ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, October 20, 1996 TAG: 9610220012
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
Two weeks after being second-guessed and second-guessing himself at Georgia Tech, George Welsh faced the kind of decisions Saturday that any football coach would want.
How long to play his regulars? When to stop throwing? Whether to eat in or carry out?
Virginia pitched a no-hatter - meaning Welsh didn't throw his hat once in disgust - in beating North Carolina State 62-14 before 40,300 at Scott Stadium.
It was the most points ever scored in an ACC game by the Cavaliers, who led 55-0 with 7:54 left in the third quarter and opted to run the ball on their last 19 plays.
``I didn't want to put [Aaron] Brooks to bed that early,'' said Welsh, referring to his back-up quarterback, ``but you don't want to embarrass 'em either.
``I didn't know what to do. You start playing guys on defense who don't know where to line up and haven't practiced. But, I'll take it. Next week, too.''
Welsh only wishes.
The Cavaliers, who raised their record to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the conference, will visit third-ranked Florida State (5-0, 4-0) this Saturday. The Seminoles are coming off an open date, not that they needed the extra time to focus on Virginia.
Florida State hasn't forgotten its 1995 meeting with UVa, when the Cavaliers became the first ACC team to defeat the Seminoles, 33-28. But, at least the Cavaliers can forget their trip to Georgia Tech.
After scoring one touchdown in a 13-7 loss to the Yellow Jackets, 20th-ranked Virginia jumped on a Wolfpack team that was coming off a near-upset of then-No.8 Alabama, which prevailed 24-19 in Raleigh, N.C.
``I said before this game started that Virginia was a better football team than Alabama and today [the Cavaliers] proved it,'' said O'Cain, whose Wolfpack fell to 1-5 overall and 1-3 in the ACC. ``I said their offense puts a lot more pressure on you and people laughed at me.''
Virginia had 404 yards in total offense and did not have a turnover, but it was the Cavaliers' defense and special teams that quickly caused the game to get out of hand.
After neither team had gained a first down on its first possession, Virginia senior Tiki Barber took a low punt from Jay Dukes, put a fake on the first line of defenders and streaked 74 yards for a touchdown.
It was the first punt return for a touchdown in more than two years for Barber, who also rushed for two touchdowns and finished with 132 yards on 17 carries in less than 21/2 quarters.
It was a school-record sixth consecutive 100-yard rushing game for Barber, who also broke a UVa record with the 16th 100-yard game of his career and tied a record with his 28th rushing touchdown.
``I'm going to say it again,'' Welsh observed. ``I haven't seen anybody in the country who's as good as he is, and can do the things he can. He's not getting a ton of carries; he's getting a lot of yards on his own.''
The Cavaliers have come to expect production out of Barber, who entered Saturday's game as the ACC leader in rushing, all-purpose yardage and scoring. What they lacked against Georgia Tech was a passing threat.
That was not the case Saturday, as fifth-year senior Tim Sherman threw first-half touchdown passes to Germane Crowell and Bryan Owen on fade patterns that took advantage of State's bump-and-run philosophy.
``I may have tried to force too many things at Georgia Tech,'' said Sherman, who was intercepted three times by the Yellow Jackets. ``Today, if I didn't have it, I was either going to run or take the sack, and not do anything stupid.''
Sherman, who had thrown one touchdown pass before Saturday, did not play in the second half. Brooks took over with the Cavaliers leading 45-0 and promptly connected with Crowell for the first touchdown pass of his career.
``No one came out and said the offense lost the game at Georgia Tech,'' Sherman said, ``but, in my opinion, we were the reason we lost. We just took it upon ourselves to get better.''
Virginia's quarterbacks certainly had a much more enjoyable afternoon than their Wolfpack counterparts. Starter Jamie Barnette and back-up Jose Laureano each was intercepted twice in the first half.
UVa sophomore Anthony Poindexter had three of the interceptions and blocked a punt - all before halftime. Poindexter, who also recovered the blocked punt, was credited with a team-high 10 tackles.
The Cavaliers needed only one play after Poindexter's blocked punt to make it 31-0 on an 8-yard scoring pass from Sherman to Owen. But, that was not the last State would hear from UVa's punt-return unit.
After the Wolfpack had changed punters, UVa freshman Antwan Harris smothered Jason Biggs' first attempt, chased the loose ball deep into State territory and was credited with a 34-yard return for a touchdown.
``When we run one back, block a couple and get all those interceptions, we'd be hard-pressed to lose,'' Welsh said. ``Their schedule's been tough and I think they ran out of gas. They're not that bad and we're not that good.''
Indeed, after scoring the touchdown that made it 55-0, Virginia had exactly 300 yards in total offense. State only had 92 yards at that point, however, and spent only one play in UVa territory when the Cavaliers' first defense was in the game.
``After today, I would say that it was great we had an open date after Georgia Tech,'' Sherman said, ``but I think a lot of people were itching to get back out there and play a game.
``Coming in, it felt like we hadn't been on the field in forever. Maybe we took out some of that aggravation today.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Long : 112 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/Staff. 1. Virginia's Tiki Barber stiff-armsby CNBN.C. State's Hassan Shamsid-Deen for a gain Saturday. Barber set
school records with his sixth consecutive 100-yard rushing game and
his 16th overall. 2. Virginia's Anthony Poindexter (3) blocks a punt
by N.C. State's Jay Dukes as James Farrior (42) lends a hand during
their game in Charlottesville on Saturday. color. 3. Anthony
Poindexter, who became the sixth player in UVa history to get three
interceptions in a game, tackles the Wolfpack's Rod Brown during
action Saturday.