Virginia outscored Florida State 14-7 in the second half today at Scott Stadium, but it was too little too late as the Seminoles had already put 27 on the board in the first stanza.
Marc Verica was ineffectual in the first half and finished the game 14/30 for 211 yards with one TD and two INTs. Verica was replaced by second-string quarterback Ross Metheny late in the fourth quarter, and he looked pretty good out there this afternoon against FSU’s mostly second-string defense. Quarterback controversy anyone?
Not much went right for the Hoos today in any facet of the game. Virginia lost safety Rodney McLeod in the first half to a head injury, and his status is unknown at this point, but he did leave the field on his feet. Keith Payne was the leading ball carrier today, but he only gained 28 yards on 11 carries.
Kris Burd was again the player of the game for Virginia. His 188 yards receiving yards and one TD was the only bright spot offensively for the Wahoos. Colter Phillips had a sweet hit on special teams and he jarred the ball loose for a Virginia fumble recovery in the second half.
Defensively, Virginia looked like the had cement poured in their cleats in the first half. Florida State (4-1) played with much more emotion, as they made very few mistakes on either side of the ball. Christian Ponder is outstanding as advertised. Ponder did not overpower the Hoos with his rocket arm (17/29,172 yards), he beat Jim Reid’s defense with his feet as he constantly avoided the rush. Virginia almost got to him about a dozen times, but he was only sacked once (Johnson).
Florida State’s Jermaine Thomas, their 5-11, 190 pound tailback out of Jacksonville looked NFL-ready against Virginia’s often-out-of-position defense today. He gained 186 yards on 33 attempts and two nice touchdowns (13, 14th career).
Virginia Athletics spent nearly $90,000 handing out tens of thousands of white t-shirts to fans as they arrived in the stadium as part of a marketing effort called a "white-out." What a brilliant waste of 90,000 bucks.
Virginia (2-2) plays at Georgia Tech next weekend, then "NCAA-investigators-riddled" North Carolina the next Saturday in Charlottesville in what is the South’s oldest football rivalry game. Go Hoos beat the damn Hokies!