earned his NFL reputation as defensive assistant. With nearly a month to plot strategy for Fitzgerald, and without a shut-down corner to make life easier, he and his defensive staff devised ever-changing coverages that Pitt coach Walt Harris said were different than any the Panthers saw this season.

Also blame Harris. Pitt threw Fitzgerald's way only six times, the five receptions and one pass that Curry busted up with a jarring hit. No quick screens, no short hitches, nothing to kick-start the nation's best player.

Still, after failing to score on four running plays from the 1 in the first quarter, the Panthers (8-5) posted consecutive second-quarter touchdowns that Groh said left his defense reeling. But Virginia (8-5) limited Pitt to three second-half points, 28 fewer than Virginia Tech yielded to California in the second half of Friday night's Insight Bowl.

"They turned it up in the second half," Harris said, "and we didn't do a good job responding to it."

Everyone turned it up - Curry and his secondary mates; freshman linebacker Ahmad Brooks and his crew; end Brennan Schmidt and the defensive line. Brooks was most impressive with a game-high 12 tackles, including the fourth-down stuff of Brandon Miree from the 1. All Brooks did on the play was shed a wingback's block, sidestep a pulling guard and stop a 230-pound tailback in his tracks.

"He showed his potential for greatness today," Groh said. "The really exciting thing is, I think there's a lot more to come."

Much can be said for the entire program. Virginia started six seniors, 10 fewer than Pitt, and if Groh finds a quality replacement for Saturday's Most Valuable Player, quarterback Matt Schaub, the Cavaliers have ACC-championship potential. Then again, similar sentiment surrounded the team after last year's 9-5 finish and Tire Bowl rout of West Virginia.

Schaub's early-season shoulder injury and frequent defensive breakdowns sentenced Virginia to a split of its first 10 games, a humbling comedown. But the Cavaliers left Charlotte on Saturday optimistic, if not giddy, after year-end conquests of Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Pitt and Larry Fitzgerald.

Cavs take control in fourth for victory
By Dave Johnson
Daily Press
Published December 28, 2003

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- To be blunt, this isn't where Virginia wanted to be. The minute last season ended, the Cavaliers were projected as a favorite for the ACC championship - and thus the Bowl Championship Series. Coach Al Groh had his eye on the ultimate prize: a national title.

So when preseason camp began in August, a return trip to the Continental Tire Bowl would have been considered a kick in the teeth, if not a yard lower. Yet on another perfect December afternoon in the Queen City, Groh gleefully took another water-cooler bath and savored the sweet taste of postseason victory.

Virginia's 23-16 win over Pittsburgh wasn't particularly pretty. But it was, all things considered, the perfect finish. The Cavaliers won with maybe the best defensive effort of the 39-game Groh Era, one that snapped one of the most remarkable individual streaks in college football history. And with an offense that, while not opportunistic, killed the clock in the fourth quarter.

For the first time since 1995-96, and for only the second time in school history, Virginia won a bowl game in back-to-back seasons. And for a program aspiring for bigger and better things, it's a strong beginning.

"We came down here with the theme that this was a very, very, very, very important game," said Groh, his gray sweatshirt almost completely soaked. "We had to bring everything that we had. Everything we put into the season had to show up today."

Actually, more. Virginia's defense had been up-and-down through a 12-game regular season but was never better than Saturday. The Cavs (8-5) held Pitt to half its per-game scoring average and gave up only a field goal in the second half. All-Milky Way receiver Larry Fitzgerald had five fairly meaningless catches and saw his 18-game streak with at least one touchdown reception end. Virginia sacked quarterback Rod Rutherford five times and made a goal-line stand that, though early, proved pivotal.

Groh likes to say that whoever gets to the quarterback more and runs the ball better in the fourth quarter usually wins. On this day, at least, he was right. The Cavs had 95 of their 196 rushing yards in the fourth quarter.

And when Pitt (8-5) took over at its 48-yard line trailing by a touchdown with 2:20 remaining - overtime, anyone? - defensive end Brennan Schmidt broke through with a well-timed sack that knocked the ball from Rutherford's hands and into linebacker Kai Parham's.

Virginia made enough mistakes to lose. Twice the Cavs came up empty inside the Pitt 15-yard line - first when an ill-conceived screen pass was stuffed on fourth-and-1, then when Matt Schaub was intercepted in the end zone. Dead-ball penalties on linebacker Ahmad Brooks and safety Jamaine Winborne, who had otherwise solid games, kept Panther drives alive. But the Cavs continually bounced back, and that was good enough.

"We just found the ingredients to win the game," tailback Wali Lundy said.

"Neither team played to the best of their abilities," tailback Alvin Pearman added, "but we capitalized slightly more than they did to give us the edge."

The turning point of the game came early, after U.Va. punted on its opening possession. Pitt had driven from its 30 to the Cavaliers' 1, where Rutherford's quarterback sneak had set up first-and-goal. On first down, tackle Kwakou Robinson upended 245-pound fullback Lousaka Polite for no gain. Then, Robinson stuffed Rutherford - again for no gain. On third down, Pitt went back to Polite. But Parham was there, and it was fourth-and-goal.

With Fitzgerald inexplicably on the sideline - at 6-foot-3, he's significantly taller than any of U.Va.'s cornerbacks - Rutherford handed off to tailback Brandon Miree. Brooks shook a block and made the most important of his 12 stops for a 1-yard loss.

"That did a lot for us," Winborne said. "When they went downfield the way they did, I know a lot of people were thinking, 'It's gonna be one of those games.' "

Exactly 42 seconds after Brooks tackled Miree, Schaub hit tight end Heath Miller on a seam route for a 52-yard touchdown. Your basic 14-point swing.

"Huge momentum swing," Schaub said. "Just huge."

Panthers coach Walt Harris also saw it that way.

"The difference between winning and losing was three or four plays," he said. "They just made fewer mistakes than we did."

Having routed West Virginia in the first Tire Bowl, Virginia is now an established dynasty there. But, truth be told, Groh hopes the Cavs won't be back next year to three-peat.

"We were real glad to be here, but we were aiming for the Sugar Bowl," he said. "It's important to win in the postseason if you want to be an important team. That was one of the reasons that made it such an important game for our team."
 

Schaub outshines Fitzgerald
By JENNA FRYER : Associated Press
Dec 27, 2003 : 4:00 pm ET

CHARLOTTE -- Matt Schaub capped his career as Virginia's most prolific quarterback by taking a knee on his second consecutive Continental Tire Bowl victory.

Larry Fitzgerald could only watch from the Pittsburgh sidelines, hands on his hips in yet another disappointing loss in what might have been the final game for one of the greatest players in Panthers history.

Virginia made it 2-for-2 in the 2-year-old Tire Bowl by using solid defense to snap Fitzgerald's record touchdown streak at 18 games in a 23-16 victory on Saturday.

"We have worked very hard to become a significant defensive team and we knew stopping Larry Fitzgerald was going to be important," Cavaliers coach Al Groh said. "He can do in one or two plays what a 12-play drive usually does, so we put an emphasis on him."

