It may have been true that one was picked to finish near the top of the ACC while the other was pegged to finish last, but there seemed to be an odd abundance of similarities between the Florida State and Virginia football teams as they headed into Saturday afternoon's matchup. Both teams entered the contest having lost only one game to a highly touted opponent in a hostile road environment. And against all of their other foes, they had both pulled off sound victories. Both teams featured new coaches prowling the sidelines, and they topped it all off with stingy defenses that ranked in the top 30 nationwide in points allowed.
On Saturday, however, there were very few likenesses between the conference rivals. The Cavaliers failed to match the Seminoles' speed and tenacity in all facets of the game, eventually falling 34-14.
The Virginia offense seemed out of sync for nearly the entire bout, especially during the first half of play, when they went scoreless for the first time all season. By halftime, the Cavaliers had only amassed 42 yards and failed to convert on any of their seven third-down attempts. The Cavaliers' running game was virtually non-existent all afternoon, as they rushed for 25 yards on 26 attempts - the team's lowest rushing total since recording a loss of three yards against Wyoming in 2007.
The defense, meanwhile, allowed the talented Seminole offense to build a cushy 27-point lead heading into the half - the largest Virginia halftime deficit at Scott Stadium since 2001. Sloppy tackling and poor coverage marred the day's performance by corps that allowed nearly 23 more points than it had been giving up on average.
"I'm disappointed for our players, [and] I'm disappointed for the fans," coach Mike London said. "That wasn't the type of effort that is indicative to the type of team that I think we have here."
The Cavaliers' offense came out of the gate looking sluggish and disheveled on its first two possessions of the game. Despite starting on its own 39- and 40-yard lines because of Florida State special teams penalties, the offensive unit failed to capitalize on the good field position. A holding call essentially halted Virginia's first drive, while senior quarterback Marc Verica overthrew open senior wideout Dontrelle Inman on third down to end the next possession.
Florida State redshirt senior quarterback Christian Ponder and the Seminole offense also had a rocky start to the afternoon. Sophomore linebacker LaRoy Reynolds nearly sacked Ponder in the backfield and managed to force a fumble on the Seminoles' first play from scrimmage.
Ponder almost turned the ball over again three plays later as junior cornerback Chase Minnifield went up and came close to racking up his fourth interception of the season. Despite these early miscues, the Seminoles managed to convert on four out of five third-down opportunities and successfully knocked in a 37-yard field goal to take an early three-point lead at the 8:40 mark.
The Seminoles, however, only needed one play on their subsequent drive to put points on the board. Junior tailback Jermaine Thomas took the handoff and managed to slip out of a tackle by sophomore cornerback Devin Wallace for a 70-yard touchdown scamper up the Florida State sideline. The touchdown seemed to deflate the Virginia sideline and the 47,000-plus fans donning white T-shirts in support of the Cavaliers.
"Our tackling today is something we have to fix," Minnifield said. "To be a good defense you have to be able to tackle."
After another quick three-and-out by the Cavaliers, the Seminoles methodically drove the ball downfield for another touchdown, extending their lead to 17 points in the early minutes of the second quarter. Ponder connected with sophomore wide receiver Willie Haulstead in the back of the end zone to cap off the 13-play scoring drive.
Florida State quickly tacked on another touchdown nearly five minutes later as Thomas once again crossed the goal line for the Seminoles. The shifty tailback managed to avoid putting his knees on the ground, rolling over Minnifield's back into the end zone.
Nevertheless, the Cavaliers' defense seemed to step up its game following the Seminoles' third touchdown of the first half. After forcing the Seminoles to punt on their second-to-last first half possession, Virginia prevented Florida State from punching it in from the three-yard line on its next drive.
The defense continued to improve throughout the second half, holding the explosive Florida State offense to a single touchdown. The Cavalier offense also began to rally after its dismal first half performance. Verica - who had gone 4-for-15 before the stoppage - completed 10 out of 15 passes during the second half, including a 76-yard strike to wide-open junior wide receiver Kris Burd during the third quarter.
Burd slipped behind a confused Florida State secondary for the Cavaliers' longest pass play since the 2005 season, as well as the longest play of both Burd and Verica's careers.
Verica came close to hitting another one of his receivers in the end zone on the Cavaliers' next trip down the field, but a miscommunication with Inman resulted in an interception.
After throwing another interception in the fourth quarter, Verica was replaced by redshirt freshman Ross Metheny. Metheny, who saw his first action of the season last weekend against Virginia Military Institute, tossed the ball to sophomore tight end Colter Phillips for his second career touchdown in the waning minutes of the game.
Despite finding better success in the second half, both quarterbacks constantly felt pressure in the pocket from the top-ranked Florida State defensive line. The Virginia offensive line looked porous at times, yielding a total of six sacks on the afternoon.
"That's the No. 1 team in the country in sacks, and we added to their stats today," London said. "Tremendous effort by their defensive ends to speed rush and get on the edge. We have to look at how we are going to protect the quarterback and how we're going to do things in order for him to get the ball down the field."
London also noted that his young team will need to commit far fewer penalties if it hopes to provide stiffer competition in future ACC matchups. The Cavaliers were penalized nine times for a total of 86 yards.
Despite the difficulties and mistakes made against Florida State, however, the Cavaliers seemed resilient after the game and looked forward to beginning preparation for their second ACC matchup against Georgia Tech on the road this Saturday.
"We are going to play until the end of the game every game, [and] we are never going to quit," Burd said. "We had a good offseason and we pride ourselves on being a family. A family is never going to quit on its brothers"
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