Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 10, 1995 TAG: 9509120031
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH, N.C. LENGTH: Long
Virginia, seemingly headed for the latest in a series of heart-breaking losses, made a last-minute change in the script Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium.
As media vultures circled overhead, Virginia took possession with 1:10 remaining and drove 69 yards for the winning touchdown in a 29-24 decision over North Carolina State.
It was the first time that UVa has come from behind to win a game in the final minute since 1989, when the Cavaliers beat Louisville 17-16 on a field goal with no time remaining.
``It's been unfortunate the way a lot of games have turned out for us,'' UVa quarterback Mike Groh said. ``A lot of times when it's turned out like that, the other team has had the ball at the end.
``It feels great to be on the other side this time. I've told you all along that I love these situations. There was no doubt in my mind that this team was not going to lose.''
Groh completed five straight passes on UVa's final drive, the last four to roommate Patrick Jeffers, before tailback Tiki Barber bolted 17 yards on a second-and-1 play from the Wolfpack 18-yard line.
Barber, who carried 24 times for a career-high 130 yards, scored the winning touchdown with 13 seconds remaining when he broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage and bulled into the end zone from the 1.
``It's a long time since I've seen the team jumping up and down on the sideline after a game,'' UVa coach George Welsh said. ``I jumped around somebody's neck. I think it was Skeet [Jones].''
Virginia has lost nine games in the 1990s in which it has led by 10 or more points and it looked like another Cavalier collapse when Marc Primanti kicked a 31-yard field goal to put State ahead 24-23 with 1:15 remaining.
``I was thinking, `Damn, it's happening again,''' Barber said. ``I was thinking I was never going to beat these guys. To lose another game this way could have been debilitating for this football team.''
It was hard not to reflect back to 1993, when State trailed 27-17 in the fourth quarter here, only to rally for a 34-29 victory. This time, UVa led 20-7 after three quarters.
The Wolfpack, held to 36 rushing yards on 18 first-half attempts, was unstoppable after intermission. State went 96 and 84 yards on back-to-back touchdown drives, much of it on the ground.
Terry Harvey's 32-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Grissett put the Wolfpack on top for the first time, 21-20, with 8:46 remaining. But the lead was to change hands three times after that.
The Cavaliers, aided by two Wolfpack penalties, drove to the State 25-yard line before Rafael Garcia kicked a 42-yard field goal - his third of the game - with 5:29 remaining.
That provided little inspiration for a UVa defense that ranked No.1 in Division I-A last year in rushing defense. State rushed for 140 yards in the second half, including a 28-yard burst by fullback Rod Brown on its final series.
The Cavaliers stopped Brown short of a first down on third-and-2 from the 15, however, after which Wolfpack coach Mike O'Cain called a timeout. State tried unsuccessfully to lure UVa offsides before O'Cain sent Primanti into the game.
``I wish we didn't have to kick the field goal,'' Wolfpack tailback Tremayne Stephens said. ``If we had picked up a first down, I believe that would have done it. That last minute seemed like 18 hours to me.''
One advantage for Virginia on its final drive was the fact the Cavaliers had all three of their allotted timeouts. Also, they had good field position after Petey Allen's 26-yard kickoff return to the UVa 32.
``I don't like to take [timeout] when the other team has the ball unless your kids need a rest,'' Welsh said. ``I think it helped us to have the timeouts at the end when we ran the draw to Barber.''
Offensive coordinator Tom O'Brien made the call - ``It was a run, so it had to be me,'' he cracked - and it had almost the same result it had against Michigan, when Barber raced 81 yards for a touchdown.
``I knew it was going to work,'' Groh said. ``They had come hard after me five or six plays in a row and they were dropping deep in coverage. No way they were expecting the run.''
UVa outgained the Wolfpack 378-371, but that differential was 220-141 in the first half, when the Cavaliers scored on their first four possessions and took a 20-7 lead with 7:09 left before halftime.
Virginia looked as if it might put the game out of reach when Jamie Sharper stripped the ball from Stephens and UVa's Joe Crocker recovered at State's 40-yard line, but a move to back-up quarterback Tim Sherman was ill-fated.
The Cavaliers had a third-and-8 at the Wolfpack 27 and appeared to be in field-goal position before Sherman was sacked at the 36, a development that sent Welsh into a rage.
``He takes a sack [to] where you don't have a field goal,'' Welsh said. ``I think quarterbacks should know that. Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm not doing a good enough job of getting these things across.''
Groh seemed to lose his edge after that and completed just one pass in the second half before the Cavaliers' final drive. He finished 12-of-20 for 159 yards and one touchdown, an early 52-yarder to Jeffers.
``I'll certainly sleep better tonight than if we had lost,'' Welsh said. ``Then, we would have had to listen, hear and read about our problems in the second half. I will say we have some problems, but at least we came out of it.''
see microfilm for box score
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB