Posted by NoleCC

By Bill Kristoph

It is not often that fans are treated to a performance by their favorite team that is as good as the Seminoles delivered to a packed Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday night. The ‘Noles were nearly perfect all night. Wyatt Sexton solidified his starting quarterback job (or at least Seminole Nation hopes) with a stunning and spectacular 20 of 26, 275 yard, 1TD and 0 INT performance. Add in 30+ combined rushing attempts by Lorenzo Booker and Leon Washington for 192 yards and you have the formula for a dominating Seminole offense.’,'On the other side of the ball, the Seminole defense stuffed the Cavaliers’ vaunted rushing attack, allowing only 20 yards for the entire game. Five sacks pushed Virginia quarterback Marques Hagans into unfavorable situations all night. Most importantly, the Seminole defense kept the Virginia offense off of the field, which lead to the Virginia defense spending far too much time trying to slow down a potent Seminole offensive attack.

The Seminole special teams were generally fantastic. Linebacker #34 Ernie Sims made a monster block of a punt which resulted in a safety and the ‘Noles taking the lead 2-0. The special teams also avoided penalties, which have plagued the ‘Noles most of the season. The only blemish on an otherwise perfect night for the Seminoles came just before the end of the first half, when University of Virginia kicker Conner Hughes connected on his 23 yard field goal attempt. Another bright spot for the Cavaliers was the play of TE Heath Miller who caught 9 passes for 100+ total yards.

The 36-3 domination by the Seminoles was also their first victory against a Top 10 team since 2000 and their first victory against a higher ranked opponent in the Top 10 since 1998. Incidentally, that statistic is misleading since the ‘Noles were wire-to-wire #1 in the ‘99 undefeated championship season.

Oh, by the way, if I pick against the ‘Noles and they win this big, then I’m picking against them the rest of the year! Congrats Seminoles, keep your focus and continue to improve!