Evans sharp again as Hokies beat Miami, 37-16

Virginia Tech didn't let a surprising loss five days ago linger, and they are once again atop the ACC's Coastal Division race.

Jerod Evans threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third and the Hokies (5-2, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat Miami 37-16 on Thursday night, pulling into a tie with No. 22 North Carolina atop the division as they start the second half of the regular season.

Evans hit Bucky Hodges with scoring throws of 7 and 12 yards, and Travon McMillian ran for 131 yards for the Hokies.

"There were certain plays we put in this week that I had a feeling I was going to get the ball on, and the coaches just dialed it up," Hodges said after leading the team with seven receptions for 66 yards.

Brad Kaaya threw for 323 yards and two touchdowns for the Hurricanes (4-3, 1-3), but he also was sacked eight times as they lost their third in a row. The Hokies limited Miami to 42 rushing yards on 29 carries thanks to the sacks, which cost Kaaya 55 yards.

"Obviously the key for us was we needed to stop the run and make Miami one-dimensional, and we were able to do that," Hokies defensive coordinator Bud Foster said. "We really did a great job attacking the line of scrimmage, keeping the lanes and the gaps tight, keeping those backs in a phone booth, so to speak."

Joe Yearby had a 41-yard run for the Hurricanes, but otherwise managed just 18 yards on his eight other carries.

"The defense was playing tough, stacking the box," he said. "They did everything we expected them to do."

Woody Baron had 2 1/2 sacks for Virginia Tech, and Vinny Mihota had two despite having his shoulder pop out late in the first half. Redshirt freshman defensive end Trevon Hill, who left the team Tuesday after his grandmother died and returned Wednesday night, had 1 1/2 sacks.

"I'm not going to throw anyone under the bus," first-year Hurricanes coach Mark Richt said. "Sacks have to do with a lot of things."

Fullback Sam Rogers threw his first career touchdown pass in the third quarter.

THE TAKEAWAY

Miami: The Hurricanes have never won the Coastal Division since joining the ACC in 2004 and won't win it again this year. Their defense was supposed to be a question entering the game, and they were without three starters and had four freshmen in the starting lineup, but their inability to generate a running game put all the pressure on Kaaya, and while he put up some good numbers, an offensive line that allowed eight sacks isn't good enough to win most games against top level teams.

Virginia Tech: Evans was virtually mistake-free again, and their plethora of weapons in the pass game seems to be opening up the running game as well. Evans added 98 rushing yards, including a 34-yard score, as the Hokies piled up 253 yards on the ground.

"The quarterback misled me sometimes," Miami defense end Joe Jackson said. "I didn't do a good enough job of staying with him."

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Apart from their 31-17 loss at Syracuse last week, the Hokies have been playing Top 25 -level football. In their other four most recent games, they have outscored Boston College, East Carolina, No. 22 North Carolina and now Miami 174-36.

UP NEXT

Miami visits Notre Dame next Saturday. The Fighting Irish are off this weekend, and have lost four of their last five.

Virginia Tech plays its second consecutive Thursday night game when it visits Pittsburgh, which is off this weekend.

North Carolina knocks off No. 16 Miami, 20-13

 Mitch Trubisky threw two touchdown passes, Malik Carney forced a turnover with 1:31 left to thwart Miami's last chance at a rally and North Carolina knocked off the 16th-ranked Hurricanes 20-13 on Saturday.

Ryan Switzer and Austin Proehl had scoring catches for the Tar Heels (5-2, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Bug Howardhad 10 catches for 156 yards for North Carolina, which rebounded in a big way from last weekend's blowout loss against Virginia Tech.

Trubisky completed 33 of 46 passes for 299 yards.

Mark Walton rushed for 82 yards and Joe Yearby ran for 74 more and a touchdown for Miami (4-2, 1-2), which lost its second straight game after last week's 20-19 loss to Florida State.

Brad Kaaya completed 16 of 31 passes for 224 yards for Miami, but he was hit by a blitzing Carney and lost the ball late in the game to send fans streaming for the exits. North Carolina took over and ran out the clock, sealing the deal when Elijah Hood rumbled 13 yards for a first down with 1:02 left - the 14th conversion in 23 third-down opportunities for the Tar Heels.

Miami's 2001 team - the last to win a national title for the Hurricanes and arguably one of the best college teams ever assembled - was honored at halftime, with coach Larry Coker running out of the traditional smoke first and followed by players who trotted from one of the end zones.

They got some cheers, though considering they took the field with Miami down 20-3, the reception was muted.

