Miami gets defensive, stifles No. 20 Virginia
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — N’kosi Perry threw for a touchdown on the opening drive and ran for another with 2:31 left, and Miami knocked off No. 20 Virginia 17-9 on Friday.
Deejay Dallas caught the TD pass for the Hurricanes (3-3, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) and rushed for 63 yards on 13 carries. Pat Bethel blocked a field goal for Miami, and K.J. Osborn caught four passes for 60 yards.
Perry was 16 of 27 passing for 182 yards. The win kept the Hurricanes from falling to 0-3 in conference play — any conference — for what would have been the first time.
Bryce Perkins connected on his first nine passes and finished 24 of 41 for 244 yards for the Cavaliers (4-2, 2-1), who entered ranked but still were 2½-point underdogs at kickoff.
Apparently, those oddsmakers saw this coming.
Brian Delaney made three field goals for Virginia, which was looking for its first 3-0 start since 2007. The Cavs are tied with North Carolina for first place in the Coastal Division and could be joined there by Duke if the Blue Devils beat Georgia Tech on Saturday.
Virginia cornerback Bryce Hall, a preseason All-american and the national leader in pass breakups last season with 22, was taken off on a cart in the second quarter after a lower leg injury.
He was hurt in punt coverage, and his injured leg quickly was placed in an air cast, after trainers initially covered it with towels to shield others from seeing the severity.
Miami went 78 yards in 11 plays on the game’s first possession, with Dallas taking a short pass from Perry and rumbling the rest of the way for a 17-yard score. Perry was under pressure when he flipped the ball to Dallas, who caught it well behind the line of scrimmage but darted into the right side of the end zone.
MOUNTAIN WEST Colorado State 35, New Mexico 21—
At Albuquerque, N.M., Patrick O’brien threw for 420 yards and three TDS, and Warren Jackson had nine catches for 214 yards and two scores for the Rams (2-5, 1-2), who halted a fourgame skid.
Bryson Carroll ran for 193 yards on 26 carries for the Lobos (2-3, 0-2), who lost their third straight. Marvin Kinsey ran for 85 yards and two TDS on 25 carries for Colorado State, and Dane Wright had five catches for 105 yards and ran for 63 yards on two carries for the Rams.