Perhaps no football team in Virginia history embraced the role of the underdog better than coach Al Groh's overachieving squad in 2002. The youthful Cavaliers were picked to finish second to last in the ACC that season in the preseason media poll, but the freshmen-laden bunch continued to silence their critics as the season rolled along. Behind the precise passes of their talented quarterback Matt Schaub, the nimble legs of running back Wali Lundy, a "ball-hawking" defense that always seemed to force turnovers at the right moment, and a little bit of luck, the Cavalier football team was opening eyes around the nation as a force to be reckoned with. Apparently the 18th ranked Maryland Terrapins didn't receive the memo. They strutted into Scott Stadium behind an 8-game winning streak and were just oozing with confidence. The only problem was that they were letting the Cavaliers know about it. The Terrapins were perhaps a little too confident that they were going to claim a share of the ACC title and a possible BCS berth after dispatching the lowly Cavaliers.

During pre-game interviews, Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen said that his team expected to beat teams like Duke and Virginia. Note to Ralph, don't drop a comment like that unless you know you can really overpower a team, because a comment like that is definitely going to stir up a firestorm of emotions.

That game on November 23, 2002 likely took the Maryland-Virginia rivalry to new heights, because you see the two teams were never really huge rivals, until Ralph Friedgen and Al Groh landed at their respective alma maters. You could immediately see the two schools heading on a collision course as soon as you looked at the similar visions of the two head coaches. Both coaches were immediately very aggressive on the recruiting trail and both wanted to separate their team from the middle of the pack in the ACC and gain a piece of the "elite" status within their conference. Both coaches undoubtedly had visions of Waterford crystal swirling in their thoughts. Blood between the two teams has steadily gotten worse over the years, but I'd say that this game in 2002 was one that definitely helped to start the mounting tension between the two squads. Don't look for Al Groh and Ralph Friedgen to exchange Christmas cards anytime soon, because it has been well-documented over the years how much disdain the opposing coaches have for one another.

At first, Maryland appeared as if they were going to run away with this one early. The Terrapins only needed 8 plays to march 80 yards on their opening drive and scored after Scott McBrien lofted a screen pass to tailback Chris Downs, who raced to pay dirt 11 yards later. It wasn't even five minutes into the contest and the heavily favored Terrapins had already scored. The 'Hoos would eventually answer at the start of the 2nd quarter after Conner Hughes boomed a 47-yarder through the uprights to make the score 7-3 with 14:56 remaining in the first half.

What happened on Maryland's next drive played a colossal role in determining the outcome of the game. On the first play of the drive McBrien launched a deep pass down the right sideline to a wide open Scooter Monroe. The ball was placed right on target by McBrien, but Monroe let a likely touchdown and Maryland's BCS hopes, slip right through his hands and fall to the turf. "I thought it was thrown further," Monroe said. "I got it in on my wrists. I didn't take my eye off it. I saw it the whole way." Whatever it was that forced Monroe to drop that football, you could just immediately feel the momentum shift to the Cavaliers in Scott Stadium. Two plays later a leaping Jermaine Hardy plucked a Scott McBrien pass out of the air and dashed all the way to the Terrapin 27 yard line. On the next play, Virginia signal-caller Matt Schaub flung a pass out into the flat to fullback Jason Snelling, who broke a tackle and then bulldozed his way through another Maryland defender as he dove into the end zone for the score. The shift in momentum couldn't have been overstated in this situation, as the Cavaliers had just went from potentially trailing 14-3, to leading 10-7 with 13:43 left in the first half. It was a two touchdown swing in momentum that the Terrapins wouldn't recover from for the rest of the contest. After Conner Hughes booted a 27-yard field goal later in the 2nd quarter to put Virginia up 13-7, things would continue to swing in the 'Hoos favor for much of the contest. A few plays later, McBrien zipped a pass into the flat to Chris Downs, who coughed up the football after Virginia's Angelo Crowell stripped it free. Defensive end Chris Canty recovered the football for the Cavaliers at the Maryland 22. A few plays later, quarterback Matt Schaub swung a screen pass into the flat to tailback Wali Lundy, who then dodged a few Maryland defenders and dove his way into the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown catch. The score was now 20-7 with 2:03 remaining in the first half and many were probably beginning to wonder why the 18th ranked Terrapins were ever favored in the contest. In one quarter, the Terrapins had gone from looking like they were going to dominate the game to being on the other end of an absolute throttling at the hands of the Cavaliers.

