Projected in the preseason as the eighth-place team in the ACC, ahead only of Duke, Virginia has bamboozled the "experts" -- including this one, tragically -- with a mixture of young and old players that seem to have two things in common: amazing resilience and awesome talent.

TCU's Feeling Froggy

There is life after LaDainian. There is comfort after Casey. There is a sentence with actual information, right now: Two years after losing a once-in-a-lifetime tailback and one year after having its starting quarterback transfer, Texas Christian is off to a 5-1 start that has coach Gary Patterson dreaming of -- egads -- a Conference USA championship. "If you want to have a chance to win a championship ... you have to be (offensively) balanced," Patterson said after the Horned Frogs defeated Army 46-27 this past Saturday. Three months ago TCU was perfectly balanced -- missing its marquee runner and thrower. Now it has the good kind of balance. The running situation is in good feet with a committee of backs led by junior Ricky Madison, who gained 116 yards against Army, and true freshman Lonta Hobbs, who added 81 yards. They are a nice 1-2 punch, Hobbs a power back who pounds away at the defense's interior, and Madison a speed back who can get outside. From 1997-2000, LaDainian Tomlinson was both -- running for 5,263 yards for TCU before becoming a first-round NFL draft pick. "Lonta's made Ricky better, giving him a rest," Patterson said. "And the competitive edge has brought out the best in Ricky." The team's three-year starter at quarterback, junior Casey Printers, stunned TCU by transferring after last season to Florida A&M, where he hoped more of an open attack would show off his NFL potential. Into that void stepped fifth-year senior Sean Stilley, who threw for at least 250 yards in each of the first three games before suffering a shoulder injury. Redshirt freshman Tye Gunn replaced Stilley against Houston, and in his first career start threw for 172 yards and a touchdown (15-for-26) and ran for 63 yards and a score. Compare that to Printers' first start his freshman season - 5-for-10 for 88 yards against Arkansas State in 1999. Patterson said Gunn reminds him of the quarterback his team will face this week, Louisville's Dave Ragone, at a similar age. "Tye's a lot like Ragone in the early stages," Patterson said. "He's definitely not to Dave's level yet, but you just like a guy who can scramble yourself out of trouble and go do things." Stilley could return this week, giving Patterson a choice of quarterbacks -- the dropback thrower (Stilley) or the disruptive athlete (Gunn). Expect him to utilize both as the season goes on and the schedule toughens. To date, the Horned Frogs have beaten Northwestern, SMU, North Texas, Houston and Army -- teams with a combined 5-27 record. TCU's loss was a 36-29 defeat in the opener to Cincinnati, in overtime and on the road. Ahead are dates with Louisville, Southern Miss, Tulane, East Carolina and Memphis (combined record: 16-14) -- a finish that will tell more about the Horned Frogs than their start. Still, a 5-1 is 5-1. Credit to Patterson for making his team, his program, more than a two-man show. -- Gregg Doyel

After beating Clemson at home this past Saturday, the Cavaliers are riding a five-game winning streak, their longest in four years, and are looking like a sure-fire bowl team in what was supposed to be a rebuilding season.

Not that Virginia coach Al Groh would ever say such a thing.

"My attitude right now is (we're) just trying to find where the sixth (win) is going to come from," he says. "We've got six more (games), so I'm trying to find where the next one is going to come from. Should we be so fortunate to get that one, then we're going to try hard to find where the seventh's one going to come from."

And maybe then No. 8 and No. 9.

Virginia is winning the hard way, but it's winning nonetheless. The Cavaliers have made a habit of trailing in the second half and then rallying, including a 17-point comeback against a Wake Forest team that has defeated Georgia Tech and Purdue. In all, Virginia has outscored its last 10 foes after halftime, winning seven of those games.

The formula has included a handful of veterans -- junior quarterback Matt Schaub, senior receiver Billy McMullen, senior linebacker Angelo Crowell and an all-upperclassman secondary -- sprinkled throughout one of the youngest rosters in the country.

