Trubisky leads No. 22 North Carolina past Virginia 35-14

The last time Mitch Trubiskythrew a pass in Virginia's Scott Stadium, two years ago, it was his only play of the game and he hit T.J. Thorpe with less than a minute to play to give North Carolina a victory.

He needed no such dramatics Saturday, throwing three touchdown passes as the No. 22 Tar Heels rode his accurate arm and a strong performance by their defense to a 35-14 victory, their seventh in a row in the series and ninth consecutive in true road games.

"The defense played lights out," Trubisky said after throwing for 310 yards. "They played a really great game. The second half we had a little bit better tempo and we were moving them. We converted some more third downs and we got some more rhythm."

Trubisky hit Bug Howard for 40 yards on a trick play, Thomas Jackson for 10 yards and Austin Proehl for 46 yards for touchdowns for the Tar Heels (6-2, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), and the trick play had everyone smiling at how well it worked. On the play, North Carolina set up in a wildcat formation, handed the ball off to wide receiver Ryan Switzer and he pitched it to Trubisky, who just had to make the throw.

"I've been waiting for them to call it," he said of the play, which has been in the game plan for a few weeks.

The Cavaliers (2-5, 1-2) got their first touchdown on a trick play, too. They lined up for a field goal, had the entire offensive line split out far to the left, and snapper Evan Butts threw the snap 30 yards to his left to Matt Johns, the holder now acting as the quarterback.

Johns quickly hit Butts for an 11-yard touchdown strike, but Virginia didn't score again until just 9:01 remained.

The Tar Heels led 14-7 at halftime and limited Virginia to 39 yards in the third quarter while opening a 28-7 lead.

"That's when we felt like we got control of the game," Tar Heels coach Larry Fedora said. "We hated giving up that 13-play drive (for Virginia's second touchdown), because at that point, we felt like if we could put the ball in the end zone again, then we could put it away."

Elijah Hood ran for 107 yards and a 4-yard touchdown, and T.J. Logan scored on a 4-yard run for UNC.

Virginia has lost two in a row, making the upbeat feeling of a two-game winning streak before that seem a distant memory.

Coach Bronco Mendenhall lifted quarterback Kurt Benkert in the fourth quarter, using backup Conner Brewer.

"I felt it was necessary with the pressure that was going on Benkert, starting from the second half of the Pitt game through this game, it was wise just to have his step back and have him see it from a different perspective and take a breath and regroup," Mendenhall said.

THE TAKEAWAY

North Carolina: The Tar Heels moved back ahead of Virginia Tech in the Coastal Division race by virtue of having one more victory. The Hokies (3-1 in division), however, beat UNC three weeks ago, so they hold the tiebreaker, but either Virginia Tech or Pittsburgh (2-1 in division play) will fall off the pace in the loss column when they meet Thursday night at Heinz Field. The Tar Heels beat the Panthers 37-36 earlier this month on Trubisky's TD pass with 0:02 remaining.

Virginia: Virginia has now struggled to much offensively for three consecutive halves, including the second half against Pitt last week. The coaches also called several running plays on third-and-medium plays, curious because the Cavaliers could already be playing in nothing-to-lose mode if a bowl game remains their goal. They now need to win four of their last five to make their first bowl game since 2011.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

If things go according to chalk, the Tar Heels should be favored in every game they have left and climb in the Top 25 .

They still have to face Georgia Tech at home, play at Duke, host The Citadel and finish at North Carolina State.

UP NEXT

North Carolina returns home to face struggling Georgia Tech, which has lost the last two games in the series.

Virginia wraps up a three-game homestand at home against No. 7 Louisville and Heisman Trophy contenderLamar Jackson.

Defense wakes after half, leading Pitt past Virginia, 45-31

 James Conner ran for 90 yards and two touchdowns and Pittsburgh shut Virginia down in the second half in a 45-31 victory on Saturday.

