Armstrong, Cavs rip Illinois; Hokies roll in second half

Brennan Armstrong threw for five touchdowns and became the third quarterback in program history to pass for over 400 yards as Virginia beat Illinois 42-14 on Saturday.

It snapped Virginia’s 13-game losing streak in nonconference games against Power Five opponents.

Armstrong threw for 171 yards and two touchdowns in the opening quarter, connecting with tight end Jelani Woods for a 32-yard score and wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks from 28 yards out for a 14-0 lead while many fans were still filing into the stadium for the unusual 11 a.m. kickoff.

Armstrong went 27 for 36 for 405 yards, joining Kurt Benkert (who did it twice) and Marc Verica as Virginia quarterbacks who surpassed 400 yards in a game.

Wicks finished with a pair of touchdown catches for Virginia (2-0).

Virginia’s defense, coming off its first shutout since the 2018 Belk Bowl, sacked Illini (1-2) quarterback Artur Sitkowski three times.

(At) No. 19 Virginia Tech 35, Middle Tennessee 14: Raheem Blackshear rushed for two touchdowns to lead No. 19 Virginia Tech to a victory over Middle Tennessee.

The Hokies (2-0) scored on their first three possessions of the second half, including backto-back TDs by Blackshear, in a game they led 14-7 at halftime.

Virginia Tech broke open the game when Jalen Holston scored on a 29-yard, third-quarter run to take a 21-7 lead. Blackshear, who rushed for 58 yards, then scored on runs of 6 yards and 1 yard on ensuing possessions to help the Hokies build a 35-7 cushion.

Braxton Burmeister threw for 142 yards and a score for Virginia Tech, which finished with 375 yards.

Bailey Hockman threw for 207 yards and a score to lead the Blue Raiders (1-1), who had 349 yards.

Rutgers 17, (at) Syracuse 7: Rutgers took advantage of two Syracuse second-half miscues and downed the Orange. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Syracuse (1-1) coach Dino Babers gave Rutgers (2-0) a first down on the Syracuse 11 and Kyle Monangai ran it in on the next play to give the Scarlet Knights a 7-0 lead with 6:46 to go in the third quarter.

A fumble by Syracuse quarterback Tommy DeVito was recovered on the Orange 10 and a 27-yard field goal by Rutgers’ Valentino Ambrosio made it 17-7 with 8:23 remaining in the game.

Rutgers’ 2-0 start is the team’s first since 2014.

Noah Vedral was 22 of 28 for Rutgers for 145 yards and a 30-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jovani Haskins. He was sacked four times by a Syracuse defense that held the Scarlet Knights to just 198 yards.

(At) Boston College 45, UMass 28: Dennis Grosel replaced injured starter Phil Jurkovec in the first half and passed for 199 yards, ran for a touchdown and passed for another as Boston College beat UMass.

Pat Garwo ran for 160 yards on 15 carries for the Eagles (2-0), who won their 11th straight against UMass (0-2).

Grosel completed 11 of 14 passes after taking over for Jurkovec, who was taken to the locker room late in the first quarter with an undisclosed injury. Although BC officials said he was “questionable” at halftime, he didn’t return.

(At) Wake Forest 41, Norfolk State 16: Sam Hartman passed for 244 yards and a touchdown, Christian Turner rushed for two scores and Wake Forest beat Norfolk State (0-2).

Wake Forest scored 20 straight points, spanning halftime, to take control. On the first play of the second half, Jaquarii Roberson ran past the defense for Hartman’s deep ball and raced for a 64-yard touchdown for a 34-9 lead. It was Roberson’s sixth straight game with a touchdown reception.

Roberson finished with four catches for 97 yards for Wake Forest (2-0).

Late Friday

(At) Duke 45, N.C. A&T 17:

Mataeo Durant ran for three firsthalf touchdowns and quarterback Gunnar Holmberg finished with a pair of scoring runs as Duke beat North Carolina A&T (0-2).

The Blue Devils (1-1) broke a tie in the waning seconds of the first half on the way to only their fourth victory in their last 19 games since October 2019.

Durant didn’t have nearly the success as the week earlier when he racked up a school-record 255 rushing yards in a loss at Charlotte. Instead, he posted 41 yards on 15 carries.