Among the first-half lowlights: Miami's Malcolm Lewis caught the opening kickoff and immediately went out of bounds at the 3-yard line, and Michael Badgley had a kick blocked for the second straight week - a field goal at the same end that his potentially game-tying extra-point was knocked away by Florida State late in last week's loss.

It was 10-0 North Carolina after one quarter, and Switzer made it 20-3 when he hauled in a 1-yard pass with 18 seconds left before halftime.

THE TAKEAWAY

North Carolina: The Tar Heels were flagged for false starts seven times. ... Switzer had a very strange stat line: 9 catches, 17 yards. But it was a historic line. The nine catches made him North Carolina's record-holder for career receptions with 206, passing Quinshad Davis.

Miami: Injuries are now a huge problem for Miami, which wasn't particularly deep to start the season. Defensive linemen Chad Thomas and Demetrius Jackson were knocked out of the game with injuries, and linebacker Michael Pinckey was shaken up twice - but returned both times. The Hurricanes' defense was so depleted that some players not even on the two-deep saw action in the second half.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

It's hard to envision Miami remaining in the AP Top 25 after two straight losses, meaning the Hurricanes would go from No. 10 to unranked in two weeks - the first time since 1968 that the program would go from top 10 to out so rapidly. North Carolina is likely to return to the poll for the second time this month and third time this season.

UP NEXT

North Carolina: The Tar Heels resume their Coastal stretch, going to Virginia next Saturday.

Miami: The Hurricanes play at Virginia Tech on Thursday night.

On a blocked PAT, No. 23 FSU beats No. 10 Miami 20-19

DeMarcus Walker blocked Miami kicker Michael Badgley's point-after attempt with 1:38 remaining, and No. 23 Florida State escaped with a 20-19 victory over the 10th-ranked Hurricanes on Saturday night.

The Hurricanes were in position to tie it after Brad Kaayaconnected with Stacy Coley on an 11-yard touchdown pass. Badgley had made 72 consecutive extra points, but the 6-foot-3 Walker got his arm outstretched just enough to knock away what would have been the tying point.

And just like that, in a series decided so many times over the years by Florida State field goals in critical moments sailing wide right and wide left, there's now a block to add to the lore.

"That's a Florida State-Miami game," Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher said. "It's great competition. Heck of a game."

Dalvin Cook and Kermit Whitfield had touchdown catches in the third quarter to help the Seminoles beat Miami for the seventh straight time. Deondre Francois, who left in the first half after being shaken up, came back and ended up with 234 yards passing for Florida State (4-2, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference).

"My team needed me," Francois said. "The trainers got me right."

Cook finished with 150 yards rushing and had a 59-yard scoring catch to spark the Seminoles' second-half surge, and Whitfield's 20-yard catch on his 23rd birthday put Florida State ahead for good.

Coley caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Kaaya to help Miami (4-1, 1-1) take an early 13-0 lead. But for the third straight year, the Hurricanes saw a second-half lead slip away.

Braxton Berrios set up Coley's second TD catch with a punt return inside the Florida State 20.

"That return by Berrios gave us a lot of life," Miami coach Mark Richt said.

It wasn't enough.

Kaaya lost a molar in the third quarter when he took a helmet-to-helmet hit from Florida State's Matthew Thomas, who was ejected for targeting - the second straight year a Seminoles player was tossed for targeting the Miami quarterback. And in the fourth quarter, Miami's Jamal Carter was thrown out for a targeting hit against Whitfield.

Some Miami fans showered the field with debris at that point.

But in the end, it was a kick that decided everything - and the break went Florida State's way.

"Guys fought their hearts out," Richt said.

THE TAKEAWAY

Florida State: Cook has two career touchdown catches - both against Miami. ... The Seminoles lost safetyNate Andrews in the first quarter, who was hurt on a play where he tackled Miami's David Njoku. ... Florida State now has a pair of seven-game winning streaks against Miami, this other coming between 1963 and 1972. ... The Seminoles are now 13-2 under Fisher when playing in NFL stadiums.

Miami: The Hurricanes went 281 minutes, 28 seconds this season without trailing. They came into the night as one of only two FBS teams who hadn't faced a deficit this season, with Boise State now alone on that list. ... Miami's 1991 national championship team was honored at halftime. ... RT Sunny Odogwu got hurt in the fourth quarter, on a drive where the Hurricanes allowed back-to-back sacks of Kaaya at a critical time. Odogwu was taken off the field on a cart after time expired.

KICK ISSUES

Miami had a 13-0 lead over Florida State at home in 2014, and lost by four - with a missed short field goal and an extra-point miss being the margin that night. And the Hurricanes led 13-0 at home again in this one, only to see a kick decide the final margin.