The Panthers (5-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) got a 93-yard kickoff return touchdown from Quadree Henderson and a 59-yard interception return touchdown from Jordan Whitehead, the latter to allow the Panthers to take a 35-28 lead into halftime.

Virginia (2-4, 1-1) had its two-game winning streak end. The Cavaliers moved the ball at will in the opening 30 minutes, piling up 270 yards, but were just the opposite thereafter. They gained 15 yards in the third quarter and finished with 108 yards in the half.

Nathan Peterman threw two touchdown passes for Panthers, the last making it 42-28 with 9:47 left.

THE TAKEAWAY

Pittsburgh: The Panthers have scored at least 36 points in six consecutive games, a program record, so offense isn't a problem. Their run defense is statistically solid, but might be artificially so because its pass defense is spotty. Kurt Benkert thrived in the first half, when Pitt had no sacks, but the Cavaliers quarterback seemed rattled after the Panthers sacked him three times in four plays early after halftime.

Virginia: The Cavaliers have the capacity to play well for long stretches, but adversity still presents them with challenges that coach Bronco Mendenhall attributes to a history of more failure than success. The adversity against Pitt came in two stages - Whitehead's interception return touchdown, and when the Panthers came out firing on defense and applied pressure Benkert hadn't seen before halftime.

UP NEXT:

Pittsburgh: The Panthers have a bye next weekend, and will then play Virginia Tech at Heinz Field on Thursday night, Oct. 27.

Virginia: The Cavaliers continue their three-game homestand by taking on longtime rival North Carolina.

Virginia forces 6 turnovers in 34-20 win over Duke

Virginia has much less in the playbook - and is doing so much more.

With a defensive game plan that first-year coach Bronco Mendenhall called "the simplest plan we had yet," the Cavaliers intercepted five passes and forced six turnovers in a 34-20 victory over Duke on Saturday.

The five interceptions tied the program record, last accomplished against Miami in 2010.

"The execution, it matches the current level of our players' understanding of the playbook," Mendenhall said. "I'm still getting to learn them. They're still getting to know me."

Kurt Benkert threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns, finishing 23 of 41 with touchdowns covering 28 yards toDavid Eldridge, 12 yards to Olamide Zaccheaus and 3 yards to Richard Burney.

Albert Reid also had a short TD run to help the Cavaliers (2-3, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) snap their 17-game road losing streak.

"The execution appears, I think, to all of us to be improving, and the culture as we all know, was the emphasis to begin," Mendenhall said. "It's starting. ... But it's fun to see the players happy. It's fun to see the players see that it's coming."

Joseph Ajeigbe's 4-yard touchdown run with 11:34 left pulled Duke to 27-20, and the Blue Devils had the ball inside Virginia territory twice after that but were stopped on downs both times.

Daniel Jones threw five interceptions for Duke (2-3, 0-2), and fumbled in his own end zone with 4:24 left after a hard hit from Jordan Mack. Eli Hamback recovered for the touchdown that put the Cavaliers back up by two touchdowns.

THE TAKEAWAY

Virginia: These Cavaliers looked nothing like the crew that was routed by Richmond in the opener, made Mendenhall a winner in his first ACC game and earned their first road win since a 2012 rout at North Carolina State.

"Richmond doesn't even feel like this year," Mendenhall said.

This time, they did it with defense. After failing to force a turnover in its first two games, Virginia now has nine takeaways in the last three weeks. Juan Thornhill and Bryce Hall had two interceptions apiece.

Duke: The Blue Devils pretty much squandered whatever goodwill they generated by beating Notre Dame last week, largely because they couldn't take care of the ball. Jones, who threw three interceptions in his first four games, surpassed that total by throwing four of them in 20 minutes of the first half.

Coach David Cutcliffe bristled at a reporter who asked if he'd considered replacing Jones with backup Parker Boehme, saying that "if I would have considered it, I would have done it, OK?"

With this loss, it's fair to wonder if Duke - which still faces road games at No. 3 Louisville, No. 14 Miami and Pittsburgh - will find the four more wins it needs to qualify for its fifth straight bowl game.

