Story Links
Oct. 27, 2003
by Chip Rogers
Homecoming 1996 was a rain-soaked affair, but the bad weather was not enough to stop the Cavalier faithful who filled Scott Stadium to capacity to watch the #19 Cavaliers host the #13 Texas Longhorns. The weather was hardly an impediment to the ‘Hoos, who overwhelmed the visitors 37-13 behind a trio of touchdown runs by Tiki Barber and three field goals by Rafael Garcia.
In the first quarter against the Longhorns, Barber rushed for touchdowns on three consecutive carries to take the Cavaliers to a 21-0 lead. A Garcia field goal at the start of the second quarter gave Virginia a 24-0 lead, the largest deficit the Longhorns had faced all season. A Phil Dawson field goal with 89 seconds remaining in the half prevented the Longhorns from being shut out in the first half, but the Cavaliers were not about to be denied.
Barber finished with 121 yards rushing on 25 carries, covering 10 yards more than the entire Texas rushing corps combined. Barber also caught five passes for 52 yards. Quarterback Tim Sherman led the Virginia passing attack, completing 14 of 24 attempts for 180 yards without an interception.
Defensively, Virginia limited the Longhorns to 111 yards on the ground, thanks in large part to the inspired play of the linebacker corps. Jamie Sharper had 11 tackles while fellow linebacker Wali Rainer also reached double digits in tackles with 10. James Farrior, another Cavalier linebacker, had nine tackles, including a quarterback sack and another tackle for lost yardage. He was also responsible for one of four Cavalier interceptions and caused a fumble.
With the win, the Cavaliers improved to 4-0 on the season and moved up to #12 in the rankings the following week.