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#25 Virginia barely hangs on, beats Seminoles 31-24

Wayne Taulapapa ran for three touchdowns, the second with 2:34 remaining, and No. 25 Virginia hung on, barely, to beat Florida State 31-24 on Saturday night.
Credit: AP
Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins (3) celebrates 2-point conversion with wide receiver Terrell Chatman (9) during the team's NCAA college football game against Florida State in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019. Virginia won 31-24. (AP Photo/Andrew Shurtleff)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Wayne Taulapapa ran for three touchdowns, the second with 2:34 remaining, and No. 25 Virginia hung on, barely, to beat Florida State 31-24 on Saturday night.

The Cavaliers (3-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailed for much of the night and looked to have blown their chance when Brian Delaney missed a tying extra point with 6:02 to play. A three-and-out by the Seminoles and a six-play, 72-yard Virginia drive capped by Taulapapa's 2-yard run gave them the lead. The Cavaliers went for two and Bryce Perkins was intent on passing, but when the Seminoles applied pressure in the backfield, he scrambled away from it and finally slithered through the defense and converted for the points.

The Seminoles (1-2, 0-1) drove to the Virginia 4 for the final play of the game, helped by four 15-yard penalty calls against the Cavaliers, but with no timeouts remaining and both teams scrambling to line up, a run attempt by Cam Akers that just beat the final gun was stopped when De'Vante Cross slowed him and Bryce Hall finished him off. The play was reminiscent of one 24 years ago when Virginia stopped Warrick Dunn inches from the end zone on the final play for a 33-28 Cavaliers' victory that ended the Seminoles' 29-game ACC winning streak.

Virginia improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2005, and fans stormed the field after the frenetic final few plays. With the game tied at 17, Blackman hit Tamorrion Terry for 17 yards on third-and-10 from the FSU 25, and the Seminoles went up-tempo. Blackman hit Tre McKitty for 30 yards on the next play, three runs by Cam Akers netted 11 yards and Blackman hit Keyshawn Helton for a 17-yard touchdown to put them ahead 24-17.

Perkins completed all nine attempts for 67 yards — the last a 12-yard score to Joe Reed — in a 75-play drive to pull Virginia even at 17 with 14:15 left.

The Seminoles turned a shanked punt by Nash Griffin into a three-play, 39-yard touchdown drive, Blackman hitting Gabe Nabers for the last 10 yards. Virginia responded by going 75 yards in six plays to Wayne Taulpapa's 3-yard scoring run to lead 10-7, but Florida State drove 87 yards just before halftime to lead 14-10.

Akers, who ran for just 20 yards in the half, capped the drive by catching a 3-yard pass from Blackman.

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