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| Virginia QB Mike Rocco threw for 357 yards in Virginia's 48-31 victory over Louisiana Tech. |
The game marked the first loss for Sonny Dykes' Bulldogs team this season, but the Cavaliers had their way on offense pretty much all afternoon.
Rocco finished 25 for 37 with three touchdowns. The first on a short pass that Darius Jennings took 39 yards for a score in the first quarter. The second on a 19-yard out pattern to E.J. Scott in the corner of the end zone late in the second quarter. The third on a well-timed screen pass to Perry Jones, who used a convoy of blockers to take the quick-hitter 67 yards to the house on the third play of the second half. Kevin Parks ran for a 15-yard first quarter touchdown and Perry Jones ran for a 10-yarder in the 4th quarter for Virginia. Kicker Drew Jarrett added two fourth quarter field goals for the Cavaliers, one from 36 yards and the second from 42 yards. Cornerback Maurice Canady ended the scoring on a interception return for a touchdown late in the game.
Rocco looked sharp and made few mistakes for the Cavaliers, who were trying to rebound from back-to-back losses against Georgia Tech and Texas Christian. The Cavaliers outgained the Bulldogs 593-460 in the game, with much of the Bulldogs' yards coming in the second and third quarters as they challenged the Cavaliers.
Michael Rocco led touchdown drives on Virginia's first two possessions, and the Cavaliers held a 14-0 advantage before Louisiana Tech responded to tie the score late in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs' first touchdown came early in the second stanza when quarterback Colby Cameron found receiver Quinton Patton at the goal line for an 8-yard scoring strike. Cameron made the throw with defensive end Billy Schautz in his face, and Patton caught the ball in heavy traffic. A second touchdown pass from Cameron, this one on a 38-yard post route to Myles White, who beat Virginia cornerback Maurice Canady in coverage, knotted the score at 14-all, midway through the second quarter. Canady, however, would have the last laugh.
The Bulldogs' first touchdown came early in the second stanza when quarterback Colby Cameron found receiver Quinton Patton at the goal line for an 8-yard scoring strike. Cameron made the throw with defensive end Billy Schautz in his face, and Patton caught the ball in heavy traffic. A second touchdown pass from Cameron, this one on a 38-yard post route to Myles White, who beat Virginia cornerback Maurice Canady in coverage, knotted the score at 14-all, midway through the second quarter. Canady, however, would have the last laugh.
After Parks' touchdown run, the Cavaliers led 21-14 at halftime.
The teams alternated scoring drives in the third quarter. Parks ripped off his long touchdown reception to stake UVA to a 28-14 lead, and then Louisiana Tech got first downs on five consecutive plays and marched 75 yards in nine plays, capped by Kenneth Dixon's 4-yard juking, tumbling touchdown run, making it 28-21. The Bulldogs then made things interesting after Solomon Randle intercepted a tipped pass off of Dominique Terrell's hands. The Bulldogs drove 48 yards on six plays against a gassed Virginia defense and knotted the score at 28-all on a 2-yard Dixon touchdown dive.
The teams alternated scoring drives in the third quarter. Parks ripped off his long touchdown reception to stake UVA to a 28-14 lead, and then Louisiana Tech got first downs on five consecutive plays and marched 75 yards in nine plays, capped by Kenneth Dixon's 4-yard juking, tumbling touchdown run, making it 28-21. The Bulldogs then made things interesting after Solomon Randle intercepted a tipped pass off of Dominique Terrell's hands. The Bulldogs drove 48 yards on six plays against a gassed Virginia defense and knotted the score at 28-all on a 2-yard Dixon touchdown dive.
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| Two huge catches by Jake McGee ensured the Cavaliers' victory on Saturday |
Virginia answered with two field goals in the fourth quarter, the second after a Cameron fumble on a strip sack by Ausar Walcott. Louisiana Tech responded with a field goal of its own at the 8:14 mark, to pull to within three points, 34-31.
As heavy rain began to fall on the 48,087 fans at Scott Stadium, the Cavaliers put together their best drive of the season, a 78-yard clock-churning march capped by Jones' 10-yard touchdown scamper.
“The number one thing was the composure of the players, they executed,” offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said. “They made it happen, they battled all day and persevered. They saved their best ball for late in the fourth quarter, which is what we want.”
Rocco hung in the pocket long enough to allow his receivers time to get downfield while Louisiana Tech brought the rush. As the pocket collapsed, Rocco drifted to his left and launched a high, lofting pass to Jake McGee, who who came up with a clutch 23-yard gain on 3rd and 8 from the Cavaliers' 35. On the play, McGee was being dragged down by a pair of Bulldog defenders to draw a defensive pass interference penalty.
“I kind of got pushed up in the pocket and I just saw Jake,” Rocco said. “Whenever Jake’s standing there, I just trust him and I threw the ball up to him and he made a play.”
Six plays later, Rocco found McGee again in the middle of the field for another chain-moving completion, this one for 15 yards to the Louisiana Tech 23. The game-clenching 10-yard run from Jones came with 52 seconds remaining to complete the 14-play, 78-yard drive that essentially ended the game. When it counted most, the offense came through.
As heavy rain began to fall on the 48,087 fans at Scott Stadium, the Cavaliers put together their best drive of the season, a 78-yard clock-churning march capped by Jones' 10-yard touchdown scamper.
“The number one thing was the composure of the players, they executed,” offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said. “They made it happen, they battled all day and persevered. They saved their best ball for late in the fourth quarter, which is what we want.”
Rocco hung in the pocket long enough to allow his receivers time to get downfield while Louisiana Tech brought the rush. As the pocket collapsed, Rocco drifted to his left and launched a high, lofting pass to Jake McGee, who who came up with a clutch 23-yard gain on 3rd and 8 from the Cavaliers' 35. On the play, McGee was being dragged down by a pair of Bulldog defenders to draw a defensive pass interference penalty.
“I kind of got pushed up in the pocket and I just saw Jake,” Rocco said. “Whenever Jake’s standing there, I just trust him and I threw the ball up to him and he made a play.”
Six plays later, Rocco found McGee again in the middle of the field for another chain-moving completion, this one for 15 yards to the Louisiana Tech 23. The game-clenching 10-yard run from Jones came with 52 seconds remaining to complete the 14-play, 78-yard drive that essentially ended the game. When it counted most, the offense came through.
Virginia cornerback Maurice Canady ended the game with an interception return for a touchdown on a poorly-thrown post route from Cameron.
“We’ve got competitors, we’ve got winners on this team,” Rocco said. “We tasted what it was like to have a great season last year and come up a little short. We've battled through some adversity this season. So we had guys that were determined to get the job done even if we had things go against us today. This was a good bounce-back performance for us, but now we're focused on Duke.”
“We’ve got competitors, we’ve got winners on this team,” Rocco said. “We tasted what it was like to have a great season last year and come up a little short. We've battled through some adversity this season. So we had guys that were determined to get the job done even if we had things go against us today. This was a good bounce-back performance for us, but now we're focused on Duke.”
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