The Cavaliers (8-5) did it by limiting the looks in Fitzgerald's direction with a steady pass-rush that led to five sacks and only six throws to Fitzgerald.

The Heisman Trophy runner-up, who could petition the NFL for early entry into the draft, was held to five catches for 77 yards and failed to score a touchdown for Pittsburgh (8-5) for the first time since Oct 12, 2002, against Notre Dame. His 18 consecutive games with a touchdown is an NCAA record.

"I don't play for records," he said. "The record was fun and I thank my teammates for helping me get it. Records are meant to be broken."

Then he said he still wasn't sure what his future holds, just that he plans to be enrolled in classes at Pitt next month.

So what could have been Fitzgerald's swan song instead became Schaub's big day. He threw for a 244 yards and a touchdown -- the 56th of his career, a Virginia record -- to earn the MVP award in the second-year bowl.

The Cavs beat West Virginia here last season, and marked the sweep by running as a team to the far end zone and celebrating with the Virginia-dominated crowd.

Schaub, whose touchdown was a 52-yard strike to Heath Miller, wasted little time on sentimentality.

"It's over and done with, I sort of established that earlier this month," Schaub said. "It is a rite of passage seniors go through. So I knew it would come and it is just a great way to go out -- with a win."

But his coach felt otherwise, taking time to credit Schaub for leading the Cavs to consecutive bowl victories for just the second time in school history.

"He's made an indelible mark and I think he joins an elite group of Virginia football players," Groh said. "I can't imagine anybody in the country who has carried their team more than he has."

But the game was also won with defense.

Virginia used a goal-line stand on Pitt's first drive of the game. The Panthers were stopped on four straight plays from the 1 and Fitzgerald was not on the field for any of them. The Cavaliers also sacked Rod Rutherford on fourth-and-10 near the end of the first half, and forced him into a costly fumble that basically sealed the game.

Connor Hughes kicked a 39-yard field -- his third of the game -- to give Virginia a 23-16 lead with 2:28 to play. But with Fitzgerald on the field, it seemed almost a given the Panthers would be able to move down field.

They got 45 yards from TuTu Ferguson on the ensuing kickoff, but Rutherford was sacked by Brennan Schmidt on the first play and Kai Parham recovered on the Pitt 37.

The Cavaliers then put the game away with a 17-yard run by Wali Lundy that moved them to the 17 and allowed them to run out the clock.

"Our goal was to keep points down," Groh said. "That is the purpose of defense and in the future, we'll be a defensive team."

Lundy, who scored four touchdowns in this bowl last year, finished with 90 yards and a 1-yard touchdown run. Charlotte native Alvin Pearman, who missed the game last year with an injury, marked his homecoming with 104 yards rushing and six catches for 32 yards.

Brandon Miree ran for 110 yards for Pitt and added four catches for 43 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown. The scoring pass from Rutherford was his 37th of the season, tying the school record Dan Marino set in 1981.

Rutherford finished with 246 yards passing, two touchdowns, an interception and a fumble.

His mistakes weren't the only ones for Pitt, though. The Panthers also missed a conversion and a field goal, critical errors for a team extremely disappointed at even being in the second-tier bowl.

Pitt had hoped to be in the Orange Bowl this season, but a loss to Miami in the regular-season finale knocked them out of Bowl Championship Series contention.

Now things can take another bad turn if Fitzgerald decides to petition the NFL for early entry into the draft. The league prevents players from entering the draft just two years out of high school, but the sophomore could ask the NFL to make an exception for him.

 

State stumbles into ACC play
BY AL FEATHERSTON : The Herald-Sun
afeatherston@heraldsun.com
Dec 27, 2003 : 10:52 pm ET

RALEIGH -- N.C. State hasn't exactly dazzled the basketball world so far this season.

The Wolfpack, 5-2 after last weekend's loss at South Carolina, finds itself as the ACC's lowest ranked team in the RPI. Going into tonight's 8 o'clock matchup with Virginia (8-0) in the RBC Center, Herb Sendek's Pack has an RPI ranking of No. 124 and is in danger of being buried in a league that boasts four of the nation's top-10 teams.

Yet, Sendek is not ready to panic just yet.

"We haven't played any conference games yet," Sendek said. "We're fighting for the first [ACC] game of the year. The winner won't be assured of anything and the loser won't be out of anything. It's a long 16-game schedule and at this point, when we haven't gotten out of December ... to stretch it beyond that is speculative. I don't think you can get that far ahead of yourself."

Sendek concedes that the fact that the game is being played on his home floor -- where the Wolfpack is 5-0 this season and 32-7 in the last three seasons -- puts pressure on his team.

"No question," he said. "You look across the board in college basketball, more often than not, the home team is the favorite. You have to be really good to win on the road in college basketball. From that standpoint, [tonight's] game is a big game for us.

"We have to play well because I think Virginia is playing as well as any Virginia team has since I've been here. I know a couple of years ago, they may have had a higher ranking, but I don't know if they were playing any better than they're playing now."

Virginia coach Pete Gillen agrees with that sentiment. His 2000-01 team climbed to as high as No. 6 in the nation, yet slumped to a 9-7 ACC finish. His 2001-02 team went even higher -- No. 4 -- and fell further, dropping to 7-9 in the ACC.

Gillen doesn't expect this team to follow the same pattern.

"I think this team is going to be different," he said. "I think a lot of guys have a lot of character on this team. We're playing harder and we're playing more together. We play in a great league and teams are going to get knocked around, and at times I'm sure we will. But I think we have good players and I think we have character and I think we're going to do better this season."

Virginia's 8-0 start hasn't earned much national attention, even though the Cavs' RPI ranking is No. 32. Gillen admitted before the season that he wanted a fairly weak schedule so that his rebuilt team could gain confidence.

But he knows it will take more than a string of wins over teams such as VMI, High Point, Coastal Carolina and Mount St. Mary's to win an NCAA bid.

"We've just got to do the job in the league," Gillen said. "I have a lot of confidence in our team and I think they're going to take six [ACC] teams into the NCAA Tournament. I think that's very plausible from the ACC. Our job is to try and be one of those six. It's not going to be easy but I think we have a chance. I think we have a good team and I think we have a great upside."

Junior big man Elton Brown (17.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game) and senior sharpshooter Todd Billet (11.5 scoring average) have given the Cavaliers solid play. Gillen also is getting solid contributions from sophomore wing forward Derrick Byars (13.3) and freshman power forward Gary Forbes (13.9).

"I think they are a hard team to match up with," Sendek said. "They're very athletic. I think Elton Brown has really stepped up. He gives them the same kind of low-post presence right now that Travis Watson had. They're really looking to go into him.

"They can take you off the dribble and shoot the 3 from all the other positions. So they don't allow you the luxury of helping very much because everybody on the floor is capable of scoring and having a big night."

