The kid in the plaid shirt saw an opening. With nothing but daylight ahead, he sprinted toward midfield to congratulate the guys in orange on their completely unanticipated win. And so began the moment these Virginia football players might cherish most from their much-maligned 2010 season.
As the young pioneer was escorted off the gridiron by a pair of surly security personnel, hundreds more students poured onto the field to exult in a rare moment of ecstasy at Scott Stadium. Coach Mike London embraced the hoopla with open arms, encouraging his players to linger and soak up the succulent juices of victory. The Cavaliers had finally delivered a death-blow to a worthy foe, and no one could take that away from them.
The way it transpired was anything but ordinary. If your grandpa had awoken from his usual Saturday afternoon nap and looked up to see 24-0 lit across the scoreboard, he wouldn't have batted an eye. A huge fourth-quarter deficit has equaled business as usual for Virginia these past couple seasons. But if he had noticed that the numbers shone on unfamiliar sides of the board, he probably would have shaken his head and reached into his pocket for more crazy pills.
Before Saturday's kickoff, most people would have considered a Saharan blizzard more likely than a Virginia victory against Miami. The 22nd-ranked Hurricanes - who entered the contest as 15-point favorites - were coming off a 33-10 win against North Carolina, which dismantled the Cavaliers 44-10 two weeks earlier. The 'Canes were playing a relentlessly fast-paced style of ball, and they seemed to have their swagger back after some rough moments earlier this year. Just one game behind Virginia Tech in the Coastal Division standings, Miami was poised to make a run at its first-ever ACC championship.
Virginia, meanwhile, had just managed a sloppy win against Eastern Michigan, which had lost 18 of its past 19 games. The Cavaliers were playing an uninspiring, mistake-ridden version of football more conducive to turnovers than touchdowns. Moreover, they held a 0-3 ACC record and were jostling Duke for fifth place in the division. Miami had everything to play for, and Virginia had nothing to lose. It all unraveled for the Hurricanes when Virginia - which had been outscored 95-41 during the first halves of its FBS games before Saturday - put up 14 second-quarter points. The Cavalier defense also came out of the gates ready to play, chewing up Miami's running game and holding the Jacory Harris-led offense scoreless in the first quarter. Then, in the blink of an eye, senior defensive tackle John Kevin-Dolce thrust a dagger into the heart of Miami's 2010 season.
With just under 12 minutes remaining in the first half, Dolce made a free run into the backfield and buried Harris neck-first into the turf. Evidently the blow affected more than just Harris, as Miami's entire team began to play in a frightened daze for the rest of the afternoon. But if you think Virginia won this game simply because Harris went down, don't go offering your opinion to coach London.
"It's unfortunate for Jacory to go down," London said. "But I'm playing without Joe Torchia. I'm playing without Tim Smith. Ras-I Dowling didn't play. So that's the nature of football. You play with who you have."
He's right. Football breeds adversity, and if your team can't handle a little adversity, then your team can't succeed. Miami was a top-25 football team, and it should have made the necessary adjustments to get the job done. Credit Virginia for making sure that didn't happen. While you're at it, credit members of the Virginia secondary for playing the game of their lives. Junior cornerback Chase Minnifield snagged two interceptions, bringing his season total to a conference-leading six picks. Junior safety Corey Mosely - who was benched against Eastern Michigan for academic issues - grabbed two interceptions of his own, marking his first takeaways of the season. And junior safety Rodney McLeod snatched his first career interception. That makes five interceptions, tying Virginia's single-game record that was last matched in 1994 against Virginia Tech.
And let's not forget the offensive line. The front seven barely allowed Miami's potent defensive unit - which ranked second in the country in sack total heading into the game - to breathe on quarterback Marc Verica. The big men also paved the way for 185 rushing yards.
The game's outcome suggests a number of things. Miami took its opponent too lightly. Untested backup quarterbacks are not to be trusted. Wacky things happen during Halloween weekend. The ACC continues to be a topsy-turvy conference bereft of legitimate title-contenders.
Above all, it shows that everyone underestimated the drive and determination of this Virginia football team. Thousands of fans left the Cavaliers for dead this season - see 2010 attendance numbers - but the team refused to quit. London's men prepared with uncompromised fervor in practice this week, and it paid off for them on the field against a Miami team that boasted superior size, strength, speed and talent. Sometimes the hunger for respect outweighs the hunger for a championship. Although the win probably won't propel them to a bowl berth, the game's result does matter. Virginia finally snapped its long and trying ACC losing streak, handing London his first conference victory as the Cavaliers' coach and preventing another 3-9 record. The players learned they are capable of beating anyone in the ACC, and they set themselves up for a potential three-game winning streak heading into next week's game against lowly Duke. They brought satisfaction to a dwindling fan base whose patience was reaching a breaking point. What's more, they did it before both a large group of high school recruits in attendance and a national television audience, thus improving the image of a program badly in need of a face lift. The Cavaliers are still a team with its fair share of problems. But unlike last year's squad, they have the people in place to work through mistakes and bounce back with wins. That's an encouraging sign for the future of the Mike London era.
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