The trial-by-fire of redshirt freshman Anthony Martinez will continue tomorrow as Martinez leads the Cavaliers down to Columbia, S.C. to take on the University of South Carolina Gamecocks.
The battle between Martinez and the Gamecocks' own inexperienced Dondrial Pinkins is sure to have all the fire that can be expected from two young quarterbacks, each coming off a victory.
Martinez entered his first game last week while fans were still reeling from the loss of Matt Schaub. He did not put up great numbers against Duke, but with expectations of the freshman so low, those numbers were overlooked in light of the victory he helped engineer.
Pinkins, on the other hand, entered his season opener not only with numerous expectations, but with the eyes of over 82,000 Gamecock fans on his number five jersey for his home season opener.
When the pressure and intensity of the contest began to weigh on Pinkins shoulders and show up in his performance, South Carolina fans showered their quarterback with boos.
Virginia coach Al Groh, however, expressed a great deal of respect for the Gamecocks' quarterback, saying Pinkins poses a serious threat to the Cavalier defense.
The Virginia rushing attack faces less pressure following their phenomenal performance in last week's win over Duke.
Virginia sophomore tailback Wali Lundy's 88 yards rushing on 21 carries led the Cavalier's domination of the Devils on the ground, a thrashing which amounted to a total of over 204 yards rushing.
The facts of this showing are certainly not lost on South Carolina coach Lou Holtz.
"They have three great backs and I don't know of any team that has that many outstanding running backs," Holtz said.
A main reason for the success of the Cavalier's rushing attack is their offensive line, which grew both in size and technical soundness over the off-season.
"Virginia's offensive line is huge and very well coached," Holtz said. "They look like a pro offensive line even though many of them are sophomores. They are mammoth."
Virginia is not the only team to improve on offense from last season. Groh sang the praises of South Carolina's improved offense and said they will pose a more of a challenge than Duke.
"I think they are much faster in the backfield than they were last year," Groh said. "I think their offensive line is more athletic than it was last year."
Even with the improvement of both offenses, defense will once again determine the outcome of the game.
In last season's showdown, the Cavalier defense forced seven turnovers and provided their offense with great field position, a showing they will hope to duplicate this season.
The skilled Virginia defense presents a problem for Holtz and his Gamecocks.
"They are very talented defensively," Holtz said. "Darryl Blackstock was a freshman All-American last year and defensive Chris Canty is back after missing about seven games last season. Their defense presents a lot of problems. They just play good solid fundamental and sound defense."
Williams-Brice Stadium is ready to house the battle of the two relatively inexperienced quarterbacks. A packed house of combustible fans and the tough battle is certain to ensue.
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