MURFREESBORO, Tenn. --Everything that could have gone wrong did. Injuries, turnovers -- the whole lot. It appeared that on the road, Virginia was simply cursed. But with little more than a minute to spare, Virginia stormed 64 yards downfield to keep its winning streak intact, defeating Middle Tennessee State 23-21.Sophomore Jameel Sewell went under center at his own 20-yard line with 1:26 on the clock. After moving 38 yards with completions to junior Andrew Pearman and senior Tom Santi, Sewell was sacked with about a minute left in the game.Refusing to call a timeout, Virginia coach Al Groh kept the offense moving as the clock wound down. Sewell went to freshman Dontrelle Inman for five yards, then to senior Josh Zidenberg, who -- in his first career reception -- got the ball to the 29-yard line for a first down, stopping the clock."Josh [Zidenberg] represented the team here tonight, because some guys have to step up in different circumstances, and that's what this team is all about," Groh said.After a 12-yard completion to senior Jonathan Stupar, Groh sent out his kicker, senior Chris Gould, to win the game."I knew if we got in to field-goal range, [Gould] was going to make it no matter what," Sewell said.Gould went on the field with complete confidence, despite having missed an extra point earlier in the game."I just tried to compose myself and not think about what happened on the previous kick," Gould said.After the kick went through, the Cavaliers (5-1) ran onto the field, jumping and screaming as if they had just knocked off a national title contender."They were the best team with a [1-5] record that I've ever played," senior Chris Long said. "Just to win -- that's all that matters."After playing sluggishly, Virginia's offense finally reached the point where it could move the ball effectively downfield."What clicked was the confidence of the offensive line and the whole team, really," Sewell said. "The offense never lost faith in me. They were right there with me."The last two minutes displayed the tenacity Virginia has shown while climbing to a record of 5-1. But the first 58 minutes certainly didn't show it.Junior Cedric Peerman, who entered the game leading the ACC in yards per game, left in the first quarter with a foot injury, never returning to the game. He appeared on the sideline in the second half out of uniform and on crutches. Freshman Keith Payne and Pearman filled in with 115 yards on 23 carries, but MTSU's defense forced Virginia to make very limited play calling. Virginia found success, however, in its repetition, as Pearman scored both of his touchdowns on the option to the right side.When Sewell went to the air, the game became even more one-dimensional. Sewell was unable to throw downfield for most of the game, forcing him to dump passes to his running back and hit tight ends only two or three yards downfield. Virginia's wide receivers managed only 4 receptions for 24 yards.The nadir of Sewell's game came late in the fourth quarter when he threw an interception that appeared to cost Virginia the game. Sewell aimed for Santi, but found senior defender Bradley Robinson, who picked off Sewell's pass and returned it to the 1-yard line. MTSU senior DeMarco McNair carried it in easily from 1 yard out. Taking advantage of Virginia's missed extra point, MTSU took the lead 21-20.MTSU freshman quarterback Dwight Dasher was exactly what Groh said he'd be. He moved all over the field and never let Virginia get a solid hit on him. With 63 yards on the ground and 181 yards and two touchdowns in the air, Dasher beat the Virginia defense for the first half of the game. The Virginia defense finally settled down, allowing only McNair's 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Now halfway done with the season, Virginia has its best record through six games since 2004, when Virginia started the season 7-1. Without Peerman in the backfield, Virginia's offense will look to young, unproven backs to take pressure off Sewell, who was very limited in his ability to efficiently move the ball against MTSU.
In six games, Virginia has shown everything from stalwart success to abject failure, from its 23-3 loss to Wyoming to a 44-14 victory against Pittsburgh. Despite the strong record, Virginia has shown it can bring any game to the field at any different minute.
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