Florida State lost games to Miami with key field-goal tries going "wide right" in 1991, 1992, 2000 and 2004, along with a "wide left" in 2002.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The second-longest active streak of AP Top 25 poll appearances will live on - since Florida State surely will hold a spot for the 76th straight week after this comeback win. Miami likely would have climbed a spot or two with a victory, though now the Hurricanes will drop several spots when the next installment of the poll comes out Monday.

UP NEXT

Florida State: The Seminoles host Wake Forest on Oct. 15, looking for their fifth straight win in that series. Score of the last four matchups: 178-22, though last year was 24-16.

Miami: The next two games will likely decide Miami's fate in the ACC Coastal race. North Carolina visits the Hurricanes on Oct. 15, five days before Miami goes to Virginia Tech.

2 TDs by defense help No. 14 Miami beat Georgia Tech 35-21

Shaquille Quarterman and Joe Jackson each returned fumbles by Georgia Tech quarterback Justin Thomas for touchdowns in a span of less than 1 minute in the second quarter and No. 14 Miami beat the Yellow Jackets 35-21 on Saturday.

Miami won in the Atlantic Coast Conference debut of coach Mark Richt, the former Georgia coach.

Miami (4-0, 1-0 ACC) led 28-7 after the fumble returns of 17 yards by Quarterman and 18 yards by Jackson. Georgia Tech (3-2, 1-2) cut the deficit to 28-21 before Miami's Brad Kaaya answered with a 31-yard touchdown pass to Stacy Coley late in the third quarter.

Georgia Tech freshman running back Dedrick Mills scored three touchdowns - runs of 7 and 1 yards and a 9-yard pass from Thomas.

Georgia Tech's offense bounced back with 361 yards after being shut down in last week's 26-7 loss to No. 5 Clemson. The Yellow Jackets couldn't overcome three turnovers by Thomas.

A fourth-down pass by Thomas was intercepted by linebacker Michael Pinckney with about two minutes remaining.

Miami had no turnovers. Kaaya completed 13 of 19 passes for 241 yards and one touchdown.

Joe Yearby had 65 yards rushing, including a 27-yard scoring run, and Mark Walton added a 14-yard touchdown run for Miami.

THE TAKEAWAY

Miami: The Hurricanes proved they are a contender in the ACC's Coastal Division. Miami also showed its big-play defense, which began the day ranked first in the nation in scoring defense, sacks and tackles for loss, is ready for conference action.

Georgia Tech: Back-to-back home losses to Clemson and Miami have shown the Yellow Jackets are a notch below the ACC's Top 25 competition. The two lost turnovers in a span of three plays were especially distressing as Thomas, a senior, is expected to provide stable leadership with his pitches, runs and passes while directing the option offense.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Miami needed a strong showing against its first Power 5 opponent to add validity to its undefeated record and Top 25 ranking . Miami could make another move up in the poll before next week's home game against Florida State.

UP NEXT

Miami: The Hurricanes will try to end Florida State's six-game winning streak in the state rivalry in next week's game at Miami. Miami's last win in the series came in 2009 and its last home win came in 2004.

Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets' string of four straight home games ends with next week's game at Pittsburgh. Georgia Tech had won two straight in the series before losing to the Panthers in 2015.

Kaaya leads No. 25 Miami over Appalachian State 45-10

 Brad Kaaya threw for 368 yards and three scores, Mark Walton ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns and No. 25 Miami rolled to a 45-10 win Saturday over Appalachian State in front of a record crowd of 34,658 at Kidd Brewer Stadium.

Miami (3-0) came in having scored a school-record 108 points in its first two games in wins over Florida A&M and Florida Atlantic. The Hurricanes picked up where they left off, scoring on their first four possessions to build a 24-0 lead.

Walton set the tone, busting through the middle of the line on Miami's first play from scrimmage and racing 80 yards untouched to the end zone. Kaaya added first quarter TD passes to David Njoku and Stacy Coley.

"There is a lot of weight on his shoulders, but he handles it well," Miami coach Mark Richt said of Kaaya. "... It was nice to see him play a really solid game."

Coley finished with five catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns.

"We have been tackling really well, but we didn't tackle well today," Appalachian State coach Scott Satterfield said. "They are big backs, but we have to bring them down."

Appalachian State's top running back Marcus Cox left the game in the first half with a lower body injury and did not return.

THE TAKEAWAY

MIAMI: Some questioned why Miami scheduled a road game against Appalachian State, a team notorious for pulling big upsets (ask Michigan) and scaring the life out of others (ask Tennessee). Richt said Appalachian State's close loss to Tennessee got his team's attention.