Sendek still is trying to put his own team together. It hasn't helped that he had to integrate Turkish guard Engin Atsur after two games or that junior center Jordan Collins wasn't able to play until last week. And it hasn't helped that the Pack has played two games in the last three weeks.

"I wish we had been able to play more games," Sendek said. "But I really do think we've been able to taker some steps forward in practice. We've had really good practices over the course of the last two weeks. It didn't show up as 40 minutes of excellence against South Carolina, but I can tell you that our preparation and our practices going into that game were terrific."

The Wolfpack coach wasn't happy with the way his team started and finished the game against the Gamecocks.

"I was disappointed in the way we started the game," he said. "We spotted them 10 points. I was equally pleased with the way we fought back and showed a lot of grit and determination to take the lead. We didn't fold. We battled like crazy. Then we just did not make plays down the stretch or we might have a different taste in our mouth right now."

In the wake of the South Carolina loss, Sendek has had to deal with a new irritation. Disgruntled fans have started a Web site called firesendek.com

"I think you have to understand as a coach that the people you try to serve and have the greatest influence on are the young men in your program," Sendek said when asked about the site. "You obviously don't have any control over what somebody on the outside wants or thinks. If you allow yourself to be big-headed because somebody praises you or gives you a compliment or allow yourself to wallow in depression because somebody says something bad about you, you're allowing things beyond your control to influence your professionalism, your job, your feelings."

Gillen also has had to deal with unhappy fans after two straight disappointing seasons. He's hoping that this Virginia team can provide the only real response to such critics -- victory.

"We're very young but I think we've got a lot of upside," Gillen said. "We've got great character and excellent leadership. We'll have our hands full [at N.C. State], but I think our kids have a chance on Sunday. We're going to get better and I think we have a chance of making it to the dance. I can't guarantee we will, but I think we have a chance."

NOTES -- Fox Sports South will televise the game as part of an ACC doubleheader, following Maryland at Florida State at 5:30 p.m. ... Gillen still is waiting to learn whether junior big man Jason Clark, academically ineligible so far this season, will be able to play for the Cavs this season. In addition, freshman guard J.R. Reynolds, who started three games earlier this season, is struggling to overcome a bout with the flu and is questionable for the N.C. State game. ... N.C. State had beaten Virginia five straight times before the Cavs snapped the streak in Charlottesville, Va., late last season. Virginia has not won in Raleigh since 1997 -- Sendek's first season at N.C. State. Overall, Sendek is 9-7 against the Cavs, but 9-4 in the last 13 matchups. That includes a 3-0 record versus Virginia in the ACC Tournament. ... N.C. State's slow schedule will last another week -- the Pack won't play again after the Virginia game until UNC Wilmington visits the RBC on Saturday.

 

Pack's Sendek sees progress, awaits UVA test
12-28-03
By TIM PEELER, Staff Writer
News & Record

RALEIGH -- Maybe it's the early start of the conference season. Or maybe it's just the fact that there are so many doubters about where N.C. State and Virginia fit into the ACC race, now that five other league teams have gotten a foothold in the Top 25.

But both head coaches, N.C. State's Herb Sendek and Virginia's Pete Gillen, enter today's 8 p.m. game at VA at N.C. State the RBC Center in a defensive posture. And that has nothing to do with guarding the basketball.

Sendek, his team still stinging from losing its only two road games of the season, says there is no heightened sense of urgency as the Wolfpack enters conference play. After all, January hasn't even gotten here.

But he also spent a good part of Saturday's pregame news conference explaining why he wasn't too concerned about how the Wolfpack has performed since losing its most recent outing last Saturday at South Carolina, his team's only game in the last two weeks.

"From a coaching standpoint, I couldn't feel better at this point in how we've gone about trying to improve,'' Sendek said. "We have been trying to get a little better across the board.''

There are clearly areas where the Wolfpack (5-2) needs it.

It is the ACC's worst 3-point-shooting team, at 31.1 percent, which is particularly disturbing since it attempts more than 25 long-range shots per game, more than any team in the ACC.

The Wolfpack, picked to finish fourth in the ACC preseason poll, is tied with Virginia for last place in the ACC in rebounding margin, meaning the team that owns the boards in today's game will likely have a huge advantage in a game between the league's worst two teams on the boards.

State is also averaging 15.3 turnovers a game, which ranks seventh in the ACC and is about 2-3 more miscues per game than Sendek believes his team should have in order to be successful.

And, to be honest, Sendek believes ball-handling and passing are at the root of his team's shooting woes.

Meanwhile, Virginia coach Pete Gillen promises this year's Cavaliers (8-0) have the talent and character to prove that the early-season success against the likes of High Point, Mount St. Mary's and Coastal Carolina, et al., is no fluke, something Gillen's teams have historically been unable to do.

This is the third time in the last four years that the Cavaliers have started the season 8-0, but they have been prone to collapse in the season's second.

The Cavs have only been to the NCAA tournament once under Gillen and the only postseason victory Gillen has recorded in his first five years at Virginia was a first-round win last year in the NIT.

"I really think this team is going to be different,'' Gillen said. "We are playing harder. We are playing more together. I think we have talent. We are in a great league and teams are going to get knocked around and I am sure at times we will.

"But I think we are going to be better this year.''

Today's early conference game might be a good indicator if things will be different. The Cavaliers have never won an ACC opener under Gillen and have lost eight conference openers in a row overall.

The Cavs have had an influx of new talent, headed by swing player Gary Forbes of Brooklyn, who has averaged 13.9 points and 6.5 rebounds in the Cavs' first seven games.

Gillen has relied on at least three other freshmen to provide depth, though one, guard J.R. Reynolds, has missed the Cavs' last two games because of a virus and is questionable for today's game.

Junior Elton Brown has emerged as the team's top rebounder, replacing the steady numbers provided the previous four years by Travis Watson.

"Virginia is playing as well as any Virginia team has since I've been here,'' Sendek said. "There have been other teams that have been more highly ranked, but I don't know if they have played any better than this team has played.

"I think they have played as well as any team in the league, and that includes some of the teams that have gotten a lot more props.''

However, the Wolfpack has won five of the last six games in the series, including ACC openers for both teams the last two years.

So, for two of the league's teams that have high expectations, but are not among the five ACC schools ranked in the Top 25, today's game has significant expectations, even if Sendek doesn't necessarily believe both teams are teetering on the dividing line for the ACC's upper division.

Some might say that today's loser will spend the rest of the conference schedule trying to catch up, considering the importance of holding serve at home this season.

"That's ridiculous,'' Sendek said. "We're fighting for our first game in conference play. The winner is not assured of anything and the loser won't be out of anything. It's speculative to think that one game will have that much of a bearing on the league.

"You can't get that far ahead of yourself.''
 

Cavs Are a Finished Product in Win
Team Ends Season on High Note: Virginia 23, Pittsburgh 16
By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, December 28, 2003; Page E01

CHARLOTTE, Dec. 27 -- Virginia put the finishing touch on its late-season surge, clamping down on Pittsburgh in the second half to win the Continental Tire Bowl for the second straight year, 23-16.

