2002 Continental Tire Bowl The 2002 Continental Tire Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game between the Virginia Cavaliers ( UVA ) and the West Virginia Mountaineers at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte , North Carolina , on December 22 , 2002 . The first edition of the Continental Tire Bowl , the game was the final contest of the 2002 NCAA Division I - A football season for both teams , and ended in a 48 – 22 victory for Virginia . West Virginia represented the Big East Conference ( Big East ) in the game ; Virginia represented the Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) . Team selection . In its inaugural season the Continental Tire Bowl had contracts with the Big East and Atlantic Coast Conference s that allowed them to select one team from each conference to participate in their annual game . From the Big East the bowl selected No . 15 West Virginia , the second - highest ranked team in the conference following conference champion and No . 1 Miami ; Virginia was selected out of the ACC . The two teams had played each other twenty - two times historically , although not since 1985 ; the Cavaliers held a 12 – 10 – 1 advantage in the all - time series . Virginia opened their 2002 season with two losses against ranked teams , losing at home to No . 21 Colorado State 35 – 29 and on the road at No . 16 Florida State 40 – 19 . The Cavaliers bounced back from this early setback , winning their next six games . The first , against No . 22 South Carolina , saw the breakout of future National Football League ( NFL ) starting quarterback Matt Schaub , who threw three touchdown passes in a 34 – 21 win . Wins against Akron , Wake Forest , Duke , Clemson , and North Carolina followed , until the winning streak was broken by consecutive losses to Georgia Tech and No . 10 Penn State . Virginia then won consecutive games against ranked teams , beating No . 17 14 – 9 and No . 18 Maryland 48 – 13 , before closing out the regular season with a 21 – 9 loss to rival No . 19 Virginia Tech . Virginia finished the regular season with a record of 8 – 5 , 6 – 2 within the ACC . West Virginia ' s first game of the 2002 season was against Division I – AA ; the Mountaineers won handily 56 – 7 . Their next game was at Wisconsin ; West Virginia lost , 34 – 17 . Following two wins against Cincinnati and East Carolina , the Mountaineers lost their second game of the season , against No . 18 Maryland 48 – 17 . West Virginia opened Big East conference play against Rutgers , whom they shut out 40 – 0 . Following a win over Syracuse , the Mountaineers lost their only Big East contest of the year , against No . 1 Miami 40 – 23 . West Virginia would close out their season with four straight wins , over Temple , Boston College , Virginia Tech , and Pittsburgh , finishing the regular season with a record of 9 – 3 , 6 – 1 within the Big East . Game summary . The game kicked off on December 28 , 2002 , at 12 : 00 PM , before a sellout crowd of 73 , 535 at Ericsson Stadium . First quarter . The Virginia Cavaliers received the ball to start the game , fielding the kickoff at the 1 - yard line and returning it to the 15 . After a short drive where the Cavaliers brought the ball to the West Virginia 45 - yard - line , they were forced to punt . The Mountaineers received the ball at their own 18 - yard line and proceed to drive down the field . West Virginia got as far as the Virginia 5 - yard - line before being stopped ; after a five - yard penalty , Mountaineer kicker Todd James connected on a 27 - yard field goal , giving West Virginia a 3 – 0 lead with 6 : 11 left in the first quarter . Virginia got the ball back at their own 42 - yard line after a 35 - yard kickoff return by running back Wali Lundy . Driving to the West Virginia 14 - yard line , on 2nd - and - 10 Virginia executed a trick play where wide receiver Marques Hagans threw a pass to running back Wali Lundy . The play was good for a touchdown ; after the successful extra - point , the Cavaliers held a 7 – 3 lead with 4 : 06 left in the first quarter . West Virginia began their next drive from their own 22 - yard - line after a ten - yard penalty on the kickoff . On 3rd - and - 5 from their own 27 - yard - line , Mountaineer quarterback Rasheed Marshall completed a 43 - yard pass to wide receiver Phil Braxton , moving his team into Virginia territory . After earning two more first down s , on 1st - and - goal from the Cavalier six - yard - line , West Virginia scored on a touchdown run by running back Avon Cobourne . Virginia would only have time to make one play after getting the ball back until the quarter expired , making the score at the end of the first quarter 10 – 7 in West Virginia ' s favor . Second quarter . The Cavaliers faced a 2nd - and - 3 on their own 37 - yard - line as the second quarter began . Behind the rushing of Wali Lundy , and the passing and rushing of quarterback Matt Schaub , Virginia moved down the field , earning four first downs . On 1st - and - goal from the seven - yard - line , Lundy ran right from two yards ; on second down Schaub ran for four more , placing the ball on the one - yard - line . A third - down rush by Lundy failed to make progress . Rather than kick the field goal , the Cavaliers elected to go for it on fourth down . Matt Schaub ran the ball up the middle , scoring the touchdown . After the extra - point , Virginia held a 14 – 10 lead with 10 : 12 left in the half . After a touchback on the kickoff , the Mountaineers began their next drive on their own 20 - yard - line . They went three - and - out , and punted the ball back to Virginia . Marques Hagans caught the punt on his own 31 - yard - line and ran it back 69 yards for the touchdown . After the extra - point , the Cavaliers now held a 21 – 10 lead with 7 : 53 left in the half . West Virginia got the ball back and drove to midfield . On 3rd - and - 15 from the Virginia 47 - yard - line , the Mountaineers attempted a wide receiver passing play , similar to the one Virginia used earlier to score a touchdown . This play was far less successful , however ; Phil Braxton ' s pass was intercepted by Cavalier linebacker Darryl Blackstock . Virginia proceeded to drive down the field , helped by a key Mountaineer mistake : a West Virginia penalty on 4th - and - 2 gave the Cavaliers 1st - and - goal from the 4 - yard - line . Wali Lundy would run the ball in on the next play , giving Virginia after the extra - point a 28 – 10 advantage . With only seconds left in the half , West Virginia upon getting the ball back attempted a Hail Mary pass that was caught by wide receiver Miquelle Henderson ; unfortunately , he was four yards short of the goal line , and West Virginia did not have enough time to run a play before the half expired . At halftime , Virginia held a 28 – 10 lead . Third quarter . West Virginia got the ball to start the third quarter , but were unable to advance beyond their own 36 - yard - line , and punted . Virginia began their drive at their own 25 - yard - line , and achieved two first downs off Matt Schaub passes , moving to midfield . On 3rd - and - 9 from the West Virginia 48 - yard - line , Schaub passed the ball to Wali Lundy , who carried the ball all the way down the field for a touchdown . After another successful extra - point , Virginia now led the Mountaineers 35 – 10 with 9 : 10 remaining in the quarter . West Virginia ' s misfortunes continued on their next drive , when , on the first play from scrimmage , Rasheed Marshall ' s pass was intercepted by cornerback Almondo Curry . The Cavaliers had a 1st - and - goal from the Mountaineer 9 - yard - line , but this time were unable to drive the ball into the end zone . Instead , Connor Hughes kicked a 27 - yard field goal , expanding the Virginia lead to 38 – 10 with 6 : 48 left in the quarter . The Mountaineer finally responded on their next series . Starting from their own 20 - yard - line , West Virginia drove down the field off of Rasheed Marshall passes and Avon Cobourne runs . Marshall would finally run in the touchdown himself from one yard out on 2nd - and - goal . The extra - point attempt was blocked , however . Virginia would complete two passes on their next drive before the quarter ended . The score was 38 – 16 in favor of Virginia . Fourth quarter . Virginia started the final quarter with the ball at midfield . The Cavaliers continued their drive but were stopped at the West Virginia 15 - yard - line . Connor Hughes kicked the 30 - yard field goal , giving Virginia a 41 – 16 lead with 12 : 12 left in the game . The Mountaineers , although well out of the game by now , drove down the field on their next possession . Starting from their own 19 - yard - line , West Virginia earned six first downs and finally scored the touchdown on a 1 - yard rush by Avon Cobourne . The Mountaineers went for the two - point conversion , but Rasheed Marshall was tackled before he could reach the end zone . The score was now 41 – 22 , in Virginia ' s favor , with 7 : 17 left in the game . West Virginia attempted an onside kick on the kickoff to regain possession , but the ball was recovered by Virginia safety Shernard Newby . Starting from the West Virginia 48 - yard - line , the Cavaliers kept the ball on the ground in order to run out the clock . On 3rd - and - 4 from the West Virginia 31 - yard - line , however , Wali Lundy broke free and ran all the way to the end zone for the final score of the game . The Mountaineers got the ball back but after one first down were unable to convert on fourth down , giving the ball back to Virginia . The Cavaliers took two knees to end the game . Virginia won the game , 48 – 22 . Final statistics . For his performance in the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl — 4 touchdowns and 203 total yards receiving and rushing — Virginia running back Wali Lundy was named the most valuable player of the game . He led the Cavaliers in both rushing — 22 carries , 127 yards — and receiving — five catches , 76 yards — while scoring four touchdowns . Two other Virginia players scored multiple touchdowns in the game : quarterback Matt Schaub passed for a touchdown and ran for a touchdown , while wide receiver and backup quarterback Marques Hagans passed for a touchdown and ran back a punt for a touchdown . Schaub led the Cavalier passing attack completing 16 out of 22 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown , while Hagans was 1 - for - 1 with his 14 - yard touchdown pass being his only passing attempt on the game . In the running game , second after Lundy ' s performance was Matt Schaub ' s effort — seven carries , 39 yards , and a touchdown . Running back Michael Johnson ran three times for 23 yards ; running back Brandon Isaiah had three carries for 13 yards . Safety Marquis Weeks , playing offense , ran three times for a net loss of three yards . Receiving - wise , after Lundy , wide receiver Ryan Sawyer caught four passes for 41 yards ; tight end Heath Miller caught three passes for 54 yards . Brandon Isaiah caught three passes for ten yards ; Billy McMullen and Michael McGrew each caught one pass , for eight and seven yards respectively . For West Virginia , quarterback Rasheed Marshall completed 12 out of 18 passes for 215 yards and one interception . Wide receiver Phil Braxton attempted one pass that was intercepted ; Danny Embick threw one incomplete pass . In the running game , Avon Cobourne led the Mountaineers with 25 carries for 117 yards and two touchdowns . Rasheed Marshall supplemented the rushing attack with 12 carries for 48 yards and a touchdown . Running back Qunicy Wilson had ten carries for 38 yards ; the remaining rushing attempts were made by Aaron Neal ( one carry , 22 yards ) , Phil Braxton ( two carries , 12 yards ) , and Danny Embick ( two carries , seven yards ) . West Virginia ' s receiving attack was led by Phil Braxton , who caught four passes for 108 yards . Miquelle Henderson caught two passes for 75 yards ; Derrick Smith caught two passes for nine yards . The remaining four receptions were spilt between Darnell Glover ( 14 yards ) , A . J . Nastasi ( five yards ) , Tory Johnson ( five yards ) , and Quincy Wilson ( −1 yard ) .