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Comparing Virginia football to its 1995 counterpart

A historical look back offers a glimmer of hope as Cavaliers head to Florida

Can Virginia pull off an upset? If it plays anything like it did in 1995, the Seminoles had better watch out.

A trip down memory lane shows a matchup eerily similar to one 19 years ago. The Cavaliers arguably should be 6-3 this season, the same record they had in 1995 when they upset undefeated Florida State, ranked No. 2 at the time.

Florida State has won 10 of the last 12 games in the rivalry since that incredible upset. The Cavaliers last beat the Seminoles in 2011, which also happens to be the last season they went to a bowl. With a win against Florida State this Saturday, the Cavaliers would be just one win away from returning to the post-season.

Florida State upset 29 straight Atlantic Coast Conference opponents in a span of three-plus years prior to Nov. 2, 1995, when the Cavaliers beat the Seminoles 33-28 in an upset of their own.

With injuries on the defensive side, the Cavaliers relied on their offense with tailback Tiki Barber and quarterback Mike Groh running past Florida State’s defense, which only started three seniors. Barber would finish with 193 yards and a two touchdowns, as Groh added 302 yards and three touchdowns through the air. On the opposing side, Florida State targeted the injury-laden Cavaliers with multiple deep passes by quarterback Danny Kanell.

This year, the Cavaliers have a trio of running backs to rely on, which you can read more about in Ryan Taylor’s column, “Spread the Love.” Seniors Khalek Shepherd and Kevin Parks and sophomore Taquan Mizzell will have to do better than the 33 yards they combined for an 11 attempts last weekend against Georgia Tech to counter the number one offense in the ACC.

And though the ‘95 Seminoles had a great athlete behind center with Kanell, they are now led by one of the best collegiate quarterbacks we’ve ever seen: redshirt sophomore quarterback Jameis Winston. Florida State is starting more than three seniors this year, but they are currently last in the league in sacks made.

Now let me return to the 1995 game, with both Virginia and Florida State’s offenses clicking, the first half alone produced 718 total offensive yards and 48 points — with Virginia taking a 27-21 lead.

Florida State’s potent offense was averaging 56.1 points a game going into the contest, but the Cavaliers only allowed one score in the second half. The defense, led by Tiki’s twin brother, Ronde Barber, along with Tony Dingle and Jon Harris were able to sack Kanell on consecutive plays. Kanell had only been sacked three times in the entire season.

Virginia is faltering in second-half scoring this year, as you can see in another one of Ryan’s columns. The Cavaliers had only scored six second-half points in their last three games before Georgia Tech, and that didn’t change last weekend. Thus, the Cavaliers will need their strong defense led by sophomore outside linebacker Max Valles, senior middle linebacker Henry Coley, and senior strong safety Anthony Harris more than ever before. (One last plug for one of Ryan’s columns.)

At the end, in a moment that felt like déjà vu for the Cavaliers, who had lost to powerhouses Michigan and Texas earlier in the season by one point due to game-saving final plays by the opponent, the Seminoles still had one play and one inch to go to avoid the upset.

But the underdogs prevailed.

Warrick Dunn was stopped one inch from the goal line on the last play of the game, to give Virginia a historic upset.

With the win, Virginia knocked Florida State out of the national title race, and with the advent of the College Football Playoff this year, it is quite possible a Virginia upset this year will do the same. If not, though, Cavalier fans will get to experience the happiness and joy that comes with beating a national powerhouse.

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