11-19-2017, 06:36 AM
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. â For the first 33 minutes Saturday, it appeared the Virginia football team was poised to snatch the talismanic Turnover Chain from third-ranked Miami and produce one of the greatest upsets in program history.
A blocked punt by Charles Snowden set up a 26-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Kurt Benkert to Daniel Hamm, the Cavaliers led the Hurricanes 28-14 with 12:21 left in the third quarter Saturday, and Hard Rock Stadium had turned into a library.
Benkert, playing as if he were vying for a Heisman Trophy, started the game completing 18 of 19 passes for 288 yards and four touchdowns. His program was steaming toward its first road victory over a top-five team in 14 chances and its first win over a top-three team since the Cavaliers toppled No. 2 Florida State in 1995.
However, a few questionable decisions by Cavaliers Coach Bronco Mendenhall and his staff, as well as a game-turning pick-six by Benkert, paved the way for the opportunistic Hurricanes to ring up 30 unanswered points en route to a 44-28 victory to extend the nationâs longest winning streak to 15 and remain in the thick of the College Football playoff race.
âWe had plenty of chances,ââ Mendenhall said. âWe were staged to pull off a great upset for most of the game. We just couldnât quite finish.â
The Hurricanes (10-0, 7-0), already ACC Coastal Division champions, will finish their regular season at Pittsburgh next week before facing No. 2 Clemson for the conference title and a spot in the national semifinals.
The Cavaliers (6-5, 3-4), bowl-bound for the first time since 2011, lost for the fourth time in five games. They will limp home for Fridayâs rivalry game against Virginia Tech, which has won the Commonwealth Cup the last 13 years.
Trailing 28-14, the Hurricanes countered Hammâs touchdown catch with a seven-play, 63-yard drive that ended on Malik Rosierâs nine-yard pass to wide receiver Lawrence Cager.
Seven seconds of game time later, defensive back Jaquan Johnson stepped in front of wide receiver Doni Dowling, intercepted Benkert and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown to tie the game with 9:57 left in the third quarter.
âI felt up until the end we had a chance to win the game,ââ said Benkert, who finished 28 of 37 for 384 yards and the four touchdowns with one interception. âWe werenât able to sustain it long enough, and it starts with me. I didnât do enough. I put us in bad situations with the pick. Obviously, they got me on the coverage.
âBut I donât get flustered. I knew at that point it was just 28-28 and still anybodyâs ballgame. . . . Iâm not going to forget this, regardless. This was a missed opportunity.ââ
The Hurricanes added a 44-yard field goal by Michael Badgley with 21 seconds left in the third to enter the fourth quarter with 31-28 lead they wouldnât relinquish.
Virginia offensive coordinator Robert Anae wished he had a do-over on his fourth-and-three call from Miamiâs 40-yard-line with less than seven minutes left and his team still trailing by three. He called for Benkert to hit running back Olamide Zaccheaus on a double move. However, Zaccheaus â who had six catches for 67 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown â was blanketed and Benkert was sacked by defensive end Trent Harris for a 13-yard loss.
âI made a couple of really bad calls,â Anae said. âOne of those was that fourth and three that you were talking about. I tried to get the ball to our best player with man-to-man coverage with a double-move opportunity. He didnât get open and our protection collapsed.ââ
Pregame concerns that the Hurricanes might struggle with complacency after consecutive statement victories over Virginia Tech and Notre Dame seemed to be on the money.
Playing before a late-rising, noon-time crowd, Benkert came out firing, marching the Cavaliers downfield for a nine-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in a 33-yard strike in the flat to Zaccheaus for a 7-0 lead just 5:11 into the game. Less than eight minutes later, Benkert rolled out and hit wide-open wide receiver Joe Reed for a 75-yard touchdown.
Then Mendenhall, feeling his oats, opted for an onside kick that ended up giving Miami prime real estate at the Virginia 40-yard line. Five plays later, Rosier found wide receiver Ahmmon Richards on a square-out in the end zone from 10 yards to cut Miamiâs deficit to 14-7.
âWe came in with the mind-set to take something from them and start fast,ââ Reed said. âThatâs what we did. We had momentum, and a couple of plays here and there they took it back.â
The Hurricanes would tie it in the second quarter after another turnover, when the Cavaliersâ Hamm muffed a punt that was recovered by Travis Homer on Virginiaâs 36. On the next play, Rosier split safeties Quin Blanding and Brenton Nelson for a 36-yard touchdown to wide receiver Dayall Harris.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/co...9a68ce9957
A blocked punt by Charles Snowden set up a 26-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Kurt Benkert to Daniel Hamm, the Cavaliers led the Hurricanes 28-14 with 12:21 left in the third quarter Saturday, and Hard Rock Stadium had turned into a library.
