Indiana jumpstarted a stagnant offense with backup QB Peyton Ramsey, who threw for 173 yards and two TDs to key a 34-17 win over UVA on Saturday.
The Cavs (1-1) led 3-0 midway through the second quarter. Ramsey came in for starter Richard Lagow, who had thrown for 410 yards in last week’s loss to #2 Ohio State, but was just 3-for-10 passing for 24 yards and an interception before getting the hook.
Ramsey led IU (1-1) on three scoring drives before halftime, connecting with Simmie Cobbs for a 29-yard touchdown, scoring himself on a 26-yard run and then getting the Hoosiers into position for a half-closing 52-yard field goal by Griffin Oakes to send Indiana into the break up 17-3.
Virginia got back to 17-10 on a 12-yard TD run by Jordan Ellis with 10:30 to go in the third, but that was as close as the ‘Hoos would get.
Ramsey hooked up with Donovan Hale on a 27-yard TD pass to push the margin to 27-10 with 53 seconds left in the third.
UVA got back to 27-17 on a 7-yard TD pass from Kurt Benkert to Joe Reed with 12:45 to go.
The Cavs were able to get the ball back after a goal-line stand, but a three-and-out deep in their own territory forced a punt, which J-Shun Harris returned 44 yards for the clinching touchdown with 5:56 left.
Virginia couldn’t get anything going on the ground, gaining just 55 yards on 25 attempts.
Benkert threw the ball 66 times, completing 39 for 259 yards and a touchdown.
Olamide Zaccheaus caught 12 balls, but gained just 72 yards, as the dink-and-dunk approach had Benkert averaging just 3.9 yards per pass attempt on the day.
Jordan Ellis had 44 yards rushing on 14 attempts.
The Virginia defense put up nice numbers on its end in the loss. A week after putting up 427 yards of total offense against Ohio State, IU gained 318 yards on Saturday.
Ramsey was quite efficient running the show for the last two and a half quarters, completing 16 of his 20 pass attempts for 173 yards and two TDs, and adding 42 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Jordan Mack had a game-high 16 tackles for Virginia, which also got 14 tackles, including two sacks, from Micah Kiser.
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