PLAY OF THE DAY

Duke trailed by a touchdown with 98 yards to go and less than 5 minutes to play. It set up a possible Joe Montana-type moment for Jones, who was looking to atone for the four interceptions he'd thrown at that point. Scanning to his left for a receiver, he never saw Mack flying in from the right side. Mack leveled him and knocked the ball free, and Hamback pounced on it for the touchdown that sealed it, and Jones threw his fifth interception on the Duke possession that followed.

STAT LINE

Benkert has thrown for 757 yards and eight touchdowns in his last two games. The East Carolina transfer set the program record with 421 yards against Central Michigan , and was on pace to break that mark before the Cavaliers slowed things down in the fourth quarter. "He's a throw-first guy," Mendenhall said, "and I think he's good at it."

UP NEXT

Virginia: It's all ACC opponents remaining for the Cavaliers, who have an idle weekend before playing host to Pittsburgh on Oct. 15.

Duke: The Blue Devils step back out of league play to host Army, but then they have only six days to get ready for a Friday night visit to Louisville on Oct. 14.

Benkert TDs rescue Virginia against Central Michigan, 49-35

Kurt Benkert threw five touchdown passes, the last three after Virginia had squandered all of a 28-0 lead, and the Cavaliers gave coach Bronco Mendenhall his 100th career victory, 49-35 over Central Michigan on Saturday.

Benkert hit Olamide Zaccheaus with a go-ahead 82-yard pass after the Cavaliers defense forced its first punt since the opening quarter. Virginia (1-3) forced another punt, and Benkert hit Albert Reid for a 5-yard touchdown, capping a 73-yard drive. Taquan Mizzell also scored twice for Virginia on runs of 4 and 53 yards.

"That's a happy group of young men in that locker room," Mendenhall said. "I'm certainly not saying we've arrived, but it's a nice start."

The Chippewas (3-1), seeking their first 4-0 start since 1985, scored on four of five possessions after going behind 28-0 less than 20 minutes into the game.

Cooper Rush for 402 yards and two touchdown passes to Corey Willis, including an 85-yarder, and Amari Coleman read a screen pass perfectly and scored on a 47-yard interception return.

Mendenhall, in his first year at Virginia, was 99-43 in 11 seasons at BYU before coming east.

THE TAKEAWAY

Central Michigan: The Chippewas are a confident team, and showed it even when trailing by three touchdowns in a loud stadium. They used timeouts when Virginia had the ball late in the second quarter to stop the clock, and cashed in with two touchdowns in the last 4 1/2 minutes of the half to get within 28-14.

Virginia: Rush picked apart the Virginia secondary, which lost cornerback Juan Thornhill on the first play of the game. The unit also lacks speed and played off the Central Michigan receivers for much of the day, allowing several long completions that produced third-down conversions. Kareem Gibson was a frequent target, but acquitted himself with a fourth-quarter interception to set up an insurance TD.

UP NEXT

Central Michigan: The Chippewas head into Mid-American Conference play at home against Western Michigan.

Virginia: The Cavaliers, losers of 17 in a row on the road, will try to end that skid as they open their Atlantic Coast Conference schedule at Duke.

UConn holds on to beat UVa 13-10

Walk-on kicker Alex Furbank missed a 20-yard field-goal attempt for Virginia as time expired and UConn held on to beat the Cavaliers 13-10 on Saturday.

Bobby Puyol hit the 43-yard game-winning field goal with 1:33 left for the Huskies (2-1), who overcame early 10-point deficit with two fourth-quarter scores.

UConn Quarterback Bryant Shirreffs completed 13 of 24 passes for 154 yards. He also ran for 33 yards and a touchdown.

A 20-yard run by Shirreffs and a 23-yard screen play to Noel Thomas set up Puyol's game winner.

But Virginia (0-3) got the ball back and moved right down the field. A 33-yard strike down the left side from Kurt Benkert to Doni Dowling on Virginia's final drive put the Cavaliers in UConn territory. It appeared they would at least send the game into overtime after Benkert hit Keeon Johnsonwith a 34-yard fourth-down pass to put the ball inside the UConn 10.

