After its first loss of the season to Notre Dame two weeks ago, Virginia dropped its second consecutive game to Miami Friday night on the road in Miami Gardens, Fla. The Cavaliers (4-2, 2-1 ACC) trailed the entire game as the Hurricanes (3-3, 1-2 ACC) secured a 17-9 win at home.
Senior quarterback Bryce Perkins produced 271 total yards — leading the team in both passing and rushing — in the loss.
Miami was on the board first with junior running back DeeJay Dallas taking a short pass 17 yards to the end zone after a long drive. After punts from both teams, Virginia entered Miami territory for the first time late in the first quarter. However, a fourth-down stop by the Hurricanes ended the Cavaliers’ drive abruptly.
The next Virginia drive again ended with zero points as sophomore cornerback Al Blades Jr. blocked junior kicker Brian Delaney’s 38-yard field goal.
The Cavaliers’ first red zone trip came with seconds left in the first half. After three straight incomplete passes from senior quarterback Bryce Perkins at Miami’s eight-yard line, Delaney’s 25-yard field goal sailed through the uprights for Virginia’s first points of the game.
Virginia lost a key player to injury late in the second quarter when senior cornerback Bryce Hall was carted off the field after a lower leg injury.
Neither team scored on their opening drives of the second half, and the Cavaliers gave up their first turnover of the game in the half’s third possession when freshman running back Mike Hollins fumbled the ball at the Hurricanes’ 20-yard line.
The Virginia defense forced Miami to punt for the sixth time on the following drive before Delaney hit his second field goal of the day to cut the Hurricanes’ lead to 7-6 early in the fourth quarter.
On the next possession, Miami scored for the first time since the first drive of the game, using a field goal to extend its lead to 10-6. The Cavaliers responded with yet another field goal from Delaney.
With just a single point separating the two teams, Miami put together a long 75-yard drive capped by a short touchdown run from sophomore quarterback N’Kosi Perry.
After the Miami score, Virginia had 2:31 to score a touchdown and convert a two-point play to force overtime. While the Cavaliers were able to drive to midfield, they could not score on the final hail mary of the game, falling to the Hurricanes with a final scoreline of 17-9.
Although Virginia recorded 318 total yards to Miami’s 265, the Cavaliers failed to score a single touchdown as Perkins and company continuously struggled in the red zone.
Virginia next returns to Charlottesville to play Duke over family weekend. The two teams will square off Saturday, Oct. 19, with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m.
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