They're rioting in Columbus and they're tapping their feet impatiently in Coral Gables, but there's no more fascinating story in college football this season than what has taken place in Charlottesville.

The Virginia team that knocked Maryland out of contention for a BCS bid Saturday by embarrassing the Terrapins, 48-13, started nine freshmen. The Cavaliers are 8-4 as they prepare for a Virginia Tech team that has lost three consecutive games. The Four Freshmen isn't the name of a '50s group -- it's the Virginia offensive line.

	Al Groh has turned the Cavs into a bowl team earlier than expected.

"I can see them improve from game to game," coach Al Groh said Monday. "So many weeks, I could see it from Tuesday to Wednesday. I would know on Friday night that we were better than on the previous Saturday. That should be the case with a team of this nature. They listen and they try to do what they hear."

Virginia has some upperclassmen who are very good. Junior quarterback Matt Schaub, who is a candidate for the AP's Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year to be announced later this week, has thrown 26 touchdowns and only six interceptions. He ranks fourth in the nation in passing efficiency. Senior linebacker Angelo Crowell, who leads the defense, and senior wide receiver Billy McMullen already have accepted invitations to the Senior Bowl.

But it's freshmen such as left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, who has started every game, and linebacker Darryl Blackstock, with nine sacks, who have made the difference between being 5-7 a year ago and a bowl berth this season. Blackstock and Crowell have led a defense that has forced 32 turnovers, including 20 fumbles.

"We equate it to our second year in New England," Groh said, referring to 1994, when he served as defensive coordinator for Bill Parcells. "The defense was getting better but it wasn't dominant. We led the league in turnovers. The only thing a defense should do is get off the field without giving up points. If you can't do that by being dominant, then you have to do other things. We've got guys who hunt the ball."

The running game has begun to improve. The Cavs have gained more than a quarter of their season's output (349 of 1,336 yards) in the last two games, victories over North Carolina State and Maryland. The freshmen-dominated offensive line is "playing college football without ever having gone through a weight program," Groh said. "They have good skills and good leverage but they don't have overpowering size yet. That's yet to come."

So much appears on the Cavaliers' horizon. As the ACC enters a power vacuum -- the champion, Florida State, may finish 8-5 -- Virginia is in position to reach the top.

Tale Of Two T-Shirts
T-Shirt No. 1: After Washington lost three consecutive games to slump to 4-5, coach Rick Neuheisel challenged his team to win the "Northwest Championship."

"You beat the three teams left on your schedule," Neuheisel told his team, referring to Oregon State, Oregon and Washington State, "you'll get to a good bowl, you'll be Northwest champions and you'll win the Apple Cup for the fifth year in a row."

Washington defeated Oregon State, 41-29, and followed that with a 42-14 whipping of Oregon on Nov. 16. After the game, several Huskies posed to have their picture taken in front of the Autzen Stadium scoreboard. One of them, senior tailback Braxton Clemon, wore a T-shirt that read "Northwest Championship." A box for Oregon State, which the Huskies had defeated, 41-29, a week earlier, had a red check mark. A box for Oregon already had a red check. The Washington State box remained unchecked.

Sounds innocuous. But after the photo ran in area newspapers, the Cougar coaches seized upon it as incentive. You couldn't find a wall in the Washington State athletic department that didn't show that unchecked box.

When the Huskies upset the third-ranked Cougars, 29-26, in three overtimes Saturday night in Pullman, Clemon did his best Terrell Owens imitation, taking a red marker and putting a big check in that empty box. The photographers were waiting.

T-Shirt No. 2: Neuheisel arrived at the postgame press conference to accept the Apple Cup (yes, there really is a trophy called the Apple Cup) wearing a white tee with a tasteful Apple Cup logo on the left breast. On the back, in big maroon letters, read "Rick is a Dick."

The T-shirt had been a gift from his dad. "Now he's complete. He's turned into his father," said his father, yes, Dick Neuheisel.

The victory proved important for a number of reasons -- Washington not only beat its archrival, it prevented the Cougars from being first in line for the Fiesta Bowl should Miami lose, and prevented them from clinching the Pacific-10 Conference championship and a berth in the Rose Bowl as well. If UCLA beats Washington State on Dec. 7, USC will win the title. Washington is content with its unofficial Northwest Championship.

"It had to be enough," quarterback Cody Pickett said Sunday. "Everybody left us for dead. We had to rally around something."

All those reasons are important. The other noteworthy characteristic of the victory is the final margin. Washington, 14-5 in games decided by seven points or fewer in Neuheisel's first three seasons, had been 0-3 before Saturday night. The Huskies had been taking themselves out of games early by committing turnovers and other miscues. They averaged more than two turnovers per game, which goes a long way toward explaining that 7-5 record. Pickett doesn't dwell on throwing for 4,186 yards, a Pac-10 record, or 26 touchdowns as much as his 13 interceptions.

"We would get down early and I was trying to force the ball into the receiver," Pickett said. "It's hard for any quarterback. When you're a competitor, you want to make big plays. It's hard on third-and-10 to throw the ball away and be patient for the next time. You have to be."

The Huskies must wait for the conference race to shake out in order to get a bowl invitation. In the meantime, they'll continue to enjoy their Northwest Championship.