But the Husky defense stiffened, stopping Benkert at the 2-yard line on third down. The Cavaliers, who had no timeouts remaining, were able to rush the field-goal unit onto the field, but Furbank pulled the ball left.

It was the 17th straight road loss for Virginia, and leaves first-year coach Bronco Mendenhall still looking for his 100th career win. He was 99-43 during his 11-year tenure at BYU

Virginia opened the scoring with first quarter drives of 12 and 13 plays. The first led to a 23-yard field goal from Furbank. It was the sophomore's first football game at any level. He played soccer at Division III Randolph Macon before transferring to Virginia.

A 9-yard touchdown run by Albert Reid made it 10-0.

UConn drove to the Virginia 2-yard line in the second quarter but had to settle for a 21-yard field goal.

The Huskies, helped by interference and face mask calls on Virginia, drove 37-yards in nine plays to tie the game with just under 8 minutes remaining. Shirreffs ran the ball in on a sweep from a yard out.

Virginia then drove to the UConn 24-yard line, but a run by Albert Reid on fourth-and-1 came up short.

Arkeel Newsome ran 13 times for 90 yards for UConn. Benkert completed 23 of 42 passes for 241 yards.

THE TAKEAWAY

VIRGINIA: The Cavaliers continued to make too many mistakes to win. They were penalized 10 times for 91 yards. The team had not won away from Charlottesville since Nov. 3, 2012, when Virginia beat North Carolina State 33-6.

UCONN: The Huskies three games this season have been decided by a total of 10 points. It was an important win for Connecticut, which lost last week at Navy when it was stopped inside the 1-yard line as time expired.

UP NEXT

VIRGINIA: After traveling more than 6,000 miles over the last two weeks to play at Oregon and Connecticut, the Cavaliers return home to face Central Michigan next Saturday

UCONN: The Huskies play their second straight home game against an ACC opponent when they face Syracuse next Saturday. The Huskies play three non-conference games against the ACC this year. They will travel to Boston College in November.

Prukop passes for 3 TDs and Ducks beat Virginia 44-26

Dakota Prukop says he's lucky to be surrounded by so many playmakers at Oregon.

From prolific running back Royce Freeman to Olympic hurdler Devon Allen, the Ducks' new quarterback has lots of options. And that makes his job easy, he said Saturday night after No. 24 Oregon defeated Virginia 44-26.

"It's a really unique group," Prukop said. "It's cool."

Prukop threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns - all to different receivers. Freeman ran for 207 yards and two scores, while Allen caught four passes for 141 yards and a touchdown, which he celebrated by pretending to clear hurdles in the endzone.

While it wasn't perfect, and questions about the defense remain, the Ducks got their second win to start the season before next Saturday's game against Nebraska at Memorial Stadium.

Freeman said the Ducks' famous speed emerged.

"Definitely found a little rhythm. There were times out there that Virginia wasn't even set and we were snapping the ball," Freeman said.

Oregon was coming off a 53-28 victory over UC Davis in its opener, Prukop's debut. The graduate transfer showed creativity in the first half against Virginia, escaping from the Ducks' own 1-yard line with a 9-yard run and a pitch toDwayne Stanford, who scampered 14 yards to get the ball out to the 24.

On the same drive, Prukop hit Allen with a 55-yard pass and the Ducks went on to score on a 2-yard pass to Stanford for a 20-6 lead. Prukop found Allen with a 77-yard pass for a touchdown in the third quarter that put the Ducks up 37-13.

Allen finished fifth in the 110-meter hurdles last month in the Rio Games, becoming just the fourth active college player in the modern era to compete in the Olympics.

"It's really easy when you have the skill players like that around you," Prukop said. "It's really just hats off to those guys, to do what they do."