Of its 95-player roster, only 10 are seniors, while 44 are true freshmen or redshirt freshmen. That includes tight end Heath Miller, a huge surprise at tight end for two reasons. One, he has seven touchdown catches -- the most ever by a Virginia tight end, and the second-best total in ACC history. And two, Miller was recruited as a quarterback.

Three of the team's top four rushers are freshmen, led by Wali Lundy, a former all-state receiver whose 11 catches against Clemson set a Virginia record for a running back, and tied the school mark at any position. Lundy leads the ACC with 38 catches.

Other freshmen in key roles include starting tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson and linebacker Darryl Blackstock, who leads the country's true freshmen with six sacks. Both are members of a 2002 recruiting class ranked among the Top 10 in the country.

Groh hopes to duplicate that success next year, the next and the next.

"Seeing the talent they've brought to this program motivates me and our staff to try to bring in more talent," Groh said. "Recruiting will be the lifeblood of this program."

Schaub is the heartbeat. Maligned throughout last season as a co-starter along with Bryson Spinner (who transferred) and benched this season for the start of the second game, Schaub has rebounded from a Game 2 benching to become the No. 5-rated passer in the country. He has thrown for 1,527 yards with 17 touchdowns and just five interceptions, providing an unexpected challenge to N.C. State's Philip Rivers for All-ACC honors.

Along with making a star of Miller, Schaub has thrown three touchdowns to another tight end, Patrick Estes, while also getting the ball to All-American candidate McMullen (30 catches).

"It's like night and day from what I saw (of Schaub) last year," says Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe. "I thought we saw a kid who didn't seem to be real confident, seemed to have happy feet in the pocket, just did not seem to be a take-charge kind of kid.

"This year, it's the complete opposite. He's someone who seems to have control of the offense, seems to understand the offense and sits in the pocket well. He makes all the throws. He's got a nice touch underneath, but against us the difference was deep balls. There were a couple throws he made I don't care how well we played them -- they were going to be completed."

To qualify for a bowl, the Cavs still must win at least one more game. Even with a closing schedule of North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Penn State, N.C. State, Maryland and Virginia Tech ... book it. Virginia has shown too much tenacity and talent to slip now.

Around the ACC

Clemson
The Tigers and their foe Saturday, Wake Forest, have played the same two ACC teams with similar results. Both lost to Virginia and beat Georgia Tech -- all by five points or less. ... Clemson has 13 interceptions in its last eight games and would like to become the first team this season to intercept Wake Forest's James MacPherson, who last pick came in 2001, 149 passes ago.

Duke
TB Chris Douglas (ankle) might not play against NC State, and even if he does, he probably won't be full speed again this season, coach Carl Franks said. ... Duke has four of the top seven tackle-for-loss guys in the ACC, with DT Shawn Johnson leading the league in sacks with seven.

Florida State
The Seminoles have Saturday off, giving them two weeks to prepare for Notre Dame. That game is scheduled for Oct. 26 in Tallahassee. ... QB Chris Rix needs 95 passing yards against the Irish to become the third ACC sophomore with 4,000 yards for his career.

Georgia Tech
The Jackets play Maryland on Thursday for the fifth time since 1995. ... The Jackets lead the ACC in net punting, but the Terps' Steve Suter will test that. He leads the ACC in punt returns at 13.9 yards, including two touchdowns.

Maryland
K Nick Novak was the star of last season's game against Georgia Tech, forcing overtime with a 46-yard field goal and then winning it with a 26-yarder. ... In his first home game against the Jackets since leaving for Maryland after the 2000 season, Terps coach Ralph Friedgen faces another former offensive "genius" from the NFL in Chan Gailey.

North Carolina
The Tar Heels hope to get back DE Issac Mooring, a starter before suffering a broken hand three weeks ago, against Virginia. ... Although UNC hasn't won in Charlottesville since 1981, the series there is tied 21-21.

