It was hyped as the showdown for the Heisman Trophy - Joe Hamilton vs. Thomas Jones - the nation's most efficient passer butting heads with the country's premiere rusher. Somebody forgot to tell David Rivers that in this clash of super heavyweights, he wasn't even supposed to take the stage. Instead, he planted himself squarely in the center of it.
In a series of cardiac classics where players like Scott Sisson and Dez White become household names overnight, seemingly insurmountable leads find strange ways to evaporate and outcomes are rarely decided until late in the fourth quarter, Rivers emerged in Dan Ellis' absence to ignite Virginia's 45-38 upset of seventh-ranked Georgia Tech Saturday at Scott Stadium. In the process, the little-used signal caller established himself as the latest gridiron hero in a rivalry that refuses to go easy on the heart rate.
The Augusta, Ga., native, previously the team's starting long snapper, completed 18 of 30 passes for 228 yards and three touchdowns to spark a furious Cavalier comeback in a game that appeared all but over after 15 minutes.
"I'm really happy for him," Virginia Coach George Welsh said. "I think he did very well - the kid did good. Amazing - he surprised me."
Rivers' breakout performance arrived at an ideal time. Entering the contest, Welsh's squad wallowed in mediocrity at 4-4 and needed to run the table in its final three games to prolong the program's streak of seven-win seasons. On Rivers' shoulders, Virginia took a monumental step toward achieving that goal.
"I think this is a huge win for this football team," Welsh said. "For this team, a lot of guys have worked very hard for a long time. I think it's huge."
After one quarter, seven wins seemed like an afterthought. Hamilton conducted the virtuoso Jacket offense up and down the field at will on its way to 17 unanswered points. But as Cav linebacker Byron Thweatt watched Tech steamroll his defense, he decided to take a stand.
"In our minds, we're thinking, 'oh my God - are we going to go out losing like this at home?'" Thweatt said. "We went to the sidelines, and the defense pulled together and was like, 'We're not going to let this happen. We're going to perform.'"
And perform they did. Thweatt's defense surrendered just one second-quarter touchdown, while Rivers spearheaded scoring drives of 40 and 62 yards in the final three minutes. Down 24-7 at one juncture with little hope of stemming Tech's momentum, Virginia clawed to within three at 24-21 by the intermission.
"Maybe the key was getting back into the game before the half," Welsh said. "We got a couple touchdowns in a short period of time. The game could have gotten away from us, but it didn't."
The Cavs emerged from the locker room the same way they entered it: on a roll. Virginia rampaged through the Jacket defense to open the second stanza, tallying 17 points on its opening three possessions to seize a 38-31 advantage. Jones highlighted the offensive barrage, scampering unscathed from 35 yards out on a crucial fourth and one to give the Cavs their first lead.
And in the eagerly anticipated Jones/Hamilton clash, the Cav tailback outdueled the "Little General." Jones amassed 213 yards and a pair of scores on 5.5 yards a pop to set the Virginia single season rushing record.
"It's unfortunate that people are just now recognizing how good he is," offensive guard Noel LaMontagne said. "If Thomas was a guy who cared about getting attention, it would be even more unfortunate. It's really a testament to how humble a guy he is."
Welsh needed just one word to summarize his tailback's showing: "Heisman."
Knowing that shutting down the Jacket offense bordered on impossible, the Cavs found ways to neutralize Hamilton. He connected on eight passes for a meager 107 yards after halftime, an unusually low output from the ACC's all-time leader in total offense with 9,478 yards.
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