Albert Reid rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown, while Kurt Benkert threw for 193 yards and two scores for Virginia. The Cavaliers fell 37-20 to Richmond in the team's opener last weekend, spoiling Bronco Mendenhall's debut as coach.

"I can live with the things that have to be improved when kids try that hard and are having that much fun and they're supporting each other the way they were," Mendenhall said. "That was the makings of a football team today and that was a completely different feeling than what I had a week ago."

THE TAKEAWAY

Virginia: The Cavaliers again struggled with mistakes, including a pair of interceptions and some costly penalties Mendenhall said last week the rebuilding project would take time, "Lots and lots of work ahead, steep learning curve still to come."

Oregon: The Ducks are seeing mixed results in the new 4-3 defense installed by coordinator Brady Hoke, the former Michigan coach. Last week the Ducks gave up 392 yards and four touchdowns to lower-tier UC Davis. The Ducks ranked last in the Pac-12 for touchdowns allowed with 37.5 points per game. Virginia also managed four touchdowns.

On the other side, Oregon had 632 yards total offense. Receiver Pharaoh Brown, who is back after a horrific injury kept him out last season, had five catches for 55 yards and a touchdown.

But coach Mark Helfrich lamented the "simple things" that prevented the Ducks from putting the game away.

"Coulda, woulda, shoulda. We could have shut the door so many times in all phases," he said.

UP NEXT

Virginia: On the road again next week, this time to face UConn. The Huskies rallied from a 21-point deficit but ultimately fell to Navy 28-24 on Saturday. The series is even at 1-1, with UConn winning the last meeting 45-10 in 2008.

Oregon: Takes to the road for the first time this season to face Nebraska at Memorial Stadium. The Cornhuskers beat Wyoming 52-17 on Saturday.

"Oregon, they're no joke," said Nebraska receiver Jordan Westerkamp, who caught a pair of touchdown passes. "They're a top program in the entire nation. This will be our first big test."

INJURIES

Ducks linebacker A.J. Hotchkins was stretchered off the field in the second half. Tight end Johnny Mundt, who had a touchdown in the opener, did not play. He was seen in a knee brace earlier in the week.

TRIVIA

Allen joins Florida A&M's Bob Hayes (1964), West Virginia's James Jett (1992) and Texas' Marquise Goodwin (2012) as active college athletes who have competed in the Olympics.

QUOTABLE: Allen on his hurdle celebration: "I knew I was gonna do that just because it'd be funny, being the guy from the Olympics."

Lauletta shines as Richmond stuns Virginia, 37-20

Kyle Lauletta and Richmond believed they had a legitimate shot in their game against Virginia, even though the Spiders play in the Football Championship Subdivision and the Cavaliers are in one of the Power Five conference.

But even Lauletta never expected the Spiders to dominate.

They did Saturday as the senior threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns, the defense held Virginia to negative rushing yards heading into the fourth quarter and the Spiders rolled to a 37-20 victory, spoiling Bronco Mendenhall's debut at Virginia.

"When we can run and pass like that, we're tough to beat," the redshirt junior said.

The Spiders outgained Virginia 524-302 in winning for just the third time in 33 meetings in the series. The victory was the fourth in Richmond's last nine meetings with an FBS-level school, but its first victory against the Cavaliers since 1946.

Lauletta, the preseason offensive player of the year in the Colonial Athletic Association, teamed up with Tyler Wilkins for scoring throws of 11 and 5 yards, and hit Brian Brown for 11 yards. He also sidestepped Virginia's pressure on several occasions.

"We responded extremely well to adversity and we answered, really, every time we had to answer throughout the course of the game," said Spiders coach Danny Rocco, whose team reached the FCS semifinals last season. "Our team expected to win."

The Cavaliers, on the other hand, gave Mendenhall and his staff their first glimpse at the rebuilding job that lies ahead.

"The clarity is the excitement and optimism and hope is what I've been mentioning and eventually I said the execution would catch up," Mendenhall said. "That part is further behind than I thought. ... I'm surprised. I learned a lot today."