The Cavaliers (8-5) gained 440 yards on offense but won their third straight game primarily because of defense. They forced two turnovers, held twice on fourth down and limited Larry Fitzgerald, one of the nation's best wide receivers, to five catches for 77 yards, holding him without a touchdown for the first time in 19 games.

"We've been working very hard to become a significant defensive team," Virginia Coach Al Groh said. "There's a process that has to be gone through to accomplish that, and we're moving down that process."

The Cavs led for nearly the entire game, and Connor Hughes's third field goal of the game made it 23-16 with 21/2 minutes remaining -- plenty of time for the Panthers (8-5) to mount a final drive.

Tutu Ferguson returned Virginia's kickoff to his 48-yard line, but Pitt's comeback ended abruptly at the hands of Virginia defensive lineman Brennan Schmidt (DeMatha), who broke free on the first play, sacked Rod Rutherford and stripped him of the ball. Linebacker Kai Parham fell on it immediately, and the Cavaliers had little trouble running out the clock.

Virginia senior quarterback Matt Schaub finished with 244 yards and a touchdown on 20-of-31 passing -- a performance deemed worthy of the game's most valuable player award -- and tailbacks Alvin Pearman and Wali Lundy led the Cavaliers to 196 rushing yards.

Despite losing stalwarts Jermaine Hardy and Andrew Hoffman (Park View) to injuries, Virginia's defense held Pittsburgh more than two touchdowns below its scoring average. The Cavs set the tone early by keeping the Panthers out of the end zone on four rushing attempts from the 1-yard line. In the second half, they yielded three points and 141 yards.

Like most of Pittsburgh's opponents this season, Virginia focused its defensive plan on Fitzgerald, a sophomore who established a number of NCAA receiving records, including an active streak of 18 games with a touchdown catch.

"I don't think we've ever had another game plan with [an opposing player's] name in it that much," Virginia defensive back Jamaine Winborne said. "I think that's the most I've ever prepared for one receiver."

When Fitzgerald faced man-to-man coverage, it was nearly always a double team. When he faced a zone, it was often a tight triangle of cornerback, safety and outside linebacker. Meantime, Rutherford (18 of 26 for 246 yards, two touchdowns), was sacked five times.

At one point Fitzgerald tried appealing to Virginia cornerback Almondo Curry's sense of pride.

"I told Curry, 'Why don't you play me man to man?' " Fitzgerald recalled afterward. "He said, 'No, that won't happen.' "

This might have been the last college game for Fitzgerald, who surpassed Randy Moss's NCAA record for receiving yards by a sophomore. He is widely expected to challenge the NFL draft rule that limits early entry to players who have been out of high school for three years, though he said after the game he is enrolled in classes for next semester and has not made a decision.

Despite their success against Fitzgerald, the Cavaliers were not able to pull ahead by more than a touchdown. They took the lead for good 31/2 minutes into the second quarter, when Lundy scored from one yard on fourth down, capping a drive that began with a 51-yard run by Pearman.

Cavaliers Notes: Schaub finished his college career with 7,502 passing yards, 56 touchdown passes and a 67 percent completion percentage. He owns every significant Virginia passing record except the career total offense mark. . . . Inside linebacker Ahmad Brooks (Hylton) set a Virginia freshman record with 117 tackles this season. . . . Hughes's .920 field goal percentage this season is the best in program history.
 

Virginia wins another Tire Bowl
By RON GREEN JR.
Charlotte Observer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - For the second straight December, the Virginia Cavaliers used the Continental Tire Bowl to put an accent mark on their football season, this time containing Pittsburgh's dynamic receiver Larry Fitzgerald in a 23-16 victory at Ericsson Stadium on Saturday.

If the question before the game was how much damage the Heisman Trophy runner-up might do to the Cavaliers, the answer was not much.

Using an aggressive defensive strategy they adjusted late in the first half, the Cavaliers minimized Fitzgerald's impact and, coupled with their consistent ability to produce big plays when necessary, added a bookend victory to go with their 26-point win against West Virginia here last year.

"We came here with the theme that this was a very, very important game and everything we put into the season had to show up today," said Virginia coach Al Groh, whose gray sweatshirt showed the damp stains of a postgame sideline shower.

The victory, in front of an announced crowd of 51,236, capped a strong finish by Virginia (8-5), which had a season-ending win streak against Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and the Panthers. Pitt (8-5), meanwhile, flew home wondering if Fitzgerald, a sophomore, would return next season or turn pro.

Fitzgerald, who had caught a touchdown pass in 18 consecutive games, had his streak ended by the Virginia defense, which regularly double- and triple-teamed him.

He caught five passes for 77 yards, showing his extraordinary hands. But the Panthers threw to Fitzgerald only six times, three in each half.

"They just did a terrific job of taking me out of the offense," Fitzgerald said.

He was not a factor in the fourth quarter when the Panthers were behind. And he was not on the field for any of four plays when Pitt failed to score after first-and-goal from the Virginia 1 in the first quarter.

An All-American, he watched from the sideline as the Panthers failed to score from the 1 on three straight tries, then saw their fourth-down play turn into a 2-yard loss that gave Virginia possession at the Pitt 3.

"We didn't quite get it done," Pitt coach Walt Harris said of the failed effort at the goal line.

Four plays later, Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub, the game's most valuable player, connected with tight end Heath Miller for a 52-yard touchdown, finishing off a 97-yard scoring drive that put the Cavaliers ahead 7-0.

"That was huge for us," said Schaub, who completed 20 of 31 passes for 244 yards and one touchdown.

The Cavaliers, who got a big boost from tailback Alvin Pearman, a former Charlotte Country Day star (104 rushing yards), led 17-13 at halftime in part because of a defensive adjustment.

Sensing his team needed to change its approach to Fitzgerald, Groh and his staff switched late in the second quarter to a more aggressive blitzing package, using defensive backs. The Cavaliers who played two freshmen safeties, disguised their secondary coverages, showing one look but immediately dropping into another, while forcing Pitt quarterback Rod Rutherford to work under pressure.

"We tried to dictate where the quarterback would throw," Cavs cornerback Almondo Curry said.

Groh said his staff reverted to some defensive techniques that had been effective in the past and pulled them out against Pitt, which hadn't seen them on videotape of the Cavaliers.

"We couldn't let (Rutherford) stand back there in a shooting gallery and take shots at us," Groh said. "We knew where he'd put it up."
 

Pitt's season was nightmare
Sunday, December 28, 2003
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Larry Fitzgerald came right out and said it.

No, he didn't say he played his final game for Pitt yesterday. He was characteristically coy about his future plans, but it's a foregone conclusion he will try to enter the NFL draft in the spring. He would be a fool not to try to cash in on the millions that go with being a top-five pick. And this kid is no fool.

