When working out of his Boulder, Colorado, office, Brian Williams often takes advantage of its surrounding beauty with nature hikes, trail runs and overnight camping trips.
The views at 5,430 feet are awe-inspiring and peaceful. Itâs a quiet he relishes as the CEO of Viget, a Washington-based software development firm with four locations throughout the country.
But donât get it twisted: If the 1997 University of Virginia graduate could go back to the chaotic evening on Nov. 2, 1995, in Charlottesville, he would âdo it in a heartbeat.â
Brian Williams, while hanging on the crossbar of a Scott Stadium goalpost, hams it up for a camera that captures the scene following Âé¶čÆÆœâ°æ win over Florida State. Williams, a 1997 alumnus, learned later this image of him was featured on ESPN during âSportsCenterâsâ recap of the game. (Contributed photo)
Williamsâ favorite view that night was of a Scott Stadium field covered with jubilant UVA football fans. His vivid memory of the scene stems from the three to four minutes he spent hanging from a goalpost.
âOne of the best nights of my life,â he said. âIncredible.â
Williams will be among many UVA alumni reliving an epic memory Friday when the 3-1 Cavaliers host eighth-ranked Florida State University, nearly 30 years after beating the Seminoles in what remains, arguably, the programâs signature performance.
The Wahoosâ uniforms will emulate those donned by Tiki Barber, Anthony Poindexter and the other household names who led the Hoos to a 33-28 upset of the No. 2 Noles, which ended on a last-second, goal-line stand that sparked an orange-and-blue-colored celebration for the ages.
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â95 Throwbacks đ„ đ¶âïžđ·â Virginia Football (@UVAFootball)
Mike Groh: At Virginia, tradition runs deep.
Born from visionaries, shaped by legends. These colors have long told the story of this great University. Every stitch, every stripe. It carries the legacies of the ones that have come before us.
Itâs time to write the next chapter. Tradition never dies. It lives with us.
[âȘ âSeparate Ways (Worlds Apart)â by Journey plays. âȘ]
Fans ripped down the goalposts and carried the parts all over Grounds.
âI went by Madison Bowl the next day,â recalled 1990 alumnus Myron Ripley, âand the freaking goalpost was down there in the bowl.â
âThousands tear up field, party in streetâ reads a headline from the Nov. 3, 1995, edition of the Cavalier Daily that was packed with coverage of a win the UVA student newspaper later called the âmost dramaticâ in the âschoolâs sports history.â
Virginiaâs victory snapped Florida Stateâs 29-game winning streak over its Atlantic Coast Conference opponents. The Seminoles entered the ACC three years earlier and had never lost to a league opponent â until Poindexter and Adrian Burnim combined to stop FSU star running back Warrick Dunn just short of the end zone as time expired.
UVA fans carry a piece of a goalpost out of Scott Stadium following the Wahoosâ win that snapped FSUâs 29-game win streak against ACC opponents. (Daily Progress photo)
Pandemonium ensued. âA spiritual experienceâ is how then-third-year student Mary Zambri described to the Cavalier Daily the feeling of gleefully rushing the field.
Decades have passed, but the memories have hardly faded for those lucky enough to be in the capacity crowd of 44,300 that evening.
The Cavaliers entered the game â a rare Thursday night affair â with a 6-3 record and a No. 24 national ranking, yet they were decided underdogs against an undefeated FSU bunch trending toward its second national championship in three years.
Broadcaster 1: Hereâs the ballgame. Virginia leads, 33-28, trying to shock the No. 2 team in the country here in Charlottesville.
Broadcaster 2: One last play.
Broadcaster 1: Youâll know in four seconds who wins it.
Touchdown ⊠no!
Narrator: Confidence isnât always derived from unfettered success. Sometimes itâs born from simply getting off the mat.
Florida State and Virginia represented both sides of this same coin in 1995. The Seminoles had run roughshod through the ACC, unbeaten in 29 contests over three seasons.
The Cavaliers, meanwhile, suffered gutting last-second losses at national powers Michigan and Texas that only served to embolden the talented roster. They could play with anyone.
Tiki Barber: As a team, we felt like if we can play with Michigan, we can play with Texas, we can play with Florida State. And we did.
Mike Groh: I think our preparation was really good. I think we were focused on what we wanted to do. We knew their key players and the things we needed to take away and felt really confident in our gameplan. We knew we were going to play really well at home.
Certainly, when we showed up to the stadium that night, it was unmatched and electric for a Scott Stadium crowd.
Barber: It was chilly, but rainy, but kind of the perfect football night. There was this aura. We couldnât wait to get on the field.
