Virginia's offense exploded for 27 first-quarter points and put away Pittsburgh with two fourth-quarter touchdowns as the Cavaliers steamrolled the Panthers 44-14 Saturday night in front of 60,888 fans -- the largest crowd of the season at Scott Stadium.
Pittsburgh attempted a sneaky onside kick to start the game but Virginia was able to recover the ball at its own 47 yard line. The Panthers got called for an illegal touching penalty, giving the Cavaliers excellent field position at Pittsburgh's 39 yard line.
After only four plays, the Cavaliers found themselves in the endzone when sophomore quarterback Jameel Sewell tossed a two-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Jonathan Stupar, making the score 6-0 at the 13:37 mark in the first quarter. Senior place kicker Chris Gould's extra point was blocked.
"It was a great start for us," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "We were the beneficiaries of ... tremendous field position ... Once it's there, the players have to execute and take advantage of it, and they did a very good job of that. They were very sharp in the beginning."
After forcing a Panther punt, sophomore cornerback Vic Hall returned the ball 22 yards to the Virginia 49 yard line, giving the Cavaliers strong field position once again. And, just like its first drive, Virginia was in the endzone after four plays off the arm of Sewell. This touchdown pass sailed over the out-stretched hands of a Pittsburgh defender and into the hands of senior tight end Tom Santi for an 18-yard score, putting the Cavaliers up 13-0.
The misfortunes for the Panthers continued on the following kickoff. Virginia freshman cornerback Ras-I Dowling knocked the ball loose from Pittsburgh senior Lowell Robinson at the 26 yard line and Virginia sophomore Denzel Burrell pounced on it for the Cavaliers. Sewell tossed his third touchdown pass of the first quarter a few plays later, this one to sophomore fullback Rashawn Jackson, the first of his career.
Jackson "had to run through a couple guys," Sewell said. "That just showed that he's ready, he's been wanting to get into the endzone, he's got that fight in him like we need from everybody to get into the endzone and help us win."
Following another Pittsburgh punt and a 45-yard punt return by Hall, the Cavaliers had their best field position yet at the Panther 21 yard line.
Junior running back Cedric Peerman completed the Cavalier's first quarter scoring barrage with a one-yard plunge into the endzone, making the score 27-0 with 1:22 left in the quarter.
Virginia's 27 first-quarter points were the most in a quarter since it tallied 30 during the third quarter at N.C. State in 1999.
Sewell completed all seven of his passes in the quarter for 73 yards and three touchdowns.
"I just felt real comfortable out there today," Sewell said. "When a quarterback's comfortable, I think he's hard to deal with."
The game appeared to be out of reach for Pittsburgh until the Panthers pulled to within 16 points early in the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh's freshman starting quarterback Pat Bostick completed a two-yard touchdown pass to sophomore split end Oderick Turner at the 14:54 mark to make the score 30-14.
"I guess it's more of a trying-to-stay-focused-type thing when you're up by a lot of points like that," Peerman said. "You have a chance to sort of lay back, but we were just trying to stay focused."
And the Cavaliers did stay focused.
From Pittsburgh's 13 yard line, Peerman went running left then cut sharply upfield, darting into the endzone and shooting an arrow through the heart of the Panthers, making the score 37-14 with 12:06 left in the game.
If that was not enough, senior safety Jamaal Jackson picked up his first career interception on the next Panther drive.
"He had a little struggle with a couple of those deep balls," Groh said. "[It was] good for him and for his confidence to step up and make a play like that."
Virginia tacked on its final score to make it 44-14 with 5:25 left in the game on a fake field-goal run by Hall from four yards out.
Groh was impressed with the way the team answered the fourth quarter challenge from the Panthers.
"The team has demonstrated a very strong resolve and focus throughout and hearing what they were saying to each other, it was apparent that nothing needed to be said from the coaching staff," Groh said. "We were pleased how they took the leadership themselves and recognized the situation and kind of gathered themselves"
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