CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A game widely expected to be an offensive shootout instead turned into a showcase for the Virginia defense that dominated down the stretch, allowing only three second half points and leading the Cavaliers to a 23-16 victory over Pittsburgh in the second Continental Tire Bowl. Virginia remains the sole school to have won a Tire Bowl, having upset West Virginia, 48-22, in the inaugural game last year.
The Cavaliers also kept Pittsburgh wide receiver and Heisman runner-up Larry Fitzgerald out of the end zone, snapping his NCAA record of 18 straight games with a touchdown reception. Virginia held Fitzgerald to his second-lowest output of the season -- five catches for 77 yards -- and slowed down a Pittsburgh offense that was averaging more than 31 points per game.
"As a defense, we didn't want Fitzgerald to score," Virginia senior cornerback Almondo "Muffin" Curry said. "Our goal amongst ourselves was to not let him score. He's the most dominant player offensively in the country, and we just wanted to slow him down and not let him get the big play that would cause his team to win."
The Virginia defense was, in fact, the one that made the big play that led to victory. With 2:28 left in the game, Virginia sophomore kicker Connor Hughes drilled a 39-yard field -- his third of the game and school record 23rd of the season -- to extend the Cavalier lead to seven. On the ensuing kickoff, however, Pittsburgh's William "Tutu" Ferguson returned the ball back to the Pittsburgh 48, giving the Panthers a short field. But Virginia's defense simply would not allow a comeback.
On first down, sophomore defensive end Brennan Schmidt sacked Pittsburgh quarterback Rod Rutherford and knocked the ball loose. Freshman linebacker Kai Parham pounced on the fumble for Virginia's second takeaway of the half. It was also the fifth Cavalier sack of the game.
"Our defense really stepped up," sophomore tailback Wali Lundy said. "They played a lot of plays and stepped up in a major way. We needed them to get that turnover at the end and ... that kind of won the game for us."
The sheer amount of orange in the stands turned Ericsson Stadium into a southern Scott Stadium, and the Cavalier defense fed off that energy to set the tone early. The Panthers marched down the field on their first drive and had a first-and-goal situation from the one. Yet Virginia stuffed four straight runs to keep the Panthers off the scoreboard.
"It was a tone that our defense set for the whole game," Curry said. "When you make a goal-line stand from the one or two-yard line on any team, I think that says a lot about your defense."
The Cavalier offense needed just four plays to get on the board, capping a four-play, 97-yard drive with a 52-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matt Schaub to tight end Heath Miller.
Schaub, who leaves Virginia with every significant passing record except total yardage, finished 20-for-31 for 244 yards and a touchdown. He was named the game's most valuable player for his efforts.
But Pittsburgh bounced back, as Rutherford engineered two second-quarter touchdown drives sandwiched around a one-yard Wali Lundy touchdown plunge. Pittsburgh kicker David Abdul, however, missed the second extra point, leaving the score 14-13.
After a Virginia punt, Pittsburgh again marched into Cavalier territory before defensive back Jamaine Winborne sacked Rutherford on fourth-down to give Virginia the ball back with 1:21 left in the half.
Junior tailback Alvin Pearman, a Charlotte native who missed last year's game, then carried Virginia into field goal range, running twice for 14 yards and catching three passes for 21 yards before Hughes hit from 44 yards out.
Pearman finished the game with 104 yards rushing on just seven carries and also caught six passes for 32 yards before an ankle sprain sidelined him early in the fourth quarter.
"He gave us a real spark there," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "There wasn't anything negative about what Wali was doing, but, given the circumstances, this was something that was very important to Alvin. He was really on his game."
With Pearman hurt down the stretch, Lundy rushed for 74 yards in the final quarter to close out the Virginia win, as the Panthers ran only one play from scrimmage in the last 7:51 of the game.
"We had a lot of challenges, whether it [was] coming from behind on the score or certain circumstances," Groh said. "We like to say that the fourth quarter running game and the fourth pass rush are important to win close games, and the players came through with that."
The strong close to the game helped the Cavaliers finish their season with three straight victories and win bowl games in consecutive seasons for only the second time in school history.
"It was real nice to end with a win," Lundy said. "A loss stays with you until next season and you can't do anything about it until next season. Right now, we feel like we finished our business, and we can go home happy."
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