What Fitzgerald addressed with a little more bluntness was the nightmare that was the Pitt season. It couldn't have ended any uglier. The team that went to camp in August with expectations of winning the Big East Conference championship and playing in a Bowl Championship Series game couldn't even win a third-tier bowl game against a mediocre opponent. The Panthers were beaten by unranked Virginia, 23-16, in the Continental Tire Bowl at Ericsson Stadium.

"It's very disappointing," Fitzgerald said. "We fell short of our goals. All of us have to live with that."

In a way, it's still hard to believe Pitt lost five games. It had quarterback Rod Rutherford, who threw two more touchdown passes to match the great Dan Marino's single-season school record of 37. It had running back Brandon Miree, a future pro who missed much of the season with a leg injury but played in three of the five losses. It had fullback Lousaka Polite and tight end Kris Wilson, who also will play in the NFL. It had the incomparable Fitzgerald.

And that group managed just three points in the second half yesterday? Against a Virginia defense that was -- let's put this in terms you truly can appreciate -- as bad as the Pitt defense much of the season?

The explanation is simple, really. It's also why, on second thought, it really is easy to understand how Pitt could lose five times. It's nice to have great players at the skill positions, but it doesn't mean much without great players on the offensive and defensive lines.

"We were short," Walt Harris said on a day when his image as a game-day coach took another big blow.

"I don't think we're as physical of a football team as we need to be. That's the most disappointing thing to me because we've worked hard in that area. But for some reason, we slipped."

Harris blamed the losses to Notre Dame, West Virginia and Miami on physical mismatches but said he thought Pitt held its own against Virginia. He must have been watching a different game. The Panthers were soundly whipped again.

Pitt couldn't score despite four cracks from the Virginia 1 early in the game, although -- in a stunning indictment of Harris -- Miree blamed "communication mistakes" on the sideline. "We didn't run the right plays that we wanted to in that situation."

The Pitt linemen couldn't open a hole for Miree on a second-and-2 play from the Virginia 15 midway through the fourth quarter. "Devastating" is the word Harris used to describe the 4-yard loss on that play, an apt choice of words considering kicker J.B. Gibboney missed a 36-yard field goal try moments later.

Pitt couldn't protect Rutherford in obvious passing situations. His fumble on a first-and-10 play from the Pitt 48 on a sack by defensive end Brennan Schmidt ended the Panthers' final drive. It was Virginia's fifth sack. "They were bringing corner blitzes and we did a very poor job of reacting to it," Harris said.

Other than all of that, Pitt matched up just fine with Virginia.

Pitt got exactly what it deserved -- not just yesterday, but all season.

Next season can't get here fast enough.

You wonder who will replace Rutherford? Tyler Palko and Luke Getsy have studied Harris' offense for two years. The transition might not be so painful.

You wonder who will take over for Miree, Polite and Wilson? "That's a big hit," Harris said. Jawan Walker or Raymond Kirkley, who was redshirted this season, will get the first shot at Miree's spot, Tim Murphy at Polite's and Erik Gill at Wilson's.

You wonder who will replace Fitzgerald? "You're not going to replace Larry Fitzgerald," Harris said.

Those are the least of Pitt's problems, actually.

Harris must find better replacements for departing offensive linemen Dan LaCarte, Jon Schall and Matt Morgan. He must find better replacements for defensive end Claude Harriott and linebacker Lewis Moore, who had disappointing seasons. And he might have to find upgrades for returning defensive tackles Vince Crochunis and Dan Stephens, who are great students and terrific kids, but, like everyone else on the Pitt defense, struggled to stop the run all season.

Harris has turned Pitt into "Wide Receiver U" with the help of Fitzgerald, Antonio Bryant and Latef Grim. He has proved he can recruit skill players. Among his commitments for next season are highly touted Penn Hills quarterback Anthony Morelli and North Hills running back Andrew Johnson, although Johnson seems to be wavering on his word.

What Harris has failed to do in seven years on the job is prove he can recruit the big people it takes to be a national power.

Until he does, appearances in third-tier bowls are the best Pitt can hope for.
 

Panthers' disappointing season ends with another defeat
Sunday, December 28, 2003
By Paul Zeise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
Pitt's William Ferguson intercepts a pass intended for Virginia's Heath Miller in the endzone in the fourth quarter at the Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte, NC.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- An eight-play sequence in the first quarter of the Continental Tire Bowl yesterday summarized Pitt's season better than any year-in-review highlight film could possibly have.

Pitt had a first-and-goal at the Virginia 1 but turned the ball over on downs after producing minus-2 yards on four running plays. On the third- and fourth-down plays, Pitt's offensive line was overwhelmed by the Cavaliers, and the Panthers' ball carrier never had a chance.

Virginia then took over at its own 3 and needed only four plays and 43 seconds to drive 97 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. The score came on a 52-yard pass from Matt Schaub to tight end Heath Miller.

That sequence, along with continued place-kicking woes and several other crucial plays, were snapshots of the disappointment that was Pitt's season and proved to be the difference in the 23-16 loss to the Cavaliers (8-5) at Ericsson Stadium.

The Panthers began the season with a top-15 ranking but ended it by losing three of their final four games. That means Pitt (8-5) will finish unranked for the sixth time in Walt Harris' seven years as coach, and it also means the season will be remembered as one of the most disappointing in school history.

Harris said the Panthers likely will reflect on missed opportunities -- yesterday and the entire season -- when they look back at this season in the upcoming months.

"The difference between winning and losing is three or four plays here and there, and there is a couple of them you just mentioned," Harris said when asked about the Cavaliers' goal-line stand. "We thought we scored on one run down there and we thought we could get it in there, but we didn't get the right execution at that time. Hindsight is always [20/20]. We could have kicked a field goal then, but we thought it was early in the game and we were confident we could get it in there."

Even if Harris had opted to attempt a 19-yard field goal at the time, there was no guarantee it would have yielded three points because the Panthers' place-kicking again was shaky at best.

One thing that was interesting about the goal-line sequence was that sophomore receiver Larry Fitzgerald -- who saw his NCAA record for consecutive touchdown receptions end at 18 -- was not on the field for any of the plays.

Running back Brandon Miree, who ran 22 times for 110 yards, said Pitt's main problem down on the goal line was communication from the coaches to quarterback Rod Rutherford. And that was another snapshot of why Pitt's season didn't go as planned.

"There were communication errors on the sideline, and we didn't get the correct plays called that we wanted to," Miree said. "Against the look they gave us, that didn't work. It is tough. There are different things [that coaches see and then] make signals to tell Rod what the play is, and it ended up not getting into the huddle correctly.

"I don't know exactly the logistics of it, but we didn't run the right plays that we wanted to in that situation."

After the Cavaliers took the 7-0 lead, the Panthers responded with an eight-play, 73-yard drive and tied the score on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Rod Rutherford to Princell Brockenbrough.

The Cavaliers took the ensuing kickoff and drove 70 yards on seven plays and scored on a 1-yard run by Wali Lundy.Pitt freshman linebacker H.B. Blades said youth was one reason the Panthers didn't fare well this year, and that they weren't quite as strong as they needed to be. He said one of the most puzzling problems yesterday and throughout the year was poor tackling.

