THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 12, 1995 TAG: 9511120283
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro
DATELINE: COLLEGE PARK, MD. LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
His smile said it all.
Pressure off. Goal reached. Job well done. Bowl picture coming into focus.
When George Welsh bounded from the locker room late Saturday afternoon, the usually taciturn, edgy Virginia coach had been replaced by an animated, grinning elf.
``I think it's a special deal for us,'' he said, following the 21-18 victory over Maryland that assured U.Va. of no worse than a tie for the ACC football title.
``Championships,'' he added, as if any U.Va. football fan needed reminding, ``are hard to come by.''
Welsh has given Cavaliers boosters two titles now.
``This one's been tougher,'' said Welsh, ``because of the big gorilla in the league.''
That would be Florida State, shocked by U.Va. 10 days ago.
Finishing atop the league standings was thought to be impossible for U.Va. or any other ACC school once Florida State entered the fray.
Consider six years ago, U.Va. had to beat Duke for a title tie.
Steve Spurrier was the Duke coach in 1989. Now at Florida, Spurrier last week compared U.Va.'s defeat of his Blue Devils to a knockout of Bonecrusher Smith.
This season, Spurrier said, U.Va. floored Mike Tyson.
When somebody reminded Welsh of Spurrier's comments Saturday, he smiled.
``This is the toughest schedule I've ever had at Virginia,'' he said. ``We had some of the best teams in the ACC on the road, plus Texas and Michigan.''
Losses on the last plays at Texas and Michigan cost U.Va. an opportunity to wade into the national title pool.
``They hurt,'' said Welsh. ``I'd have liked to have had one of those.''
The Cavaliers, 8-3, are separated from an undefeated season by seven points.
Does it bother him, someone asked Welsh, that U.Va.'s record might not fully reflect the kind of year the Cavaliers have had?
``That's all right,'' said Welsh. ``I don't have any problem with that.''
The coach found no reason to complain on a day when U.Va. trailed 11-0, but found a way to win.
Having beaten the super heavyweight from Tallahassee, the Cavaliers struggled against a journeyman middleweight from Maryland.
Worse, U.Va. fans had seen this before. Over the years, November has been the cruelest month for Welsh's teams.
As they anticipated a date in the Sugar, Gator or Peach Bowls, the Cavaliers hooked up with Maryland in a semi-comic Charity Bowl.
Virginia lost the ball on two kickoffs and had a punt blocked. This should have been enough to lose had Terps quarterback Scott Milanovich not been in a giving mood himself.
Milanovich's four interceptions helped U.Va. remain upright on a day when the footing at Byrd Stadium was as treacherous as the traffic on the Capital Beltway.
U.Va.'s best offensive threat, tailback Tiki Barber, ran as if he were skating around in a puddle of STP. He took more pratfalls than Chevy Chase playing Gerald Ford.
``I couldn't keep my feet,'' he said. ``It was frustrating, because there were huge holes and I couldn't get to them.''
Fortunately for U.Va., Kevin Brooks, Barber's backup, got to the holes for 103 yards, all important. Somehow, Barber still found a way to slip and slide for 116 yards.
``This,'' declared a relieved Welsh, ``was a hell of a win.''
Naturally, the coach was concerned that the Cavaliers' minds were still on Florida State as U.Va. prepared for Maryland.
``We had two of my former players come to practice Wednesday or Thursday,'' he explained, ``and they started talking about the Florida State game. I could have strangled them.''
That was then. But Saturday, with crisis averted and mission accomplished, Welsh had the look of an elf who wanted to hug somebody. by CNB