North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary's Hahn's Scouting Report: Virginia
10/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 29, 2003
VIRGINIA ( 5-3, 3-2) at NC STATE (6-3, 3-2)
DATE: Saturday, November 1, 2003
TIME: Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. (EST) Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh, NC (53,800)
RADIO: Wolfpack Radio Network. AIRTIME: 2:30 p.m. (EST)
TELEVISION: ABC (Regional)
OPPONENT----Virginia used big plays on defense and a solid ground attack to jump on Troy State early and coast to a 24-0 victory Saturday at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville. Alvin Pearman ran for a career-high 138 yards and two touchdowns as the Cavaliers rebounded from a disappointing ACC loss.
Virginia ran the ball only nine times for minus 5-yards against Florida State the previous week, but gained 79-yards on 12 carries by Pearman in the first quarter, when he finished off two drives with short touchdowns runs of 7 and 5 yards for a 14-0 lead. Chris Canty's fumble recovery set up the first drive, the second came when Almondo Curry intercepted a pass thrown by Troy State quarterback Aaron Leak.
Pearman, who tied an Atlantic Coast Conference record with 16 catches against Florida State, carried 32 times against the Trojans and added eight receptions for another 51 yards.
The Cavaliers stretched their lead in the second quarter on Matt Schaub's 21-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Sawyer and Connor Hughes' 36-yard field goal. Hughes earlier missed from 40 yards, ending his streak of consecutive field goals at 13 dating back to last season.
By halftime, the Cavaliers had 20 first downs and a 24-0 lead. The defense took over in the second half to give UNA its second shutout of the season.
Schaub was 23-for-36 for 241 yards. Leak was just 6-for-19 and was harassed all afternoon. He also ran 15 times for 37 yards.
The game marked the return of Virginia tailback Wali Lundy. He was leading the ACC in rushing until a foot injury forced him to sit out the FSU game. Lundy, who caught a screen pass on his first play and drew cheers from the crowd, ran six times for 25 yards.
Troy State (4-4), in only its third season of Division I-A, was also defeated by Nebraska, Kansas State and Minnesota.
Offensively, UVA averages 376 yards (5th in ACC) and 28 points a game (3rd in ACC). The Virginia-NC State game features two of the nation's top quarterbacks, but neither has been at his best in previous head-to-head match-ups. Schaub has thrown for only 298 yards against the Wolfpack, while completing 55 percent of his passes, figures that are his lowest against all ACC teams. Likewise, Philip Rivers, the ACC's career leader in touchdown passes, has never thrown one against the Cavaliers.
Schaub missed almost three full games with a shoulder injury, but in the five games since his return he's completed 70.6 percent of his passes for 1448 yards and 9 TDs. He's thrown for at least 240 yards in each of those games. Schaub leads the nation in completion percentage (71.0) with Rivers second (70.8).
Running the ball seems to depend somewhat on the health of Lundy. He was injured vs. Clemson, missing most of that game and the contest with FSU. Virginia lost both outings and had only 48 total rushing yards. Before Lundy's injury, the Cavaliers won three straight games and averaged 199.7 yards rushing to lead the ACC.
The offensive line is young but has size and talent The most experienced members are center Kevin Bailey (6-6, 293, Sr.) and guard Elton Brown (6-6, 333, Jr.). The line was retooled to protect Schaub and has allowed only 6 sacks this season.
Virginia's has struggled in replacing its leading receivers from last season. Billy McMullen graduated and Michael McGrew, broke his leg in training camp and is out for the season. However, tight end Heath Miller (6-5, 254, So.) has stepped up. He leads the team and ACC tight ends with 42 catches and has 4 TDs. Pearman has caught 32 passes from his tailback position while wide receivers Ryan Sawyer (6-2, 209, Sr.) and Ottowa Anderson (6-0, 186, Jr.) have combined for 46 receptions and 3 touchdowns.
Defensively, UVA uses a 3-4 scheme and is 16th in the nation, allowing only 16.6 points a game. Overall, Virginia is allowing 368 yards a contest, but 158 of those are rushing yards.
Along the front, Canty (6-7, 280) is a rising star. The junior defensive end is averaging almost 8 tackles a game, tops among ACC defensive linemen and 17th overall in the conference. The linebackers are led by Darryl Blackstock (6-4, 230, So.)outside and freshman Ahmad Brooks (6-4, 249) inside. Blackstock leads the Cavs in tackles for loss (10), sacks (5) and quarterback pressures (15) while Brooks is the team's No. 2 tackler with 68 stops.
Senior cornerback Almondo Curry (5-8, 175) is usually the smallest player on the field, but one of the most effective. He's No. 2 in the ACC with 4 interceptions and leads active Wahoos in three career catagories-- interceptions (7), fumble recoveries (5) and fumbles caused (5). With the team thin at safety due to a rash of injuries, senior Jamaine Winborne moved from cornerback to safety last week and played well against Troy State. The move left freshman Tony Franklin (5-11, 186) at the other corner. The other safety, Jermaine Hardy (5-11, 208, Jr.) is the Cavs leading tackler (69).
As for special teams, Virginia has the ACC's top percentage field goal kicker in sophomore Connor Hughes who has made 11 of 12 attempts (.917). His 53-yarder earlier this season against Wake Forest is UVA's longest-field goal ever at Scott Stadium. On the other side of the coin, sophomore Tom Hagan, is last in the ACC in punting (34.3). Franklin is No. 3 in the league in kick returns (28.4) and had four returns of 39 yards or more in back-to-back games against Clemson and Florida State.
The Wahoos have won 4 of the last 5 games in the series, but have not won in Raleigh since a 47-26 victory four years ago. Seven of the last ten meetings have gone to the wire and featured amazing comebacks and nailbiting finishes. Last year's 14-9 UVA win wasn't decided until the game's final minute.
INJURIES--NC State: OT Chris Colmer-Out, Parsonage Turner Syndrome; WR Sterling Hicks-Out, torn ACL; WR Richard Washington-Out, cracked ribs; OG Ricky Fowler-Probable, ACL sprain; DE Renaldo Moses-Out, torn ACL & MCL; CB Lamont Reid-Probable, shoulder; TB Josh Brown-Probable, Hip flexor/abdominal strain; TB T.A. McLendon-Questionablel, knee; CB Greg Golden-Probable, toe sprain; OG Ashley Wingate-Out, broken leg.. Virginia:TE Patrick Estes, No report, knee.