"We have to tackle well. We do it every now and then but we have to be consistent," he said. "We had a young defense this year and this was a learning experience, but that's no excuse for not tackling."

After Virginia took a 14-7 lead, Pitt again responded and marched 85 yards in 10 plays to pull to 14-13 with 6:05 remaining in the half on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Rutherford to Miree. But the Panthers enthusiasm was quickly doused when David Abdul's extra-point attempt hit the right upright and bounced wide.

The missed extra point was key. The next time Pitt got the ball, still trailing by one, Harris opted to go for it on fourth-and-10 rather than attempt a 49-yard field goal because he didn't have faith in Abdul.

Rutherford was sacked on the fourth-down play and Virginia closed the half with a 44-yard field goal by Connor Hughes and led, 17-13.

After Hughes opened the second half with a 30-yard field goal, Pitt answered with a 28-yarder by walk-on J.B. Gibboney, not Abdul. It was Gibboney's first attempt of the season.

The Gibboney solution proved good for only one kick as he missed a 36-yarder that would have pulled Pitt to 20-19 with 7:51 to play. Harris said the poor place-kicking was as responsible for the Panthers' loss as anything Virginia did.

"You can't miss an extra point. You just can't. We made a change after that. And we turned down a field goal that normally we would have taken. We have had inconsistency with our field-goal kicker so we opted to not [kick] it. And then we missed that one near the end. To me there is seven points right there [that we should have], and that was the difference in the game."

Hughes tacked on another field goal with 2:28 to play, which gave the Panthers one last chance to perhaps tie the score and send it into overtime.

And things got off to a great start when senior Tutu Ferguson returned the ensuing kickoff 45 yards to set the Panthers up with a first-and-10 at the Pitt 48. But on the Panthers' first play from scrimmage after the return, Rutherford dropped back to pass and the Cavaliers blitzed. Rutherford fumbled after he was hit by Virginia defensive end Brennan Schmidt and Kai Parham recovered to end the threat.

"We did a poor job of conditioning and reading," Harris said. "We're just not as physical a football team as we need to be."
 

Football Notebook: 12/28/03
Sunday, December 28, 2003
By Paul Zeise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Looking Ahead

The Panthers' 2004 schedule includes non-conference games at home against Ohio University and Nebraska, and road games at SOuth Florida and Notre Dame.

Notebook

Pitt fell to 2-1 all-time versus Virginia. The Panthers also fell to 10-13 in bowl games, including 2-3 under Walt Harris. The Cavaliers victory was their second consecutive Continental Tire Bowl victory - last season they defeated West Virginia in the game 48-22 - marking the first time they've won back-to-back bowl games since 1994 (Independence) - 1995 (Peach). This is also the first time Virginia has finished with at least eight wins in back-to-back seasons since 1994-95.

Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub completed 20 of 31 passes for 244 yards and a touchdown and was named the game's most valuable player. "I like Schaub, I liked him when we recruited him," said Harris. "I was impressed with him today. His mobility really impressed me because he is a big guy that moves well. He did a great job for them." Schaub's touchdown pass gave him a school record for touchdown passes in a career (56).

Sam Bryant started in place of Tyrone Gilliard at strong safety. It was Bryant's second career start. Also, as expected H.B. Blades strongside linebacker in place of the injured Brian Bennett. Back-up tailback Tim Murphy was not dressed due to a shoulder injury. Harris said that wide receiver Princell Brockenbrough, who had 4 catches for 53 yards and a touchdown, will undergo surgery within the next few weeks in order to repair loose particles in his knee.

Sophomore receiver Larry Fitzgerald had his NCAA record for consecutive games with a touchdown reception stopped at 18. Members of the Virginia secondary said stopping the streak was something that they can be proud of for years to come. "We thought a lot about the streak," said Cavaliers cornerback Almondo Curry. "We didn't want him to score at all. When people look back at the streak, we want people to look at Virginia stopping it. We had a conversation with Larry on the field and he gave us credit for playing tough defense. He said we showed him some looks he hadn't seen before." Fitzgerald gave his version of that conversation. "I just asked Curry 'Why don't you play me man to man?' He told me no, that won't happen," Fitzgerald said with a smile. "But I don't play for records. The record was fun and I thank my teammates for helping me get it. Records are made to be broken."

Fitzgerald did set an NCAA record for receiving yards in a season by a sophomore. He finished with 1,672 which eclipsed Randy Moss's mark of 1,647 set in 1997.

Fitzgerald offered a standard non-denial denial when asked about whether or not he will forgo his final two seasons of eligibility and enter the NFL draft. "I'm currently enrolled in the University and will take classes in the spring," he said. When asked he had a time-frame in mind to make his decision, he answered abruptly, "no." Harris maintained his position that the NFL's rules on underclassman eligibility must change or at least be bent for Fitzgerald to be eligible for it. He said he will sit down with Fitzgerald and his father and discuss the situation before any decision is made. Harris also made it clear that Fitzgerald will make a decision based on what is best for him and what he wants and not because anyone either within Pitt or externally is pushing him one way or the other. That being said, it is almost a foregone conclusion, based on comments by Fitzgerald and his father, that he will try and enter the draft. Harris also said of Fitzgerald "he is the kind of kid you'd want to date your daughter."

Pitt quarterback Rod Rutherford finished the day 18 for 26 for 246 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. That means he finished the season with 37 touchdown passes, which ties Dan Marino's school record set in 1981 for touchdown passes in a season. He also finished with 3,679 passing yards, which is a school record. His career passing total of 6,462 yards is fourth all-time in school history despite the fact that he was only the starter for two seasons.

The senior class, many of whom were recruited off a 2-9 season in 1998, finished a four-year run that helped re-establish Pitt as a good football program. The class was 31-19 over the past four years, played in four bowl games and won two of them. That's the best four-year stretch for Pitt since 1980 to 83 when the Panthers were 39-8-1.

Pitt senior cornerback Tutu Ferguson reflected on the career of the senior class. He said that it hurt to lose their last game, but they've given the program a solid foundation. He also had a strange take on some of the landmarks they've crossed together. "You want to go out with a win," he said. "But at the same time, we had a great run. I have no regrets. These are the guys we come in with. You grow up with these guys. You watch guys go from teenagers to adults, turn 21 and then see them drink for the very first time, stuff like that. Our senior class gave something to build on."

Harris heaped praise on Ferguson, who had an excellent game. Ferguson, a Woodland Hills graduate, is a bit undersized but plays with the heart of a champion. Yesterday, he intercepted a pass in the endzone which was intended for one of Virginia's tight ends, who Ferguson (5-10) gave at least a half of foot in height to. "He made a great interception, he is a fighter. The thing I love about Tutu is he loves practicing, he loves football," Harris said. "You could see when he is not gifted in the area of speed, but he plays, he is coachable. He was able to play corner and be respectable for us and he will be missed because of his spirit as well as a player." Harris also heaped praise on cornerback Shawntae Spencer, who is another Woodland Hills product. "He was dominant out there," Harris said.

