TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State chopped up Virginia for the first three quarters on Saturday before quarterback Matt Schaub replaced starter Marques Hagans, and was able to direct the Cavaliers toward three aerial touchdowns in the game's final stanza.
The Seminoles (2-0, 1-0 ACC) continued their dominance over both Virginia and the ACC on Saturday, defeating the Cavaliers (0-2, 0-1) 40-19 in front of 79,406 fans at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla. It was the Seminoles' 10th victory in 11 all-time meetings.
Florida State's offense was surprisingly driven by an explosion of its ground game, which proved especially confounding to a Cavalier defense that prepared predominantly for the Seminole passing game.
"If [the Cavaliers] study history, that's exactly what they'll expect," Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden said.
"When you get to be 72, you get more patience. Our plan was to come out throwing, but it was pretty obvious they were trying to stop that."
Indeed, Virginia succeeded in holding Florida State quarterback Chris Rix to 10-of-18 passing for only 117 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. The Seminole running game, however, amassed a staggering 397 rushing yards on 60 carries -- an impressive 6.6 yards per run.
Junior Greg Jones led the way, mixing in a few shifty side steps along with his traditional hard rushes up the gut. He recorded a career high 173 yards on 21 attempts, chalking up two touchdowns. Two other running backs, senior Nick Maddox and freshman Willie Reid, contributed 61 and 51 yards, respectively.
Part of what opened up the ground game so well for Florida State was Rix's own scrambling abilities. He scampered his way to 58 rushing yards and a touchdown.
"Rix is a good player," Virginia freshman defensive end Kwakou Robinson said. "It's a tough deal to get off a guard or tackle and find Rix."
Furthering Virginia's difficulties was a simple lack of experience on the front line. Florida State had four seniors starting on its offensive line, while Virginia had only one man on its entire defensive line depth chart who had even seen game action prior to this season.
"We knew the matchup would be overwhelming," Groh said. "That's one of their most experienced positions. I've stood on the sidelines on a lot of Sundays and haven't seen anything that looked like that, in terms of size."
The other recurring problem for Virginia was turnovers. The Cavaliers fumbled five times, losing three of them. Four times it was either a true or redshirt freshman who lost his handle of the football, suggesting Virginia's newest players need to adjust to the size and strength of football at the top collegiate level.
"I think they found out that they were going to get a hit a little bit harder in this league than where they came from," Groh said.
Still, though, Virginia had plenty to be encouraged about from Saturday's second half, after Schaub relieved an ineffective Hagans.
Hagans, in only his second collegiate game, was given the tough chore of scoring against a tough Florida State defense. He completed only one of seven passes and ran for 16 yards before Schaub entered.
"His play in the first game warranted the opportunity," Groh said. "Last week Hagans was everyone's darling. He's a second-game quarterback going up against a very tough team."
Schaub showed no ill effects of not starting and perhaps even benefited from the extra preparation -- much like he seemed to do last year when replacing Bryson Spinner in games. Schaub proceeded to complete 19-of-25 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns.
"I was going to be ready the same way," Schaub said of substituting as opposed to starting. "The beginning of the game gives you a chance to see how the defense is playing."
Senior co-captain Billy McMullen was Schaub's favorite target, connecting five times for 101 yards -- including a 59-yard strike down the left sideline when Virginia had the ball on its own 1-yard line.
Schaub's passing was a blessing for Virginia, which struggled to gain much territory on the ground. Wali Lundy again led Virginia rushers, this time with 20 yards. Michael Johnson and Marquis Weeks each had 19.
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