"You better believe it," Richt said. "Everybody knew that it was not a fluke. It was physical play. It got our attention. I did not have to say something magical to get them fired up."

APPALACHIAN STATE: The Mountaineers came in brimming with confidence after taking then-No. 9 Tennessee to overtime in the season opener and winning 18 of its last 21 games. "Our mindset is we're one of the best teams in the country," linebacker Eric Boggs said last week. But Appalachian State was thoroughly outplayed in the first quarter by a more talented and physically superior Miami team.

UP NEXT

MIAMI: The Hurricanes are off next weekend before opening ACC play Oct. 1 at Georgia Tech. Miami has won six of its last seven games against the Yellow Jackets.

APPALACHIAN STATE: The Mountaineers (1-2) visit Akron next Saturday, their final tuneup before beginning play in the Sun Belt Conference.

Walton runs for 4 TDs, No. 25 Miami tops FAU 38-10

Mark Walton saved Miami against Florida Atlantic last year.

He was even better in the rematch.

Walton rushed for career highs of 155 yards and four touchdowns, and No. 25 Miami shook off a slow start to beat Florida Atlantic 38-10 on Saturday night.

He ran for three touchdowns against FAU a year ago, and this time became the sixth Miami back in program history to rush for four in a game.

"I'm not a stats guy," Walton said. "It's great for me. Great for me to be the sixth or whatever. I'm not big on stats. I just go out there and play and my ability showed tonight."

Walton scored on runs of 7, 3, 16 and 30 yards. He was suspended for much of the offseason after a drunken-driving arrest, a charge that was dropped, and said he's had a chip on his shoulder since returning.

"He just plays with a lot of passion and heart," said Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya, who completed 17 of 31 passes for 191 yards for the Hurricanes and was picked off twice. "He shows up every day and gets after it."

Miami (2-0) set a school record with 108 points in the season's first two games, breaking the previous mark of 104 set in 1998 and matched in 2002.

"I just want to score enough to win, truthfully," said Miami coach Mark Richt, who is the 10th coach to win his first two games on the Hurricane sideline. "I like when there's not a whole lot of drama."

Greg Howell rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown for FAU (1-1). Jason Driskel completed 18 of 36 passes for 167 yards for the Owls, who punted on their first seven possessions. Kalib Woods caught nine balls for 121 yards.

"We came here to win. We didn't accomplish the mission we came here to accomplish," FAU coach Charlie Partridge said. "The good news is these are all very fixable things for a very young football team - a very young, talented football team."

Joe Yearby ran for 121 yards and a score for the Hurricanes. Miami outgained FAU 470-214, and forced nine punts for the second consecutive game.

"I thought our defense played spectacular," Richt said. "Very obvious how great they played. They would not let it get interesting at all."

THE TAKEAWAY

Florida Atlantic: The Owls had chances early, getting into Miami territory five times in the first half but only coming away with three points. Driskel was poised against Miami's rush, but his offensive line failed him - and Howell, who managed only 16 yards on nine first-half carries. The FAU defensive front caused Miami's experienced offensive line plenty of problems, a good sign for the Owls.

Miami: The Hurricanes regressed in the first half, plagued again by the mistakes that doomed them in past seasons. There were drops, a missed field goal for the second straight week and silly penalties - roughing the punter most egregious among them. Kaaya threw multiple interceptions for the first time since Game 6 of his freshman season, though he got clobbered on one. But Miami found what worked in the second half.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Miami might not be a lock to stay in the AP Top 25. Florida's big win over Kentucky could get the Gators back in the ranking, though No. 22 Oklahoma State's "loss" - the Cowboys fell to Central Michigan on the last play of the game, though officials later said the winning score should not have counted - may be enough to keep the Hurricanes ranked.

UP NEXT

FAU: The Owls visit Kansas State next Saturday. It's the only time FAU leaves Florida in the first six weeks of this season.

Miami: A dangerous game awaits at Appalachian State next Saturday. The Mountaineers are 18-3 in their last 21 games, and the biggest crowd in the history of Kidd Brewer Stadium is expected.

Piece of cake: Kaaya throws 4 TDs, Miami tops FAMU

The student section sang "Happy Birthday" toBrad Kaaya before the game, and there were a slew of text messages awaiting the Miami quarterback afterward.

All that was nice, but all he really wanted was what was on the scoreboard.

Kaaya threw for four touchdowns on the day he turned 21, Miami scored a school-record 42 points in the third quarter and the Mark Richt era began with an easy 70-3 win over Florida A&M on Saturday night.

"This is the only birthday present I wanted today, honestly," Kaaya said. "All the other things are cool and stuff, but this is what the day was about."