Pitt lost despite dominating the time of possession battle. Pitt possessed the ball for 37:05 while Virginia had the ball only 22:55. One of the reasons the Panthers were able to hold the ball so long was the running of Brandon Miree, who finished with 22 carries for 110 yards. He also caught 4 passes for 43 yards. Miree, who missed seven games with a leg injury, had the Panthers only three 100-yard rushing games this season.

The attendance for the game was announced as 51,236, which is about 22,000 less than last year's game drew. And based on looking around the stadium, it appeared as if the only reason there was that many was because about 45,000 Virginia fans showed up. Pitt sold less than 5,000 tickets for the game. In fact, the night before at the pregame pep rally, the lead singer of one of the band said "let's hear it from the Pitt fans" when there was no response she said "there has to be at least one Pitt fan here doesn't there? None? OK, well let's hear it for Virginia..." Schaub said of the partisan crowd, "the fans here were loud and made it sound like we were back at Scott Stadium."
 

Defensive Virginia slows Pitt crew, adds a second bowl trophy
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Dec 28, 2003

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The University of Virginia played a home football game yesterday, some 300 miles from Charlottesville. The crowd of 51,236 at the second Continental Tire Bowl included nearly 30,000 U.Va. supporters, and they overwhelmed Pittsburgh's modest cheering section.

"All the fans we had, all the orange you saw out there, they were loud and into it from start to finish," Cavaliers quarterback Matt Schaub. "They really made it sound like Scott Stadium out there."

The fans in orange didn't leave Ericsson Stadium disappointed. On a bright winter's day, U.Va. kept All-America wideout Larry Fitzgerald from dominating and retained the Tire Bowl trophy with a 23-16 victory over Pitt.

After Connor Hughes' 39-yard field goal made it a seven-point game with 2:28 left, the Panthers (8-5) returned Kurt Smith's kickoff 48 yards to near midfield. But on first down, sophomore lineman Brennan Schmidt sacked Pitt quarterback Rod Rutherford and jarred the ball loose. Inside linebacker Kai Parham, a redshirt freshman who had 10 tackles, pounced on it at the Panthers' 36-yard line to effectively seal the Cavaliers' victory.

U.Va. sacked Rutherford five times, thrice in the second half. The Cavaliers also picked off his first third-quarter pass, setting up a 30-yard field goal by Hughes that made it 20-13.

"They turned it up in the second half," Pitt coach Walt Harris said.

Fitzgerald finished with 77 yards on five receptions, but U.Va. ended his NCAA-record streak of 18 straight games with at least one touchdown catch. The Panthers (8-5) threw to the 6-3 sophomore - who is expected to petition to enter the coming NFL draft - only three times in the second half. Fitzgerald caught two of those throws, and senior cornerback Almondo Curry broke up the other one.

"Yes, I was definitely part of the game plan," Fitzgerald said. "They just did a terrific job of taking me out of the offense."

In last year's inaugural Tire Bowl, Virginia crushed West Virginia 48-22 to finish its second season under coach Al Groh with a 9-5 record. The Cavaliers won their final three games this season to close at 8-5.

"It's a heartwarming thing," Groh said of his team's late-season surge.

Schaub completed 20 of 31 passes for 244 yards and one touchdown, a first-quarter strike to sophomore tight end Heath Miller on a play that covered 52 yards. The 6-5, 240-pound senior from West Chester, Pa., threw one interception. Schaub was named the game's MVP, but the Cavaliers had numerous heroes on this day. To wit:

Junior tailback Alvin Pearman, playing in his hometown, ran seven times for 104 yards before leaving with a sprained ankle early in the fourth quarter. Pearman also had six catches for 32 yards.
Junior defensive end Chris Canty, another Charlotte resident, had nine tackles, including one for loss. Like Pearman, Canty had to sit out last year's Tire Bowl with an injury.
Hughes, a sophomore, was 2 for 2 on extra points and 3 for 3 on field goals, connecting from 44, 30 and 39 yards.
Sophomore tailback Wali Lundy, the MVP of last year's Tire Bowl, rushed 23 times for 90 yards and one touchdown yesterday.
True freshman Robbie Catterton and redshirt freshman Lance Evans logged significant time at safety in the second half after starter Jermaine Hardy - a junior who played most of the season with a torn right ACL - re-injured his knee with 11:35 left in the third quarter and left for good. Catterton made his first college interception and returned it 24 yards early in the second half.
Junior Marquis Weeks totaled 128 yards on three kickoff returns.
And then there was Ahmad Brooks, the extraordinarily gifted inside linebacker. A true freshman, Brooks finished with a career-high 12 tackles. Two were for loss, including a 12-yard sack of Rutherford.

"He makes plays out there a linebacker shouldn't be able to make," Cavaliers guard Elton Brown said of Brooks, Virginia's leading tackler this season.

The 6-4, 249-pound Brooks added the exclamation point to U.Va.'s goal-line stand on Pitt's opening possession. After picking up a first down at the 1 on a 3-yard gain by Rutherford, the Panthers tried four straight running plays.

U.Va. repelled each one. On fourth down, Brooks sliced through to corral Brandon Miree around the legs, and Parham did the rest, dropping the 6-0, 230-pound tailback for a 1-yard loss.

"He showed his potential for greatness today," Groh said of Brooks. "He made some substantial, really significant plays for us."

Schaub called the goal-line stand a "huge momentum-builder."

Virginia took over at its 3, and Schaub immediately completed a 14-yard pass to senior wideout Ryan Sawyer. Then came a 19-yard pass to junior wideout Ottowa Anderson. Sophomore Marques Hagans - one of four candidates to replace Schaub at quarterback in 2004 - gained 12 yards on an end-around, then Schaub hit Miller on a perfectly executed post pattern.

Four plays. Ninety-seven yards. Forty-three seconds. One touchdown. And, about three hours later, a second straight bowl victory for the Cavaliers.

"It's important to win in the postseason if you want to be an important team," Groh said.
 

NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Dec 28, 2003

MILESTONES: Virginia, which beat Pittsburgh 23-16 in yesterday's Continental Tire Bowl at Ericsson Stadium, has captured back-to-back postseason games for the first time since winning the 1994 Independence (over TCU) and the 1995 Peach (over Georgia).

U.Va. beat West Virginia in last year's inaugural Tire Bowl.

Also, Virginia (8-5) has won at least eight games in consecutive seasons for the first time since winning nine in 1994 and'95. The Cavaliers went 9-5 last season.

TOP OF THE CHARTS: In his final college game, senior quarterback Matt Schaub took possession of the only career passing record of significance at U.Va. he didn't already own.

Shawn Moore threw 55 touchdown passes in his four seasons as a Cavalier. Schaub threw his 56th against Pitt, a 52-yarder to sophomore tight end Heath Miller.