NC State
The Wolfpack has the nation's No. 4 active winning streak at seven, behind only Miami (28), Oregon (11) and Bowling Green (eight). ... Freshman TB T.A. McLendon, who set national touchdown records in high school, is at it again. His five touchdowns in a game earlier this season tied a school mark, and he scored his 11th and 12th touchdowns of the season Saturday against North Carolina -- tying him with Ted Brown for the most TDs by a Wolfpack freshman.

Virginia
In the same place but seemingly heading in different directions this season, Virginia coach Al Groh and North Carolina's John Bunting have identical 10-9 records at their alma maters. ... This will be the 107th meeting of the oldest series in the South, and fifth-most played series in Division I-A history. ... Groh coached linebackers at UNC from 1973-77.

Wake Forest
The Deacons' victory against Duke on Saturday was the first home ACC win for second-year coach Jim Grobe, and the team's first victory since early last season that didn't come down to the final possession ... With a whopping six tackles for loss against Duke, DE Calvin Pace broke Michael McCrary's team career mark of 46. Pace now has 48.

Around Conference USA
Someone will pick up its first C-USA victory of the season when Army visits Houston. The Cadets have played the Cougars tough the past two seasons, beating them 28-14 last season after falling 31-30 in 2000, on the road, when Houston blocked their potential game-winning field goal. ... Army is 0-6 for only the third time in school history. ... Army might be 0-7 if it doesn't give Houston's Brandon Middleton his due. Of his 65 career catches, 17 have gone for more than 30 yards. ... Cincinnati plays Southern Miss for the first time since 2000, when the Bearcats won to snap a three-game losing streak to the Golden Eagles. ... Southern Miss will be breaking in a new starting quarterback, redshirt freshman Dustin Almond, who won the job after going 24-for-39 with a touchdown in a relief, and losing, effort to South Florida. ... Starter Micky D'Angelo had been 2-for-4 before being replaced. ... Expect some sacks in this game. Since 2000, Southern Miss is 10th nationally with 80 sacks, three more than Cincinnati, which ranks 12th. ... East Carolina gets its first look at future C-USA member South Florida, which comes to Greenville after beating Southern Miss last week. ... The Pirates have two nice streaks on the line -- a 13-year homecoming streak, and a six-game victory spree against teams from Florida, including a win against No. 9 Miami in 1996. ... ECU will need to contain USF senior QB Marquel Blackwell, who is 25-12 as a starter, and 10-4 when he completes 20 passes. He has thrown for 7,818 career yards. ... TCU makes its first visit to Louisville to play the Cardinals, who would like to avenge last season's 37-22 loss in the first game in series history. ... Louisville managed minus-47 yards in that game, with QB Dave Ragone getting sacked nine times. ... That was Louisville's only loss in its last 13 league games. ... Memphis has lost its last eight games against Mississippi State, but this is a new breed of Bulldogs. They are 2-4, their only victories coming against Division I-AA Jacksonville State and recent I-AA team Troy State. ... Those wins were at home, whereas Mississippi State must go to Memphis for this one. ... The tight end finally became a part of the Memphis passing attack last week when John Doucette caught a 7-yard pass -- the first catch by a Memphis tight end all season ... Memphis expects TB DeAngelo Williams (knee) to play. ... Tulane has never beaten UAB, but then again, the teams have played just twice. ...Green Wave Mewelde Moore has a score to settle with the Blazers, who held him to 35 rushing yards last season with a defensive line that sent many players into the NFL draft. ... Tulane's 26-point second quarter last week in its victory against Cincinnati was its biggest quarter in four years. ... UAB freshman QB Darrell Hackney has led the Blazers to 41 points and 398 yards per game in his two starts, compared to the team's 12.5 points and 227.8 yards in the previous four games.

Gregg Doyel covers college football for The Charlotte Observer and can be reached at gdoyel@charlotteobserver.com.