Virginia (4-4) imploded in the second-half, but managed to escape with the much needed victory Saturday afternoon in Charlottesville. Miami’s Jacory Harris was knocked out of the game with an upper-body injury after a brutal but legal hit by John-Kevin Dolce, and the 4th-string quarterback, true-freshman Stephen Morris played admirably in relief after the 3rd-string quarterback Spencer Whipple threw two picks and was benched.
Virginia’s Chase Minnifield and Corey Mosely had two picks for the Hoos, and Rodney McLeod had one. All-ACC corner Ras-I Dowling did not play Saturday.
The Wahoos picked off Miami’s quarterbacks 5 times on the afternoon, and the Hoos’ defense played an outstanding game (except for the 4th quarter) giving up only 173 yards rushing to the ‘Canes. Miami was penalized 12 times, Virginia 11 times in a game marred by silly mistakes on both sides of the ball by both Miami and Virginia. Virginia’s offensive line did not give up a single sack in the game, and I think Verica was hit only once in the entire contest. Incredible play by the O-Line!
Marc Verica was solid as he only threw one interception on 19/27 passing for 176 yards and a sweet TD pass to Colter Phillips. Virginia also went for it and got it on 4th down early in the game at their own 40 yard line, setting the tone for the afternoon. This game was a physical hard-fought game, and the Virginia offensive line pushed the ‘Canes around all day long. Perry Jones earned the bulk of the carries for the Hoos as he carried the ball 22 times for 69 yards. Keith Payne also played a great game as he scored twice on 17 rushes for 81 yards and a 4.8 yards average.
The last time Virginia beat a ranked team was 10/25/08 when they beat Georgia Tech, and they were 0-6 against ranked opponents since. The Wahoos had lost nine straight ACC contests! Mike London fell to his knees in complete exhaustion and quiet jubilation as the last seconds ticked off the clock at Scott Stadium. What a huge win in his rebuilding effort that was in front of a ton of highly-regarded high school football recruits, as well as on the main ESPN network for the first time in the London era.
Miami’s talented tailback Damien Berry led the ‘Canes in rushing with 42 yards on 11 carries, and none of his counterparts (including Berry) at tailback found the end zone Saturday afternoon.
Kris Burd had another fine game for the Wahoos as he caught seven of Verica’s passes for 104 yards. Virginia’s special teams played an outstanding game, and the punter Jimmy Howell was perfect Saturday at Scott averaging 42.7 yards per kick as he constantly seemed to place the ball exactly where special teams coach Anthony Poindexter asked him to.
Virginia travels to Durham next week to play the struggling Duke Blue Devils. Duke has beaten Virginia twice in a row. No one loses to Duke three times in a row, right? Go Hoos!