"As I've said on a number of occasions, I can't imagine there are very many players in the country who've done as much to carry their team over a long period of time as he has," third-year coach Al Groh said of Schaub.

HOMETOWN HEROES: Charlotte residents Alvin Pearman and Chris Canty couldn't have scripted it much better. Each missed last year's Tire Bowl because of an injury, but they contributed heavily to the Cavaliers' victory yesterday.

"It's a great thing for those kids and their families," Groh said.

Canty, a junior defensive end, had nine tackles, including one for loss. Sophomore Wali Lundy started at tailback for U.Va., but Pearman, a junior, came off the bench to rush for 104 yards on seven carries before spraining his left ankle early in the fourth quarter.

"He gave us a real spark there," Groh said. "There wasn't anything negative about what Wali was doing, but obviously, given the circumstances, this was something that was very important to Alvin. . . . Had he not sprained his ankle there at the end, we probably would have finished out with him."

Pearman's 51-yard gain in the second quarter was U.Va.'s longest run of the season. He finished the season with a career-high 643 yards rushing, and Lundy had a career-best 929. That gave Virginia two 500-yard rushers in a season for the first time since 1998, when Thomas Jones gained 1,303 and Antwoine Womack 708.

Pearman's 109 career receptions are a U.Va. record for a running back. Terry Kirby caught 105 from 1989 to'92.

BACK FOR MORE: Elton Brown, who's eligible to enter the NFL draft, said yesterday that he'll return to Virginia for his senior year. The 6-6, 334-pound guard will be one of eight returning starters on offense. Eight are due back on defense, too.

"Things are looking very positive for next year," said Brown, who received the Jacobs Trophy as the ACC's best blocker. "I'm happy to come back and play."

ALMOST AUTOMATIC: Sophomore Connor Hughes scored 109 points this season, a record for a U.Va. kicker. He booted three field goals against Pitt and finished the season with a school-record 23.

Rafael Garcia kicked 21 in 1996. Hughes made 23 of 25 attempts this season - 92 percent, yet another school record - and was 16 for 16 from inside 40 yards.

RISING STAR: Former Henrico High standout Princell Brockenbrough, who played in Larry Fitzgerald's shadow this season, caught a 13-yard pass from quarterback Rod Rutherford for the Panthers' first touchdown. Brockenbrough, a 6-3, 205-pound junior, finished with four catches for 53 yards.

He played this season with an injured knee that will require surgery next month.

"He's demonstrated remarkable toughness," Pitt coach Walt Harris said.

HOT ROD: Rutherford completed his first nine passes, for 102 yards and a TD, before throwing his first incompletion yesterday. The Cavaliers, however, eventually got to the 6-3, 225-pound left-hander, who tied the Pitt season record set by Dan Marino in 1981 with 37 touchdown passes.

Rutherford finished 18 of 26 passing for 246 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception, but U.Va. sacked him five times. Pitt came in averaging 31.1 points.

"We wanted to be aggressive," Groh said. "We thought this was a very, very good quarterback. We just couldn't let him stand back there in the shooting gallery and take shots at us."

Three times in the first 17 minutes of the second half, the Cavaliers drove inside Pitt's 20, but those produced only three points.

"There were a lot of opportunities that we could have got seven and we got three, or we didn't get any," Schaub said. "So we definitely didn't take advantage of all our opportunities, but the defense stepped up and played huge for us all game long. To hold a team of that caliber offensively to 16 points, that's pretty incredible." - Jeff White
 

'Pack looms for Cavs
They've lost 8 straight ACC openers; no wins in Raleigh since 1997
JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Dec 28, 2003
VIRGINIA AT N.C. STATE
TODAY: 8 p.m.

Its record is 8-0, but the University of Virginia men's basketball team isn't ranked in either poll. The reason is simple: The Cavaliers' schedule has been soft as silk.

That's about to change. U.Va. opens ACC play tonight at N.C. State (5-2). Then come games at University Hall against Iowa State (Wednesday) and Providence (Jan. 3). If the Cavaliers still are unbeaten a week from now, look for them to crack the top 25.

Sixth-year coach Pete Gillen isn't upset that his team is out of the spotlight. After all, he's had teams at U.Va. that started strong, soared in the polls and then plummeted.

"We're under the radar screen," Gillen said, and he likes it that way.

In 2000-01, the Cavaliers won their first 10 games, then went 10-9 the rest of the way. A season later, U.Va. started 9-0. It dropped 10 of its final 13 games and finished 17-12.

"I think this team is going to be different," Gillen said. "Our guys have a lot of character on this team. We're playing harder. I think we're playing more together."

Senior guard Todd Billet also sees encouraging signs.

"I can only speak from my perspective," said Billet, who transferred from Rutgers after the 2000-01 season and sat out 2001-02. "This is the fifth team that I've been involved in, and as far as I'm concerned, it's the strongest team that I've been on."

The Cavaliers, picked to finish eighth in the ACC, have played with a passion and cohesiveness rarely seen in the program in recent years. The players hustle, expend energy on defense and seem to like each other and their coaches.

"Those are the things that we addressed in the offseason, and Coach has made a huge emphasis on those certain areas," Billet said. "He's done a great job providing the structure, and guys have bought into that."

History suggests the Cavaliers will struggle tonight at the RBC Center, where they've never won. Virginia is 16-38 against the Wolfpack in Raleigh, N.C., and hasn't won there since February 1997. State has taken five of the teams' past six meetings, and U.Va. has lost its past eight ACC openers.

Finally, the Cavs were 1-7 in ACC road games last season (as were three other teams, and a fourth was 0-8).

"This is a big test for us," said junior center Elton Brown, who leads U.Va. in scoring and rebounding.

State's schedule, like Virginia's, has been suspect. Worse for Pack coach Herb Sendek, his team has lost to the foes it's faced from elite conferences, falling 68-61 at Michigan in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and 58-55 at South Carolina. N.C. State's most impressive win? Its 77-71 victory over visiting Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Junior swingman Julius Hodge, an ACC-player-of-the-year candidate, leads the Pack in scoring (17.9 ppg) and assists (4.1) and averages 7.6 rebounds. State's other big threats are 6-8 forward Marcus Melvin (13.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and senior guard Scooter Sherrill (12 ppg). Sophomore forward Ilian Evtimov is averaging 3.4 assists and 1.7 steals but hasn't regained the form he showed before suffering a serious knee injury last year.

Reserve guard J.R. Reynolds, one of Virginia's five freshmen, has missed the past two games with a viral infection. Reynolds has been recovering at home in Roanoke, Gillen said Friday, and is questionable for tonight's contest. Jason Clark, academically ineligible for the first semester, had not been cleared as of Friday and isn't expected to play against the Wolfpack.

Asked if he's frustrated that U.Va. officials have yet to rule on the status of the 6-8, 235-pound junior, Gillen said, "I have no comment on Jason Clark. All I can say is we hope to get him back."