COLLEGE FOOTBALL LOOK AHEAD

No. 20 Virginia goes for two in a row vs. Miami

Field Level Media

October 07, 2019 at 11:05 pm.

Last season, the unranked Virginia Cavaliers knocked off the 16th-ranked Miami Hurricanes, 16-13.

Virginia fans rushed the field after the home win, celebrating their first victory over a ranked team in four years.

On Friday night, Virginia (4-1, 2-0 ACC) will visit Miami (2-3, 0-2). This time, the teams’ fortunes have been reversed. The ranked team is Virginia, which comes in at No. 20, while Miami has yet to beat a Power 5 conference team in three tries this season.

The one thing that has stayed somewhat similar is the situation at quarterback. Virginia starts the speedy and athletic Bryce Perkins, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound senior who threw three interceptions against the Hurricanes last season.

Miami’s starting quarterback is … well, it’s complicated.

Redshirt freshman Jarren Williams played well through four starts, completing 70 percent of his passes while suffering zero interceptions. Then, in last Saturday’s 42-35 loss against Virginia Tech, Williams was picked off three times in the first quarter, leading to a 28-0 Miami deficit.

N’Kosi Perry, who was benched against Virginia last season after just four series, came off the sideline Saturday and completed 28 of 47 for 422 yards, with four touchdowns and one interception.

But the Hurricanes committed five turnovers — their most since 2010 — and their 2-3 start is the slowest they’ve exited the gates since 2011.

“That was an insane game,” first-year Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz said. “We have a lot of guys who played well enough to pull off (what would’ve been) one of the most historic wins of all time.

“But we also made enough mistakes to make us feel pretty awful.”

Virginia, which began the week as a slight road favorite, was idle Saturday. Its most recent game was a deflating 35-20 loss at then-No. 10 Notre Dame, which sacked Perkins eight times and rallied from a 17-14 halftime deficit.

Perkins turned over the ball four times, with two interceptions and two fumbles. He passed for 334 yards but was held to 99 in the second half.

“When you can pressure the passer with just your four down linemen and still play coverage, there’s virtually no risk,” Cavaliers coach Bronco Mendenhall said. “That’s what Notre Dame was able to do.”

Of Notre Dame’s eight sacks, 6 1/2 were produced by its defensive ends, a statistic Miami would love to copy. The Hurricanes have some dynamic defensive ends, most notably Jonathan Garvin, Gregory Rousseau and Trevon Hill.

However, the sack trend has gone the other way. Miami’s offensive line has been its biggest weakness, and opposing defenses have feasted. The Florida Gators sacked Williams 10 times in Miami’s season-opening loss. And Virginia Tech had seven sacks against the Hurricanes.

Still, Miami has some offensive weapons. Tight end Brevin Jordan caught seven passes for 136 yards and one touchdown against Virginia Tech. Wide receiver Jeff Thomas caught six passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns. And running back DeeJay Dallas broke four tackles to score on a 62-yard run and also soared through the air on a spectacular two-point conversion.

“We’re going to be good,” said Jordan, a sophomore. “I still believe in our team.”

Perkins has completed 111 of 167 passes for 1,177 yards, with eight touchdowns and six interceptions. His top target is Joe Reed, with 32 catches for 322 yards and four scores. Virginia is last in the ACC with 107.6 rushing yards per game.

“There is no comfort zone for our offensive line,” Mendenhall said. “There’s continual expectation, asking and directing and prompting and driving, and they want to get better, they need to get better, and they’re working hard to get better.”

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