The Virginia football team took another positive step forward this weekend by defeating North Carolina 37-27. The win put the Cavaliers (6-2, 4-1 ACC) squarely into third place in the ACC and garnered them votes in both the AP and ESPN Top 25 polls. Virginia Coach Al Groh, however, made it clear on Monday that the team's success has not satiated his goals.
"I haven't changed my tact on this at all," Groh said. "We're here to win championships, not to finish second, not to have bake sales, not to look good. If you're in this business for any other purpose, then you have the wrong target."
With Saturday's win, the Cavaliers moved one step closer to winning such a championship. Virginia currently sits one game behind Florida State and N.C. State, and has the Wolfpack coming to town next month.
The Cavaliers have handled their conference games to date admirably, coming from behind in three of their four ACC victories. Their ability to win the close ones will help Virginia stay in the title race.
"To become a really good team, a team that's in the hunt all the time, teams have to learn how to win when it's not easy," Groh said.
Virginia has shown such a knack to overcome adversity by calling on a different player to step up every week. No player responded to the pressure on Saturday better than running back Marquis Weeks.
The sophomore took the second-half kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, setting a school record and embarrassing Tar Heel kicker Topher Roberts in the process.
The score cut the North Carolina lead to 21-7 and ignited the Cavaliers to a 37-point second-half explosion. For his efforts, Weeks was named ACC Specialist of the Week yesterday.
Weeks began the season as the starting running back, but with the rise of freshman tailback Wali Lundy, he has had to find other ways to contribute to the team.
"He exhibits talent and a desire to help the team in a number of ways, and we've got to find a job for him," Groh said.
Another major contributor to Virginia's success on Saturday was linebacker Darryl Blackstock. The freshman continued his rampage on opposing quarterbacks, recording two sacks. His sack total of eight leads the ACC and is among the top in the nation for freshmen. Groh is optimistic about Blackstock's continued development.
"He's learning to turn speed into power," Groh said. "One of these days he's gonna come in at 240 (pounds), and that's when he's really gonna turn speed into power."
Offensively, Virginia got a spark from its running game. The Cavalier running backs spent most of the second half charging through the gaping holes made by the offensive line and juking Tar Heel defenders. Lundy ran for over 100 yards for the second time this season, and sophomore running back Alvin Pearman overcame a nagging hand injury to keep the ground game moving.
"The tailbacks had 36 carries for 189 yards. I thought [those] were pretty good number[s]," Groh said.
Virginia travels to Atlanta this Saturday to face a struggling Georgia Tech squad. Even though the Yellow Jackets are coming off a shellacking at the hands of the Maryland Terrapins, the Cavaliers cannot afford to take this game lightly. Since 1983, 11 of the 19 games between the two teams have been decided by seven points or less, including last year's thrilling 39-38 Virginia victory. In addition, the Cavaliers have not won in Atlanta since 1994, a trend Groh must reverse if he wants to start collecting championships this season.
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