ESPN College Football

And the ACC's leading rusher is …

Branden Ore? James Davis? Tashard Choice?

Try Cedric Peerman, the powerfully built junior tailback who has led Virginia (3-1, 3-0 ACC) on a surprising three-game win streak and to the top of the ACC's Coastal Division heading into Saturday's nonconference game against Pittsburgh in Charlottesville (ESPNU, 7 p.m. ET).

Peerman and his teammates have turned around a season that appeared headed for disaster after an embarrassing 23-3 season-opening loss to Wyoming.

The loss so annoyed some fickle Virginia fans that they painted the words "Groh Must Go," in reference to coach Al Groh, on a landmark bridge near UVa's campus.

But instead of folding, the Cavaliers bounced back to beat Duke and North Carolina, following those performances with last week's 28-23 victory against Georgia Tech that marked the first time Virginia has won its first three conference games since 1998.

Suffice it to say that the haters have gone away.

For that, the 5-foot-10, 205-pound Peerman deserves much of the credit. After being held to 18 yards on seven carries by Wyoming, Peerman has rushed for 153.3 yards per game during Virginia's win streak and shot up to the top of the ACC rushing leaders with 479 yards (119.8 YPG).

Peerman began his run with 137 yards against Duke, then posted a career-best 186 yards at North Carolina, and gained 138 yards last week against a Georgia Tech run defense that was ranked seventh nationally.

"In the last three games, when he gets the ball, it's almost like he takes over and finds a way to get the first down every time," Virginia tight end Jonathan Stupar said.

Peerman, a native of Gladys, Va., doesn't have much to say about his personal success except to credit his offensive linemen and teammates.

The grandson and son of tobacco farmers, Peerman is as humble as he is proficient with a football in his hands.

"Anybody on the team will tell you that I really don't talk that much," Peerman said.

ACC notebook
From the big matchup between Boston College and Virginia Tech to Miami's resurgence, the ACC is covered here.Notebook

Peerman didn't have much to say before this season. He spent his first two years at Virginia primarily returning kickoffs and as a little-used backup to Wali Lundy as a freshman and to Jason Snelling last season.

"I knew the guys in front of me with just a ton of experience were going to play," said Peerman, who had two career starts prior to this season and a combined rushing total of 390 yards. "That's the way it should be. Sure, at times, I got frustrated, but I knew I needed to stick with it and have a little bit of faith."

Virginia's fans had trouble keeping the faith after watching the Cavaliers get drubbed on Sept. 1 by Wyoming, a Mountain West Conference opponent. Virginia was held to 100 yards of total offense and gave up 452 yards to the Cowboys.

"We obviously weren't ready for them," Stupar said. "That's on us. But we're moving on. We're not looking back."

Virginia, which ranks last in the ACC in total offense, has struggled moving the ball except when Peerman has it in his hands.

Peerman's strengths are his power and durability. His thick build makes him a tough mark for any tackler and he's shown the ability to flourish with a heavy workload. Peerman has 84 rushes this season, second in the ACC to Maryland's Keon Lattimore, who has two more carries than Peerman, but 70 fewer yards.

"He's a tough guy to tackle," Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey said. "You can't tackle him low and you can't tackle him high and that's the mark of a good back."

Peerman said he's taken no special satisfaction from proving his team's detractors wrong.

"We feel like we can be a lot better," Peerman said. "We're not worried about trying to prove anybody wrong. It doesn't matter who is respecting you or who is dissing you."

Nobody is disrespecting Virginia now. The Cavaliers play three consecutive nonconference games -- Pittsburgh, Middle Tennessee State and Connecticut -- and could be 6-1 and possibly ranked by the time they return to ACC play against Maryland on Oct. 20.

"We might be a little better than most people gave us credit for," Groh said after last week's victory against Georgia Tech.

Following his last three games, the same can be said for Peerman.

Jorge Milian covers the ACC for The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post.