The game couldn't have gone better for the Cavaliers. The running game was good for over 200 yards. The defense pitched a shutout. The special teams repeatedly pinned Duke up against its goal line. Everything went according to plan. Except one thing.
Virginia's All-American quarterback and Heisman trophy candidate Matt Schaub exited with an injured shoulder only 13 plays into the game. And he never returned to the field in what turned out to be a 27-0 blowout over the Duke Blue Devils.
The seriousness of Schaub's condition is uncertain.
Virginia coach Al Groh declined comment on the topic.
"We don't talk about injuries," he said.
Yet when addressing his team's reliance on the rushing attack against Duke, Groh said, "Our team was redefined tonight. That's the way we'll probably be playing for a little bit."
Schaub's injury occurred on a second and goal from the one-yard line. He rolled back to his right on a pass play designed to go to tight end Heath Miller. Blue Devil linebacker DeAndre White got to him before he could make the throw, however, sacking him for an 11-yard loss. Schaub stayed in for the next two plays, handing off to Alvin Pearman and holding for Connor Hughes' field goal but never returned to the field.
Redshirt freshman Anthony Martinez subbed in for Schaub on Virginia's next possession, and the offense began to sputter. Martinez's first two series at quarterback resulted in punts after only three plays. His first series netted four yards, while his second netted only two.
"Everything was so fast," Martinez said. "I guess that as you play the game, it starts to slow down. And after the first couple series, things slowed down and I was able to see the receivers."
Virginia called on its running game to take up the slack. On the team's next possession, Pearman rushed four consecutive downs, gaining 28 yards and two first downs.
Then, on a third and long, Martinez threw deep to wide receiver Art Thomas for a 39-yard play that put Virginia at the Duke two-yard line. Sophomore running back Wali Lundy punched it into the end zone a play later to give the Cavaliers a 10-0 lead with 11 minutes to play in the first half.
Virginia tacked on another touchdown before the end of the half on a fade pass to Miller in the corner of the end zone.
"He brought his team home," Groh said of Martinez. "I always say, a quarterback is judged by his past. He's got one now. He made two big throws [to Thomas and Miller]. He augmented what we wanted to do with the running game. He brought his team home under difficult circumstances."
With the game in hand, Virginia spent the second half pounding the ball at Duke's defense. The Cavaliers relied on the combination of three backs -- Lundy, Pearman and junior Marquis Weeks -- and amassed 204 yards rushing. Lundy, who carried 21 times, led the team with 88 yards, but Pearman's 68 yards on 13 carries signaled the return of Virginia's other running back. Pearman's season ended early last year when he injured his knee against Penn State, but he showed no ill-effects Saturday with quick and tight cuts.
"That's his style," Groh said of Pearman. "He's a cut and slash runner. I thought all three of them did a real good job."
And lest anyone forget, the defense held Duke scoreless on the night. Duke's longest drive -- one that ended with a loss of downs on Virginia's 26 -- came in mop-up time at the end of regulation. Six times the Cavaliers held the Blue Devils to a series of three-and-out.
"We're going to have a tough defense," junior defensive end Chris Canty said. "We're going to be rowdy, we're going to be athletic. We're going to start to stop a lot of tough teams. If you don't play good defense, you're going to lose. Simple as that."
The defense was aided in large part to the exceptional punting of sophomore Tom Hagan. He consistently left the Blue Devil offense a long field to work with. Indeed, two of Hagan's punts were downed on Duke's one-yard line. Groh was so excited about Hagan's punts that, after his fourth punt that left Duke inside the five yard-line, he high-fived the kicker as he came to the sideline.
"I thought Tom Hagan had a tremendous game," Groh said. "Not many punters on any level have had a game like that, pinning four [punts] down inside the 10."
It was that kind of night for the Cavaliers. Everything went right. Well, just about everything.