The coach, who won 99 games in 11 seasons at BYU before replacing Mike London last December, also felt like he got a glimpse of the past for Virginia, which hasn't made it to a bowl game since 2011. Mendenhall's team went to one every year.

"I think they want to be resilient and I think they want to believe and have new habits but there is some history here and there was some reversion to that today," he said. "My job is to help them build great habits."

Kurt Benkert threw for three touchdowns in his first start at Virginia, but two came in the final quarter after Richmond had taken a 30-7 lead. Benkert also threw an interception deep in Spiders territory, one of turnovers for the Cavaliers.

"It's just a little bit of a road bump and it's going to set up a great story," Benkert said.

TAKEAWAYS

RICHMOND: The Spiders, 33-7 losers to North Dakota State in the FCS semifinals last year, have to be considered favorites to get back. The offensive line had little trouble handling Virginia up front and Lauletta makes good decisions, can make all the throws and extend plays with his feet. Staying healthy will be critical.

VIRGINIA: The defense struggled mightily in its first game in Mendenhall's 3-4 alignment. There were numerous missed assignments and missed tackles galore. The Spiders moved the ball at will at times, and Lauletta was hardly ever bothered by pressure. What little he faced, he usually sidestepped it pretty easily.

BAD START

Richmond scored twice before the Cavaliers ever ran an offensive play from scrimmage. The Spiders drove 64 yards in eight plays after the opening kickoff to a 28-yard field goal by Griffin Trau. On the ensuing kickoff, Connor Wingo-Reeves was stripped of the ball and Jevaris Little recovered for the Spiders at the 36. Six plays later, Trau connected from 25 yards and it was 6-0.

Virginia turned it over against on the next drive after marching inside the Richmond 10. Taquan Mizzell was stripped on a run into the line by Brendan Coniker, who also recovered, and the Spiders then drove 95 yards in 10 plays to Wilkins' first TD catch.

Ricky Segers later boomed a 50-yard field goal for the Spiders.

UP NEXT

RICHMOND: The Spiders open their home schedule against Norfolk State.

VIRGINA: The Cavaliers travel across the country to face No. 24 Oregon, finishing a home-and-home series that started with the Ducks winning 59-10 at Virginia in 2013.

Virginia Cavaliers Season Preview

Coach London will welcome back 44 returning lettermen and 12 starters...Off ensive priorities include developing playmakers at wide receiver and running back...Johns impressed in the spring and claimed the starting QB position with Lambert then deciding to transfer...But the Cavaliers received a pair of transfers themselves in RB Albert Reid (Maryland) and TE Charlie Hopkins (Stanford)...Th e off ensive line returns four starters in Ts Michael Mooney and Eric Smith, G Ryan Doull and C Ross Burbank...Burbank moved to G, with Jackson Matteo taking over at C and redshirt freshman Jake Fieler ended spring ahead of Smith at the RT position...UVa improved to 19th nationally in sacks allowed last year a lot of the credit for that goes to its O-line which this year will work to improve the Cavaliers’ ground attack...RBs Taquan Mizzell (280 yds, 4.4 avg, 39 catches), Daniel Hamm and Reid step into the void left by Parks, who had 3,219 career rushing yards...UNC graduate transfer T.J. Th orpe will add a deep threat to a receiver corps that already includes WRs Canaan Severin (42 catches, 5 TDs), Andre Levrone and Keeon Johnson...Defensively, UVa will have to fi nd replacements for fi ve of its top six tacklers from a year ago...DE Mike Moore and DT David Dean return to the line as does DE Kwontie Moore and DTs Andrew Brown and Donte Wilkins, a trio of key backups from last year...LB Micah Kiser (15 tackles) and OLB Zach Bradshaw fi nished spring as the leaders at MLB and WLB, respectively and will be joined by SLB Mark Hall.....Blanding leads a veteran secondary that also includes Maurice Canady, 2013 starter CB Demetrious Nicholson and Tim Harris at CB with Kelvin Rainey taking over the SS position.