UVa win is worth the wait

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.

They call it the South’s Oldest Rivalry — 114 meetings in the border war between Virginia and North Carolina, predating the leatherheads of gridirons past.

Al Groh probably wishes he could schedule the Tar Heels a few times each season. Spoofing an old Saturday Night Live routine, “Carolina has been very, very good to me.”

Sparked by a strong defensive effort, a little more gritty running game and no special teams snafus, Groh’s Cavaliers, a two-touchdown underdog, found a way to beat the Heels on the road on Saturday, pulling out a 16-3 victory to end nearly a year of winless frustration. Virginia had not won a football game since the last week of October in 2008.

What the doctor ordered

Groh knows how to beat Carolina, boosting his record to 7-2 against the blue shirts during his era at Virginia.

More importantly, the upset, at least temporarily, lifted the dark cloud that had been shadowing the Cavaliers for nearly a year, as they posted a 1-0 record in the ACC, only a half-game behind Coastal Division leader Virginia Tech.

In a game that was reminiscent of how Virginia won nine games two seasons ago, the Cavaliers prevailed with good defense.

They knew going in that if they could control Carolina’s injury-riddled offensive line and shut down UNC freshman wide receiver Erik Highsmith, then they stood a good chance of winning. Groh’s defense did just that, limiting the Tar Heels to three points, the fewest during the 30-game era under coach Butch Davis.

Defense carries the day

The Cavs received stout performances from several defensive players as they held UNC to nine first downs, the fewest by a UVa opponent since the Orange Bowl blowout of Miami in 2007. Virginia stonewalled an already anemic Carolina rushing game, surrendering a meager 39 yards of Kenan Stadium real estate, fewest by a UVa foe since FCS champion Richmond’s 19 yards last season.

“I feel like we let the team down at Southern Miss,” said senior cornerback Chris Cook of the 37-34 road loss two weeks ago. “Today, for us to only give up three points, I don’t even know what to say. I don’t have words for that. It’s a good day.”

Cook’s interception with 2:50 play sealed the deal as the Cavaliers milked the clock to set off a wild locker-room celebration, the first one in a long, long time. Sophomore corner Chase Minnifield also added a pick and UVa’s special teams came up with a turnover off a rugby-style punt that bounced off a Tar Heels player.

For once, the ball bounced Virginia’s way.

“I think most of you heard me say before the week started that the worst mistake anybody could make is look at Virginia as an 0-3 team,” said Davis, whose team dropped to 3-2 and 0-2 in the ACC. “The one thing [Virginia] did in the previous games that they didn’t do today is turn the ball over.”

Even though Cavaliers quarterback Jameel Sewell was running for his life most of the afternoon, and had his bell rung to the degree he came out for a series early in the second quarter, he didn’t throw an interception or fumble. He answered the bell and followed the game plan, establishing an improved running game that boasted 100-yard rusher Mikell Simpson, who showed flashes of his 2007 season performance.

While the offense did its part, the defense was solid all day long. The Tar Heels only crossed the 50-yard line three times, with the deepest penetration reaching UVa’s 22-yard line as the Cavaliers’ defense held them to a field goal.

“We knew it was going to be on the front seven today and that Carolina was going to try to run the ball on us,” said UVa defensive end Matt Conrath, who batted down three passes at the line of scrimmage and made four tackles. “If we stopped them, we knew we’d have a good chance of winning.”

Groh and linebackers coach Bob Trott came up with some new wrinkles on defense to confuse UNC’s line and quarterback T.J. Yates. Virginia blitzed early and often with newly-schemed blitzes that they had not shown before and caught Yates off guard.

Carolina converted only 4 of 16 third down opportunities and mustered little offensive punch for the second straight week. Highsmith, who had accounted for practically all of Carolina’s offense with six catches for 107 yards against Georgia Tech last week, was kept quiet most of the afternoon.

The rookie receiver had two catches for 11 yards and didn’t make his first grab until 4:45 remained in the game.

Groh’s plan was to use his big, physical corners, Chris Cook (6-foot-2, 210 pounds) and Ras-I Dowling (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) to stuff Highsmith at the line of scrimmage and disrupt his routes to the point where he was ineffective.

So, if Saturday really represented a new season, a breath of fresh air for the previously winless Wahoos, then what’s next?

“We know the first three games didn’t go out way but we still have something to play for and that was the big message for the past two weeks,” said defensive end Nate Collins, who had a sack and a pressure in the game. “We’re 1-0 in the ACC now and we’ve got the ball rolling.”

The Big Ten’s Indiana comes to Charlottesville next Saturday, walking into what must be a disturbing trend for UVa opponents.

The Cavaliers have now won 10 of their last 11 games in October, including a 4-0 mark last year.

Perhaps we should start calling Groh “Mr. October.”

Then we’ll start working on November.