Jones Running The Show

	Matt Jones and Arkansas win the SEC West with a win over LSU.

Arkansas sophomore quarterback Matt Jones would rather do shots of Drano than subject himself to a media interview, but fame is the price Jones must pay for leading the Razorbacks from a 3-3 start to playing for the SEC West championship. If Arkansas extends its winning streak from five games to six by beating LSU on Friday, then the Razorbacks will play Georgia in the Georgia Dome (hey, that's fair) on Dec. 7.

At 6-foot-6, 215 pounds, Jones may be the tallest running quarterback in the history of the game. As a freshman, Jones frequently tucked the ball and took off on designed plays. After rushing for nearly 900 yards last season, he has gained 553 yards on the ground in 2002.

"This year, we have some good backs," said Jones, referring to Fred Talley (917 yards) and Cedric Cobbs. "Let them run the ball and take hits. I'm not a slider. You've just got to be smart. Take as few hits as you can. If you get the first down, get out of bounds. There's no use in taking a big hit. I've probably only been hit two or three times this season."

Jones has learned to keep looking for his receivers. For the Razorbacks' first touchdown in their 26-19 victory at Mississippi State, Jones moved around in the pocket until he found George Wilson for an eight-yard touchdown pass. Arkansas leads the nation in turnover margin (plus-21) because Jones isn't the only one who takes care of the ball. The Hogs have lost only five fumbles all season, two of them in special teams play. If they beat the Tigers, maybe someone will notice.

"We try not to pay attention to being ignored. We know we've got a shot," Jones said. "Boise State is in the top 25 and we beat them pretty bad (41-14). We just let them being ranked go."

UConn Say It -- Big Win
Connecticut's 37-20 upset of Iowa State did more than give the Huskies a 6-6 record, respectability and a hit of endorphins that will last until next August. UConn's victory sent a message to the Big East that coach Randy Edsall is building a team that will be ready to compete when it joins the league in 2005.

"I knew the 'statement game' was going to come," Edsall said Monday morning. "I was hoping it would be against Iowa State. To be down 20-10 and score 27 unanswered points told me something about the quality of the kids here."

UConn ends the season with a four-game winning streak and momentum that will carry through to spring practice and, the school hopes, the ticket drive as the Huskies prepare to play in new Rentschler Field next season.

Quarterback Dan Orlovsky, a sophomore two-year starter, played 772 snaps this season, throwing for 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. "Playing him when we did, not that we wanted to, is really going to pay off for us," Edsall said.

He could have said about most of his team. The Huskies lose only six starters.

Is This Heaven?
A year ago, Alabama fans had so little faith that the Crimson Tide would upset Auburn that a good number of them sold their tickets to Tiger fans. The Tide stunned the Tigers, 31-7.

Last week, the roles reversed. Alabama fans, fresh off the Tide's 31-0 victory at LSU, celebrated their unofficial SEC West championship. Auburn fans grumbled about going to Bryant-Denny Stadium without an experienced tailback. Ten minutes into the game, Auburn led, 14-0, and Alabama never recovered. The 17-7 victory was a year in the making.

Iron Bowl memories are never longer than when you're embarrassed. Tre Smith, the fourth-string tailback, rushed for 126 yards. Quarterback Jason Campbell, who won the Open Refrigerator Award down the stretch because, at long last, the light came on, threw for two first-quarter touchdowns.

The Tigers are hoping for a Jan. 1 bid to the Citrus or the Cotton. Asked if he knew where Auburn would play its 13th game, athletic director David Housel said Sunday, "No, but I know we'll be in heaven for the next year."

The Only Choice
South Carolina's loss to archrival Clemson rendered the Gamecocks ineligible for a bowl game and may have saved the Southeastern Conference executives from making an uncomfortable decision. The SEC has seven bowl berths. Had both South Carolina and Ole Miss qualified for bowls, the SEC would have eight eligible teams. Don't think for a minute that Ole Miss wouldn't have reminded the SEC office that it stayed home last year with a 7-4 record.

The Perfect Ten
One more Top 10 List. . .

1. Miami -- Did you notice how the minute Pittsburgh threatened, McGahee broke off a 68-yard touchdown run?
2. Ohio State -- Tressel for Governor Campaign HQ opening any day now.
3. Iowa -- Big Ten dream: Miami loses, OU loses, Bucks-Hawks in Fiesta. Remember the '76 NCAA final?
4. Oklahoma -- Mr. Kingsbury, welcome to the top 25. Did you tell your cab to wait outside?
5. Georgia -- Dawgs needed off-week to get healthier for the next two.
6. Kansas State -- 'Cats keeping this spot warm for the Trojans.
7. USC -- Beat the Irish, and then focus on rooting for -- gulp -- UCLA.
8. Notre Dame -- Last time both USC-ND in top 10: 1988. No. 1 Irish 27, No. 2 Trojans, 10.
9. Penn State -- JoePa trademark: improve from August to November. Exhibit A currently on display.
10. Washington State -- Repeat after me: Jason, how's your ankle?

Ivan Maisel is a senior writer for ESPN.com. E-mail him at ivan.maisel@espn3.com.