Groh surprised by blowout win

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Where the heck did that come from?

That question — or some variation — was asked by all who watched the Virginia-Maryland football game Saturday night. The Cavaliers entered as 13½-point underdogs. They won 31-0 at Scott Stadium.

UVa coach Al Groh conceded Sunday that he didn’t sense his team was poised for a blowout victory.

“It would be pulling everybody’s leg to say that I was sitting in the room Friday night thinking, ‘I think we can win this 31-0,’” Groh said. “But what we have been able to see — in spurts and different looks — progress, really, on a weekly basis.

“Sometimes that progress didn’t carry over to Saturday, but we’ve been able to see different elements of the team or different individuals progress, and that hopefully is going to be the case throughout. Because with so many players that are still not very far into their career, they’ve got a long highway in front of them to opportunity to really to continue to improve.”

Twelve freshmen, including four starters, played against the Terrapins. The game was Virginia’s first at home in nearly a month, and it attracted a crowd of 50,727 — the third-smallest since Scott Stadium’s official capacity was expanded to 61,500 in 2000. But the fans were louder and rowdier than those at many UVa games that have been announced as sellouts.

“I guess you’d call all those people the true fans, and their support of the team, everybody was very aware of it and very appreciative of it,” Groh said, “just that the fans would be there for us and have our back and continue to support, and we’ve very pleased we were able to give them a good product back.”

As it heads into its non-conference game with East Carolina (3-2) at Scott Stadium Saturday, UVa (2-3) is in no position to boast about its statistical rankings. Still, they’re not as ghastly as they were a week ago, when Virginia ranked last in the nation in scoring offense and near the bottom in scoring defense.

Of the 119 teams in the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision, the Wahoos are now 117th in scoring offense and 67th in scoring defense. Against Maryland, the Cavaliers posted season highs in points and total offense (427 yards).

“We thought that since their record wasn’t very good that they weren’t going to play like they did a couple of years ago,” Maryland offensive lineman Edwin Williams said. “UVa put forth their best effort, and we didn’t.”

Perhaps it was only coincidence, but the Cavaliers’ most inspired effort of the year came in front of Chris Long, their inspirational leader last season. Now a rookie with the St. Louis Rams, who were off Sunday, Long wore a No. 51 Virginia jersey Saturday night at Scott Stadium in tribute to his close friend Clint Sintim.

Sintim, a four-year starter for UVa, is tied for first among the nation’s linebackers in sacks with five. He had one against Maryland, after which he saluted Long by forming an “L” with his arms.

“The ‘L’ was here tonight,” a smiling Groh said afterward. “Whether he’s in uniform or not, there always seems to be a special magic that comes along with Chris Long. We’re glad he was here.”