Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub threw five touchdown passes and freshman tailback Wali Lundy ran for 102 yards Saturday to lead Virginia to a 48-29 victory over the Akron Zips in front of a crowd of 56,216 at Scott Stadium.
While it was a huge win for the Cavaliers, the play of Akron quarterback Charlie Frye was the story of the day. The redshirt sophomore owned the Virginia secondary for most of the afternoon, throwing for 336 yards and one touchdown; Frye also ran for two scores. He set career bests for attempts, completions and passing yardage, and almost willed the Zips to the upset.
"This guy is a real good quarterback," Virginia Coach Al Groh said of Frye. "I have a lot of respect for him. They can ride this guy to a lot of wins."
In his weekly press conference, Groh warned that his defense would have to put pressure on Frye in order to contain him. The defense accomplished this task, sacking Frye twice and knocking him down at every opportunity.
Even so, Frye eluded the rush on a number of key plays, including three fourth down conversions.
"I was impressed with the completions he made under very heavy pressure," Groh said. "Almost everything he did today was pretty good."
In the end, it was Frye's lone mistake that cost his team the game. Down 28-22 with less than two minutes left in the third quarter, Frye drove the Zips to midfield before throwing an interception that was returned by Virginia junior Art Thomas 42 yards for a touchdown. The score pushed Virginia's lead to 34-22, and thwarted Akron's only opportunity to take the lead. The play began with a safety blitz by Virginia senior Shernard Newby. Frye responded by throwing a screen pass to Akron running back Jerell Ringer. However, the ball floated and Thomas was able to break on it and race to the end zone.
That "was an instrumental play in winning the game," Groh said. "We had a blitz on the play that had the quarterback running pretty hard and he threw the ball under duress. We made a good play on it."
Thomas' interception was his first of the season and his most significant contribution to the team since losing his starting spot before the South Carolina game. The play was reminiscent of his 96-yard fumble return last year against Penn State in its momentum-swinging qualities.
"It was the same sort of feeling but for less yards," Thomas said. "But it felt good. A touchdown is a touchdown."
Akron would pull within five points early in the fourth quarter after a Frye touchdown run, but Schaub responded with two quick touchdown passes to Patrick Estes and Heath Miller that put the game out of reach.
"That's what good offenses have to do," Groh said. "They have to respond to pressure. Whether they have to hold the lead, or to come back."
For the second straight game, Schaub showed poise and consistency while leading the Cavalier offense.
While Thomas's score was the first defensive touchdown of the season, the Cavaliers benefited from a special teams touchdown for the second week in a row. After Schaub opened the scoring with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Michael McGrew, Virginia safety Alex Seals blocked a punt on Akron's next possession. Darryl Blackstock picked up the ball and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown.
The punt block was Seals' second big play on special teams this year. Against South Carolina, his well-placed hit on the Gamecock kick returner caused a fumble and led to Jermaine Hardy's touchdown return. Seals, last year's special teams player of the year, seemed elated to be able to make such an impact.
"I'm just extremely excited to be able to get out there," Seals said. "I really stress what the coaches put on us
and try to get out there and try to make an impact anyway I can."
While Seals provided the special teams' spark, Schaub led the offense to another productive afternoon. Schaub went 19-27 and threw touchdown passes to five different receivers. He showed the poise and consistency needed to steer the Virginia offense to victory.
"I thought the quarterback did a very good job today taking advantage of things that were there," Groh said. "He ran his team well."
After Akron cut the lead to 14-6 in the second quarter, Schaub engineered an 11-play, 71-yard scoring drive to put Virginia up by 15. The drive ended with a touchdown pass to freshman fullback Jason Snelling. Akron cut the lead to 21-15 by halftime on a Bob Hendry run and a Billy Sullivan field goal.
Schaub started the scoring again in the second half with a two-yard touchdown pass to Billy McMullen. Frye responded with a five-yard touchdown run that kept Akron in the game until the ill-fated screen pass that resulted in the Thomas interception and score.
Although the Cavaliers did not play their best football of the season Saturday, Groh said he was pleased that his young team secured another victory.
"I thought it was a good step," Groh said. "We were trying to win the game and to get even going into conference play. And that's where we are."
Read More
Football lands three additional transfers
By Peter Kriebel | YesterdayOne common trait that stands out with this most recent batch of transfers is size.
Men’s basketball suffers road drubbing versus California
By Emory Huffman | YesterdayVirginia submitted another rudderless performance.
