Groh: Cavaliers didn't care what detractors had to say

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Posted 9:11PM on Tuesday, October 18, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) What a difference a week has made for Virginia. A week ago, the Cavaliers were coming off back-to-back double-digit road losses at Maryland and Boston College and preparing for a visit from No. 4 Florida State. The Cavaliers had only beaten the Seminoles once, 10 years ago, and that also happened to be the only time they had ever beaten a team ranked in the top five. Then they did it again, taking a 26-10 lead into the fourth quarter at Scott Stadium and hanging on for a 26-21 victory. They rejoined the top 25 at No. 23. But coach Al Groh said he's told his team to ignore what outsiders say. ``What we talked about last week is that we didn't really care what anybody said about us, and we don't really care this week,'' Groh said Tuesday. ``What we care about is winning and losing and staying together as a team and trying to play the kind of sound, solid, tough, aggressive ball that we like to think is our trademark.'' Besides, he said, five games wasn't much for the naysayers to go on. ``We're only at the halfway mark,'' he said. ``And, I think at that stage, it's too early to get hyped up about if you've got a great team, and it's a little premature to be running around like Chicken Little saying, 'The sky is falling.''' Virginia goes on the road for the third time in four games this weekend, playing at North Carolina at noon Saturday. The teams have met every season since 1919. MAGIC MARCUS: Marcus Hamilton, Georgia Tech's Philip Wheeler and Duke's John Talley share the Atlantic Coast Conference lead with four interceptions apiece. Hamilton got No. 4 against the Seminoles, picking off a pass from Drew Weatherford deep in Virginia territory to turn Florida State away on its first drive of the game. Groh said Hamilton's confidence is evident throughout practice, too. ``He's like a different player right now, mostly as a result of his confidence,'' Groh said. ``He's seen it all. He's got his techniques down. He's got his reads down.'' Last Thursday in practice, Hamilton had three or four interceptions, Groh said. ``Some of them develop that mentality that's like the shooter who wants the ball,'' he said. ``Now, they're not just trying to cover receivers, they're trying to get the ball. They're trying to make a play on the ball, whether it's knock it down or catch it. That comes from confidence, and it probably comes from experience.'' Hamilton also shared team tackling honors with nine stops against the Seminoles. MONEY: Connor Hughes booted four field goals in as many tries against Florida State his second four-FG effort in three games and has made nine in a row. His kicks against the Seminoles covered 50, 37, 35 and 45 yards, and left him 2 points shy of tying Gene Mayer's longstanding school career scoring mark at Virginia. Mayer, a back, had 46 TDs and 17 PATS for 293 points from 1912-15. Groh said Hughes was especially true on his longest kicks Saturday night. ``There was no movement, no wavering of the ball,'' Groh said, describing the flight as straight lines. ``That's significant, because, obviously, any ball, whether it's a baseball, or a golf ball, or whatever, the longer the ball is in the air, the more that can happen to it, whether it's through the wind, or usually for some type of rotation. ``He just hit the ball so clean, even from that distance, there was no wavering.'' For his career, Hughes is 58-for-70 on field goals, 82.86 percent accuracy. FANS WARNED: Thousands of fans poured onto the field after Virginia's victory against the Seminoles, and athletic director Craig Littlepage said about a dozen fans, mostly students, were taken to the emergency room after being hurt in the rush. Long after the game was over and the teams had exited the field, fans remained seated on the crossbar of one goal post, prompting the public address announcer to repeatedly plead with them to get down so as to not endanger any other spectators. After a 33-28 victory against No. 2 Florida State in 1995, fans removed the goal posts at Scott Stadium and paraded them through downtown. The goal posts were subsequently replaced with models that cannot be torn down in celebrations such as Saturday's. On Tuesday, Littlepage issued a letter to the fans telling them their enthusiasm is appreciated and crucial to the support of Cavaliers teams, but that the frenzied celebration on the field cannot be repeated and fans should remain in the stands. ``The Department of Athletics cannot solve this situation alone,'' he wrote. ``First, we welcome the same level of enthusiasm each game that was in the stands on Saturday night. Second, we need for celebrations to occur in the stands and other places where it is appropriate. The field, however, is not a place for fans to celebrate.'' (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Groh: Cavaliers didn&#39;t care what detractors had to say

Groh: Cavaliers didn't care what detractors had to say