Broadcaster 1: Inside itâs heating up because the Cavaliers fans know that Florida State in the last four years has seen their opponents go down like a cold beer on a hot day. The Wahoos of Virginia tonight hope to snap that long conference winning streak.
Tiki Barber, hit in the backfield, ball loose.
Barber: I fumbled. Immediately, they scored.
If weâre going to make mistakes, theyâre going to destroy us.
But that week, we had seen a lot on film that they liked to bring the safety down, force the play into extra defenders. Mike sees it coming, sees the safety creeping down and he gets up and he calls the audible and Iâm like, âAll right, here we go.â
Broadcaster 1: Little option, Barberâs got the corner already! Tiki Barber might have a touchdown! One man to beat, forget it, heâs gone.
Barber: And all of a sudden, Iâm like, âDude, thereâs nobody here.â The obstacle is what you see when you take your eye off the prize. And so, all I was doing was digging as hard as I could. It was awesome.
Groh: Those kids of plays, when they presented themselves, we needed to make those plays. And really to a man, all 22 on offense and defense, we were able to do that throughout the night.
Broadcaster 1: Theyâre going to punt it, and itâs blocked!
Barber: My brother on the defense, Percy Ellsworth, James Farrior, Jamie Sharper. We have all the talent that we need. We have a really good quarterback in Mike.
Broadcaster 1: Groh, play action, deep streak for Pete Allen. He made the catch, heâs going to go! 72 yards!
Groh: I knew I had Pete outside 1 on 1. If I remember correctly, he kind of looked at me and I looked at him. I knew what that look meant and I said, âLetâs go ahead and test them down the field.â He made a great play on that ball.
Broadcaster 1: Halftime at Scott Stadium. The Wahoos are hooing it up. The Cavaliers lead the Seminoles, 27-21.
Boddy Bowden: Linebackers, youâre getting whipped. Secondary, youâve given up long passes. You gotta fight for the stinking ball. Just remember itâs a 60-minute football game.
Jamie Sharper: They couldnât score with the big plays. They had to throw the balls in the flat, they had to throw the balls with deep 7 routes and what have you. When they couldnât score quick, we knew we had them.
Coach Lantz, rest in peace, our defensive coordinator. He had a certain game plan for us building up to Florida State. They call it the 3-3 stack now. Three down linemen ⊠We brought Anthony Poindexter down as our fourth linebacker. He played in the flats as well.
Narrator: The ACC heavyweight tilt settled into a late-round war of field position. Will Brice pinning the Seminoles deep, Rafael Garcia booting field goals. And Lantzâs stacked defense stymying each offensive.
Still, an eerily familiar scene was coming into focus: Virginia would need one last stop. And with it, a reversal of fortunes.
Barber: It was almost a sense of weâve done our part. Now our defense has to save us.
Iâm just, like, chewing on my lip, chewing on my mouthpiece, just thinking theyâre going to make a stop. And you realize they only have a play left.
When they direct snapped it to Warrick, I was like, âOh, crap.â I honestly thought thatâs the perfect play.
Broadcaster 3: They snap back to Danny Kanell and he hands off up the middle ⊠oh no, he lost the ball! What are they going to call? Theyâre going to say no! Theyâre going to say no! Theyâre going to say no! Virginiaâs won the football game! I donât believe it!
Sharper: I started shooting through a gap, back-side. You saw me diving in the A-gap, trying to get his leg. And I just got his leg on a swipe and made him stumble. And as he was stumbling, Burnim and Poindexter finished him off at the goal line.
Barber: Everybody points to Dex, but it was Adrian Burnim who made the play. He jumped over the top and punched. He hit the ball perfectly. Even though Warrickâs head was in the end zone, the punch knocked the ball back and it stayed right there. The tip of that ball never crossed the goal line.
Warrick and me and Ronde have gotten really close over the years. And every time I see him, the first thing I say ⊠âYou werenât in.â
Sharper: The celebration was unbelievable.
Groh: Running on the field and just overwhelmed. I donât know if it was relief or excitement, but you got to have faith to believe something like that will happen and we had a lot of guys who did and had a lot of confidence in each other.
That was obviously an exciting night, one weâre still talking about.
Barber: That team made it feel like Virginiaâs a player in college football. It shined a light on Virginia. Weâre proud of that.
It changed Virginia football.
Then-third-year student Paul Davis, his face painted orange and blue, had a message for all Wahoo fans as he arrived at Scott Stadium: âDonât come in here negative,â he told the Cav Daily.
Davisâ classmate Dave Lampton personified optimism in a few distinct ways. He remembers making a bet with a friend that the Hoos wouldnât just cover the 18-point spread, but they would win the game outright.
