Simpson, Cavs slam Hoosiers

For the first time in a year, the fans that spilled out early from Scott Stadium did so with a smile.

In one of its most dominant performances in the past decade, Virginia dismantled Indiana, 47-7, winning its first home game since last October.

It started on defense. It carried over to offense. Even the team’s once-shaky special teams unit chipped in.

“We were getting tired of losing,” Virginia running back Rashawn Jackson said. “We were 0-3 and it was pretty tough. We could either tuck our tails or we could bark and bite back.

“Obviously, we have guys that are willing to bark and bite back. It is going be a hell of a a ride this season.”

With the lopsided victory, Virginia improved to 2-3 and has its first winning streak since the 2008 campaign. Indiana, which opened the season with three wins, fell to 3-3.

Despite the impressive showing, one that included 29 first downs and 536 yards of total offense, the mood was toned down for Virginia following the game.

With 6:38 left in the third quarter, Virginia running back Mikell Simpson was tackled by Indiana linebacker Will Patterson. He rolled over onto his back following the play.

He stayed motionless for minutes, eventually being placed on a spine board and into a motorized cart to be removed from the stadium. As he left, Simpson lifted his thumb into the air, drawing cheers of the crowd of 45,731.

Simpson was responsive while he was on the ground, teammates said.

“I was talking to him the whole time so I wasn’t too worried about it,” Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell said. “Once they brought the cart out I kinda got worried and I walked back over there to keep talking to him.

“He was talking to me and everybody else and I think he will be fine. I just can’t wait to get him back.”

A Virginia spokesperson said after the game that Simpson was treated for a neck injury at the University of Virginia Medical Center and was released. He will be re-evaluated by a UVa team physician later this week.

Simpson had spearheaded Virginia’s offensive attack, rushing 15 times for 83 yards. He also reached the end zone four times, becoming the first Cavalier to register four rushing touchdowns since Wali Lundy accomplished the feat in 2005 against Temple.

The scoring spree started early for the Cavaliers, who scored on their first two possessions with relative ease.

Simpson darted into the end zone from five yards out with 12:06 left in the opening quarter, capping a four-play, 38-yard drive.

The drive started in Indiana territory after Virginia safety Rodney McLeod scooped up a fumble at the Cavalier 30 and returned it 32 yards.

“I think that definitely set the tone as well just coming out and getting after them,” McLeod said. “That was definitely a tone-setter for the team.”

The second score, which gave UVa a 14-0 lead, came through the air - Sewell connected with wideout Vic Hall for a 21-yard touchdown. It was the first receiving score of Hall’s career.

“It was good to see him get in that end zone. I know he wanted it,” said Sewell, who totaled 308 yards on 20-of-30 passing. “We got the same look like we got in practice — we knew that the corner was going to crash that post and Vic was just wide open, and I just tried to get it out to him quick and he just ran with it.

“Once he caught it, he worked his magic and got in that end zone.”

Hall, who finished with six receptions for a team-best 85 yards, said it was special to score on a pass from his close friend.

“It was big for me. I felt my first career touchdown catch … who else would I want it to be from than him?” Hall said. “It was just great. I had confidence I was going to get in there one way or another.”

The Cavaliers scored three more times in the opening half and pushed the lead to 30-0 at the intermission.

The final score came on a 37-yard field goal from Robert Randolph with just 4 seconds left after near-perfect clock management.

“That was really significant,” Groh said. “We were pretty much going away at that particular point — 21-0 is a nice lead at the half, but we have overcome those ourselves.”

Despite the huge lead, Virginia’s players and coaches stressed continued execution in the third quarter. The Cavaliers amassed 129 yards of total offense and nine more first downs and scored a pair of touchdowns in the period.

“The players, they took it on themselves to do this. They felt very challenged to come out in the third quarter and play real good football,” Groh said. “We clearly did that. That was one of the more positive things of the day.”

Virginia added a 31-yard field goal from Randolph from 31 yards out with 9:20 left to push the lead to 47-0 as reserve players littered the field for the Cavaliers.

Indiana, which managed just 272 yards of total offense, finally scored as Bryan Payton took a 12-yard carry into the end zone.

“I wanted the shutout bad,” Virginia linebacker Steve Greer said. “It was a little frustrating.”

Having completed non-league play at 1-3, Virginia will face ACC foes the remainder of the season. The Cavaliers travel to Maryland at 4 p.m. on Saturday.