The Hurricanes (1-0) had three backs - Joe Yearby, Mark Walton and Gus Edwards - all top 100 yards, the first time a Miami trio has done that since 1987. Yearby ran for two scores, Walton and Edwards each ran for one, and seven other Hurricanes reached the end zone.

Miami scored touchdowns on 10 of its first 12 possessions.

"We were just ready," said Miami receiver Braxton Berrios, who returned a punt for a touchdown.

Kaaya's four TD throws tied a career-best. He completed 12 of 18 passes for 135 yards.

Kenneth Coleman completed nine of 16 passes for 135 yards for the Rattlers (0-1), who lost to Miami for the 10th consecutive time.

"We didn't come to play," Coleman said. "We've got work to do."

Miami outgained FAMU 373-22 on the ground, and 523-197 in total yards.

"We had a chance for the first time in 2016 to see our kids compete in game conditions, which is a good thing," Rattlers coach Alex Wood said.

It was Richt's first game leading the Hurricanes. His team took a 28-3 lead into halftime, then scored touchdowns on all six of its opportunities in the third - with Edwards going 74 yards for a score as the quarter expired.

"I'll just say this: I really, really like it here," said Richt, a 1982 Miami grad. "I like these players. I like this university. I like the vibe of the city. I'm very thankful to be here."

THE TAKEAWAY

Florida A&M: The Rattlers got plenty of players involved both rushing and receiving, played two quarterbacks and put together a pair of relatively solid drives in the second quarter. In short, plenty of players got experience.

Miami: The Hurricanes flirted with matching the school-record for points (77 against Savannah State in 2013) and sold more than 60,000 tickets. And the starting linebacker trio of Zach McCloud, Shaq Quarterman and Michael Pinckney - all true freshmen - got their college careers off to a flying start. "It was a great experience," Quarterman said. The last trio of Miami backs to top 100 yards in the same game was Leonard Conley, Melvin Bratton and Warren Williams against Cincinnati on Oct. 24, 1987.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Miami's drought may be over.

The Hurricanes last appeared in the AP Top 25 on Nov. 10, 2013 - 39 polls ago. Since then, 61 different programs have been ranked. If Miami appears in the poll that will be released Tuesday, it'll be the first time the Hurricanes were ranked so early in a season since 2010.

"That'd be awesome," Kaaya said. "But at the same time, we can't just sit on that. ... In the grand scheme of things, we have lot bigger fish to fry."

UP NEXT

Florida A&M: At Coastal Carolina, Sept. 10. Coastal Carolina beat FAMU 48-3 in 2014. For whatever this is worth, it'll be the second straight week the Rattlers visit a school that made the 2016 College World Series - the Chanticleers won the title.

Miami: Host Florida Atlantic, Sept. 10. The Hurricanes are 2-0 all-time against the Owls, though were tested in the first half of last season's meeting at FAU. Miami has rushed for 6.5 yards per carry in the two games.

Miami Hurricanes Season Preview

Twelve starters return, including fi ve each on off ense and defense plus PKs Michael Badgley and P Justin Vogel....Th e Canes’ primary off ensive task will be to fi nd replacements for Johnson, Walford and Dorsett and rebuild the off ensive line...Yearby (509 yds), an elusive speedster, and Gus Edwards, a physical back, and freshman Mark Walton look to share the load carried by Johnson...Th e return to form of WR Stacy Coley (23 catches), a playmaker as a freshman who was inconsistent as a sophomore, would help the WR corps which also returns Malcolm Lewis (25 catches), Braxton Berrios (21 catches), Herb Waters (20 catches) and Rashawn Scott...Replacing Walford will be a big task, but junior TE Standish Dobard has ability...K.C. McDermott, Nick Linder, Sonny Odogwu and Alex Gall are possibilities for the off ensive line to team with returning starters Trevor Darling at T and Daniel Isidora at G...With a year under his belt in the off ensive system of coordinator James Coley, Kaaya should be even better and could challenge for national honors...Defensively, Miami made strides in 2014, fi nishing 14th nationally in total defense...DT Calvin Heurtelou returns upfront and will be joined by DEs Chad Th omas, Jelani Hamilton and Al Quadin Muhammad and DTs Ufomba Kamalu and Courtel Jenkins... Raphael Kirby (54 tackles) and Juwon Young return at MLB with Darrion Owens and Tyriq McCord battling at SLB and Jermaine Grace (60 tackles) at OLB...In the secondary, CB Artie Burns and S Deon Bush (53 tackles, 2 INTs) both return as do CBs Tracy Howard (20 tackles) and CB Corn Elder (34 tackles) with Dallas Crawford (35 tackles) and Jamal Carter competing at safety.