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Sept. 30, 2003
If you look back in history some of the best professional fighters were tough, hard-nosed guys who could take a punch. Rocky Marciano’s jaw could handle haymaker after haymaker…Joe Fraizer and Muhammad Ali could handle any type of heat…and yesterday Virginia’s head football coach admitted his team might be in the class of some very good heavyweights.
“We’re not invincible but the team has shown it can take a punch…a pretty good punch,” Groh told the pressroom full of writers and broadcasters.
“Our guys bear down. We always seem to come back fighting and play the full nine innings. I like that.”
This Saturday UVA fans can expect more of the same.
Yes, North Carolina is 0-4. Yes, it’s the worst start since Mack Brown’s first year in 1988. But there is something about Blue Heaven and something about Carolina players and fans seeing orange and navy blue. Saturday is the 108th renewal of the South’s oldest rivalry, and you don’t play 107 of these games without some sort of competitive score to settle. Carolina knows it, and so does Al Groh. After all, he has been on the Kenan sidelines. He knows what that color can do. He’s heard the bell, he’s seen the ram, and coach Groh knows a whole lot about John Bunting, the Heel’s head man and quarterback Darian Durant.
“I love my quarterback, but I think Durant is one of the best in the league,” Groh said.
Durant has set school records for career touchdowns with 40 and completions with 375. Oh, and one more thing…Durant is leading the team in rushing.
North Carolina, smack dab in the midst of one of the toughest schedules in the nation, put up 34 points against NC State this past week…but gave up 47. They haven’t won a home game since 2001…an 8 game losing streak…but rank second in the ACC and 12th in the NCAA in passing offense (307 yards per game). Over the last three Saturdays…the Heels have put up 36 points per game and 455 yards of total offense. This is a team ready to explode.
Matt Schaub’s return to the lineup Saturday is just one more feather in the Heisman candidate’s cap. Not just that he returned, but how he returned…how he completed 18 of 22 passes in the first half, and how he over came three interceptions in the second half to lead his team to victory.
“We’re very encouraged with the comeback,” Groh commented. “A lot of plays had to happen and a lot of guys stepped up. Schaub’s shoulder got a little weary in the second half but he kept up with the speed pretty well.”
Especially when it counted. Against Wake Forest there was the end zone, corner toss to Heath Miller. There was the two-point conversion run, the final drive completion over the middle which set up the game winner. He threaded the needle a couple of times in a crowd. And the best part? Schaub just hung in there. After three bogeys, he made three birdies.
Virginia’s game plan emphasis this week will be defense and how to handle Durant and the attack. Al Golden grabbed a four pack of Diet Pepsi out of the refrigerator and headed to his office Monday night shaking his head.
“He’s good…real good,” Golden smiled.
So I had to ask…what gives Saturday?
“We’ve got to mix up a lot of things and not let him hit the big play. He loves to go vertical and he has several good receivers.”
UVA received a game winner from kicker Connor Hughes last week…don’t be surprised if this one comes down to the same kind of ending.
Game Notables: Virginia’s last win in Chapel Hill was 1999…thanks to a Todd Braverman 50-yard field goal that just barely got over the crossbar. Wali Lundy now leads the ACC in rushing after his 137-yard performance against the Deacons. UVA’s second year tailback is averaging 95 yards per game. When asked about being a third-year head coach and winning 8 of the last 10 ACC games, Groh told the media Monday the team just had to get better.
“The coach here doesn’t have a lot of patience.”
In response to the question about a message to Hughes when UVA faced a 4th and 9 at the 36 against Wake and he would have to deliver a 53 yarder to tie the game, he simply told Conner…
“Go kick it.”