Take Two: Revisiting the keys and grading UVa's win over FSU

The Result: No. 25 Virginia rallied for 21 fourth-quarter points to knock off Florida State 31-24 in front of 57,826 at Scott Stadium, the largest home crowd in four years. With the win, UVa is 3-0 and 2-0 in ACC play.

The Turning Point: In a game like this, you could pick about a hundred of them but the Hoos grabbed momentum for good after getting a three-and-out following their missed extra point that should've tied the game with 6:02 left. Instead of the Noles marching down the field to score (as they did on their previous possession, going 75 yards In eight plays for a TD), UVa locked them up and then did the marching. Six plays later they had the lead for good, though there were plenty of tense moments on FSU's final drive.

The Stat That Tells the Story: UVa owned the fourth quarter, scoring touchdowns on all three of its drives and holding the ball for 12:28 seconds in the final period of action.

Wahoo of the Week: It’s Bryce Perkins, who shook off a shaky first half that included two interceptions by putting together his best half of football this season after the break. He went 17-for-20 in the half and finished 30-for-41 passing with 295 yards and a touchdown, as well as an electric two-point conversion that gave the Cavaliers a touchdown lead late.

Bronco’s Winning Formula:

24+ Points?: Yes (31)

+1 Turnover Margin?: No (-2)

+5 Average Starting Field Position?: No (-4)

1) Avoid “home run” plays.

Virginia did well in this area at times but also allowed a few chunk plays as well. FSU finished the game with nine passes of 15 or more yards and three runs of 10 or more yards. Most of FSU’s damage came late in the second quarter and into the third, when it looked like the Seminoles might come into Charlottesville and win. But UVa didn’t allow any long touchdowns and Cam Akers longest play on the night was a 17-yard rush. The Hoos weren’t perfect defensively, but against a team as talented on offense as FSU, big plays are bound to happen.

Grade: B

2) Play a clean game.

Virginia won the thing but it certainly wasn’t the cleanest performance. Florida State’s final drive was aided by 60 penalty yards, one of which was Bronco Mendenhall’s first career unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Granted, at least two of the calls that went against the Hoos late in the game were borderline, but UVa was a bit out of character from a discipline standpoint throughout the night. The Cavaliers lost the turnover battle again after having four giveaways against William & Mary, and had two other muffed punts that they were fortunate to recover. Virginia finished with nine penalties for 97 yards after having just six penalties for 66 yards in the first two games of the season combined. There were certainly lapses but UVa made the most of all three fourth-quarter drives and had very few negative plays as the Cavaliers rallied for the win.

Grade: C