Benkert, playing as if he were vying for a Heisman Trophy, started the game completing 18 of 19 passes for 288 yards and four touchdowns. His program was steaming toward its first road victory over a top-five team in 14 chances and its first win over a top-three team since the Cavaliers toppled No. 2 Florida State in 1995.
However, a few questionable decisions by Cavaliers Coach Bronco Mendenhall and his staff, as well as a game-turning pick-six by Benkert, paved the way for the opportunistic Hurricanes to ring up 30 unanswered points en route to a 44-28 victory to extend the nationâs longest winning streak to 15 and remain in the thick of the College Football playoff race.
âWe had plenty of chances,ââ Mendenhall said. âWe were staged to pull off a great upset for most of the game. We just couldnât quite finish.â
The Hurricanes (10-0, 7-0), already ACC Coastal Division champions, will finish their regular season at Pittsburgh next week before facing No. 2 Clemson for the conference title and a spot in the national semifinals.
The Cavaliers (6-5, 3-4), bowl-bound for the first time since 2011, lost for the fourth time in five games. They will limp home for Fridayâs rivalry game against Virginia Tech, which has won the Commonwealth Cup the last 13 years.
Trailing 28-14, the Hurricanes countered Hammâs touchdown catch with a seven-play, 63-yard drive that ended on Malik Rosierâs nine-yard pass to wide receiver Lawrence Cager.
Seven seconds of game time later, defensive back Jaquan Johnson stepped in front of wide receiver Doni Dowling, intercepted Benkert and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown to tie the game with 9:57 left in the third quarter.
âI felt up until the end we had a chance to win the game,ââ said Benkert, who finished 28 of 37 for 384 yards and the four touchdowns with one interception. âWe werenât able to sustain it long enough, and it starts with me. I didnât do enough. I put us in bad situations with the pick. Obviously, they got me on the coverage.
âBut I donât get flustered. I knew at that point it was just 28-28 and still anybodyâs ballgame. . . . Iâm not going to forget this, regardless. This was a missed opportunity.ââ
The Hurricanes added a 44-yard field goal by Michael Badgley with 21 seconds left in the third to enter the fourth quarter with 31-28 lead they wouldnât relinquish.
Virginia offensive coordinator Robert Anae wished he had a do-over on his fourth-and-three call from Miamiâs 40-yard-line with less than seven minutes left and his team still trailing by three. He called for Benkert to hit running back Olamide Zaccheaus on a double move. However, Zaccheaus â who had six catches for 67 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown â was blanketed and Benkert was sacked by defensive end Trent Harris for a 13-yard loss.
âI made a couple of really bad calls,â Anae said. âOne of those was that fourth and three that you were talking about. I tried to get the ball to our best player with man-to-man coverage with a double-move opportunity. He didnât get open and our protection collapsed.ââ
Pregame concerns that the Hurricanes might struggle with complacency after consecutive statement victories over Virginia Tech and Notre Dame seemed to be on the money.
Playing before a late-rising, noon-time crowd, Benkert came out firing, marching the Cavaliers downfield for a nine-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in a 33-yard strike in the flat to Zaccheaus for a 7-0 lead just 5:11 into the game. Less than eight minutes later, Benkert rolled out and hit wide-open wide receiver Joe Reed for a 75-yard touchdown.
Then Mendenhall, feeling his oats, opted for an onside kick that ended up giving Miami prime real estate at the Virginia 40-yard line. Five plays later, Rosier found wide receiver Ahmmon Richards on a square-out in the end zone from 10 yards to cut Miamiâs deficit to 14-7.
âWe came in with the mind-set to take something from them and start fast,ââ Reed said. âThatâs what we did. We had momentum, and a couple of plays here and there they took it back.â
The Hurricanes would tie it in the second quarter after another turnover, when the Cavaliersâ Hamm muffed a punt that was recovered by Travis Homer on Virginiaâs 36. On the next play, Rosier split safeties Quin Blanding and Brenton Nelson for a 36-yard touchdown to wide receiver Dayall Harris.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/co...9a68ce9957