The Virginia defense was not about to let Marques Hagans' superhuman performance go to waste Saturday, and it proved it with the game on the line.
Even with Virginia's stellar play in the first 59 minutes, one crucial minute remained. Florida State had one last possession to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. It was up to the Virginia defense to make one last stop.
Pinned down deep in Florida State territory, Seminole quarterback Drew Weatherford threw a slant pattern to wide receiver Chris Davis. Running right with him, though, was Virginia safety Tony Franklin. Franklin managed to get inside position on Davis and snatch the ball away as Scott Stadium erupted in triumph, the hard-fought win finally secured.
Franklin's interception, along with two earlier picks, disrupted the Seminole offense and held it to only 21 points.
"It was a great feeling to get all the interceptions," Franklin said. "It really gave us a boost and a lot of extra confidence."
The Cavaliers' interceptions were caught in the secondary, but they started up front along the line of scrimmage. The defensive line and linebackers were able to break through the Florida State offensive line and wreak havoc in the backfield. Virginia harassed the freshman Weatherford all night with frequent blitzes and batted balls at the line of scrimmage, resulting in costly turnovers that negated much of his 377 passing yards.
"There were a number of times when we were able to stop multiple completions," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "We were able to force the quarterback to move within the pocket, and that seemed to affect his accuracy."
The pressure on Weatherford made the game much easier on a young but athletic Virginia secondary. Florida State ran many multiple-receiver sets and substituted liberally to keep its wideouts fresh. This forced Virginia to look down the depth chart for defensive backs to make sure the team wouldn't tire out from running with the Seminole speedsters. Freshmen Mike Brown and Chris Gorham saw significant playing time at cornerback, and sophomore Nate Lyles saw time at safety. Seldom used players like special-teamer Ryan Best also saw the field and played well spelling the starters.
The Virginia defense, maligned for its youth and inexperience, turned in its finest performance of the season Saturday after giving up 45 points to Maryland and 28 against Boston College.
"We've got some players who have more experience and more confidence, and as a result they've been more aggressive to the ball," Groh said. "They clearly have a better sense of anticipation about where the ball's going as a result of their experience. Their confidence is allowing them to be more aggressive towards the ball."
Saturday's defensive effort saw the manifestation of Groh's philosophy he has tried to instill in the team since the preseason.
"Our last message at halftime was something that we had said early in training camp," Groh said. "We just reminded the players that battles are not won by digging in. If you dig in, you just become a target. Battles are won by attacking. The players did a very good job of that, and they can be proud of themselves."
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