The Cavaliers (4-5, 3-2 ACC) rallied late to defeat N.C. State (3-5, 2-3 ACC), Saturday, 14-7.
Virginia picked up its first touchdown late in the first quarter, with an eight-play drive that started from Virginia's own 25-yard line. From the N.C. State 25-yard line, freshman quarterback Jameel Sewell completed a pass to sophomore wide receiver Kevin Ogletree to the one-yard line. On the next play, Sewell handed off to senior tailback Jason Snelling, who powered through the middle to put Virginia ahead, 7-0.
The Cavalier defense was able to hold down N.C. State for almost the entire game. The Wolfpack features two strong running backs, Andre Brown and Toney Baker, who were shut down by the Virginia defense all day long. N.C. State rushed for only 70 yards all day.
"Stopping the run was critical," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "We wanted to turn it in to a one-dimensional game with a young quarterback in there."
N.C. State sophomore quarterback Daniel Evans was 21 for 35 on the day, with a touchdown pass. Evans performed well, but the Wolfpack was unable to avoid mistakes, constantly quelling their drives. N.C. State had nine penalties, costing it 53 yards. It managed only one solid drive all day.
"The defense has been playing well all season," Snelling said. "Early in the season the offense was slacking and the defense had to pick up the slack, and now that the offense is clicking, it just helps them even more and they're better than they were early in the season."
The score remained 7-0 through the third quarter. As N.C. State continued to commit errors, Virginia failed to sustain drives. The Cavaliers converted on only two of 12 third downs.
N.C. State managed an 11-play drive late in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 7. With 4:48 left in the game, Evans lobbed a pass eight yards out to wide receiver John Dunlap. The Wolfpack has scored 50 points in its last three games, 30 of which came in the fourth quarter.
Virginia then returned with one of its strongest drives of the entire season. Starting at its own 20-yard line, the Cavaliers drove down the entire length of the field on nine plays.
Snelling carried the ball 18 yards from the 35-yard line and was pushed out of bounds just before he could break to the end zone. The next play, Snelling went up the middle for 11 yards to score the winning touchdown.
"When he broke the first one, I thought he was going to the house, but he got tackled," Sewell said. "The crowd got jumping around and the offense had another burst of energy and he just went out and did it."
N.C. State got the ball back, but the game quickly ended when senior Tony Franklin picked off a Daniel Evans pass at midfield.
"It was a real good win," linebacker Jon Copper said. "Everybody stepped up when they needed to: special teams, offense, defense. N.C. State played real hard, and made it close near the end. It was a good win."
Senior Chris Long wasn't as satisfied.
"It was great until the end," he said. "We fell short of our goal, but when you set your sights high, often you're going to fall a little short. We're going to keep working, try to continue to get better, and we can't wait to get down to Tallahassee."
Read More
Buchanan jolts arena with season-best performance
By Michael Liebermann | 10 hours agoRon Sanchez challenged his players to rebound better, and Buchanan answered resoundingly.
Third-quarter surge pushes women’s basketball ahead of Virginia Tech
By Lauren Halak | 10 hours agoVirginia conquered its rival, earning an ever-important ACC victory.
With last-second three-pointer, SMU silences men’s basketball
By Michael Liebermann and Thomas Baxter | YesterdayThe late shot crushed a bouncing arena.