On the Cavaliers' opening possession of the third quarter, quarterback Matt Schaub continued his near-flawless performance in ripping apart the Terrapin secondary after he completed a 21-yard screen pass to Wali Lundy to push the Cavaliers to near midfield. One pass interference penalty and Lundy run later, Virginia was looking to put the game away for good. They had the ball, 2nd and 7 from the Terrapins' 37 yard line and they decided to delve into their bag of trickery. The 'Hoos ran a double reverse in which the ball finally ended up in receiver Billy McMullen's hands. McMullen then raced across the field where he was met head on by Terps lineman Durrand Roundtree, but somehow managed to duck the tackle, leaving Roundtree on the turf. McMullen then took two steps forward, leaped into the air, and zinged a low flying ball down the field to a wide open Michael McGrew who caught the under thrown pass and ran it in for the score from 10 yards out. "I looked like Randall Cunningham out there," McMullen said jokingly. The rout was officially on as the Cavs had rattled off 27 unanswered points since the Terps scored a touchdown in the first quarter. There may have been 12:59 left in the 3rd quarter, but this one was already in the books. It was no longer a question of if the Cavaliers would win, but by how many?

The next Maryland drive stalled after only 13 yards as a stingy Cavalier defense continued to swarm to the football. Then it appeared as if the Terrapins may have gained the slightest bit of momentum when they had the 'Hoos backed into a corner. Schaub and company had 3rd and 21 from the Maryland 24 yard line. Not to worry, the Cavaliers used a weapon they used masterfully all season long to pick apart defenses and the next play was no different. Matt Schaub fired a screen pass to Wali Lundy, who then weaved his way in and out of traffic and used a devastating block by Elton Brown to spring him into the end zone for the 24 yard touchdown catch. The score was 34-7 with 7:13 remaining in the third quarter, but the Cavaliers were far from finishing in piling on the points.

The Terrapins tried to chip in to the healthy Cavalier advantage, but could only muster two Nick Novak field goals to make the score 34-13 with 10:15 remaining in the contest. They wouldn't score any more points in the game, but the Cavaliers would pour on two more scores, touchdown runs by Wali Lundy and Michael Johnson, to make the score a frightening 48-13 when the clock finally expired.

The 'Hoos had not only embarrassed their rival, but they also prevented the Terps from gaining a share of the league title and going to a possible BCS berth. After the game it appeared as if the Cavaliers' performance had won over the respect of Maryland's head coach, Ralph Friedgen. "They beat our butts," Friedgen said. Not only that, Friedgen was clearly upset that his team had blown such a rare opportunity. "How many times like that do you have an opportunity like that to win a conference championship and maybe go to a BCS game?" Friedgen said.

It was definitely one of the most dominant performances by any Virginia football team under Al Groh. This win would probably rest right along side the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl in terms of the most dominant performances by a Cavalier team during the Al Groh era.

The Cavaliers couldn't have done it without the precise passing of quarterback Matt Schaub, who had one of the more masterful performances of his star-studded career in orange and blue. Schaub completed 23 of his 27 attempts in the game, which means that he completed an eyebrow raising 85.1 percent of his passes. He even tossed in three touchdown passes and threw for 249 yards for good measure. Schaub really mastered the art of the screen pass in his final two years at Virginia and in this game it was on fine display. The Maryland victory marked the game in which Schaub officially became Virginia's single-season yardage leader with 2,751 yards. The gifted quarterback would eventually go on to rewrite many more of the records at Virginia and ended his career as one of the best quarterbacks to ever suit up in Charlottesville. The game also marked a milestone for yet another Cavalier great, Billy McMullen. McMullen had seven catches in the contest and became only the third player in ACC history to haul in over 200 passes. McMullen ended his career as one of the greatest receivers ever to play for the Cavaliers and the team has still not recovered from his departure after the 2002-2003 season.

Either way you slice it, the Maryland victory in 2002 was a game in which the Cavaliers took their hated rival behind the woodshed and just embarrassed them in every aspect of the game. Not only did they embarrass them but they stopped the Terps' eight-game winning streak and prevented them from claiming a share of the league title and a possible BCS berth. All of those reasons are why the Maryland game in 2002 will be remembered upon so fondly by Cavalier fans for years to come.

Next up in the series: We'll continue down the journey of the magical 2002 season with the 17-point comeback win at Wake Forest on September 28th, 2002.