THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 3, 1995 TAG: 9511030658
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
The team that can't hold a lead just did.
The team that wins hearts but loses fourth quarters held on.
Virginia was not supposed to beat the nation's second-ranked team. Clearly, the Cavaliers were not supposed to win this way, by stonewalling Warrick Dunn on the game's final play for a 33-28 victory.
Last-second heroics are the property of Cavalier opponents. Michigan. Texas. George Welsh's team has been a fabulous foil for fantastic finishes.
Florida State was prepared to add itself to the list when Dunn was stopped 4 inches from the goal line.
Dunn was done, and so were the Seminoles. Their 29-game ACC winning streak is over. Their No. 2 ranking is lost. Their chances of winning the national championship are all but shot.
U.Va.'s maligned defense held one of the nation's glitziest offenses to one second-half touchdown, while quarterback Mike Groh and tailback Tiki Barber held the Cavaliers together on the other side of the ball.
Barber, more than anyone, stood out. He darted over the Scott Stadium turf for 193 rushing yards. He caught a touchdown pass and returned punts tirelessly. He made the victory possible.
Florida State was favored by 17 points in this ESPN showcase. Yet it was U.Va. that led by 10 late in the first half. It was U.Va. that scored first in the second half to nudge the lead back to nine.
When Rafael Garcia kicked a 41-yard field goal on U.Va.'s first third-quarter possession, the Cavaliers had 30 points, the most an ACC team ever scored against the Seminoles.
Cruel near misses this season had prepared U.Va. fans for the worst. They served as fair warning of what could happen to a Cavalier team that carried a nine-point lead into the fourth quarter against a higher-ranked team.
In the first two quarters, the Cavaliers kept Florida State off balance with big plays - a 64-yard touchdown run by Barber, a blocked punt by James Farrior, an interception at the Seminoles' goal line by Percy Ellsworth, a 72-yard touchdown pass from Mike Groh to Norfolk's Demetrius Allen.
In the second half, these prime-time moments were replaced by a grinding determination to hold on, to shut down a Florida State offense that features a pair of Heisman Trophy candidates.
When the defense forced Florida State to punt from its own end, U.Va. took over and moved quickly to the Seminoles' 11. Then Groh, who had just completed a pair of passes, threw an interception.
An opportunity missed became an opportunity for the U.Va. defense to shine. A suddenly puzzled Danny Kanell was wild high; the Florida State quarterback's passes kicked up divots.
After another Florida State punt, U.Va. moved behind Barber to within field-goal range. Garcia's 35-yarder made the score 33-21.
And then the ghosts returned.
Florida State took the next kickoff and scored in four plays, using up only 44 seconds. Now, it seemed, it was only a matter of time - 6:13 remained - before the 'Noles would overtake U.Va.
That they didn't goes to show that there is a first time for everything, even for Cavalier football.
Before the game, Groh suggested that Cavalier fans ``put away the wine and cheese and bring a case of domestic beer.''
Wine? Beer?
Groh, like most of us, underestimated what the evening would hold. The game was intoxication enough. by CNB