ACC & Big 12 Week 3 Roundup: Virginia sneaks past Florida State as Iowa wins fifth straight over Cyclones
Virginia overcame a slow start and scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns Saturday as the Cavaliers rallied for a 31-24 victory over Florida State in Charlottesville. With the win — just the fourth in program history against the Seminoles — Virginia improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2005.
Virginia got on the board first, as sophomore kicker Brian Delaney set a new career high with a 49-yard field goal late in the first quarter. A 10-yard touchdown pass from James Blackman to Gabe Nabers briefly gave the ‘Noles the lead, but the Cavaliers reclaimed the advantage soon after on a 3-yard touchdown run from Wayne Taulapapa.
Florida State ultimately took a 14-10 edge into the half thanks to a 3-yard pass from Blackman to running back Cam Akers, and Ricky Aguayo extended the Florida State lead to 17-10 with a 53-yard field goal in the third quarter. But Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins completed 8 of 10 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter, while Taulapapa ran for his second and third touchdowns of the game during the period, sealing Florida State’s fate.
Over in the Big 12, host Iowa State lost its fifth straight Cy-Hawk Series rivalry game, as Iowa came back to defeat the Cyclones 18-17 in a contest that took nearly 6 hours to complete due to multiple lightning delays.
Arguably the game’s biggest offensive star, Iowa kicker Keith Duncan connected on a career-high four field goals during the win, including the game-winner from 39 yards out with 4:51 to play.
The Cyclones did show some explosiveness amid the field goal blitz, scoring on a 51-yard double-pass in the first quarter, followed by a 73-yard pass from Brock Purdy to Tarique Milton early in the third. But ultimately, Iowa State couldn’t come up with enough firepower to win, and a muffed punt with 1:29 remaining in the fourth quarter ended any chance for late-game heroics.
Now let’s check out a few more highlights from an exciting Week 3 in the ACC and Big 12:
Wake Forest 24, North Carolina 18: Wake Forest won its fifth consecutive game overall and improved to 3-0 for the third time in the past four seasons with a non-conference victory over ACC rival North Carolina.
Kansas 48, Boston College 24: Quarterback Carter Stanley threw for 238 yards and three touchdowns and running back Khalil Herbert tallied 187 of Kansas’ 329 rushing yards as the Jayhawks earned its first road win over a Power 5 school in 11 years on Friday against Boston College.
Clemson 41, Syracuse 6: Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw for a career-high 395 yards and three touchdowns in a resounding victory over Atlantic Division foe Syracuse.
Penn State 17, Pittsburgh 10: Pitt kicker Alex Kessman hit the upright with a 19-yard field goal attempt with 4:54 to play, and Kenny Pickett’s last-second heave into the end zone fell incomplete, as the Panthers came up short in the 100th all-time meeting between the Panthers and Nittany Lions.
West Virginia 44, NC State 27: Mountaineers quarterback Austin Kendall threw for 272 yards and three touchdowns as West Virginia rolled past the Wolfpack in a rematch of the 2010 Champs Sports Bowl.
Miami 63, Bethune-Cookman 0: Manny Diaz earned his first win as Miami head coach with a shutout of Bethune-Cookman at Hard Rock Stadium. DeeJay Dallas led the ‘Canes with 108 rushing yards and three touchdowns, becoming the first Miami player with multiple rushing touchdowns in a game since 2017.
Oklahoma 48, UCLA 14: Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts became the first quarterback in program history to pass for 200 yards and rush for 100 in the first half as he directed the Sooners to scores on their first six drives against UCLA.
Kansas State 31, Mississippi State 24: Kansas State handed Mississippi State its first loss of the season, sealing the win with 14 unanswered fourth-quarter points, including a 100-yard kickoff return by Malik Knowles.
TCU 34, Purdue 13: The Horned Frogs extended the Big 12’s longest active winning streak to five games as Darius Anderson (179 yards) and Sewo Olonilua (106) became the first pair of TCU backs since 2015 to each rush for 100 yards in a game.