Virginia needed a blown two-point-conversion attempt in overtime by Idaho to escape with a 21-20 win over the Vandals here Saturday afternoon in a near-lifeless Scott Stadium.
The game was played before an announced crow of just under 40,000, of which many were exiting the stadium before the overtime period even began.
On the sixth play of an almost unimaginable overtime, Cavalier freshman quarterback David Watford found fellow freshman wide receiver Dominique Terrell for a 27-yard scoring pass.
On Idaho’s next possession, Vandal quarterback Brian Reader was hit as he threw but somehow found wideout Armauni Johnson in the back of the end zone for the score. Idaho went for the winning two-point conversion instead of the safe bet of tying the game with a PAT kick. Reader’s lofting pass, which seemed to take an eternity to come down, was batted down at the last possible moment to preserve the win for the Wahoos.
Virginia improved to 3-2 entering their bye week, before hosting Georgia Tech on Oct. 15. But Virginia’s intention of using this game as confidence builder was clearly side tracked. The Cavaliers tallied three turnovers, saw the offense stall throughout the game, and missed two field goals. A disastrous if not comical second quarter ended for Virginia when with six seconds left the Cavaliers allowed the game clock to expire instead of attempting a relatively short field goal.
With just over three minutes left in the game, Cavalier punter Jimmy Howell’s punt was blocked and returned four yards for Idaho’s only regulation touchdown. After a successful two-point conversion the game was suddenly tied at 14.
Virginia took an early 14-0 lead, sparked by tailback Perry Jones -who finished the game with 151 all-purpose yards. But Virginia turned the ball over three times in the opening half to allow the Vandals to keep the game manageable at half trailing 14-6. Jones capitalized on additional playing time because of a lingering ankle injury to redshirt freshmen Kevin Parks, the team’s leading rusher.
Virginia coach Mike London continued his rotating quarterback strategy against Idaho. Mike Rocco started, although his availability was questionable until shortly before kickoff after suffering a rib injury against Southern Mississippi last Saturday. Watford entered the game on the fourth series of the first half but had a deep ball intercepted before leaving the game.
Rocco completed 20 of 30 passes for 240 yards, but he was replaced by Watford early in the fourth quarter. After the blocked punt, Watford came back onto the field with the score deadlocked at 14 and just over three minutes left. Watford (Hampton High School) moved the ball to near midfield completing three of five passes but the drive ended on downs. For the game Watford completed 10 of 20 passes for 95 yards.
Story by Scott German
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