It was a strange night of football Saturday evening when Virginia faced Eastern Michigan for the first time in program history. A punter threw a 56-yard touchdown pass, two back-up players accounted for 21 of Virginia's 48 points and the Cavaliers defeated an FBS opponent for the first time since beating Maryland Oct. 17, 2009.
The 48-21 victory against the visiting Eastern Michigan squad - which has won just a single game in its last 20 outings - also snapped Virginia's three-game losing skid.
"It feels good to win a game and be able to celebrate with the players on what this team can do and can accomplish," coach Mike London said. "We haven't won around here in a while, and when you get the chance to experience a win, regardless of the opponent - when you have a chance to compete, you always want to win. I'm very proud of the team."
Although Virginia was heavily favored to come out of Saturday with a victory, it took nearly three quarters for the Cavaliers to establish a comfortable distance from the Eagles.
Virginia jumped out to an early lead, scoring a touchdown on its opening drive for the third time this season. Senior tailback Keith Payne punched it in from the four-yard line after senior quarterback Marc Verica set up the Cavaliers with a 22-yard strike to junior wide receiver Kris Burd on fourth down. Prior to the drive-saving completion to Burd, Verica drew a pass interference call against the Eagles' secondary to help march the Cavaliers further downfield.
The Cavaliers found the end zone again six minutes later, thanks in part to the defense forcing consecutive three-and-outs on the Eagles' first two possessions of the game. On the fourth play of the scoring drive, Verica connected with back-up sophomore tight end Paul Freedman, who forced his way between two Eagle defenders en route to the goal line. The 21-yard touchdown toss marked Freedman's first career touchdown reception and the longest reception of his career. Before the catch, Freedman - filling in for injured senior Joe Torchia - had only caught two passes for a total of five yards on the season.
Facing a 14-0 deficit, Eastern Michigan cut the Cavaliers' lead in half just three plays later. Freshman tailback Javonti Greene broke a 55-yard run up the Eagles' sideline for his team's first points. The rush marked Eastern Michigan's longest play from scrimmage of the season.
The Eagles almost added another three points less than a minute later when an Eastern Michigan defender jarred the ball loose from Payne on the Cavaliers' subsequent series. They failed, however, to capitalize on the favorable field possession as an ineligible man downfield penalty wiped away a 42-yard pass by sophomore quarterback Alex Gillett.
Eastern Michigan missed another chance to carve into the Cavaliers' lead when freshman place kicker Kody Fulkerson hooked a 28-yard field goal attempt wide left with 9:14 remaining in the first half.
The Eagles finally put together a successful scoring drive four minutes later, however, as the Cavalier defense again surrendered a long scoring run. Gillett called his own number and scampered 31 yards downfield for the equalizing score. Gillett finished the night accounting for 101 of the Eagles' 331 yards on the ground.
But the two teams did not remain knotted up for long, as junior place kicker Robert Randolph chipped in a 24-yard field goal with 27 seconds remaining in the first half to give the Cavaliers a slight three-point advantage heading into the stoppage.
During the intermission, London and some of the team's veterans lit a fire under the squad, prompting the Cavaliers to outscore their opponent 31-7 during the second half.
"We told each other to promise our teammates that we would come back into the locker room with a victory," junior safety Rodney McLeod said. "I think a lot of guys took that to heart."
Virginia's two biggest touchdowns of the half were the results of two flawless special teams plays. The first of these plays came a little more than seven minutes into the third quarter when junior fullback Terence Fells-Danzer returned a kick-off 70 yards for a quick six points for the Cavaliers, coming in just 10 seconds after the Eagles' last touchdown at 7:47. The kick-off run marked the second shortest kick-off return for a touchdown in Virginia history and only the second return of Fells-Danzer's career.
This touchdown came immediately on the heels of another that marked a career first for Fells-Danzer, as he caught a three-yard pass from Verica at the 9:37 mark. Verica finished the night 18-of-31 for 203 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Virginia's second special teams scoring play came in the first minute of the fourth quarter. Instead of sending the ball downfield with his foot, junior punter Jimmy Howell used his arm to find senior free safety Trey Womack on a fake punt pass play. The Eastern Michigan return unit was fooled, and Womack made his way easily down the field for the 56-yard score. The toss marked the first career touchdown reception for Womack and the first career touchdown pass by Howell - a former high school quarterback.
"It's definitely fun and exciting to be able to get the look that we've had in practice," Howell said. Womack "was open, and I was like just get it to him. Don't try to do anything special, just deliver the ball like you have in practice and sure enough."
Virginia's defense also stepped up in the second half, holding the Eagles' tricky wildcat offense to a mere 129 yards - 53 of which came on another scoring run by Greene.
Only 37,386 fans were on hand to see Virginia's inspired second-half play. It marked the smallest crowd since the 2000 expansion of Scott Stadium, which increased the stadium's maximum capacity from 40,000 to 61,500.
Still, even a sparse crowd could not spoil the Cavaliers' pleasure from their much-needed win.
"It definitely felt good to right the ship a little bit," Womack said. "Honestly, we've been working extremely hard. It's just good to get back in the win column. I think we got the good taste of a win back in our mouths, and I think guys are going to be hungry."
Virginia will look to win back-to-back games for the first time in more than a year next Saturday when Miami comes to Charlottesville for an ESPN-televised contest. Kick-off is scheduled for noon.
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